2022-2023 Chief Medical Residents Pictured L to R: Drs. Joseph Granade, Aditi Jani, Courtney Wagner, and John Lockeby the Chief Medical Residents

For the first time in years as we walk the halls of the hospital, we see the bright, familiar faces of residents, attendings, nurses, and, perhaps most importantly, our patients and their families. No longer are they hidden away behind those pesky blue masks. It feels so freeing and yet also a bit strange at the same time. For better or worse, the COVID pandemic shaped us as individuals, physicians, and as a program. While its shadow was still looming, we began the year cautiously hopeful. But stepping out of that shadow, we resolved to work not only to get back to “normal,” but instead to something better than the old normal. With that mentality as our guide, we set out to take on the challenge of improving the academic curriculum, boosting attendance at our educational conferences far beyond pre-pandemic numbers, creating a central digital repository for resident information, and resurrecting our most beloved residency traditions that had been affected by COVID.

The mission of any good doctor is to help patients. The mission of any good residency program is to help make good doctors. If making great physicians is the house we are trying to build, then certainly our curriculum must be the two-by-fours. With the closure of our Renal Wards service planned for July 2023, we had an opportunity to contemplate what makes our curriculum great and, also, how we might make it even better. After more brainstorming sessions and strategic planning meetings than we can begin to recount, we developed a new curriculum structure that will provide new educational content that residents were not previously exposed to as well as abolish the long dreaded “guest call 24-hour shift.” Residents will now have the opportunity to work on the inpatient hematology service with dedicated and highly invested subspecialty faculty as they care for patients suffering from acute leukemia, stem cell transplant complications, and many other hematologic diseases. And as exciting as the new hematology curriculum is, the best part is that it also allowed us to restructure the hepatology and medical oncology subspecialty services to create a self-contained night float system, no longer requiring the residents from non-ward rotations to serve guest calls. With this change we will have drastically reduced the number of 24-hour shifts that our residents work, which is a substantial step forward for improving our residents' wellness and should also provide better patient continuity for all of the services involved.

After enjoying some fun in the sun together at Camp Dismukes earlier this year, we set our sights on the many other program traditions that had been diminished or tragically abandoned entirely during the pandemic. This year’s Annual Chili Cook-Off saw over twenty different types of chili as the residents of the pandemic enjoyed their first UAB cook-off. Our guest judges, all former alumni (Adam Jaffe, Glenn Carmen, and Channing Garber Brown), each graciously accepted their Pepto-Bismol laden fates to help bring back the tradition. We must also recognize the many residents who entered the concurrent baked goods contest to add some sweetness to the savory event. With full bellies and full hearts, we began gearing up to restore another tradition we simply could not let geaux by the wayside: the Annual Crawfish Boil. Anyone who got the chance to enjoy the succulent crustaceans prepared by our former resident, Glenn Carmen, will not be surprised to find out that both he and our program director, Ryan Kraemer, are Louisiana natives. Our interns and residents were able to learn from Louisiana’s best how to participate in a boil as we took over the majority of the tables at Birmingham District Brewing where we hosted the event. Bringing back these endearing traditions has been such an instrumental part of bringing us out of the pandemic and restoring our connection with one another outside of our work in the hospital.

With the end of our time as chiefs quickly approaching, we are so proud of how we have seen the program grow and change over the course of the year. Attendance at conferences has been outstanding since we’ve returned to in-person conferences and we couldn’t have been more thrilled to be a part of that. Our vision is that the UAB IM RESources drive created this year will be continuously refined and expanded in order to make the logistics of being a resident as stress-free as possible so they can instead focus on the more important aspects of becoming great physicians. We hope that these improvements in engagement and access to resources combined with the innovations in the curriculum and a renewed focus on our sense of community will help to carry the residency program forward to an ever brighter future.

As a residency program we were able to accomplish so much this year. We were able to do all these things and achieve all these things because we had role models to look up to. Our chief year was an incredibly unique one because we had the opportunity to learn from the example of not one, but two extraordinary program directors. The residency will be forever changed by Dr. Lisa Willett’s incredible and compassionate leadership. Each of us are better people, physicians, and educators because of her role in our lives. Fortunately, she will carry her passion for resident education into her new role as Vice-Chair for Education and Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine and continue serving as one of the most dedicated attendings to ever serve on the Tinsley Harrison service. And although moving on from our roles as chiefs is certainly a bit bittersweet, more than anything it is exciting. It is exciting because we can’t wait to see all the great things in store for the program under the continuing leadership of Dr. Ryan Kraemer. During our year as chiefs, we worked more closely with him than ever and witnessed firsthand his tireless devotion to this program and each and every one of its residents. His characteristic blend of light-hearted humor and intentionality are certain to keep the program on its upward trajectory while periodically reminding us that the practice of medicine is not only an honor, but also a joy.

We are excited to pass the torch to a wonderful new chief class just in time to welcome thirty-eight categorical and one ABIM interns this June after an incredibly successful interview season. This will be the first class to train exclusively under Dr. Kraemer with the support of a fantastic team of Associate Program Directors, composed of Drs. Jason Morris, Karla Williams, and Starr Steinhilber. As our time here draws to a close, we can’t wait to see what comes next for this truly special program that we have come to love so much. Thank you all for letting us be your chiefs; it has been our honor.

Aditi will be staying on at UAB to start her fellowship in Infectious Diseases, while her husband, Kevin, starts his fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She is incredibly thankful for the support she and her husband have received during their years at UAB, and is excited to continue her training here. The opportunity to serve the residency program as a Chief has been one of the most rewarding of her professional life, and she could not have had a better group of Co-Chiefs, program leadership, and staff to share it with.

John Locke will begin his gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at UAB in July. He is thankful for the time spent as a chief resident this past year learning from an outstanding leadership team. He and his wife, Heather, have fallen in love with both UAB and Birmingham over the past 4 years and are very excited to be staying.

Joseph Granade will be moving to Charleston, SC with his fiancé, Elena, where he will be starting his Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship at MUSC. Birmingham has been his home for almost a decade and he could not be more grateful for all the friends, colleagues, and mentors at UAB who have made it such an amazing place to live and work. He has graciously offered up his guest bedroom to anyone who would like to visit Folly Beach and attempt to learn to surf with him.

Courtney Wagner will move to Pittsburgh for a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. During fellowship, she will begin a Masters in Medical Education with the hopes of working in academic medicine, teaching trainees about how to best care for those with serious illnesses.