College of Medicine

Unfortunately, I open the Dean’s Message again this month with sad news. With former state Sen. Durell Peaden’s passing last month, the College of Medicine has lost another good friend and supporter. Several of us attended his service at the United Methodist Church in Crestview, and it was packed with friends and relatives remembering a man who never forgot where he came from and always tried to help others. A large delegation from the Florida Legislature was there to honor him also, reflecting their admiration for “Doc” Peaden and all that he accomplished with them. I was proud to recognize him at our graduation in May and saw him again at a research event at Sacred Heart in Pensacola in June, and he was so proud of the College of Medicine that he had helped to create. I always enjoyed seeing him and his wife, Nancy. I regularly thanked him for bringing me here as dean, since he was part of the Dean’s Search Committee in 2008, and he always asked how he could help us next. We are planning a larger event here at the College of Medicine to remember Durell in the fall and look forward to celebrating his life and accomplishments.

I’m pleased to share good news about graduate medical education. Last month we celebrated the graduation of our first class from the Family Medicine Residency Program at Fort Myers and the second graduation at our Internal Medicine Residency Program at TMH here in Tallahassee. Both programs are moving to full strength and doing the great work of producing the physicians we need for Florida. We also received the good news that our surgery program at TMH has received its initial accreditation, so it will be able to enter the match for residents to start there in 2016.

We continue to experience transitions among our faculty — especially this summer among our clerkship directors, after many years of impressive retention and stability. Also I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Juliette Lomax-Homier, in Fort Pierce, as our newest regional campus dean. Having served as a campus clerkship director and OB-GYN education director, Juliette is an experienced leader and educator and is an excellent addition to our team.

Our Class of 2019 is on board and has already survived the first block exams. For this class, we received the most applications in our history (over 6,200) and had to make the fewest offers (around 150). Clearly applicants have heard our story, like what they hear and want to come here. I thank the admissions office — and all the faculty who participate in interviews and admissions — who do such a great job of telling that story.

Summer is going fast. White Coat is just around the corner, along with welcoming the second-year students back. Enjoy the mid-summer edition of EMR!

John P. Fogarty, M.D.
Dean