Let’s cover the issue that is probably of greatest interest to you first, namely where things stand with Mercy Iowa City right now. Things are relatively quiet while the bankruptcy process works its way through the courts, though more definitive answers are expected within the next few weeks. Some reports in the press and on social media will continue to offer speculation mixed with varying amounts of spin, but we will maintain our patience for the facts while readying ourselves for a variety of outcomes. The proposed affiliation with a local institution, valued by many of our community’s residents, represents an exciting opportunity for the future of UI Health Care and for our department.

What we can be sure of, should this move forward, is that our department will be ready to lead in finding and deploying elegant solutions to the logistical and practical challenges. We can also be sure that should educating medical students, residents, and fellows factor into our relationship that its structure will be similarly beneficial to all. Innovation in education is as much a part of our department’s identity as moving novel treatments from bench to bedside. Our residency program especially has proven to be a proving ground for many new ideas, such as the X+Y schedule, which may seem old news by now since it has been a part of our curriculum for so long. But it is still a unique and effective way to balance the heavy demands of clinical exposure with other critical training, whether it is quality improvement project work, clinician educator training, or ultrasound practice and instruction.

A good blend of our innovative approach and our attention to the needs of each individual learner can be seen in the Objective Structured Clinical Evaluations (OSCEs) just conducted a couple months ago. Our first-year residents, whom I hope you are taking the time to welcome and get to know, take part in a half-day demonstration of the skills the ACGME says that they should have in hand. And of course they do. Whether it is obtaining informed consent, having a difficult conversation with a patient, or conducting a patient handoff, our interns achieve positions in our residency because they have demonstrated excellence in these and many other skills. But they arrive at Iowa a little rusty from a lack of recent practice. The OSCEs, as designed by our education leadership, are meant not only to give us a baseline awareness of where there may be opportunities for growth, but it also gives the interns a chance to remember what they know before Day One. I cannot say enough about what a useful and well-refined program the OSCEs have become. The ACGME has noticed, other departments in our college have noticed, and we will share news with you soon about how this same concept is being expanded to reach our own M4s going into internal medicine residencies before graduation as well.

One of the original designers of the OSCEs besides our Vice Chair for Education and Program Director Dr. Manish Suneja and Jane Rowat, our Education Development Director, was Dr. Sheena CarlLee, then one of our Chief Residents. (When we last caught up with Dr. Sheena CarlLee, she was an associate program director but she has since become the program director for the UAMS Northwest residency program.) It is important to note what a vital role our Chief Residents play in our department. We checked in with them for their opinion on how everyone is settling into this new academic year. Dr. Alex Garza tells me that the year “is off to a great start” and that he is impressed by the growth the PGY-2s have shown in this transition and he is “excited for the PGY-3s” as they prepare to interview for whatever comes next, whether fellowship or faculty. Dr. Reed Johnson agrees and identifies “pride and poise” among the new second-year residents. He has tackled the hard work of refreshing our web and video content with our communications team, who will be sharing new components similar to what I shared in my last post. Dr. Taylor Becker said that the interns are already receiving “outstanding” feedback from many people in the hospital. Dr. Becker also identified what she called some “big wins” only two months in, including an amazing 20 publications (!) from residents just since July and the implementation of a new rapid-response training, which has met with positive reviews. I am grateful to these three and to Dr. Kathie Zhang, who as our Chief Resident for Quality & Safety, has been keeping an eye on QI projects as well as helping manage everything at the VA. I look forward to my next Chair’s Rounds with these Chiefs!