By Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, professor and interim chair
For the past two years, our department has been in what could be considered a transition period, an in-between period, a liminal space. The period of an interim chair was presented to me as a time of “treading water” and “making sure the trains run on time.” However, I have been consistently impressed and inspired by our department’s ability to navigate this time with grace, learning, and progress. I’d like to highlight some of our accomplishments to reflect on as we prepare for our next phase and new leader.
One major task was navigating the changes at the institutional level that impacted our department. Two memorable ones included IT consolidation through the SMPH Information and Informatics Technology Collaborative and the new faculty compensation plan. These both represented sizeable changes across the breadth and depth of our department. We approached these changes thoughtfully: we ensured that voices across the department were represented and that the unique aspects of our field of pediatrics were recognized.
We also sought ways to further connect and support each other as well as elevate our department’s commitment to and expertise in child health. These efforts included facilitating a PhD luncheon series that brings together department members across roles and divisions to lunch together, learn together, and explore each other’s labs on campus. Furthermore, we expanded opportunities through the IDEAA committee and the Research JEDI Council to advance our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additional important work across the department included efforts to introduce new educational offerings by groups and committees such as advocacy, QI INSPIRE, and the new Empowering Pediatricians Learning Qualitative Research (ExPLQR) cohort. We came together to learn during dedicated weeks focused on our clinical work, medical education, and research. We continued our traditions of celebrating together during the winter holidays while we tested out some new celebrations through our fall picnic and December holiday office decorating contest. And we expanded and deepened our relationships with joint and affiliate faculty to center our department as child health experts and conveners across the institution.
We also continued to recruit, hire, and train new department members. We experienced ongoing staff growth and implemented new approaches to provide leadership opportunities within our department such as through the restructuring of our support staff roles. We have continued our rich tradition of outstanding resident and fellow recruitment. It is a testament to our educational leaders, and our department contributions, that our residency and fellowship programs continue to do well amid a growing national crisis in trainee recruitment. We have also continued to have outstanding faculty and provider recruitment across 12 of our divisions in the past two years!
It has been my privilege to serve as your interim department chair. I have seen the full range of all that you do and the impact your work has on child health at our institution and beyond. We are a department of advocates, learners, collaborators, innovators, and leaders. We have much to reflect on and take pride in as we get excited for our next chapter together.