D E A N ’ S LET T ER
STILL PUSHING FORWARD The new school year is in full swing. Because of major changes in the medical student curriculum that among other things allow students more elective time earlier in their studies, the Class of 2025 started in early July. That was quite a change from our traditional August start! The remainder of students arrived during the summer as usual. We remain in hybrid mode for education of our pre-clinical medical and health sciences students with a combination of in-person and virtual experiences; clinical experiences, of course, continue to be in-person. Several of our clinical affiliates where clinical training is done (that is, hospital systems) now require proof of vaccination not only of their own employees but also of our students and residents. We’ve clarified with legal counsel that students and residents do need to comply or the affiliates are within their rights to refuse entry to unvaccinated students. I don’t anticipate that this requirement will be particularly problematic for our students, although it contrasts somewhat with our university system where there is no similar mandate. We do require students, faculty, staff, and visitors to mask when indoors at any UND SMHS facility or function because of our frequent contact with potentially vulnerable patients. This is because of the unfortunate recent realization that fully vaccinated individuals may transmit the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 even without any symptoms or other evidence
Research productivity continues to grow and expand. One of
of infection. Time will tell as the school year progresses
the measures of this is the amount of external funding awarded
whether additional protective measures may be required, but
to faculty and staff at the UND SMHS; the School currently
the recent change in pandemic mitigation recommendations
is at an all-time high. Service to the community continues as
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the
well. One example of this is our Center for Rural Health, which
reported experience with the delta variant on Cape Cod in
provides support throughout the state.
Massachusetts suggests that we’re not going to be done with SARS-CoV-2 any time soon!
4
Thus, despite the pandemic, we are moving forward. It’s not without its costs, however. And the greatest cost clearly is not
The good news is that despite the pandemic, the School is
financial but emotional. All of us are tired of the pandemic and
doing well. The educational enterprise continues, thanks to the
how it has upended our lives. As a school, we have worked
incredible dedication of our faculty, staff, and especially students.
to provide as much support as possible for faculty, staff, and
North Dakota Medicine Fall 2021
