What an honor it is to write this week’s message to you. On Tuesday next week, the Department of Internal Medicine will return to a tradition we began 15 years ago, Employee Appreciation Day. In its first years, we designed and printed T-shirts for everyone, and I enjoy seeing those appear in labs or around […]
Social determinants of health, burnout and self-care
If you attended or watched last week’s Grand Rounds given by Dr. Robert Wallace from the College of Public Health, you would have learned that we had been losing ground in the United States when it comes to life expectancy even before COVID-19 appeared. The reason for this comes back again and again to social […]
Momentum propels the new academic year
And then, in a rush, it’s July already. Welcome to the last half of calendar 2021, the new fiscal year, and a new academic year. Yesterday was our interns’ first day on the job as freshly minted doctors. I am already hearing reports from faculty on just how impressed they are with our newest members. […]
Streit named Interim Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases
I am pleased to announce that Judy Streit, MD, clinical professor of internal medicine, has accepted the role of Interim Director for the Division of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Streit takes the role as Daniel Diekema, MD, MS, is stepping down after eleven years and returning to the faculty. Effective June 28, Dr. Streit will direct the division while […]
Juneteenth and our commitment to equity and inclusion
Tomorrow is Juneteenth. Earlier this week, both houses of Congress voted by wide bipartisan margins to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Yesterday, President Biden signed this into law. This decision recognizes that to build a better tomorrow it is important to acknowledge the stains of the past and to use the lessons of history to […]
Celebrating the future and reflecting on the past
At the beginning of the year I mentioned that I would be watching numbers in The Loop, and not only has our Fully Vaccinated Employees number grown well past an amazing 15,200, but the number of inpatients with COVID-19 has been hovering in the single digits and even briefly turning zero for most of the […]
Leaders: Young, old and in-between
In reflecting on our journey during this last pandemic year, I have been gratified to see so many of our colleagues step into or expand their leadership roles, working extra hours, lending your expertise and voice to public messaging, or working behind the scenes to ensure a safe environment for staff and patients. Leadership within University […]
Our Medicine family and our intergenerational impact
This has been a challenging week for us. As we processed the news of the sudden and unexpected loss of one of our own, I have been heartened by and reminded of the supportive community we are privileged to be a part of. As we mourn the loss of Dr. Dale Bieber, social media comments […]
Dale Bieber, MD, MS 1947-2021
It is with a heavy heart that I share with you news of the untimely passing of Dale Bieber, MD, MS. Our hearts go out to Carla, his family, and his close friends. We mourn with them in this sudden and tragic loss. A clinical professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Dale had […]
Influencers
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed most of us hard into a virtual environment and in this landscape our department and many of our faculty have become or continue to be “Influencers.” It would have been hard to imagine someone listing “improve video conferencing skills” as one of their goals at the beginning of 2020, but […]