When health care comes home

A couple weeks ago my son needed a surgical procedure, which was performed here at UI Health Care. I asked him if it would be OK if I wrote about this and he generously agreed. I’ll give you the conclusion first; the procedure itself went extremely well and, other than a couple minor bumps, has had a very smooth recovery, both immediately after surgery and is doing great now. I am deeply grateful for the professionalism, the compassion for him, and the consideration that was shown to us by everyone throughout. Regardless of our role here, each of us knows a few things better than most of the public when it comes to health care in general. First, everyone needs access to be as frictionless as possible; and second, that need is almost always disruptive to our everyday lives. Scheduled or not, even a routine screening brings some anxiety, and that worry only climbs to match any increase in complexity and risk.

When we are the ones delivering that care, it can be easy to let each of those facts recede a bit in our minds while we busy ourselves with the work of scheduling, room prepping, interacting, charting, teaching, and forecasting. So, when my son’s surgery brought me to the patient side of the interaction, I was reminded of the patients’ challenges and, honestly, encouraged that UI Health Care’s members make addressing those challenges such a priority. We get a lot right. I saw many good handoffs, which tells me that our systems to ensure effective communication between teams hold strong. It is a sign of respect, both for the patient as well as your colleagues.

I also think we undervalue the impact of little things. Things like an extra ice pack or a warm blanket may have minimal cost or impact on physical repair, but they can still heal, still comfort. I loved the text updates, letting me know how the procedure was progressing, when my son was being moved, what the next steps were. Those touchpoints tell family members they are an important part of all this. We were also regularly surveyed for how things were going, were needs being met, was there anything that could help us feel more comfortable. These offers felt genuine, not just boxes to check, even if they were originally entered in a flow-chart somewhere. My son wrote down the names of the two nurses in the post-op area that he interacted with and asked me to specifically thank their team leads. I was happy to take the good news to Kim Hunter, our Chief Nursing Officer, and grateful that my son thought of thanking those involved. A lesson I learned from him–thank people for doing a good job–even if it’s a part of their “job.” We all need validation and support, and I will endeavor to do this more frequently in my daily interactions with all around me.

Did everything go perfectly? As I said, there were some bumps, some post-discharge management hiccups and communication loops that could have been closed. But thanks to good colleagues, we got what he needed. The bumps were less than 5% of our entire experience, but during that time they can feel monumental. I am grateful for all who treated my “mom anxiety” with kid gloves 🙂.  My biggest lesson in all this is that if we can treat our patients and their family members with the same care that we would want for our own, we are going to succeed way more than we will miss the mark. My son is well on his way to healing, he got his care, and I got a few extra weeks of time with him in Iowa City. For all those who are empty nesters, you know how precious this gift of time truly is.

Photo for reflection

Earlier this week I was at the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) convention in Seattle. This is always a great time to connect with our peers from other AMCs and to compare notes on how they respond to the same questions we are working on at Iowa. We have seen this response in reports from our faculty and trainees who have also traveled to ACP and to SHM this spring. I think conferences like these are also a great chance to connect with our colleagues from Iowa too. What a treat it has been to spend some time with the 2026-27 Chief Residents, pictured here. They are as lively and sharp as the quartet I’ve loved working with this past year. I’m excited what impact our new fifth Chief Resident for Ambulatory Care will have not just on resident education but on the post-residency career path choices as a result of their experience.

Upi’s “Oh, WOW” moment
One of the gratifying things about mentoring, especially when it comes to research, is watching junior faculty hit some milestones that confirm their successful trajectory. Just this week, the UI’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center announced a round of institutional research grants sponsored by the American Cancer Society. One of those pilot IRGs went to Dr. Hira Shaikh in HOBMT. This work could lead to a potential multicenter trial confirming a blood-based biomarker mass spectrometry test as a potential and reliable diagnostic measure for myeloma, preventing the need for invasive and painful bone marrow biopsies. Drs. Manasa Nayak and Gagan Flora, both in Dr. Anil Chauhan’s lab, have each received prestigious early career awards from the American Society of Hematology. Each of them is coming at the problem of thrombosis from novel directions, both of which could dramatically expand our understanding of this underlying problem in stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.