We spent the morning walking alongside an inspector as he looked over every inch of the house we plan to buy. His report will surely be a long one, as this old house has much that needs fixing. That’s overwhelming, but we’re still excited about the prospect of a renovated house surrounded by trees and land.
When I finally go into the office, it was time to join the School of Medicine Communicators Network to hear from Mike Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations. Mike talked us through the planning and detailed preparations for the December announcement of Duke’s tenth president, Vincent Price, who’s coming from Penn.
I got back to my desk and started listening to the Fresh Air podcast. In today’s episode, Terry Gross interviews Haider Warraich, a cardiovascular diseases fellow at Duke. Haider and I often talk in the medical center hallways about writing and travel. I’m eager to read his new book, Modern Death: How medicine changed the end of life.
Midway into Haider’s interview, though, the chancellor of health affairs sent an announcement that Mary Klotman will be the next dean of the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Klotman is currently chair of the Department of Medicine — she’s my boss — and she is an accomplished physician-scientist, and an energetic, admired healthcare leader. It’s been an honor to work with her. Her promotion is fantastic news for Dr. Klotman and for Duke.
I worked late on a cool project for the Internal Medicine Residency program that will be curriculum modules giving a history of Durham and reviewing the health disparities across Durham County. Since a majority of Durham residents get care at Duke University Hospital, we’re hoping these modules will enlighten new residents, nursing students, and other medical trainees.
Back at home, I made a plate of Jasmine’s chicken salad, orzo, and hummus from Med Deli, one of my favorite Chapel Hill restaurants. Erin had picked up dinner there. She learned from the Med Deli website that Jamil Kadoura, the owner, had once lived in a refugee camp in Palestine. Now he’s a prosperous and admired community leader in our little North Carolina town. So Erin posted a message to her friends on Facebook noting that Jamil’s success story is just the story that makes America great. When she told me this, I was happy, because for years I had Jamil cater our ScienceOnline conferences, and we always had Jasmine’s chicken salad and hummus and fresh pita for our community.
© Anton Zuiker