The state of the University of Colorado Department of Medicine is strong, and the department is well positioned to face a future that promises change and opportunities, department Chair Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, said in his third State of the Department address on Dec. 4.
“I feel very inspired, and very proud of the work that’s happening in our department. I am very optimistic and hopeful for what lies ahead,” Chopra said in his hourlong presentation, addressing a live audience of about 120 in the UCHealth Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion’s Bruce Schroffel Auditorium and another 116 people listening online.
Chopra emphasized innovation, compassion, collaboration, and discovery as cornerstones of the department’s efforts.
“Our mission, our vision, and our values will guide and inform our work going forward,” he said. “I know we will continue to invest in people, programs, and strategic priorities. I do recognize that these are uncertain times and there are challenges that lie ahead. I think we’re ready. I think we’re prepared. I would even say I am excited about the future.”
Mission, vision, values
As he opened his talk, Chopra outlined three components of the department’s guiding principles:
- Mission: Transforming lives through innovative training, compassionate care, and groundbreaking discoveries.
- Vision: To be the most innovative and collaborative department in the nation, where our patients, clinicians, educators, and researchers thrive and live purpose-filled lives.
- Values: Clinical and academic excellence, collaboration and teamwork, transparency and open communication, mentorship and leadership development, and wellness and work-life balance.
Chopra said leaders of the department spent the last year defining its mission statement, and “each of those words was intentionally and meticulously chosen.” After he read from the vision statement, he said: “I have to pause for a second, because the words fill me in a very deep and meaningful way.” He said the vision statement signals that the department “puts patients first. Our patients are at the center of what we do.”
And in expanding on the values statement, Chopra said that “if there’s one thing I want to be remembered for here,” it’s mentorship and leadership development.
Video of the 2024 State of the Department address.
Key points
Among the key points of Chopra’s wide-ranging talk:
- He offered many examples of the department’s growth and vitality, including its $100 million in reserves and 71 faculty promotions in the 2023-2024 academic year. He said the regular faculty headcount has grown to 1,412 from about 1,100 three years ago, and advanced practice provider faculty numbers have almost doubled in that time.
- Chopra highlighted the importance of leadership and team dynamics, singling out several examples of smooth transitions during recent leadership changes, including hiring three new division chiefs this past calendar year. He said the department has now started to spend considerable time developing leaders and fostering teamwork, focusing on building trust, sharing opportunities, and learning to negotiate and manage conflict.
- He acknowledged the value of transparency and open communication, citing the department’s systematic collection and sharing of anonymous feedback about leaders.
- Chopra noted the annual Mentorship Academy and Launch Teams programs as well as the forthcoming Boost Teams project as departmental initiatives to support and foster excellence among faculty at different points in their career. He said this year’s Mentorship Academy drew around 400 attendees and garnered high ratings from participants.
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- He noted research funding totaling $197 million in new awards, with 392 funded projects and grants, and 279 principal investigators. Under the department’s new Research Investment in the Scientific Enterprise (RISE) program to support research expenses, awards rose to $3.33 million from the previous year’s $1.16 million total.
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- The department has implemented a bottom-up approach for wellness programs, with divisions defining their own solutions that will then serve as platforms to scale across the department, Chopra said.
- Signs of an emphasis on global health and international collaboration include the department’s exchange program with Zimbabwe and its recent visit by eight medical professionals from Japan. The residency program has started to accept and attract trainees from Mexico and Brazil and hopes to broaden its reach to other continents, Chopra said.
- The department’s DEI Pilot Grant Program, in its second year, aims to inspire diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice advances in the local community and foster change in academic medicine and patient care, he said. Five projects were funded in the current cycle, a 30% success rate, with topics focused on how to attract under-represented groups to clinical trials and efforts to minimize health care harm to the climate.
- Chopra emphasized the value of strong partnerships with the Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, National Jewish Health, and Denver Health. These partnerships make the department stronger across all of our missions, he said.
- The department has greatly expanded its communications program, producing a tenfold increase in views of its online articles over last year and improved email outreach. These programs help emphasize our brand, what makes us unique, and will be the “secret sauce” to attracting and retaining top talent, he said.
- Chopra said the department is implementing enhanced systems to track revenue, expenses, productivity, and other metrics at the division and individual level. These systems, in turn, will help with funds-flow discussions with the hospital and will serve as tools to manage and monitor clinical work, he said.
- And the department is continuing to seek new revenue sources and expanding others, including philanthropy and a new ownership stake in an ambulatory surgical center. Chopra cited the addition of a director of philanthropy position and noted several new endowed chairs, gifts to faculty, and the new endowed clinical scholars program where senior faculty give to support junior faculty with contributions from the department.
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Photo at top: CU Department of Medicine Chair Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, presents the 2024 State of the Department address on Dec. 4, 2024. Photo by Rachael Fischer | CU Department of Medicine.