We are approaching Thanksgiving and this newsletter lifts up many items for which I have much gratitude.
For the sixth year in a row, our Internal Medicine residency program has a 100 percent ABIM board pass rate. We are proud of our residents in this accomplishment and grateful to the program and faculty who have supported them in their experiences.
Several faculty have received national awards recently including Drs. Nada Fadul (ID), Sara Bares (ID), Kaleb Michaud (Rheumatology) and Roslyn Mannon (Nephrology). Congratulations to each for the great work that led to these awards! At UNMC, faculty have been recognized for their research creativity (Drs. Marius Florescu, Bin Duan and Anupam Kotwal). In the community, the ID division will be receiving the Milagro award from OneWorld Health Community Health Center this month for all their assistance with COVID and Dr. Sara Bares was a finalist for Omaha World Herald’s 2022 Inspire Award for Excellence in Healthcare. Please see the newsletter for details on these great recognitions (and more!).
If you want to listen to some amazing music and see what one of our faculty (Dr. Schleifer in CV Medicine) has done recently, see the piece on his performance at the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, held in Fort Worth, Texas in October. It is very impressive!
For another unique and inspiring story, please see the section on Dr. Kotwal’s recent appearance on NBC’s Today Show and his own journey with cancer.
If we have missed special news from your division, please let us know. Maria Daniels mardaniels@unmc.edu is now our department communications specialist. She has been busy updating the website, editing this newsletter and helping with the department Twitter account. Dr. Poonam Velagapudi leads the social media taskforce. We want to be sure we are sharing your good news and special announcements.
Just a reminder that we are currently celebrating National Native American Heritage Month. Did you know there are 573 federally recognized Indian Nations and tribes located throughout the United States? Thanksgiving is a good time to remember the contributions of the indigenous people of our country that are way beyond the typical historical pictures of the holiday.
I am grateful for the philanthropy that helps support our department. Please see the information on the recent Circle of Distinction event where new endowed positions across all of UNMC were celebrated. We had 13 faculty with new endowed positions since the previous Circle of Distinction event before the pandemic. The newest of the endowed Chairs is the Michael F. Sorrell Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine that has been awarded to Dr. Marco Olivera-Martinez.
As we approach Thanksgiving, I want to say thank you to all for your roles in helping the Internal Medicine department achieve its mission. I am grateful for the teaching, clinical care, research and administrative activities. We are blessed to have each person’s contribution! Please take care of yourselves.
Debra Romberger, MD
Henry J. Lehnhoff Professor and Chair, Department of Internal Medicine