Our Infectious Disease division is in demand both locally and nationally with their important work around the COVID-19 infection. We know this has further augmented their workload and I know we are all grateful for their great work and the way in which they are representing UNMC to the rest of the world. A big thank you to all of them and to the host of others from other divisions and departments who are working with them. Our understanding of this infection and how we will need to adapt to deal with it changes daily. If the number of patients grows in our community, we will need to be flexible for process changes that will allow those patients to be seen in the best setting possible while providing essential care to our other patients. We can anticipate that routines may need to change for a period of time, and I thank you in advance for being flexible.
It was also a big day for the Infectious Disease division last week for other reasons. It was wonderful that Dr. Sue Swindells received the highest UNMC research recognition, the Scientist Laureate award, on March 3rd. Her work with TB and HIV has had a global impact and is so impressive. Sue is only the second Internal Medicine faculty to receive this award. The previous winner from the department was Dr. Stephen Rennard. Three other faculty were recognized at the recent ceremony as well- Dr. Chatzizisis (Cardiovascular Medicine), Dr. Ouellette (GI/Hepatology) and Dr. Ganti (Oncology). Congratulations to all of them!
This newsletter has the lists of the top teachers for residents and students as well as top teachers in each of our fellowship programs. I know how coveted this recognition is to our faculty in general and extend congratulations to each of you who made the list. When I look at teaching evaluations from multiple levels, I see many great comments from trainees and I am grateful for all the good teaching (whether you are on this list or not).
Another recent recognition for some of our residents and faculty in the department was the induction of new members into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Our department had two of the six total residents selected from across the campus (Drs. Christensen and Sexauer) and three of the four faculty (Drs. Anderson, Bishop, and Zabih). Plus, our IM/geriatrics resident Dr. Kovar was selected to give an address and did a stellar job. If you don’t know the history of this society, you can check out their website https://www.gold-foundation.org/programs/ghhs/. There are 160 chapters in medical schools and residency programs across the country.
The shared Nebraska Medicine/UNMC COM culture shaping tool for the month of March is utilizing the "mood elevator" as we go through our day. This little tool is helpful for helping us pause for a second to recognize what our frame of mind is before we go into a meeting or a patient room or start teaching a class. If my frame of mind is in the bottom half of the elevator (see the link), then the outcome of my interactions maybe less than desired. If I can reset my thinking to at least "curious, interested", the outcome can be quite different. If you don’t have one of these cards and want one, let me know.
We have now changed to daylight light savings time and spring is getting closer! Many exciting things lie ahead (like Match Day). While we may face new challenges in the next several weeks related to COVID-19, I have every confidence in our ability to work together and tackle whatever comes our way! Let’s help take care of one another as well our patients.
Internal Medicine Message From the Chair
