What is your hometown?
Denver, Colorado
When did you join the University of Iowa faculty?
1985
How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?
I became interested early on, in junior high school.
What interested you to pursue a career in Nephrology?
The mentors that I worked with when I was a medical student.
Is there a teacher or mentor who helped shaper you career?
Yes, two of them - Dr. Stuart Linas and Dr. Paul Miller.
How or why did you choose the University of Iowa?
I thought it was a great place to live and raise a family and also a first rate academic health center.
The University of Iowa’s faculty members are united to provide exceptional patient care while advancing innovations in research and medical education. How does your work help translate new discoveries into patient centered care and education?
Innovations on this campus that advance the cause of interdisciplinary education and teamwork keep Iowa at the cutting edge of current advances which helps reduce patient errors and improve patient safety.
What kinds of professional opportunities or advantages does being a faculty member at an academic medical center provide?
It provides membership and leadership in national organizations, and notoriety for advancing one’s given field of practice.
Please describe your professional interests.
My interests are in preparing medical students to be our next generation of doctors.
As the faculty director of the Lois Boulware Medical Student Learning Community and the Director of Continuing Medical Education you remain focused on education in all levels. What led to your passion in education?
Teachers that I had in medical school and residency. They were bright, energetic, and the kind of academic physicians I aspired to be when I completed my training.
How does working in a collaborative and comprehensive academic medical center benefit your work?
I get to work with some of the brightest and most insightful professionals one could imagine.
What are some of your outside interests?
Reading novels, bicycling, lawn and garden care, cooking and exercise.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work?
Being honest, and never being afraid to admit when I don’t know something.
If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine), what would it be?
Inequitable health care.
What is the biggest change you've experienced in your field since you were a student?
Technology, and how so much information is really available at your fingertips.
What one piece of advice would you give to today's students?
Never forget to treat patients with dignity and respect.
What do you see as "the future" of medicine?
More technology and less humanistic attitudes.
In what ways are you engaged with the greater Iowa public (i.e. population based research, mentoring high school students, sharing your leadership/expertise with organizations or causes, speaking engagements off campus, etc.)?
I volunteer at the Free Medical Clinic in Iowa City, and when my children were younger I was quite involved in activities in elementary, junior and senior high school here in the Iowa City School district.