Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine Southern Utah
The Value of a Strong Team
by David Park, DO, FAAFP, FACOFP, RVU Vice Dean and Campus Dean for RVUCOM-SU The greatest strength of any organization is not its governance structure, impressive buildings, or brilliant strategic plan. The greatest strength is the people who work together as a team to achieve the organization’s mission and vision. I believe RVU owes its success to this very strength. After ten years of flourishing in Colorado, our team is bringing that strength, excellence, and success to the neighboring state of Utah. Who are the members of this team, you may ask? Well, I suspect that as you are reading this in the Vista View, it is probable that you are part of this team. Our team members consists of RVUCOM’s past students who have established a national reputation of excellence, our current students who continue to excel and impress, our talented faculty who deliver the educational curriculum and serve as mentors, our dedicated staff who support the day-to-day success of our operations, our effective administrators who oversee RVU’s operational efficiency, our eminent Board of Trustees who provide leadership and guidance, and our loyal family and friends who support everything we do. All of us make up the team and it is apparent that we have a strong team. The RVUCOM-SU campus is a geographical expansion of our team. This expansion was initially led by RVUCOM Dean, Dr. Thomas N. Told, who laid the foundation and framework over three years ago. A year ago, I was hired as Vice Dean and the RVUCOM-SU Campus Dean to help lead the development. Working closely with experienced faculty and staff, our architectural team received significant input in the design of the ultra-modern 104,000 square feet building in Ivins (which is on target to be completed by June 2017). This brand new, state-of-the-art building was intentionally designed to most effectively deliver RVUCOM’s proven curriculum simultaneously and synchronously with the Colorado campus. For future clinical clerkship rotations, we have increased the number of hospital affiliations and are constantly increasing the number of credentialed adjunct faculty in Utah. We currently have affiliation agreements with fifteen Utah hospitals and seventeen medical groups to give us access to over 500 preceptors in Utah. We are getting prepared. We have hired our first cadre of employees at the RVUCOM-SU campus and I would like to acknowledge these talented and dedicated team members: Sarah Anderson (Executive Assistant), Whitney Johnson (Admissions Counselor), Tommy Gugino (Admissions/Marketing Coordinator), and Judy Caldwell, DO (Clinical Faculty). With the full green light from COCA accrediting agency, we are in the process of interviewing and accepting our inaugural RVUCOM-SU class of 125 students. We look forward to the entire RVU team in our concomitant launch of the first day of class on July 25, 2017. One University; one College of Osteopathic Medicine; two campuses; and one team achieving new heights in medical education.
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