· The first virtual residency audition rotations and interviews
· The first virtual admissions interviews
· The first virtual Graduation and Hooding Ceremony
· The first virtual Match Day experience
· The First Drive-Thru White Coat Distribution
Our students attended lectures and small group sessions from their living rooms; learned to palpate and examine each other through multiple layers of PPE; students went on “virtual rounds” at rotation sites; students were paused from doing rotations, then returned to rotations, then paused again, then… you get the picture. They also volunteered countless hours performing COVID testing in tents, triaging for busy ER’s in parking lots and providing vaccinations - first to their attendings and health care provider colleagues, then their class peers and finally to the public. What a year - for everyone. I am so impressed by everyone’s ability to make the best of our experiences while lifting each other up in these uncertain times.
And look how far we’ve come –it was a real pleasure to welcome everyone back to campus this semester! The fourth-year students are doing face to face audition rotations and interviews for residency. The third-year students’ core rotations have not been interrupted. The second- and first-year students are back on campus and getting to know each other and the rest of the community; and we commemorated a very special White Coat ceremony for first- and second-year students on October 11th where Dr. Derek Lee, a 2018 graduate of UNE COM addressed students and appropriately spoke of resiliency and of change.
We know change is inevitable, and it is often bittersweet. Many of you may know Associate Dean Patricia Kelley has decided to step down from her position at the end of the fall semester. It goes without saying that Dean Kelley’s departure will be felt by everyone in our community. Dean Kelley has led the COM recruitment, students and alumni services for almost 40 years. She has admitted, welcomed, mentored, guided, praised, and when necessary, “coached” almost every student who set foot on the Biddeford campus during that time. She has been a formidable presence for many of us from our time as students, to our transition to alumni, and like myself, you each carry a story or two of how Dean Kelley made you feel like a valued member of our UNE COM family.
Like the COM Deans before me, I have turned to Pat repeatedly for her guidance, experience, and wisdom. While we are sad to see Dean Kelley go, we are excited for what awaits her and look forward to learning of her next adventures.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I hope this note finds you and your families well. Looking back, sometimes it’s hard to fathom how we have all navigated the challenges of the past 20 months. Every one of us has met with personal, professional, social, and emotional challenges. We all deserve a good pat on the back! Personally, I am so proud of our profession, colleagues, students, faculty and professional staff and what we’ve all been able to accomplish through our resilience, and hard work.
Our experiences at COM, as a result of COVID, have been frustrating and inspiring at the same time. The students and their families missed out on many traditional experiences such as graduation, and the Hooding and the White Coat ceremonies, and we all feel that loss. Yet as a community we have been through many “firsts” and learned many new lessons since COVID entered our lives:
Letter from the Dean