Incoming Faculty Orientation: Dean's Welcome and Values

Transcript

• 00:02Thank you, and I wanna
• 00:03start by, just thanking Sam,
• 00:06and the office of, academic
• 00:08and professional development for a
• 00:10lot of work and thoughtfulness
• 00:11that goes into this,
• 00:13and it's there's a reason.
• 00:14Right? It's this is important.
• 00:17So let me start
• 00:20by talking about our mission
• 00:23and,
• 00:26and what it is that
• 00:27we value here at the
• 00:28School of Medicine. And, of
• 00:29course, we really have three
• 00:30missions,
• 00:31education,
• 00:33scientific discovery,
• 00:35and the care of patients.
• 00:36And each one of you,
• 00:38some of you may be
• 00:39triple threats, but each one
• 00:40of you contributes to that
• 00:42mission in a different way,
• 00:44and you'll hear about different
• 00:45aspects of that mission. One
• 00:47of the things that we're
• 00:48really seriously working on is
• 00:51breaking down the silos because
• 00:52we think that we do
• 00:54this most creatively when we
• 00:55are crossing,
• 00:57those
• 00:57boundaries.
• 01:00Shortly after I arrived,
• 01:02COVID arrived,
• 01:04but then we spent some
• 01:06time working on our mission
• 01:07statement. And, I'll be honest,
• 01:09I'm not a big mission
• 01:11statement kind of person,
• 01:13but I'm actually really quite,
• 01:15proud of this. And and,
• 01:17this came about after,
• 01:20many,
• 01:22sessions with,
• 01:24members of the school community,
• 01:25but also our local community,
• 01:29and lots of,
• 01:31back and forth as the
• 01:32writing group,
• 01:33sought input from people.
• 01:35And it's not up here
• 01:36yet, so let me
• 01:38so Yale School of Medicine
• 01:39educates and nurtures creative leaders
• 01:42in medicine and science promoting
• 01:43curiosity
• 01:44and critical inquiry in an
• 01:46inclusive environment enriched by diversity.
• 01:48There's a lot in that
• 01:49sentence.
• 01:51One is that we are
• 01:52really focused on training leaders.
• 01:55We have a small class
• 01:56size, a hundred and four.
• 01:58We also, of course, have
• 01:59a, physician associate program,
• 02:02that increases our workforce, but
• 02:05the idea is not that
• 02:06we're going to populate the
• 02:08country with physicians, but that
• 02:09we're going to create leaders
• 02:11who can change how we
• 02:13practice medicine and make it
• 02:14better.
• 02:17The piece about inclusivity
• 02:20and
• 02:21a diverse environment is one
• 02:23that was not in our
• 02:23mission statement before about four
• 02:25years ago.
• 02:27And the piece about promoting
• 02:28curiosity and critical inquiry, I
• 02:30think, is is paramount.
• 02:32Our
• 02:33our undergraduate medical students participate
• 02:35in something called the Yale
• 02:36system.
• 02:37They do a thesis.
• 02:39We understand that medicine
• 02:41in thirty years is not
• 02:43gonna look anything like it
• 02:44looks today, and we need
• 02:45to train,
• 02:46people to think critically.
• 02:49Second sentence, we advance discovery
• 02:51and innovation
• 02:52fostered by partnerships across the
• 02:53university, our local community, and
• 02:55the world. Again, breaking down
• 02:57silos and understanding that,
• 03:00some of the best,
• 03:02discovery happens at that edge
• 03:04between different,
• 03:06different,
• 03:07fields.
• 03:08And so we're doing a
• 03:09number of things to promote
• 03:10that,
• 03:12including,
• 03:13an office of team science
• 03:14that will support people who
• 03:15wanna put in these large
• 03:17grants and those sorts of
• 03:17things.
• 03:18And then we care for
• 03:19patients with compassion and commit
• 03:21to improving the health of
• 03:22all people. The notion that,
• 03:25we both have a
• 03:26clinician patient relationship, but we
• 03:29also are responsible for,
• 03:33a bigger mandate.
• 03:34So in all of the
• 03:35strategic work that we've been
• 03:37doing,
• 03:38you know, we're investing in
• 03:40things like biomedical informatics,
• 03:43imaging,
• 03:46immunobiology, neuroscience. Many of you
• 03:48are here because of those
• 03:49investments,
• 03:50but there are some cross
• 03:51cutting themes.
• 03:52And so one that I've
• 03:54mentioned is the notion of
• 03:55creating an environment of inclusive
• 03:57excellence
• 03:58where everybody can thrive and
• 03:59where we continue to recruit
• 04:00the best talents. And our
• 04:02emphasis here has really been
• 04:03on
• 04:04mentorship and sponsorship, and so
• 04:06you'll hear I think you'll
• 04:07hear about the faculty development
• 04:09annual questionnaire and the work
• 04:10that we're doing to make
• 04:11sure that you're having meaningful
• 04:12conversations
• 04:13with your section chief or
• 04:15your chair, or if you're
• 04:16a section chief or a
• 04:17chair, you know how to
• 04:18have those conversations.
• 04:19I've already said about three
• 04:20times breaking down silos.
• 04:24Another cross cutting theme is
• 04:25is building the resources
• 04:27to allow you to do
• 04:29your work. So for those
• 04:30of you in research, that's
• 04:31about making sure that the
• 04:32cores are functioning really well,
• 04:34that we're bringing the cutting
• 04:35edge
• 04:37technology,
• 04:38FIB SEM, whatever it is,
• 04:40the latest in AI, so
• 04:42that you can do your
• 04:42work. And the same is
• 04:43true in the clinical arena.
• 04:45Those of you who are
• 04:46clinicians,
• 04:47if you, were piloting, but
• 04:49it's rolling out pretty quickly,
• 04:50you have the opportunity to
• 04:51use Ambient AI to write
• 04:53your notes. That's a game
• 04:54changer in terms of the
• 04:55quality of life and your
• 04:56ability to spend quality time
• 04:58with your patients.
• 04:59And then,
• 05:01realizing our potential as a
• 05:03premier health system through strategic
• 05:05alignment and partnership with Yale
• 05:06New Haven health system.
• 05:08So,
• 05:09if you've depending on where
• 05:10you've come from, you know,
• 05:11the relationship between the health
• 05:14system and the school differs
• 05:15in every single place,
• 05:17in the country.
• 05:18In our case, we don't,
• 05:20own the health system. It's
• 05:22a separate entity. We have
• 05:23an affiliation. We have two
• 05:24affiliation agreements
• 05:26between the university and the
• 05:28health system.
• 05:29And over the years, that
• 05:31has worked
• 05:32variably well, and so we've
• 05:34really spent a lot of
• 05:35time in the last two
• 05:36or three years,
• 05:38investing in
• 05:40making that relationship work. And
• 05:42so part of that
• 05:44has been doing the first
• 05:46ever,
• 05:47joint strategic plan between the
• 05:49health system and the school.
• 05:51It has five pillars.
• 05:52I think what's important is
• 05:54that,
• 05:55although several of these are
• 05:57focused on the clinical mission
• 05:59like leading,
• 06:00destination programs or making sure
• 06:03that the service is good,
• 06:05they're also centered on our
• 06:07fundamental academic missions, like
• 06:10enabling research
• 06:12in our patients. So, I
• 06:14think cancer centers have always
• 06:15been the model for this
• 06:16where any patient who walks
• 06:18in the door has access
• 06:19to clinical trials.
• 06:20Our vision is that that's
• 06:22true across every,
• 06:24every specialty. And so we've,
• 06:26in the last year, appointed
• 06:28a director of clinical and
• 06:30translational research across the health
• 06:32system who's also, the director
• 06:34of the Yale Center for
• 06:35Clinical Investigation
• 06:36to facilitate that work.
• 06:38We've done things like create
• 06:39a biorepository
• 06:41so that,
• 06:42samples from our patients are
• 06:44available to anybody for research
• 06:46purposes.
• 06:47And then at the other
• 06:48end, continuous learning,
• 06:50and innovation,
• 06:51you know, the health system
• 06:53is where our residents and
• 06:54fellows all train, and so
• 06:55making sure that those programs
• 06:57are excellent. And we're fortunate
• 06:58to have a great DIO
• 07:00in Steve Hewitt, and and
• 07:02really great,
• 07:03graduate medical
• 07:05education programs.
• 07:08One of the other areas
• 07:09where we've made significant change
• 07:11over the last couple of
• 07:12years is in aligning
• 07:14what is our faculty practice
• 07:16plan, Yale Medicine,
• 07:18of which many of you
• 07:19will be members,
• 07:21and the employed physicians in
• 07:23the, Yale New Haven Health
• 07:25System. So historically,
• 07:26sometimes there was competition between
• 07:28those two, and we even
• 07:30would be arm wrestling over
• 07:31whether a group we were
• 07:33recruiting would come in through
• 07:34the faculty
• 07:35or through NEMG.
• 07:37We have,
• 07:39eliminated that by actually creating
• 07:41a structure in which all
• 07:42of these are aligned
• 07:44under the leadership of our,
• 07:47our deputy dean for clinical
• 07:48affairs,
• 07:49doctor Peggy McGovern. And, that's
• 07:52that really enables us to
• 07:53do a bunch of other
• 07:54things that I think improve
• 07:56the quality of lives of
• 07:58our patients, but also our
• 07:59faculty. So,
• 08:02I mentioned, you know, introducing
• 08:03things like ambient AI,
• 08:06but it allows us to
• 08:07have a single access center
• 08:09so patients get in to
• 08:11see us a little more
• 08:12efficiently, and we're about
• 08:14halfway through the work that's
• 08:15involved there.
• 08:17It makes possible doing, setting
• 08:19up, which we've just done,
• 08:21a clinically integrated network so
• 08:22that we're providing support for
• 08:25all of our physicians, including
• 08:27community of physicians who are
• 08:28affiliated to provide,
• 08:31the highest quality of research
• 08:32and then of of clinical
• 08:34care, and then we can
• 08:35offer population health management and
• 08:36those sorts of things. Lots
• 08:38of work going on there,
• 08:39and very good leadership there.
• 08:42So changing gears, I talked
• 08:43about our mission.
• 08:46I think one of the
• 08:47things that
• 08:48is important
• 08:50work is making sure that
• 08:52we make decisions that are
• 08:54based on a set of
• 08:55values, and,
• 08:57these values were articulated,
• 08:59by a group of faculty
• 09:01leaders who were asked to
• 09:02do this and then,
• 09:04vetted by,
• 09:05our community.
• 09:07And I think they,
• 09:09I think we've captured some
• 09:11of them in the first
• 09:11part of my talk, but,
• 09:13I mentioned diversity and inclusion.
• 09:16Again, the notion that if
• 09:18we create an environment where
• 09:20everyone can excel,
• 09:23the the
• 09:24the quality and the richness
• 09:26of the,
• 09:28innovation is greater.
• 09:30Integrity, reflection, and communication,
• 09:32pretty simple stuff,
• 09:34but it can get lost
• 09:36in academia sometimes,
• 09:38when,
• 09:39in institutions where,
• 09:42it became comes sort of
• 09:43a a star.
• 09:45You know, someone becomes the
• 09:46academic star and they're not
• 09:48held accountable.
• 09:49We are very much interested
• 09:50in making sure that,
• 09:52people at the highest level
• 09:53at every level across the
• 09:55institution
• 09:56are communicating,
• 09:58and are are working ethically.
• 10:01Discovery, innovation, and scholarship, I
• 10:03think that's a no brainer
• 10:04in much of what I've
• 10:05already talked about.
• 10:07Building an engaged and productive
• 10:09community,
• 10:10I think you'll find that
• 10:12the resources that we are
• 10:13creating for
• 10:15faculty development, for training development,
• 10:17are,
• 10:18really outstanding.
• 10:20I'll I will call to
• 10:21your attention, for example, the
• 10:22office for physician science
• 10:24scientist and scientist
• 10:26development led by Keith Tote.
• 10:28I think the work that
• 10:29OAPD is doing in making
• 10:30it transparent,
• 10:32what is required
• 10:33for
• 10:35promotion on each track, and
• 10:37it's all very accessible on
• 10:39our website.
• 10:40And then lastly, generativity.
• 10:42You know, the notion that
• 10:43we,
• 10:45we all
• 10:47advance in our careers because
• 10:49of
• 10:50our mentors and our sponsors.
• 10:52And as we,
• 10:54become more senior,
• 10:56we have an obligation to
• 10:58to pay that forward. Right?
• 11:00And,
• 11:01so creating an environment where
• 11:03we're,
• 11:05helping that next generation is
• 11:06is something that we really
• 11:07value here.
• 11:09So I think that
• 11:11things to to keep in
• 11:12mind in your back pocket
• 11:13as you're as you're,
• 11:16becoming more comfortable,
• 11:18here.
• 11:19And then I I'm ending
• 11:20with,
• 11:22something that,
• 11:24I have shared with the
• 11:25chairs and the deputy deans
• 11:27as our rules of engagement,
• 11:30so that you know how
• 11:31we,
• 11:32sort of hold ourselves accountable.
• 11:35One is that we set
• 11:36the bar high,
• 11:39but, we, of course, help
• 11:41people
• 11:42reach that.
• 11:43Another is,
• 11:45that this if you've if
• 11:47you've read about,
• 11:49safe institutions, right, this has
• 11:51to be a place where
• 11:52we can share problems.
• 11:54You can't put your head
• 11:55in the sand if there's
• 11:56an issue.
• 11:58I do encourage everyone though
• 12:00to bring a solution. There's
• 12:01nothing worse than somebody just
• 12:02dumping a problem on the
• 12:04table and then walking away.
• 12:06So it's really good to
• 12:07say, we have this problem.
• 12:10They here are two or
• 12:10three solutions,
• 12:12or I don't know what
• 12:12the solutions, here are the
• 12:13things that I've thought about.
• 12:16And and that really engenders
• 12:17a great,
• 12:20a really thoughtful approach in
• 12:22solving in solving those problems.
• 12:25Those of you who are
• 12:26in leadership positions will appreciate
• 12:28that, but,
• 12:29you know, if something bad
• 12:31happens, it's good to tell
• 12:33people.
• 12:35The worst thing is to
• 12:36hear that second or third
• 12:38hand particularly if you're the
• 12:39if you're ultimately the person
• 12:41responsible for something.
• 12:45The the old when in
• 12:46doubt consult.
• 12:48You know,
• 12:49you don't have to solve
• 12:50every problem yourself, and I
• 12:52think when I was
• 12:53a young attending,
• 12:55you know, I thought attending
• 12:56meant that the buck stopped
• 12:57with me, and then I
• 12:58figured out that all the
• 12:59gray haired attendings who were
• 13:00my partner
• 13:02always called each other.
• 13:04You know, the the chair
• 13:05of medicine would call, you
• 13:07know, his partners when dealing
• 13:08with a tough patient because
• 13:10we can't do this alone.
• 13:15Now, this is a biggie
• 13:18and this is I'd say
• 13:19the most violated rule,
• 13:23and I can tell you
• 13:24that we will give you
• 13:25all back a lot of
• 13:26time if you adhere to
• 13:28this rule,
• 13:30which is if you're writing
• 13:32emails, emails are not meant
• 13:34as a vehicle to communicate
• 13:36complex ideas,
• 13:38and so this is the
• 13:39rule. If you're typing more
• 13:40than one paragraph,
• 13:42pick up the telephone. Do
• 13:43you guys know what a
• 13:44telephone is?
• 13:46That would appear.
• 13:48So every chair
• 13:50a lot of faculty have
• 13:52my cell phone number
• 13:54because
• 13:56they know that if there's
• 13:57something complex going on, they
• 13:59can text me
• 14:00and we can, you know,
• 14:01I can find five minutes
• 14:03at that moment that saves
• 14:05us all about two hours.
• 14:07Right? So,
• 14:09and I particularly say if
• 14:10you're PO'd,
• 14:13just don't write the email
• 14:15yet.
• 14:16Write it,
• 14:17put it away, don't fill
• 14:18in the two line because
• 14:20you accidentally hit send
• 14:22and you'll regret it,
• 14:25but this is a you
• 14:26know, I think we we
• 14:27waste a lot of time
• 14:28on email.
• 14:32Avoid triangles.
• 14:34You know, I think some
• 14:34of you may not even
• 14:35know what a triangle is,
• 14:36but you know, this is
• 14:37where you say to
• 14:42you you you come into
• 14:44your chair's office and you
• 14:45say,
• 14:48John's being mean to me.
• 14:52And so your the triangle
• 14:53is that you're saying that
• 14:54to your chair, and what
• 14:55you might need to do
• 14:56is say to John, John,
• 14:57you're being a jerk,
• 14:59and or I you can
• 15:01say it nicely. You can
• 15:02say, I'm hearing that you're
• 15:04saying this,
• 15:05whatever, but it's when you
• 15:07in in bring a third
• 15:08party in to solve a
• 15:09problem, which is really a
• 15:10problem between two people, and
• 15:12people do it all the
• 15:13time.
• 15:15Again, getting back to this
• 15:16safe environment, debate is very
• 15:18healthy.
• 15:19At some point, you have
• 15:20to make a decision, and
• 15:22so if you're in a
• 15:23faculty meeting and you reach
• 15:25a consensus and there's a
• 15:27decision,
• 15:29that requires then that you
• 15:32convey that decision to all
• 15:34of your,
• 15:36team.
• 15:38And it can't be the,
• 15:39oh, this is really stupid,
• 15:40but the chair said we
• 15:42have to do this. Right?
• 15:43It has to be conveyed.
• 15:44We had a really robust
• 15:45conversation, and this is what
• 15:46we're doing.
• 15:47Right? So not undermining
• 15:49leadership. And then,
• 15:52when it's
• 15:54particularly important to me, you
• 15:55know, that we face hard
• 15:56things all the time,
• 15:59and if you do that
• 16:00without some sense of perspective,
• 16:02and I think humor is
• 16:03really a sense of perspective,
• 16:05you'll go crazy. So, don't
• 16:07be afraid to laugh,
• 16:09and, you know, the students
• 16:10do a fourth year show.
• 16:12It's all about mocking the
• 16:14dean and the faculty, and,
• 16:17it's actually
• 16:18no one laughs louder than
• 16:20my husband, I must say,
• 16:21but,
• 16:22but it's really actually very
• 16:24healthy. So, anyway, I think
• 16:26that's all I have.
• 16:28Thank you for being here,
• 16:29and thanks again, Sam, for
• 16:31putting this on.