Alumni Dear Alumni and Friends,
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s many of you know, Jean Ramsey stepped down as associate dean for Alumni Affairs in July 2020 after leading the Alumni Office for 13 years. I am honored to succeed Jean in this role and build on the successes of the Alumni Association. As a graduate of Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health and the Family Medicine Residency Program at Boston Medical Center, I have committed my entire professional career to teaching and providing inpatient and outpatient care to patients in and around Boston. Along with my clinical duties, I am honored to be a faculty member in our inaugural cohort of BUSM’s Academy of Medical Educators, teaching and advising first- and second-year medical students longitudinally in the doctoring courses. Additionally, my academic and scholarly interests are in interprofessional education and collaborative practice, both in the classroom and clinical learning environments. New Ways to Stay Connected The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us in ways we never imagined, with many of us juggling clinical care, research, and teaching—including the next generation of clinicians—as well our own children. We are discovering new ways to do the work we do while staying connected. Spearheading alumni and student relations in the pandemic setting has provided the alumni team with an opportunity to think outside of the box. This year, we developed initiatives to bring our community together virtually, not only for social support but also for personal and professional growth. To date, we have hosted nine alumni events, with more events to come before year’s end. These activities have seen alumni participation climb, including among people who ordinarily would not attend or connect with BUSM. Opportunities for collaboration have been highlighted during the pandemic. Partnering with Student Affairs, we virtually connected students across academic years with alumni and faculty, understanding the long-term impact of social distancing and isolation and the necessity of fostering an inclusive and engaging environment that supports community. Events were purposely created to place students, alumni, and faculty in small-group breakout rooms, with alumni and faculty sharing why they entered their chosen discipline or what they wish they had known as firstyear medical students. We know firsthand that these interactions between students and alumni have been key to the medical student experience this year.
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Boston University School of Medicine
NEWS
CONTACT US: If you have news, announcements, or creative works you’d like to share with your fellow alumni, please write to the BUSM Alumni Association at 72 E. Concord Street, L120, Boston, MA 02118 or email us at alumbusm@bu.edu.
What will post–pandemic alumni activities look like? Giving all students and alumni a place to belong and return to is a top priority. We know the importance of having a personal connection, and that sometimes it can be done well virtually and other times, in-person is preferable. Whether clinical shadowing, mentoring, or connecting alumni within and across years, we are looking forward to identifying new ideas and ways for our students and alumni to engage with each other and BUSM. Our community is strengthened through our alumni. The Alumni Association Office and board are investigating how to be more inclusive and further support our alumni, students, and the BUSM community. With your participation, we hope to offer more mutually beneficial and varied programs and activities for students and alumni. Reunions! BU Alumni Weekend will be held September 29 through October 3. BUSM looks forward to welcoming back the Classes of 1971, 1986, 1991, 1996, and 2011 for their milestone reunions! At this time, we anticipate a hybrid approach to reunion activities and will keep you posted on any changes. In the meantime, we encourage you to connect with your classmates and consider sponsoring a virtual gathering while we await in-person events. If you’re interested, please contact us at alumbusm@bu.edu. Since fall 2020, we have had four virtual class reunions, with BUSM class leaders celebrating and sharing virtual toasts with their peers. Alumni feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and as one alum noted, the reunion was “a chance to reminisce with classmates and to be reminded that we were once goofy yet sincere in our quest for our education.” Another commented on “an opportunity to see classmates that I didn’t even know were living! So many are still involved in medicine.” There is a lot going on. I invite you to stay connected and invested in the BUSM community. Please reach out to me with any questions at alumbusm@bu.edu. Wishing you the best,
Heather Miselis, MED’04, MA/MPH’00 She/her/hers
Assistant Dean for Alumni Affairs Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Principal Investigator, Boston University Community Health Alliance of Medical Professionals (BU CHAMPs)
