Welcoming Our New Housestaff

Dear colleagues,

This week we begin onboarding our new interns, residents and fellows. Our talented and diverse cohort of 250 physicians comprising our incoming housestaff represent 109 different medical schools from most every state in the nation, along with Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Thirty-two international graduates will be joining our programs from as far away as Poland and Pakistan and I am especially pleased that 44 of our new housestaff are graduates of the VCU School of Medicine.

This is an important and challenging developmental time in the lives of new doctors, when they effectively learn to “walk the walk” as clinicians. I know our entire School of Medicine community will do its best to provide support and to foster an environment where they can learn and grow as providers in their chosen specialties.

To our new housestaff: Please know we are committed to your well-being. We can’t care for others if we don’t care for ourselves, so please do not hesitate to take advantage of the resources at your disposal should you need assistance. Additionally, caring for a community is both a privilege and a responsibility, so I also encourage you to explore the city of Richmond and to learn more about the diverse constituencies you will serve.

This is the right place and an important time to be at VCU. You are joining a community of dedicated professionals committed to advancing comprehensive, innovative and compassionate patient care -- and to preparing you to be the physician leaders for the next generation. You are fortunate to be here—and we are thrilled to have you. On behalf of the faculty, administration and staff of the School of Medicine, welcome to our caregiving community. I look forward to the great things we’ll accomplish together.

Kind regards,

Arturo P. Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System