Welcome back to a new academic year!
This month’s DFM Monitor is packed with information about new faces and those who are moving on, exciting new research, and more. I am reminded how our most important resource is the fantastic group of people who make up the DFM!
We are welcoming several new faculty members — Dr. Mark Braidwood, Dr. Sean Haffey, Dr. Jiwei (Josh) Li, and Dr. Jennifer Tranmer. I have had the opportunity to meet with all of them as they get oriented and am excited about what they each will bring to our department.
Promotion is an important recognition of faculty members’ overall contributions as they progress through their career. Both Dr. Colleen Grady and Dr. Kelly Howse received promotions to associate professor this year in recognition of their contributions to research and education respectively. I would encourage all faculty, including those like Dr. Grady who are not in traditional GFT faculty appointments, to consider when this is right for you. We have a great team across all of our sites and want to celebrate your successes and contributions.
I also recognize that it has been a tough couple of years for many of you. To that end, I am working with Dr. Alenia Kysela in her role as deputy head to ensure we have a robust program to support faculty, staff, and resident wellness. We had our first opportunity to meet as a group in a long time at the recent barbecue event organized by the Wellness at Work committee. Despite the rain it was a real pleasure to see smiling faces again!
This fall and winter we will be working on building a supportive workplace culture by offering the Crucial Conversations course to faculty and staff. I encourage you all to participate, and look forward to joining the group that meets in early January myself.
Tonight, I am looking forward to meeting faculty, staff, and residents at our QBOL site for the celebration of their 10th anniversary! This is a real landmark, and the active discussions about growing the program there, the expansion of integrated clerkships, and the development of the new and innovative partnership to expand access to our MD program there are all outshoots of this highly successful program.
Thanks for all you do every day. Remember — WE are family medicine, and it is your efforts that make us such a great department.
Dr. Michael Green