This Week with Vineet

Dear Colleagues,

After coming off of a week of inpatient service, I find myself reflecting on the clinical excellence I saw on full display from members of our department. From our consultants who provide timely and helpful advice, to our residents who bring their best selves to patient care each day, and our medical students who – armed with their curiosity and talent – remind me of the privilege we have in training the next generation of doctors; we have an amazing group. What we do in our department – each and every day – is special and makes a difference in people’s lives in extraordinary ways. In order to amplify our talent and ensure our collective well-being, much is happening in the DOM. We have started work on our annual report to showcase and spotlight many of our achievements in clinical care, research discoveries and educational excellence. We have begun to craft a strategy to raise our U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings and build our national brand as a preeminent Department of Medicine. Our work in the Diversity Council has picked up, focusing on retention, recruitment, committee composition and opportunities to level the playing field through all spaces in the DOM.

Finally, following the Physician & APP Well-being Town Hall last week, our WellDOM leaders met with department and division leaders and have started to chart next steps in our wellness journey. I have asked all our division heads to share our wellness survey data with you at faculty meetings or other venues. I know we have much to do here, but wellness is key to our success as a department and is a priority for me and your leadership team. 

Speaking of the workforce, I was pleased to share the news of Anuradha Paranjape, MD, MPH, FACP, being appointed the new Director of Services for the Department of Medicine at Denver Health. Dr. Paranjape will join us in May 2023. I have known Anu for many years and know her recruitment will be an asset to both organizations. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Michael Hanley, who will continue as interim until Anu arrives in May, and am also grateful to Dr. Ed Havranek for his many years of service as director.

As we close in on budget season, I am going to be spending significant time meeting with each division and our finance leadership to continue to ensure our financial well-being. Medicine is indispensable to the future of this campus, and I intend to leverage our collective might to ensure we get the right amount of support and recognition for our efforts. 

I will close by saying I hope to see many of you at the State of the Department address which I will give on Dec. 14 during Medicine Grand Rounds. We have accomplished much this past year and it is a good opportunity to pause and reflect on where we have been, where we are, and where I hope we will be in the future.

Onwards!

Vineet