Distributed via email to all Medical School employees, students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows, UT2Me is Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo's update of news and items of interest. He also welcomes feedback via email or comments.

Hello,
Though we are currently between academic years at the Medical School, our summer has been busy and productive. To begin, we have what we believe is a final budget from the Texas Legislature, which includes a $30 million decrease in state funding for the university. While this reduction is smaller than originally predicted, it is still a significant shortfall with serious implications for our budget. We also continue to keep a watchful eye on reports that Medicare dollars tied to GME funding may be reduced at the federal level.  Any decrease to this funding will have a direct effect on quality and access to care and will impact the future health care workforce of Texas—a state that already suffers from a serious deficit of providers.

As stated many times before, these reductions in state and federal funding increase our reliance on the clinical group practice, faculty productivity, and our hospital partners. I am very pleased to report that our UT Physicians revenues are showing continued growth as we expand our services throughout the Houston community, and we are getting closer to finalizing our Annual Operating Agreement with Memorial Hermann.

I would like to call special attention to a new program at the Medical School, UT*Pro, emphasizing professionalism in all of our endeavors. I am happy to see so many wearing their UT*Pro badge, reflecting a commitment to compassion, integrity, respect, and collaboration. But this is more than a badge or a website — it is about the values that we live by for ourselves, our colleagues, and our patients. I want every member of this community to be proud to work, study, and practice in the respectful and collegial environment of our Medical School.

We recently said farewell and thank you to some of our outgoing Medical School leaders — Dr. Susan Denson, who started with the Department of Pediatrics in 1974, and Dr. Steve Brown, who was our associate dean for Harris County Programs. Dr. Carmel Dyer will be leading LBJ on an interim basis. Following a recent site visit of Dr. Dyer’s geriatrics programs, The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation classified her efforts as an “enormous success” and Dr. Dyer as an “extraordinary leader and mentor.” While those of us at the Medical School are well aware of Dr. Dyer’s accomplishments and commitment to excellence, it is remarkable to receive such wonderful recognition from our partners in the community.

I am pleased to welcome Dr. Steve Bynon, our new director of the Division of Immunology and Organ Transplantation. Dr. Bynon is an internationally recognized authority in his field and a dedicated and impressive leader. I am confident that his personal and professional values will be appreciated across this state – his clinical outcomes will be second to none.

Dr. Sam Kaplan will be retiring later this summer, and I am happy to announce that, effective September 1, Dr. Theresa Koehler will become the interim chair for the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. The Medical School is indebted to Dr. Kaplan for his vision and drive – building this department from the ground up. I am also grateful to all of the faculty in this department for their outstanding work and for their participation and decision-making in this process.

And I am grateful to all of the incredible hard work of our people on Allscripts, our EHR, which has resulted in our first payments from the federal government. Keep up the good work!

I was proud to hear the news that several of our residency programs recently passed ACGME site visit reviews. Congratulations to the program directors for their leadership and accomplishments. We just received the scores of our students’ Step 1 USMLE, which were a stellar 99 pass rate, with a 236 mean score at this point. This is an unprecedented outcome – congratulations to all of our faculty and students and be contagious!

 We recently welcomed our new residents into their graduate programs, and our entering third-year students recently took the Hippocratic Oath, administered by Dr. Brent King, executive vice dean for clinical affairs. This is a wonderful rite of passage as these students enter their clinical years and become an integrated part of the health care team.

Dr. Eric Thomas recently addressed the concept of the modern health care team during grand rounds. He presented two telling images: one of the old-fashioned physician making house calls with his bag in hand, carrying all of the tools needed to diagnose and treat a patient; and the other of a modern team of providers—including several physicians, nurses, and technicians—all clustered together in a hospital outfitted with sterile equipment and computers. Several years ago there was never any question who had ultimate ownership of the treatment plan. Modern health care is more complex and “sophisticated,” as increasingly large teams of providers work together to address various aspects of care. While today’s provider teams offer greater in-depth knowledge, specialization, and clinical expertise, the care and ownership of every single patient should never be forgotten. This is our commitment as UT Physicians.

Last week at the clinical chairs meeting, Dr. Osama Mikhail, executive vice president of planning for UT Physicians, presented on his new certificate program, “Leadership in Academic Medicine.” He re-emphasized the central role of the physician in any health care setting and reminded us that the department chairs and leaders play a critical role. Two thoughts resonated: “No medical school is better than its chairs” and “No affiliated hospital is better than its medical school.”

I want to end this message today with a thought from Dr. Hazim Safi, chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, who shared some insights from “The Perfect Swarm,” a book by Len Fisher.  The book has very interesting theories on “swarm intelligence” – how groups come together to make decisions, be they ants, fish, birds, or people. In order for the group to make a better decision, the independence and diversity of all individuals of the group must be valued, Fisher writes.  I feel very confident that as we formalize our education for leaders in academic medicine, we will continue to rely upon the brilliant ideas of individuals to advance our curriculum, improve efficiencies, better the clinical experience, and innovate our research programs as the chair reinforces changes driven by the group. This is by no means a light summer read, but I would encourage you to read this book for an insightful journey through the dynamics of group decision-making.

Have a great weekend,

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