Black: We are all working together

Dr. Kevin Black, interim dean, Penn State College of Medicine, emailed Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center staff on Monday:

Dear Colleagues,

It’s hard to find the words to appropriately convey my deep appreciation to all who have emailed, called or stopped me in the hall to offer your support as I assume this new role at our College of Medicine. Thanks to the support of so many, the transition has been an easy one.

What I’ve learned in my first eight weeks is this:  while the longstanding leadership structure for Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health may have changed, the level of commitment to each of our missions from those who work here has not. Every individual I have encountered from Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health and Penn State has expressed unwavering commitment to continued growth and enhanced excellence. It is tremendously gratifying to know that we are all working together toward a shared vision, perhaps now more than ever. That leadership of the college and health system are strongly unified, recognizing that our futures are intertwined and will be determined by our ability to work together as one organization.

We have numerous competing priorities within our health system and college. This is the case at every academic medical center and health system throughout the country. Penn State Health must continue to grow in order to provide optimal access to care for the population in surrounding regions and assure the existence of clinical training sites and learning opportunities for our learners. While it could give the impression that we are not prioritizing our academic medical center, Hershey Medical Center and our College of Medicine will undoubtedly benefit in many ways as the health system grows.

Our college and academic medical center bring tremendous value to the health system through our innovation, discovery, clinical trials and the pipeline of clinicians we educate and train. We readily take care of patients with the most complex medical problems 24 hours each day.  In reality, the degree to which we strive for excellence and the collaboration between Penn State Health, our College of Medicine and Penn State University is what will assure our future success.

Last month, someone asked me what my vision was for our College of Medicine. I don’t look at it that way. We need to develop a shared vision. Much of what I will be doing in the next several months will be listening to better understand what you find most gratifying about your work, but also understanding and working to eliminate barriers to your success and workplace gratification. The culture will not be changed overnight but I hope, in my role as interim, that in listening, communicating with transparency and acting with integrity we can work together to begin to initiate change.

Please feel free to reach out to me as we embark on a new academic year.

Sincerely,

Kevin Black, MD

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