Annual Pub 2023 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 30
K I R K K E R K O R I A N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT U N LV
THE EVOLUTION OF THE
BY ROBIN BIFFINGER
N A D I A G O M E Z , M D, M B A , A N D T H E O B - G Y N T E A M
ust one year into her tenure as interim department
chair of obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN), Nadia
Gomez, MD, MBA, looks back on a period 昀lled with
challenges and triumphs. From day one in her new
role, February 8, 2022, she wanted to make an immediate
difference. Not wanting patient care and learning by
students to be affected, Dr. Gomez set three swift goals in motion
on her 昀rst day: improve communication, invest in team members,
and create a collaborative environment.
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She requested that the dean and leadership schedule a department
informational meeting that very day so that everyone could air their
questions and concerns. Dr. Gomez recognized that with change
comes uncertainty, and she wanted everyone to be reassured
moving forward.
To set about her 昀rst goal and improve communication, she created
weekly meetings with UNLV associates (administrative and clinical
support staff) and faculty leaders to build a true collaborative
environment. These meetings included anyone having touch points
with patients so everyone in the department, regardless of title or
position, were welcome to attend. With all of these meetings in place,
she could place a check mark by goal number one.
“Everyone knew my priorities were to maintain high-quality medical
education, as well as high-quality patient care and access,” says Dr.
Gomez.
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Investment in the team meant everyone, from administrative and
clinical support staff to residents and faculty. She sent medical
assistants to conferences to learn about innovative women’s
healthcare treatments. She approved and encouraged administrative
support staff to attend conferences and develop interdepartmental
projects to improve the physician onboarding and credentialing
processes. She created pathways for academic physicians to
translate their clinical work into high-yield academic work and,
therefore, help them develop their curriculum vitae (CV) for further
academic career development and promotion. Most impressively,
her team was able to retain key faculty members and recruit
subspecialties such as urogynecology, complex family planning,
and maternal fetal medicine into the department.
The department experienced challenges initially with the departure
of several faculty, as well as the clinic administrator, supervisor, and
昀nancial administrator.
