Human Resources Update

With the end of the calendar year comes the start of the Annual Employee Review Process.  Employees, make sure you have updated your goals and their progress in PAT before the end of December.  If you have any issues accessing your review form, contact Mary Belisle (mbelisle@umn.edu). 

Other Items of Interest

Did you know...  The first informational email (see below) was sent November 16 under the tagline “Did you know….”. These will be weekly updates informing students, staff and faculty about improvements we are making in medical student education and to provide tools to improve the student experience. If you have ideas for these “Did you know…” emails please submit them to either Joe Oppedisano (joppedis@umn.edu ) or Mark Rosenberg (rosen001@umn.edu) 

New Keypads for Conference Rooms!  New keypads  are beginning to be installed on all conference room doors to allow more study space for students (LCME requirement).   Students will be given the code.  Staff can continue to use their key - the lock itself has not been changed.

Best Practices in Health Sciences Education 2022

BPHSE is scheduled for May 4 & 5, 2022.  It will be a hybrid event and is FREE!  Check out the theme and details of the event here.

REMINDERS:

Mail Process - The student employees from the Dean's office  will be bringing incoming mail to the 6th floor mail/copy room in a mail bin. One of our student interns will be coming in once a week (Fridays) to sort the mail from incoming bin to the mail slots, and process outgoing mail.  Please remember to write your program code on the top corner of the envelope/package.  If you need to mail something before Monday, you will need to attach a bar code slip to the item and deliver it to the main mail room located on the 3rd floor of the Mayo building - on the same corridor as the elevator banks walking towards the side with the main entrance.  The code for your program is posted on the door to the mail slots and the corresponding barcode slip can be found in a notebook next to the mail slots. 

Access Keys:  Marianne Watters is missing the general office key (on a gold lanyard) that was kept in the Vice Dean's mail slot.  If you have it or know where it is, please return it asap or contact Marianne.  

In Our Programs....

Admissions

Interviews are continuing in Admissions and they are always looking for interviewers to help them out. Please contact them if you are interested via email at tcmdinterview@umn.edu. 

Continuing Professional Development

The Office of Continuing Professional Development (OCPD) is in the midst of the reaccreditation process, which began in April 2021 and will end with the submission of a self-study on March 1, 2022, for a July 2022 decision. OCPD is accredited by Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education. OCPD has been a JA-accredited provider since 2016, prior to that OCPD was an ACCME-accredited provider. 

Undergraduate Medical Education

Student Affairs

Student Affairs is planning the first Specialty Interest Group (SIG) Summit on January 25th as a way to improve communication, coordinate specialty specific events, and build relationships between TC and Duluth student-run Specialty Interest Groups and Student Affairs. This first event will be held virtually with a goal of having a follow-up Summit in person in May. 

Office of Learner Development

Reflections, successes, achievements... We want to acknowledge the contributions resulting from 3 SIME projects affiliated with the Student Affairs office. Specifically, MS2 student Miller Balley whose coordinated focus groups of her clinical rotation peers resulted in a list of priorities aimed at improving the mental health of students in clinical training; MS2 student Evan Banks for his efforts in helping the emerging Houses program to realize a cup competition by coordinating the first Field Day Event; and, MS2 student Carol Coutinho for her significant efforts in formalizing the matching process for the peer mentor program. During these lingering times of social disconnection, these efforts stand as essential contributions to maintain threads for community and connection.  

RPAP/MetroPAP

RPAP and MetroPAP Launch 2021-2022 Class

The RPAP and MetroPAP Classes of 2021-2022 have begun their nine-month-long journeys in their communities! The cohort consists of 28 RPAP students and eight MetroPAP students, working and training at 34 sites across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Students arrived at their sites in early October. This fall, faculty have been visiting sites for Communication Session visits, providing feedback for students on their clinic visits and interactions with patients. 

Orientation took place September 27-30, 2021. Students participated in both virtual and in-person sessions, including a day and a half at the University’s M Simulation center working with simulated medical situations. Students navigated simulated emergency medicine scenarios, tried their hand at suturing and knot tying, and worked with models to deliver babies and perform CPR. Students also worked with standardized clinic patients to prepare them for situations they might encounter at their sites.

We wish all of our students a fulfilling year at their sites! 

Remember to grab a cup of coffee/tea/hot cocoa (and maybe a donut) and join us on the first Thursday of the month in welcoming new staff at the "Virtual Coffee Break-Welcome New Faces!" zoom event.  This is a recurring meeting with Zoom information in staff calendars.

Our OME team is growing!  More staff will be introduced and welcomed in the next edition of The Pulse

We continue to receive excellent feedback on the quality of work performed by our interns in our Student Intern Pool!  

Jessica Strayer (A&E):   "[Jamie Gaarder] has been working with me on a "messy" project of qualitative data and not only surpassed my expectations in the amount of work she accomplished, but the quality!"

Ashley Mishek (Mort Sci):  "Ishaan [Gupta] is an accurate speed machine. He has been cranking out projects quickly & correctly."

Heather Woeste (GME): "We love our OME interns [Aiyana Basa, Attiyyah Bethel, Niloo Sohi]!  They are such a valuable part of the team."

I know that our interns are doing some pretty incredible work for many of our programs.  Please send me their successes on projects that they have worked on to help your team - I want to recognize them in The Pulse!

Remember:  If and when you are interested in requesting assistance for short-term or long-term projects or for onsite events/projects,  or if you need ongoing assistance in your program please complete the “Request for Remote Work” form or contact Marianne (mwatters@umn.edu)  

SADI (Staff Advancing Diversity & Inclusion) News!

EVENTS

• Dean's Special Lecture Series: “Staff Advancing Diversity & Inclusion: Learning, Growing, & Taking Action”

  • 12.08.21

  • 9:00-10:00am

  • Zoom Link (If you are not already signed up for the Dean’s Special Lecture Series, add this link to your calendar!)

  • This presentation will introduce the Staff Advancing Diversity and Inclusion (SADI) Committee and describe its history since 2015, current initiatives, and plans for 2022 and beyond. We will focus on the unique role that staff can play in change efforts and highlight the growing demand for DEI efforts focused on staff within our medical school. The presentation will also include several ways that staff can connect with SADI and get involved, and provide resources curated by SADI for DEI development. 

• SADI Connect & Learn: Book Discussion - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

  • 12.16.21

  • 10:00-11:00 am

  • Flyer

  • Discussion RSVP

OPPORTUNITIES

The Staff Advancing Diversity & Inclusion (SADI) Recruitment, Development & Retention Subcommittee is in the process of establishing Medical School Staff Affinity Groups.  The goal is to build community and supportive spaces across the Medical School for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other underrepresented and marginalized staff.  The anticipated kickoff of the SADI Staff Affinity Groups is Spring 2022.

We are looking for:

1. Staff volunteers to help develop and establish SADI Staff Affinity Groups.

2. Staff volunteers interested in facilitating a specific identity-focused affinity group.

3. Staff interested in participating in SADI Staff Affinity Groups once established in Spring 2022.

Please complete this FORM to indicate your interest in one or more of the options above.  You can also complete the form indicating that you are unsure of how you'd like to engage at this time but would like to be informed once SADI Staff Affinity Groups are ready to launch.

IMPORTANT: At this time, the SADI Staff Affinity Groups will only be offered to Medical School Staff.  To see how we define "Staff" please click HERE.

If you have additional comments or questions, please feel free to add them in the comments section below or email Alejandra Watkins-Melgarejo at sadi@umn.edu!

CONNECT WITH SADI

As always, if you or your team members would like to receive direct emails from SADI, please complete this Sign Up Form.  You can unsubscribe at any time! If you have any questions, please contact SADI at sadi@umn.edu.

Marianne Watters is thankful for her amazing family (L-R back row: son Dain, Dain's wife Jessie, son Ben, son Colton and me; front row: Grandsons Desmond and Wesley, Colton's wife Natalie, and Grandson Easton.  To the left are her wonderful parents - Pam and Ken.

BABIES!!

What are you up to and what are you looking forward to?

Maija Braaten is looking forward to "traveling with her son to Sarasota Florida in late February for a little vacation and to see [her] husband perform with the Sarasota Orchestra.  Looking forward to some time on the beach again!"

"We always look forward to lots of holiday traditions in my family. My son and I do a lot of traditional Latvian and Scandinavian baking, such as Piragi, pepparkakor, lefse [not pictured], and Toscakaka. Christmas Eve church services are also special when he performs as part of their holiday ensemble." (L to R: Latvian piragi,  Pepparkakor, and Tosccake).  Maija needs to add these recipes to our Remotely Good Recipe book! 

• "Big thank you to Janell Lopez! Janell--I appreciate all of your hard work with capacity gathering and the new site code project (and for answering all of my silly questions)! I don't know what I would do without you" [Corey Schultz]

• "Thank you thank you thank you to Abbe and Luke. I am so incredibly grateful for your partnership, and your students are so fortunate to have such amazing advisors. You're the best. " [Addy Irvine]

• "Huge kudos to the RPAP/MetroPAP team for hosting program orientation for this year's cohort of students! Orientation is one of our biggest and most complex events, and this year we organized a combination of virtual and in-person sessions that required an extra level of planning and coordination. Big thanks especially to Laurel, Madeline, and our fantastic student [intern] Blake [Barber] for all their work! " [Liz Sopdie]

• "The GME Team is forever grateful to Marianne Watters for her incredible partnership each and every day. I'd like to spotlight her recent help as we navigate having an open position. Marianne and her team member, Monica Rodgers, ensure that all of the details are managed so that we can successfully hold our monthly Resident Leadership Academy session. Their attention to detail, and follow-up and follow-through has been top notch. Marianne, thank you for doing the big and little things that we need help with in other areas of coverage as well. Your expertise, customer service focus and willingness to lend a hand has been invaluable. We couldn't do this without your support. "  [Carol Sundberg]

• "Thank you to the wonderful OME Admin team and amazing OME Admin Student Interns!  You all truly help keep the programs running!  We all appreciate you and all you do!" [Marianne Watters]

• "Kudos to Shannon Nelson for her amazing efforts supporting and advising several groups affiliated with the Learner Development office.  In particular, the Peer Mentor Program, Peers Supporting Peers, and the Wellbeing Committee. Her enthusiasm, insights and guidance have enabled the missions of these respective groups to become more clear and actualized. She was also a guiding influence in 2 key SIME projects this summer." [Scott Slattery]