I am pleased to announce that Manish Suneja, MD, has accepted the role of Vice Chair for Education within the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Suneja is and will remain the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, a program which he has led since 2014. Under his direction the program has achieved national prominence, which has led to the distinction of being one of only a handful of internal medicine training programs that are nationally ranked by U. S. News & World Report. In his 17 years at the University of Iowa, Dr. Suneja has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the medical education of graduate and undergraduate trainees, residents and fellows. His success as an educator has been achieved not only in developing programs but also on his impact on an individual basis. Dr. Suneja takes time to meet with and mentor many students week after week, while guiding the administration of countless educational programs and initiatives that have broad institutional reach and impact. He is the recipient of multiple teaching awards from medical students and won a 2013-14 Collegiate Teaching Award. In 2018 he received the President & Provost Award for Teaching Excellence, the University of Iowa’s highest honor given to an educator. He serves as an editor of the popular textbook DeGowin’s Diagnostic Examination and regularly publishes his work in peer-reviewed journals including reports on designing innovative curricula and measurement tools.
Dr. Suneja replaces Dr. Joseph Szot, who will become Associate Dean for Continuing and Integrated Education, a new role within the Carver College of Medicine. I am grateful to Dr. Szot for his many years of service to the department and count among his many successes the increase in satisfaction scores given by medical students rating their experience in their medicine clerkships and the increase in graduates entering internal medicine residencies here and elsewhere. I am certain he will bring the same focus on results to his new role that he brought to his role within the department.