Cho, Carvour named to new vice chair roles

The following announcement was sent earlier today from Upinder Singh, MD, Chair & DEO of the Department of Internal Medicine.

It is my great pleasure to announce that Josalyn Cho, MD, has accepted the role of Vice Chair for Professional Development, and Martha Carvour, MD, PhD, has accepted the role of Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, effective July 1. I want to thank everyone who took the time to apply as well as the interview committee for their careful consideration of each candidate. That so many volunteered to step into these new leadership roles is indicative of the kind of spirit that makes our department strong.

I believe that Drs. Cho and Carvour each have the right experience, talent, and vision to define these positions and achieve the goals set out in each role’s portfolio. You may recall that our hope for the Vice Chair for Professional Development is to formalize the mentoring process to support faculty throughout their careers at Iowa. By focusing on pathways for junior and even mid-career faculty to launch and grow their careers in whichever areas of emphasis important to them, we can better ensure their individual success and the long-term stability of our department’s faculty roster. In a similar fashion, the Vice Chair for Quality and Safety will closely monitor and guide department and individual clinical performance to meet and exceed goals set by institutional leadership. We must also see these metrics as opportunities to drive increased academic productivity in clinical, operational, and translational research.

Dr. Cho said that her long-term goal as our new Vice Chair for Professional Development is to “build a culture of continuous professional growth that fosters excellence” in all our missions. She has an established track record in faculty development, designing training to improve feedback and adapt curricula for new learners, and she has organized seminars on many aspects of faculty life including grant development, self-advocacy, and better understanding the promotions process. In her role as Director of the Iowa Inflammation Program, she has demonstrated her commitment to mentorship and expanded an already-supportive community.

As important as faculty retention and growth, it is equally important that our patient population gets the best care possible and that we leave no stone unturned when it comes to efficiency and excellence. Dr. Carvour understands how to analyze quantitative data in search of health systems improvements as well as how to engage with multidisciplinary teams across departments and even colleges in order to achieve durable change. She has a decade of peer-reviewed published research in health care systems analysis, particularly as it relates to disparities, including the impact of access inequities on our rural populations. Dr. Carvour also knows that analysis is only the first step to change. “People need to know that they matter,” she said, and “that their experience will be considered” during any systems changes being proposed.

The plans outlined by both Dr. Cho and Dr. Carvour are directly in line with the path that the Department of Internal Medicine is already on. By placing our people and their input at the center of their visions, each of them will be successful in achieving our shared missions. Please join me in congratulating them both on their new positions.