I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving. The time with family and friends is always brief, but all the sweeter for it. As we race to the end of 2024 and set our sights on hopes and opportunities on the other side of the calendar flip, I am excited to share with you some more details about my first couple months with Internal Medicine at Iowa. (That presentation and discussion will be at Grand Rounds on Thursday, 12/19, at noon. See you there.) One thing I cannot stop talking about to anyone that will ask is just how open and welcoming everyone has been. Not just with information requests or meetings to discuss existing processes, but with details about their lives or their relationship to Iowa and this institution. I have found many of you with deep roots here and memories to match, all of which is invaluable in strategic planning. It also inspires me to learn how a place can produce such strong loyalty and humbles me to make sure I honor everyone’s investment in this place. Thank you, all, again, for your generosity and patience in this transition.
Another question from others, perhaps a little more pointed than a general “how has it been going” question has been “what are you working on?” It’s a fair question! What are my first priorities and when can you start to see some changes? You all got this new chair, now what? Much of my time so far is no secret. I have been listening. I held three town halls in my first month. I heard your questions, what you are most concerned with, and tried to give you a sense of where I have been and what matters to me. And one of the things I hope I have made clear in person, in this space, and in every division’s faculty meeting I attended is that we need to nurture our community. You should not be expected to solve every problem yourself any more than I can. So I have spent a lot of time in the last couple months about what our teams should look like. The first decision of course must be the hiring of a permanent clinical department administrator. We are in the process of interviewing finalists for this role and hope to have an announcement within the next few weeks. My deep thanks to Grant Worthington, our interim CDA, and Kristin Goedken, our associate CDA, for their stewardship of this critical role’s responsibilities during this transition. Beyond that, there will be some reorganization and reassignment of tasks and some new opportunities for leadership roles as we think about long-term sustainability. I am excited to share more about these roles later this month at Grand Rounds on the 19th.
Photo for reflection
I originally used the word “Purity” to describe this close-up photo of a dandelion seed. I don’t know if you also have childhood memories of plucking one of these and with a big huff lending some aid to their germination process all over your yard. Their upward loft on a summer breeze and my own breath always felt a little magical. What I have since learned is that the design of these seeds is something of an aerodynamic miracle. Each of those filaments is covered with ultrathin bristles that help the seed generate a vortex ring out of the air blowing through, which keeps it aloft long enough to travel sometimes miles away from its origin point. Over thousands and thousands of years, this “weed” has steadily perfected its method for perpetuating itself, building on previous successes but also trying out new incremental designs. It “knows” what it does well, but the experiments to try something better never stops. Something worth thinking about.
Upi’s “Oh, WOW” moment
On Wednesday of this week, we got the results of this year’s match for our fellowship programs. Congratulations to our program leaders on crossing this milestone! As you sort through the results, I hope you are focusing as much on those elements that went well as much as those areas in which you plan to make adjustments. Build on what works, shed what is not serving you. And get ready for the arrival of a new set of F1s who are eager to learn what makes Iowa such a wonderful place to train and hopefully set down deep roots. Congratulations as well to our residency graduates who have matched into subspecialty training programs. I am truly stunned by the number of trainees who have chosen to remain at Iowa. Of those 14 residents who entered this year’s match—11 graduating residents, two Chief Residents, and one 2022 grad—eight of them will continue their training as Hawkeyes. Incredible!
Finally
Speaking of fellows, I hope you will take the time to read about the initiative taken by cardiology fellow Dr. Colten Stewart to improve the way guideline-directed medical therapy can be delivered. Along with faculty mentor Dr. Linda Cadaret, the two have launched a tech-driven solution tailored to the individual patient with particular benefit for people living in more remote areas, an important factor we should all weigh in new clinical initiatives. Another just-published story that I hope you take the time to read is this one about Kim Sprenger and her bike ride along the Continental Divide earlier this summer. Fifty days, 2,800 miles, and some breathtaking photography too. Well done!