As much as they are leaders in the residency program, the Chief Residents’ acumen as clinicians and educators is rarely on full display to the entire institution and beyond. To rectify this, every year they are invited to deliver a Grand Rounds in Internal Medicine close to the end of their term in office. (View previous years’ presentations here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021.)
Before they could begin, Manish Suneja, MD, Residency Program Director and Vice Chair of Education, presented the first results of the awards voted on by the residents themselves. (We will publish the full slate of winners after this evening’s residency graduation event.) The Chiefs were also recognized individually with a small token of the department’s appreciation. In the interest of time, Chair and DEO Upi Singh, MD, delivered her gift to the Chiefs privately before their presentation.
Before Suneja presented them with the traditional clock, a reminder of the importance of being on time, before their presentations, Suneja said:
Over the past year, they’ve served as the driving force behind countless improvements and innovations, implementing changes that have enhanced patient safety, enriched our educational experience and elevated the overall quality of the program. Their vision, adaptability, and resilience in the face of challenges have propelled us forward in a very meaningful way. Yet their impact goes far beyond administrative leadership. Each of them has demonstrated extraordinary compassion, empathy, and professionalism in every patient interaction. Setting an example for all of us as they transition to the next chapter of their careers, we want to express a deepest gratitude for their exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication in the field of internal medicine and many lives they have touched. So Dr. Singh and I also want to make a moment to personally thank each of them for their incredible work and to congratulate them on a truly outstanding year.
And then it was time for the Chiefs’ presentations. Rachel Anderson, MD, presented a case that allowed her to do a deep dive on hyponatremia. Marie Finkbeiner, MD, outlined when and why to use steroids in the setting of septic shock. Luke Morrey, MD, explained how to manage right ventricular failure due to hypoxic lung disease, and Lauren Zabel, MD, discussed a quality improvement project involving depresecribing inappropriate medications for veterans in primary care. Watch a recording of their presentations here.
In the new academic year, here is where these former Chiefs will be found: Anderson will be a pulmonary and critical care fellow at the University of Kansas; Finkbeiner will be a cardiology fellow here; Morrey will be a pulmonary and critical care fellow here; and Zabel will be a hospice and palliative medicine fellow at the University of Wisconsin.
Our congratulations to these Chiefs! We will miss them and their enthusiasm!
