Recruiting for Long-Term Success

January 27, 2015 – Resident interviews were recently completed. Dr. Manish Suneja reports that faculty members from each division participated in 273 interviews. Thank you for helping provide these candidates a better understanding of who we are as a Department. We are confident that this next incoming class of residents will be ready to tackle the rigors of internal medicine training while contributing to our Department’s goals to excel in clinical care, training, and innovation.

As we strive to recruit compelling trainees as residents and fellows we should also examine each candidate’s potential as a junior faculty member. An important mechanism for sustaining the vibrancy of our department is to focus on recruiting and retaining our best and brightest. The Department is committed to supporting the recruitment of these individuals to our faculty. This allows us an even greater return on the investment we make on the training we provide to the next generation of physician leaders.

It is also important to infuse our Department with outside talent. In the coming weeks I will share more details on plans to identify and recruit outstanding faculty to our Department. I am also pleased to announce that we have formally launched the search for a new director of the Division of Nephrology, and I am grateful to Dr. Peter Snyder for agreeing to chair the search committee. Please send Peter names of outstanding academic nephrologists who could lead our Nephrology Division.

I was pleased last week to see Dr. Barry London, Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, recognized for the extraordinary work he and the Heart and Vascular Center are doing in conjunction with the UI Cardiovascular Genetics Center. If you haven’t yet, I recommend you read the story of how genetic testing and counseling have helped one extended Iowa family manage their predisposition for a developmental cardiac abnormality. On a related note, I would encourage you to attend Grand Rounds on February 25, when Dr. Colleen Campbell of the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics will present on the role of genetic testing and counseling in contemporary internal medicine.

Finally, we regularly talk about the three pillars of our mission—education, patient care, and research—and in future posts I will highlight advances in research. However, it is important to emphasize the importance of philanthropy in supporting these missions. Many patients and their families want to express their gratitude for our efforts or to feel like they are a part of the same solution we all seek. We should begin to cultivate a sense for when someone wants to aid us in our mission. If you are uncertain in your ability to identify or to talk with potential donors, please don’t hesitate to contact Alli Ingman or Aaron Oleson from the UI Foundation. They are more than happy to help you feel more confident in those situations. In fact, a Medical Philanthropy Workshop is taking place on Saturday, 2/13, from 8 to noon in the East Room. I encourage faculty to attend and gain proficiency in this skill critical to our mission. To reserve a seat at this workshop, please contact Syd Harned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *