Dear colleague: 

We celebrated Match Day 2022 last Friday in the Marcy and Bruce Benson Atrium of the Anschutz Health Sciences Building with a ceremony to commemorate a day that was years in the making. More than 200 people gathered in the atrium, while many more joined by livestream, for the moment when medical students in the Class of 2022 found out where they were heading for residency. Our graduating medical students matched to residency programs coast-to-coast and many points between:  Stanford and University of California, San Francisco, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, University of Michigan Hospital, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. A total of 53 of our fourth-year medical students are staying in Colorado. Thirty-one of our medical students matched to residencies with CU School of Medicine programs, six matched with Denver Health, and 10 will be at programs at St. Joseph Health. Twenty-seven of our seniors matched to residency programs in California. 

Our fourth-year medical students have been tested in ways that their predecessor classes have not. We are proud of their accomplishments, and we look forward to their contributions to the profession. Shanta Zimmer, MD, senior associate dean for education, describes it well: “I am particularly proud of this Class of 2022, who endured so many COVID-related changes to their curriculum. Beginning with endless cancellations and delays of their step 1 exam, followed by virtual clerkships, and then a return to the clinical environment amidst uncertainty, fear, and led by a committed but overwhelmed faculty, they rolled with dozens of changes as we navigated our new normal in clinical education. I admire their courage, patience, flexibility, and most of all their resilience. This class will forever be a ‘COVID class’ and their future patients will benefit from the lessons learned during this difficult time. They are also the class of social justice, activism, volunteerism, and change. We are fortunate to have known them and their future program directors are lucky to have them, albeit not as lucky as their future patients and communities.”  

Our Match Day webpage includes features about Stephanie Nwagwu, who is going to the obstetrics-genecology residency program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Troy Kincaid, who was accepted into the med-peds program here at the CU School of Medicine. Also, William Mundo, who matched with the Denver Health emergency medicine program, is one of eight first-generation medical students featured in an article posted on the webpage of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 

Thanks to the School of Medicine Office of Student Life and the 2022 Match Day Planning Committee for coordinating the events, to the Chancellor’s office and events team for allowing us to host the event in the Anschutz Health Sciences Building, and to the school’s communications team for covering the events. Check out the postings on the School of Medicine’s Twitter feed and in the school’s newsroom. 

At last week’s meeting of the School of Medicine Executive Committee, Angie Ribera, PhD, chair of physiology and biophysics and associate dean of research education, presented a progress report on the transition of the biomedical PhD programs from the Graduate School to the School of Medicine. This move provides a stable home for programs that are critical to the research and educational missions of the School of Medicine and will allow for the development of a sustainable financial model with budgetary transparency and program accountability. Moving these PhD programs to the School of Medicine is vital to our future because it allows us to move forward with confidence on key initiatives to increase the number and diversity of first-year graduate students, provide appropriate oversight for the programs, and establish consistent policies for student support, mentoring, and fiscal transparency. The work of making this transition has been a monumental task and Angie and the staff in the Office of Research Education deserve our gratitude for their efforts to strengthen our school and to provide quality training and education to our graduate students. 

The CU Board of Regents last week announced recipients of honorary degrees, distinguished service awards, and university medals to be bestowed at commencement ceremonies this spring. On the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, the awardees are

• Nancy Gary, advocate for improved mental health care for children and master’s graduate of the Child Health Associate program of our School of Medicine, will receive an honorary degree;
• Karen Zink, a graduate from the CU College of Nursing, will receive a distinguished service award for her lifetime of care to the residents of the Durango area;
• Bonnie Camp, MD ’65, pediatrician, graduate of the CU School of Medicine and generous benefactor, whose work on developmental standards were widely adopted by the profession, will receive a university medal; and
• William Weston, MD ’65, former chair and professor emeritus of dermatology, a respected master clinician who started a clinic for children with the rare genetic skin condition epiderolysis bullosa, will receive a university medal. 

The Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency is accepting applications for its Certificate Training Program in Health Quality Transformation. This professional development program combines classroom sessions, coaching, and mentoring of leadership teams that are responsible for improving performance of care delivery systems. Applications are due Wednesday, April 13, for the program, which runs from August 2022-June 2023. For details and to apply, check the website. Email questions to IHQSE@cuanschutz.edu. 

The CU Medical Alumni Association hosted a night at the ballet last Friday, with more than 115 alumni, students, residents, faculty, and staff for a reception and performance of the Wizard of Oz by Colorado Ballet. Taylor Triolo, MD ’13, assistant professor of pediatrics and president of the Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors, welcomed guests while medical student Caitlin Ritz thanked generous alumni supporters. Many thanks to all who attended and support our School of Medicine.

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine