Author: Dr. Eva Aagaard

Was May a whirlwind roller coaster for anyone else? It was completely crazy for me – filled with ups and downs and unexpected turns. Like many of you, I spent a fair amount of May on clinical service. For those of you that do not know, I am a general internist and currently, I only […]

“Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” Minor Meyers, Jr, PhD. May is my favorite month of the academic year. Reflecting on the journey of the learners we teach – what they have experienced and how much they have grown- fills me with gratitude. Gratitude […]

Whew, our site visitors from LCME came and went the week of February 20th. For two and a half days, they met with over one hundred people- medical students, residents, faculty, staff, and administration. Our site visitors praised our hospitality and our school. Many of us feel a bit like we just ran the final […]

Well folks, it is time for the LCME Site visit (Feb 20-22). For those of you who have not been paying close attention, LCME is the Liaison Committee for Medical Education, and it is the accrediting body for the MD program. They look broadly at the school, its finances, its leadership, its faculty, and of […]

Pause? I think many people look at me and assume that I work non-stop. “Driven,” might be a word some would use to describe me. There is clear truth to that. And I am also a strong believer in the importance of the pause. It is a practice I’ve developed, use consistently, and is something […]

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie This quote comes from self-help author Melody Beattie, and I came across it while thinking about what to […]

Do you ever wonder what our strengths and weaknesses are as an institution? Want to know? Well, it turns out this is a core function of the LCME self-study process. While we won’t know the results of the external peer review process until after the site visit in February (and even after that when the […]

Welcome to our new students!!!! I LOVE this time of year. Things start to cool off a little, Pedal the Cause is just around the corner (there is still time to sign up), and our new students arrive. Their arrival ushers in such an important excitement and enthusiasm- an excellent reminder of why so many […]

This summer has been quite the roller coaster ride of politics, weather, ongoing pandemic, and more. First, the Dobbs decision sent shockwaves through our country. It is clear that the impacts of the Supreme Court decision will be profound but the details of state-specific laws remain somewhat unclear. Some experts suggest it will be years […]

On June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court released its final decision regarding Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, et al. This case specifically challenged both Roe v. Wade and a later case, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa v. Casey. SCOTUS overturned all three cases […]

Today, I want to talk a little bit about gun violence. I am not a public health expert and I am not going to get political—I just want to talk about what we know and offer hope that things can get better. Let’s start with the facts. Every year, more than 45,000 people in the […]

Last week, I had the pleasure of both participating in the planning of our upcoming commencement ceremonies and meeting with our outstanding alumni. For information about commencement, take a look at the University webpage. This is the first year that ALL faculty are invited to both the university-wide event and the School of Medicine MD […]

I want to begin by recognizing our 3rd and 4th year students, Kathy Diemer, Angie MacBryde, Tom De Fer and our Clerkship Directors. Our 4th years just completed the match, in stellar fashion if I do say so! And our 3rd years are now 4th years, having completed the last of the large scale Legacy […]

First, let me send my thoughts and prayers to all of you who have family, friends and loved ones in the Ukraine. There is nothing I can say or do to reduce the fear and sadness many of you are feeling. I simply hope you know that I care and am thinking of you. In […]

Happy New Year? I mean it as a rhetorical question. Without a doubt, we are starting this year in a tough spot. COVID cases are surging with the widespread introduction of the Omicron variant across the US. Unlike prior surges, we are hit hard with not just hospitalizations, but also large numbers of faculty and […]

“What’s your why?” It’s a question I suspect a lot of people are asking themselves these days and it’s a question I think most of us don’t ask ourselves enough. Your why is the reason for your life’s work, your calling, convictions, and career mission. It is where and how you spend your time and […]

But what’s your ultimate goal, you’ll say. That goal will become clearer, will take shape slowly and surely, as the croquis becomes a sketch and the sketch a painting… – Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, June 1880. On Friday, October 29th, we celebrated the White Coat Ceremony with our new first year students […]

I hope you will indulge me in a little bragging— I know, it’s counter-culture to Wash U and the Midwest in general, but I think it’s necessary. There are a lot of things I could choose to brag about in education right now, but I am going to start with Admissions (and hopefully explain how […]

I am a person who likes my rituals. Every morning I get up (I’m an early riser), make my coffee, feed the pets and then sit in front of my computer and read. Most weekdays, I read my email, whatever documents I need to review for my meetings that day and edit anything that others […]

This is a very tough time. We caught a glimpse of freedom, of recovery from this pandemic, and now it feels torn from us again. The Delta variant of COVID-19 is a difficult adversary, made more difficult by the political division we are experiencing as a country and as a world. I am disheartened, as […]