First 100 Days: January 28, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

This week marks 100 days since I joined the Department of Medicine as your new chair. As I reflect on the first few months, I am reminded of a quote by author Greg Anderson who wrote, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it.”

I think this quote fittingly summarizes my time at CU thus far. Specifically, I have come to work each day energized because of the wonderful people I have met and get to work with. And while the going has not necessarily always been easy, I leave each day invigorated about what has happened and what lies ahead.

To this end, I want to share with you some of the highlights we have achieved as a DOM since my arrival:

• Clinically, we have battled through another COVID surge – possibly the worst that has come our way. While our numbers ballooned and the stress on our hospital and health system was immense, we came together as a department, as a team, and as a family to overcome this challenge. Key division leaders met with me frequently to coordinate our response, define our strategy and ensure fluid communication. For me personally, being on the front lines on our surge teams was fulfilling as I got to experience firsthand what many of you do day in and day out. My firm belief has always been leaders must talk the talk and walk the walk – and I am grateful that I’ve been able to do that since coming here.

• From a research perspective, our success continues unabated. We continue to secure competitive funding from NIH and industry. Our output of large grants and inter-departmental proposals has started to grow. I am also pleased to see that we have strong leadership in new areas including programmatic research, innovations and clinical trials, to name but a few. We are deep in conversations with outstanding recruits who will only add more breadth and depth to these areas. And, we have started to think about how to build a strategy that will push our NIH rankings forward.

• On an educational front, we have persevered despite all the adversities that COVID and threats to funding have brought. I feel privileged to be able to reinvest in our educational programs including PACE, DREAM, Rising Stars to name but a few. We have begun conversations about new offerings in the DOM and across departments, including revamping existing programs to offer more inclusivity and access. Joining our residency recruitment calls on Friday mornings has been a highlight of my time here as I had the opportunity to interact with many of our future learners in personal and direct way. We are looking good for an outstanding match season this year!

• From a leadership perspective, we have been hard at work as follows:

  • We completed a search and brought in our new DFA, Jimmy Loftin.

  • Searches for division heads for Geriatrics, Gastroenterology and Rheumatology are well underway with committees receiving their charge, job advertisements already in place and a steady pipeline of applications coming our way.

  • I have launched searches for departmental leaders, including the Vice Chair for Research, Executive Vice Chair and Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Leadership. I can tell you that we have a slate of outstanding candidates that have applied for these roles – both internal and external – and that I am keen on having many of these positions filled this year.

  • Searches for the VA Chief of Medicine position and for the Chief of Medicine at Denver Health have formally commenced.

• And finally, on the financial front, I was pleased to be able to give back funds to many of you using the resources we received from the CARES Act. As I said at the time, this wasn’t about the money so much as a small way to thank each and everyone one of you – staff, APPs, trainees, faculty, PRAs and others – for everything you have done to contribute to our success. As I look at our departmental fiscal performance, I am actively thinking of ways to invest in new opportunities and offerings that will support divisions and our various programs.

To be clear, there is much that still needs to be done. My journey thus far has always brought in sharp focus gaps that remain. For example, I am well aware of gaps in the areas of mentorship that is inclusive of all of our faculty and staff, the need for more financial and educational support for research intensive faculty and ongoing challenges balancing our clinical and academic portfolios. I am also mindful of the threats that loom around the corner – policy changes in CMS for how we bill with our APP colleagues, research space conversations and an uncertain future vis-à-vis COVID and national policies. These are but some of the areas that I will be addressing by building a team in DOM that can help us confront these challenges head on.

But even though while the journey has brought challenges, ups and downs and twists and turns – I want you to know that I am encouraged about what we have done so far and hopeful about what we will do. I have found joy in the work – and that matters greatly to me.

Thank you for your warm welcome and the support you have offered me over the first few months. The future – for all of us – is shining brightly.

Onward,

Vineet

Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc Robert W. Schrier Chair of Medicine Professor of Medicine Department of Medicine