Changing of the Guard

I would like to share my thoughts on my time serving as Interim Chair, and reflect on changes that may be in store for us with the coming of Valerie Gilchrist, MD in January.

First, I want to thank everyone for the effort you have put forth over the last eighteen months on behalf of the Department. It has truly been an honor to serve as the Interim Chair of our Department. I have tried to acknowledge all of the great things that are happening on each of our statewide campuses and in our programs in:

• clinical care,
• education,
• research, and
• community service.

I feel we are fortunate to have faculty and staff committed to the discipline of Family Medicine, providing care to the citizens of Wisconsin and promoting our discipline within the academic medical center.

The biggest thing that has stood out for me during my role as Interim Chair, is the size and complexity of our Department. We are geographically dispersed, and have multiple relationships in each of our communities which support our programs.

We have been fortunate to see significant change, including the new facility built for our Eau Claire campus. The facility has already reaped rewards in terms of new relationships with the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) and instilled an even higher level of pride in the Eau Claire program and its accomplishments. This was most apparent at the recent Renner/Hansen dinner when Dennis Breen, MD, of Eau Claire, was the recipient of the Marc F. Hansen, MD Lecture Award, and CVTC President, Dr. William Ihlenfeldt was the recipient of the John H. Renner, MD Wisconsin Idea Award. This award is for an outstanding individual outside of our Department who has worked to support our endeavors.

Wausau has broken ground on an equally spectacular new Aspirus Medical Education Center (AMEC). The new clinic and education center will open this spring and has already galvanized the community in support of this project. Fundraising efforts resulted in more than $2,000,000 in donations.

Fox Valley appears to be on the home stretch of a legislative correction from a CMS audit of the program. Fox Valley has equally remarkable community support and Lee Vogel, MD and the faculty and staff in Appleton have done an outstanding job building connections with their community.

Our Aurora/St. Luke's campus continues to flourish especially in the areas of patient care and residency education. Our annual James E. Davis Quality Improvement Award has gone to a St. Luke's resident-led QI project all but one year since this award was established eight years ago.

Our research program continues to grow, with our NIH grant funding ranking consistently in the top three in the country. Under Michael Fleming, MD, MPH, our research fellowships have flourished, with a number of our fellows obtaining significant NIH grant funding to catapult their research careers.

Our Medical Student Education programs continue to attract students, and this effort is anchored by:

• Jake Prunuske, MD,
• Jim Shropshire, MD,
• Claire Ann Boyce,
• Carrie Tobin, and others.

With the arrival of Dr. Gilchrist in January, it is important that we be open to new agendas and new directions for our Department under her leadership. Change is a time for opportunity. Dr. Gilchrist's career has had a focus in education, both at the medical student and resident level.

I anticipate that she will have high expectations for us to advance our residency education and clinical care programs, and that we will see her emphasize significant change to bring us in alignment with the Future of Family Medicine agenda.

Dr. Gilchrist will likely want to enhance our medical student education programs. It is imperative that we provide outstanding teaching and innovative programs to attract medical students into our discipline, and to provide them outstanding educational experiences. A goal is for students to obtain an understanding of the importance of primary care and the comprehensive care of families.

Please welcome Dr. Gilchrist in January, offer your ideas and suggestions for how the Department can change and improve, and be open to new ideas and directions.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Interim Chair and for all your wonderful effort during the past eighteen months. It has truly been an honor to serve you and represent you in the Medical School, the University, and in each of the communities in which we have programs.