Happy New Year! Even though we are only a couple weeks into 2026, it feels like we are already back up to full speed. I hope you got a chance to unwind, decompress, and recharge at some point over the last month. I am glad to see that the holiday season is not completely ebbing away just yet. I know that some of our divisions and our residency program are all planning some winter gatherings to keep a focus on community building and on staying warm. I have said it before and I will keep saying it, just a few hours outside work meeting your co-workers’ loved ones or talking about travel plans and hobbies over some tasty desserts makes the hard work we do together a little lighter, a little more pleasant. Who you work with is everything, and I hope you are taking the time to learn more about each other and letting yourself be known too. Thank you to those faculty members who joined us last week at Wilson’s Cider House for a wonderful evening.

Showing up is important, and I want to issue a challenge to each of us to find new ways of stepping outside of your normal routine this year. Maybe it’s attending a faculty recruit talk, maybe it’s a colleague’s research presentation, maybe it’s coming to Grand Rounds in person. When you show up, you send a message about what matters to you, what deserves your attention, not just to the others in attendance, but to yourself. There are so many ways you can do it and will need to this year. Just yesterday you were asked to show up to our annual review held by UI Health Care leadership. My thanks to those of you who attended and asked questions. My thanks also to Dean Denise Jamieson, CEO Brad Haws, Executive Dean Pat Winokur, and our new Chief Physician Executive Bevan Yueh for spending the hour with our department. I hope everyone found the discussion productive and that these conversations will continue.

This first half of the year will be heavy on assessment. In addition to individual performance reviews, which need to be completed by the end of February, the department is also engaged in a larger self-study, commissioned by the college every few years. My thanks to everyone who is engaged in the work of assembling this important baseline-setting document. After that, in May, the department will also participate in an external review, which I believe is a valuable means of gauging where we are successful and where are our opportunities for growth. Seeing ourselves from the outsider’s point of view is illuminating. Please keep an eye out for requests for participation in some open dialogs and a questionnaire, which all faculty will receive.

Upi’s “Oh, WOW” moment
Last month, outgoing MICU director Dr. Kevin Doerschug did some reflecting on his twenty years in the role. I loved reading this Q&A, which contains some beautiful insights both on how to build and maintain a successful team (“help people do what they’re already good at”) as well as how to maintain perspective in a high-stress environment. “What helped me most,” he says at one point, “was listening.” His advice to stay out of a bubble is right in line with what I was saying above. When we seek out new voices, we open ourselves up to new ways of thinking and we can build humility, as Dr. Doerschug says. It’s how we grow. Thank you for sharing all these thoughts with us, Kevin, and for your many amazing years of service in one of our hospital’s most challenging units.

Photo for reflection

I’ve shared this photo before, but I always seem to find something new in it. I remember what a challenge it was to get to this location in time to catch the sun peeking above the horizon. Behind me were dozens and dozens of fellow early-bird pilgrims chasing this sunrise over Haleakala Crater. But I also remember the feeling, and can still feel it now, of possibility. Being able to see so far, all the way to the sun across an ocean of clouds. We have to see where we want to go, to burn that location onto our maps, so that we don’t lose our way in dealing with the close-up details. It takes effort to get a different perspective, to open yourself up to new and beautiful sights but they are always worth it.