My first full year here at Yale is fast-approaching and of the qualities that come to mind about our Department, the first is our resilience. A month before COVID, we were discussing our strategic plan and how we want to shape our part of the orthopaedic world. Like everyone else, the pandemic forced us to adapt and change our approach. It was also a moment that highlighted our strengths: we were able to quickly open an urgent care clinic for our patients in need, begin telemedicine and help our colleagues across disciplines as they learned from the crisis on the go.
The change from our usual day-to-day highlighted the commitment at all levels from our faculty, residents, and staff to improving care for our patients, from directly in the clinic, to shifting our research focus in some cases to PPE, and of course, helping our residents become the best surgeons they can be.
We go forward into the end of 2020 though with our strategic vision in mind and still in place. We will be opening new locations, the first in Guilford, with plans to move elsewhere in the state too, and to look for a home in New Haven for a surgical innovation center specializing in 3D surgeries. This goes hand-in-hand with our plans to bring in more faculty who share our vision for improving care not only for our patients, but to improve orthopaedics for all.
Our dedication to research also remains. We will renovate our existing lab spaces, recruit more scientists, begin an annual research retreat, and leverage new collaborations across campus to make use of all that Yale has to offer.
Finally, we plan to make renewed investments in education. We will improve diversity in our residency program by instituting a new interview process following the Graduate Medical Education guidelines. We will invest in faculty development and begin a new education training course for them. I believe in the value of a global education for residents to provide them with exposure to different methods used by our colleagues around the world that face varying challenges in their health systems. COVID-permitting, we will formalize a global orthopaedic rotation and will look to secure funding to support these efforts.
We are just getting started. I am excited by what the future holds and expanding our part in transforming musculoskeletal health.
Sincerely,
Lisa L. Lattanza
Chair, Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation