Dear colleague: 

Last Friday, June 15, the Office of Professional Excellence sent an email to all School of Medicine faculty asking for participation in a faculty climate survey. The survey is intended to collect information from faculty to evaluate the existing work environment. All responses to the survey are anonymous and it should only take between five minutes and 15 minutes to complete. I urge everyone who receives the survey to complete it. If you are a faculty member and you didn’t see the message in your email, please check your junk and clutter folders. The message was sent from the Office of Faculty Affairs on behalf of the Office of Professional Excellence. We depend on thorough and candid responses to make this a better place to work, learn, and care for our patients. Please take the time to complete the survey. If you have any questions regarding the survey or did not receive the link, please contact Jeff Druck, MD, or Abigail Lara, MD, at Jeffrey.Druck@ucdenver.eduor Abigail.Lara@ucdenver.edu. 

The School of Medicine Faculty Senate is seeking nominations for the Faculty Professionalism Award to recognize a full time faculty member who has served as a role model representing the scope of professionalism defined in the School’s rules: “civil and courteous behavior; respect for teachers, students, supporting staff and colleagues; service to the community; dedication to lifelong learning; and, for clinicians, empathy, altruism, compassion and other attitudes and behaviors which represent the core traditions of the profession of medicine.” Nominations may be submitted by any student, resident, faculty or other member of the School and University. Nomination forms are available on the Faculty Professionalism Award website. Nominations are due at 5 p.m., Friday, June 29, and should be submitted to Cheryl Welch, director of faculty affairs, at Cheryl.Welch@ucdenver.edu. 

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner hosted a delegation of community leaders last week at the Colorado Capital Conference in Washington, D.C. Each year, this conference gives a group of about 100 Colorado residents a chance to meet and hear from national leaders about public policy. This year, we heard from U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), and from former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler, who discussed the importance of protecting personal data. Additional speakers included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif). The conference is organized by CU, Colorado Mesa University, and Colorado State University. 

Jennifer Adams, MD, associate professor of medicine, has accepted the role of interim assistant dean for the clinical core, succeeding Kristina Tocce, MD, who recently announced that she is joining Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains as of vice president and medical director. Jen is the founding director of the Denver Health Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship, an exemplar of curricular innovation in the clinical core, fostering longitudinal relationships between our students, their faculty and their patients. Jen has been awarded the 2018 Role Model in Primary Care Award and the 2015 Academy of Medical Educators’ Award for Excellence in Curriculum Development and Educational Innovation. Nationally, she received the 2017 AMA Dr. Debasish Mridha Spirit of Medicine Award for her altruism, compassion, integrity and personal sacrifice while providing quality health care in an impoverished community.  

The early registration deadline for the National Conference on Women’s Health and Sex Differences Research is Saturday, June 30. The conference, presented by the School of Medicine’s Center for Women’s Health Research, will be held September 26-28 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Denver. Sessions will include fetal origins of adult disease; risk factors for heart disease; sex as a biological variable; skeletal health and metabolism; the effects of sleep and circadian physiology on cardiometabolic health; sex differences in diabetes; and exercise and cardiometabolism. Details about the conference and a link to register are posted on the Center’s website. 

Portraits painted by Arturo Garcia that are included in the Department of Surgery’s 2017 Surgical Care Reportare on display in the art gallery in the Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities. Arturo is a former patient himself. In 2012, he was struck by abdominal pain that was diagnosed as a tumor near his pancreas. He underwent surgery at University of Colorado Hospital and overcame an infection. While healing, Arturo decided to focus on painting. He now owns an art gallery in Denver. For the Department of Surgery’s report, Arturo painted portraits of patients who received care from CU faculty surgeons. A reception with the artist, surgeons and patients will be 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, June 22. Admission is free and all are invited. 

Have a good week, 

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