Dear colleague: 

On Wednesday, I gave my 22nd and last State of the School address, “Don’t Think It Hasn’t Been Fun,” with a full summary of our great progress during the past year and some reflections on the last 24 years. I even answered the occasional question I get about how I could have done this for so long.  The secret: you can find the top ten reasons on the slides we’ve posted on our website. There is also an article summarizing the address and Facts & Figures 2014, which is our annual report for the School of Medicine. 

We will gather to celebrate our school on Nov. 15 at the Bow Tie Ball and it seems like many of you are as excited as I am about the gala. We are just about sold out of tickets to the event with about two weeks to go. If you are interested in getting on a wait list, please send an email to SOM.BowTieBall@ucdenver.edu. 

Congratulations to Andrea Steck, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, who received the American Diabetes Association Thomas R. Lee Award for her ADA-funded research project, “Determinants of rate of progression to type 1 diabetes.”  The Thomas R. Lee Award is given to the career development award applicant who receives the best reviewer score on his or her application.  

Many thanks to Kirsten Broadfoot, PhD, associate professor of family medicine, for serving as associate director for communications in the school’s Foundations of Doctoring Curriculum (FDC).  From 2012-2014, she led the implementation of the Calgary-Cambridge Model for communication skills training within FDC and developed a robust faculty development structure for communication coaching.  Kristen is now the communication skills curriculum and development specialist for the Center for Advancing Professional Excellence and director of communication skills for the Academy of Medical Educators.  

Congratulations to Deb Seymour, PsyD, associate professor of family medicine, who is our new Foundations of Doctoring Curriculum (FDC) associate director for communications. Deb brings 17 years of familiarity with the FDC communication curriculum as well as 22 years of experience in communication skills training for residents and practicing physicians. We are excited for her leadership in this role and for the ongoing development of the program. For more information about communication coaching opportunities, please contact deb.seymour@ucdenver.edu. 

Carol Okada, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, has been named director of service of inpatient pediatrics at Denver Health. John Ogle, MD, who currently holds the position, will retire in December. Carol has held administrative roles in the school’s pediatric residency program and currently practices at Children’s Hospital Colorado. 

The Health Sciences Library is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of physician and anatomist Andreas Vesalius on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from noon to 2 p.m. in the Library’s Reading Room. Gabriel Finkelstein, PhD, associate professor of history at CU Denver, will give a lecture. This event is co-sponsored by the CU Anschutz Medical Campus Retired Faculty Association and the Arts and Humanities in Healthcare Program of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities. At the event, the library will be displaying the 1543 and 1555 editions of Vesalius’ landmark De Humani Corporis Fabrica and the translation, The Fabric of the Human Body. 

I received a friendly invitation last week from Mike Glode, MD, professor of medicine, to grow a mustache during the month of November to raise awareness for men’s health issues like prostate cancer. It’s for a cause called “Movember.” While I will root for the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s team, I must decline for the second year in a row the invitation to grow a mustache myself.  If you want to show support for Mike and the rest of the Cancer Center team, you can sign up at the Movember website. 

Have a good week,

Richard D. Krugman, MD
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine

"What’s Going On Here" is an email news bulletin from Richard Krugman, MD, Dean of the CU School of Medicine, that is distributed to inform University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty members about issues pertaining to the School’s mission of education, research, clinical care and community service. See the UCH-Insider →

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