Name: Laura Cudzilo, MD
Medical school attended: Creighton University School of Medicine
Location of your residency training: University of Minnesota
What residency/fellowship program at UNMC are you serving as program director for? OB/GYN
Number of trainees: 17
How long have you been the program director? Two years
What made you chose to become the program director?
I discovered my passion for educational leadership early in my career and have had the opportunity to hold various roles in our department that have given me a deeper understanding of medical education. Being the program director gives me the privilege of having a true front row seat to the growth and development of our trainees and the ability to make changes and improvements to the program to help them reach their goals.
What challenges do you foresee in graduate medical education in the future?
We are facing a national physician shortage in our specialty, particularly in rural areas. We will need to be creative in how we structure positions for additional trainees and continue to advocate for policies that preserve the physician-patient relationship to meet this essential need.
What are the strengths of your training program?
- Intelligent, capable, well-adjusted residents who truly enjoy their work and being together.
- Excellent surgical volume in open, vaginal, laparoscopic and robot-assisted cases.
- Exposure to both academic and community practice.
- Committed, experienced faculty at both UNMC and our affiliate site.
List some accomplishments that you are proud of:
- Being granted a formal complement increase for our program. Starting with the coming interview cycle, we will recruit for five residents per year instead of four.
- Establishing a department faculty and resident DEI Task Force, which has enabled us to be even more intentional about DEI educational programming.
- Supporting our residents in their initiation of a “Code Lavender” program, which activates support from fellow residents and faculty for those who have experienced a traumatic work event.
Tell us three things about you that others may not know:
- I am fluent in Spanish.
- I am an aspiring half-marathon runner.
- I play the piano and the clarinet. I don’t play as often or as well as I used to but still enjoy both as a creative outlet.