As we celebrate the accomplishments of the past year, I take great satisfaction in knowing that we are reaching our goals. From our successful educational programs to our clinical achievements and our research discoveries, success describes the MUSC Department of Medicine. Organizationally, we have adjusted our departmental structure with the naming of Vice Chairs of Clinical Affairs, Research, Finance and Administration, Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education, as well as Associate Vice Chairs of Medical Education and Research. These appointments will provide further direction and structure to our key initiatives as we move forward. We have expanded with the addition of the Division of Emergency Medicine into our Department and with the recruitment of more than 75 new faculty members in the past three years. With nearly 250 faculty members, the Department of Medicine now provides essential leadership to numerous programs across the MUSC campus and the South Carolina Lowcountry. As the largest and one of the most clinically productive departments in the MUSC College of Medicine, we have outstanding physicians from generalist to sub-specialist.
We have introduced and grown several new successful clinical programs in the past year including an expanded Hospitalist Medicine Program, a new Diabetes Management Service, an Emergency Medicine- and Cardiology-based Chest Pain Center and our Pulmonary Hypertension Initiative. Our physician faculty members provide leadership for the MUSC Heart & Vascular Center, the Digestive Disease Center, the Hollings
Cancer Center, the University Provost, as well as the Medical University Hospital and the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. We enjoy an engaged faculty and administration. We seek to improve the health of those we serve through the highest quality patient care, excellence in education, and innovative research. The MUSC Department of Medicine focuses these assets on an array of learning programs, facilitating the transition of inquiring students into first-rate clinicians, educators and researchers. Our internal medicine residency program continues to draw high caliber candidates and provides an example for us to follow as we lay the ground work for a new residency program in emergency medicine. Our subspecialty training programs, post-doctoral fellowships and graduate student mentors all attract a diverse pool of high caliber candidates. In the research arena our scientists conduct basic and clinical research as well as health services and health policy research. From the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute in the Strom Thurmond Research Building – a first of its kind facility we share with the VA Medical Center – to our newly renovated laboratories in the Clinical Sciences Building, our scientists work to translate scientific discoveries into patient care solutions.
As a complement to our clinical, research and educational successes, I am excited about the progress we have made increasing and promoting diversity on campus. Our Black
History Month Program, as part of the Department’s Grand Rounds series, has become a tradition that includes presentations from leaders in academic medicine from across the country. The stabilizing force behind our tripartite mission is, of course, our business support team. Our management team has instituted a Customer Service Training Initiative for all Department of Medicine support staff. Our Strategic Planning initiative, a joint effort on the part of our faculty and staff leaders, and our efforts at improving inter-departmental communication through our bi-weekly newsletter continue to produce excellent results. We’re also sustaining ourselves financially. State-funded by only six percent, the Department generates the remainder of our budget. We generate one in every five dollars within MUSC, and one in every six dollars in the clinical enterprises. Our collegial, supportive and increasingly diverse faculty, staff and trainees live and work in the beautiful “Holy City” with its steeples piercing the skyline, historic charm and friendly people. Together, Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry host a broad spectrum of cultural events, festivals, and outdoor recreational opportunities. In the course of a day you can run on the beach, listen to a jazz quartet, then catch a Riverdogs minor league baseball game in the evening. The MUSC campus is nestled in the historic district. Protected by local preservation organizations, the historic architecture and character will continue to be enjoyed and appreciated far into the future. We continue to treasure our history, our strengths and our diversity while working toward a successful future. I fully believe that other great achievements are in store for the MUSC Department of Medicine. I invite you to review our annual report and to contact us with any questions. I look forward to meeting you personally should you visit our institution and community.
John R. Feussner, M.D., M.P.H.
Chairman, Department of Medicine
Professor of Medicine and Neurology
Professor of Biostatistics , Bioinformatics and Epidemiology
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