Monthly Newsletter | November 2023

For the first time since 2019, DHM staff held an all in-person retreat. The first half of the day was a learning session focused on managing time and relationships effectively at work, followed by a team-building afternoon making ramen at Nombe SF. It was a great opportunity for staff to reconnect in-person and in some cases, meet people they've only worked with on Zoom! Thanks to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to Rosemary Yau for once again planning an amazing event! More pictures are available.

Meet DHM

Get to know our division by reading our faculty and staff interviews!

Sujatha Sankaran is the new co-director of the UCSF IGHS Non-communicable disease course.

Sri Shamasunder was interviewed by poet and lawyer Dwayne Betts on the Almost There podcast, discussing poetry and medicine; his co-founding work with the global HEAL Initiative; and how his father, legendary poet and activist June Jordan, and renowned physician and Partners in Health co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer continue to inspire him.

Carmen Cobb-Walch is the Interim Assistant Director, Inquiry Funding Office, Global Health for this upcoming fiscal year.

Welcome DHM New Hire - October 2023

Yuntao Zou earned his medical degree from Medical College of Nanjing University and completed his residency from Saint Peter's University Hospital/Rutgers University. He currently resides in Mission Bay. Yuntao loves spending his spare time exploring the museum and theme parks with his baby. On Sunday mornings, you can usually find him heading to the beach or a national park.

Service Coverage: HBC (Heme-BMT)

DHM Social Activities

The DHM Community Building Committee (CBC) held a fall social event at Festa Karaoke on November 2.

A "pearl" in promoting Equity and Belonging is a short, action-oriented, topic that aims to raise awareness, increase concern, and share strategies to mitigate our institutional inequities and promote inclusion.

Nurse: "How can I help?"

Patient: "Help my pain."

Nurse looks into patient chart and replies: "You don't have any orders for medication," then immediately leaves the room.



Find out what happens next in this patient scenario, based on a real situation described by Celeste Futch of the Health Advocate program and which highlights an opportunity to build relational culture.

To share an example of how you are building relational culture, provide feedback or comments, or to share pearls for the next DHM newsletter, please email [email protected]. 

Andy Auerbach, Colin Hubbard, Peter Barish, Molly Kantor, James Harrison, Tiffany Lee, and investigators from HOMERuN have published the Achieving Diagnostic Excellence through Prevention and Teamwork (ADEPT) study protocol in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Cindy Lai and colleagues discuss strategies for advancing equity in clinical assessment in Academic Medicine. 

Priya Prasad, Yumiko Abe-Jones, and collaborators in the UCSF School of Nursing recently published a paper in the journal Heart Rhythm O2 which assessed the relationship between ventricular tachycardia and in-hospital mortality among adult ICU patients. An accompanying editorial by Dr. Margaret Harvey was also published.

Christine Lam

"I wanted to thank Christine Lam again for helping us trouble shoot the AMION question we had a couple of weeks ago. I realize that email from me came out of left field and I truly appreciate Christine's very prompt and helpful response!"

- Angela Marks

Rosemary Yao and Lena Loo

"Huge thanks to Rosemary Yau and Lena Loo for testing everyone's Apex and Voalte in time for onboarding for everyone this year. It made a really big difference!"

- Aline Zorian

Kristen Kipps

"Thank you to Kristen Kipps for your work on the CPIC report this year. I also want to acknowledge all the work you put into M&M and mortality reviews. Your integrity, organization, and diligence shine when it comes to these important case reviews. Thank you for giving these patients the additional perspective of your expertise to ensure the care that we continue to provide the best care moving forward."

- Susan Nguyen

Stephanie Rennke and Carmen Cobb-Walch

The Clinical Microsystems Clerkship Team extends our deepest appreciation and most sincere gratitude to Stephanie Rennke and Carmen Cobb-Walch for providing coverage for absent coaches on numerous occasions this past year. We have noticed that you have provided coverage for absent peers in excess of how many times you have been absent: This is tremendously helpful to our program, and we appreciate your generosity to this clinical skills curriculum your dedication to our students. Your actions so clearly reflect your passion for teaching and compassion for others.

- Clinical Microsystems Clerkship Team