Dear Colleagues,
The end of the academic year is fast approaching and there are several upcoming events highlighted below that I hope you will attend in support and celebration of your colleagues and trainees in the Department of Medicine. First, please join us today for the Department of Medicine Town Hall, where we will recognize our colleagues' achievements, you will hear from our department vice chairs on their goals for this year, and much more! In addition to all the upcoming events, please join me in welcoming Dr. Sarah Hyder, our new Endoscopy director and associate quality officer for the Department of Medicine on the University campus, who starts today, May 1. Finally, I am delighted to feature Dr. Sunita Puri as our May Chair’s Spotlight. Dr. Puri joined UMass last fall and I hope you will enjoy reading about her work and reach out to say hello if you haven’t already met her.
Department of Medicine Town Hall | Join us TODAY at noon for the spring DoM town hall.
Zoom link | Agenda
Women’s Faculty Committee Awards & Luncheon | This annual event will be held on May 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Albert Sherman Center, ASC Cube or join via Zoom. Join us to recognize the recipients of this year's awards. Register
Last Lecture | Melissa Fischer, MD, MEd, will give the Last Lecture at the 2023 Educational Recognition Awards on Wednesday, May 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the ASC Auditorium. Dr. Fischer is a professor of medicine and assistant vice provost for interprofessional and instructional innovation and was the 2022 recipient of both the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching and the Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Please join to hear what is certain to be an inspiring lecture by Dr. Fischer.
Poster Day | The annual Internal Medicine Resident and Fellows Poster Day will be held on Thursday, May 25, from noon to 2 p.m. in the Faculty Conference Room. We will be displaying residents’ and fellows’ Research, Quality Improvement, and Clinical Vignette posters. Awards will be given in all three categories, and winners will be recognized at Graduation Grand Rounds on June 15. Award-winning posters will also be displayed in our educational space on the 6th floor for residents and future applicants to admire.
Welcome, Dr. Hyder | I am pleased to welcome Sarah Hyder, MD, MBA, to the Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Hyder will serve as the new Endoscopy Director and as associate quality officer for the Department of Medicine on the University campus, and will see patients at the University, Memorial, and Southborough campuses. Dr. Hyder joins us from Lifespan Physician Group in East Providence, RI, where she has been a physician in the Gastroenterology department since 2017. She earned her medical degree, completed her internal medicine residency, and was chief medical resident at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
May Chair’s Spotlight | In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Sunita Puri, MD, MS, director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine. She is also a writer of nonfiction and memoir. We recently sat down with Dr. Puri for a conversation about what drew her to this work, what inspires her, and what her hopes are for the palliative care fellowship as she steps into the role of fellowship director. “Palliative care challenges our beliefs about what medicine’s role is in our lives; our beliefs about what it means to suffer; our beliefs about dignity; our beliefs about dying well – or dying at all,” said Dr. Puri. “I try to reintroduce the vocabulary of suffering and dignity and impermanence into my practice in medicine because I think those things are what unites every human being.” Read more.
Last thoughts | I hope those who observed Easter, Passover, and Ramadan this past month had meaningful periods of celebration and/or reflection. And finally, in recognition of Administrative Professionals’ Day and on behalf of the leadership team, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the administrative professionals of the Department of Medicine. We truly could not keep our department running smoothly without your support and hard work.
Sincerely,
Dave
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