“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
Most people recognize this famous line from the Charles Dickens’ book, “A Tale of Two Cities.”
It’s also a pretty good summation of what is going on with the health care environment right now.
In my annual State of the College of Medicine address last week, I tried to provide an objective view of the College of Medicine – the good and the not so good.
View the State of the College of Medicine address »
Although there are certainly some challenges, our college remains vibrant and forward looking.
There are many positives. Last month, we had a very successful Match Day. Despite a growing deficit of residency slots to accommodate the needs of graduating medical students, 122 out of 125 students matched in the initial phase of the match, with all subsequently finding positions. This reflects the quality of our students as defined by residency programs across the nation.
Other successes in the past year include:
- UNMC’s research funding continues to grow despite the increased difficulty in procuring research funding from the National Institutes of Health. This is due in large part to researchers turning to less traditional sources of funding such as the Department of Defense, a strategy that will need to continue.
- To remain relevant in the future, academic health science centers must evolve. Our efforts to create an integrated clinical enterprise are exactly what needs to be done. In many regards we are ahead of the curve.
- Medical school education is changing with flipped classrooms and online courses preferred by students rather than the traditional lecture. We are on the fast track to implement these changes and better meet the preferred learning styles of our students.
- Our campus continues to grow. The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is starting to take shape, and we opened the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute in the past year. We will soon break ground on a new ambulatory surgical and clinical center. We are excited with our partnership with Madonna Rehabilitation.
- Our hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, was recently designated as one of the “100 Great Hospitals in America” by Becker’s Hospital Review.
- The Nebraska Medical Center also is part of a newly created, nine-member Regional Provider Network made up of some of the top hospitals around the state. This network is designed to improve patient outcomes, while producing cost efficiencies. In the end, it will allow us better deliver value to the populations we serve.
I will close by congratulating our fourth-year students on their upcoming graduation in a few weeks. We wish them success in the next phase of their careers.