Dear colleague: 

Senior Associate Dean for Education Bob Anderson, MD, told the School of Medicine Executive Committee last Tuesday that it is time to review the school’s medical education curriculum. While the existing curriculum is serving students well, it was put in place in 2005 and needs a thorough reconsideration in light of what other medical schools are doing to recruit the best students. Bob pointed to educational mission statements by medical schools at UCSF, Harvard, Michigan, Penn and Vanderbilt as examples that our leadership should review as we begin our evaluation. Those schools notably put emphasis on leadership, technology and/or diversity as features of the students they aim to attract and train.  Bob said this curriculum review should be a “blue sky exercise” that encourages our faculty and students to think big about the next phase of growth in the school’s educational programming. He said the Office of Medical Education has begun the planning process. Departments, faculty and students will be expected to participate as the process moves ahead. Anyone with comments and suggestions should contact Eva Aagaard, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for educational strategy, who is leading a planning group to outline steps to develop a new curriculum. 

Jay Lemery, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine, is featured in a JAMA article, “Medical Community Gathers Steam to Tackle Climate’s Health Effects,” published March 22. Jay is co-author of the textbook “Global Climate Change and Human Health,” published in 2015, and he suggests ways to add climate change issues to the curriculum for medical students. Particularly notable is a new physician fellowship that is funded through the school’s Department of Emergency Medicine and the Living Closer Foundation, a nonprofit organization in the Denver area. The fellowship, which begins in July, will allow a clinician to spend time at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Meteorological Society to become fluent in climate and health science policy. 

The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs conducted its site visit of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus on March 16-17. Richard Traystman, PhD, vice chancellor for research, reported that the site visitors were highly complimentary of the human research protection program on campus and, further, noted that they could not find one standard that was not met. Those site visitors will write a report and it appears likely that the program will be accredited for another five years. The campus will receive the written report within a couple of weeks. Congratulations and thank you to Dick, Alison Lakin, PhD, associate vice chancellor of regulatory compliance, John Heldens, director of the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board, and everyone else involved in this successful visit. 

Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD, chair of pediatrics, has been elected to the council of the American Pediatric Society (APS), whose mission is to engage pediatric leaders to shape a secure future for academic pediatrics. Founded in 1888, APS is the oldest pediatric society in North America, with more than 1,800 members. APS advocates for academic pediatrics and pediatric research; recognizes and honors high achievement; promotes leadership and diversity in academic pediatrics; and is a sponsoring partner of the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, which is the largest gathering of academic pediatricians and pediatric researchers in the world. 

Student members of the School’s chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society recently elected six junior members for membership: Kimberly Cabral, Greg Fliney, Derek Nhan, Blake Snyder, Ruth Wang, and Thomas Wong. Congratulations to them and to faculty and house staff members also elected to the society at the meeting. Questions about the AOA can be addressed to the AOA Councilor, James M. Beck, MD, professor of medicine, james.beck@ucdenver.edu. 

The spring faculty gathering for the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has been rescheduled. The event will now occur at 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, at the Fulginiti Pavilion. No RSVP is required, but organizers ask those attending bring a faculty or hospital ID. Drinks and light appetizers will be served. 

Have a good week, 

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