Dear Faculty,

A new program for Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine has begun called Faculty Development Community Conversations. This lunch-time venue is designed to encourage interaction and engagement of DOM and SOM faculty and trainees around critical topics in the lives and work of clinical and medical educators at every level. The first session on Work / Life Integration and Finding Joy in Work was delivered Wednesday, September 11^th with support from the DOM and Office of Wellbeing. For those that missed it, please contact Monica Watkins or Richard Wardrop and we would be happy to arrange for an additional presentation for your group or team within the Department or Medical Center.

Do you have a bright idea, a burning desire, or a critical question that you would like see developed into part of a Faculty Development Program? The Department of Medicine Office of Faculty Development has a new suggestion box in room L618 in the Clinical Sciences Building. Please also feel free to email your ideas and suggestions to Richard Wardrop or Monica Watkins.

A great deal has been published recently about finding purpose and meaning in work. Please take an opportunity to read the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) white paper on Joy in Work. This topic could serve as a starting point for a lot of improvement projects at the division and clinical level for faculty, staff, residents and even students! Read the paper here.

The Department of Medicine Leadership Forum is well underway for the 2019-2020 Academic Year. The first featured speaker was Dr. LouAnn Woodward in August. Over 50 participants enjoyed a wonderful talk by Dr. Woodward and several key points about her leadership journey. Among them was the point of being honest and kind in all that we do as leaders. Another point was that we all lead in some way and that we don’t necessarily need a title or label to be an effective leader. On September 24th, Mr. Kevin Cook, UMMC Health System CEO addressed the group. A key insight offered by Mr. Cook stated that leadership is not about authority but rather about the influence you wield on people.

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine or AAIM is a wonderful educationally-orientated organization to support all aspects of medical education in Internal Medicine. The DOM is a member and any educator (meaning all Faculty) are welcome to get involved. The IM.ORG website has a plethora of high-quality faculty development resources for educators and practicing faculty as well as leaders. Please contact me or Russell Boles for more information or visit the member portal today at www.im.org.

Sincerely,

Richard Wardrop III, MD, PhD