Welcome from the Program Director
“I’m Steve Brietzke, a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Program Director for the Internal Medicine residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I’ve spent most of the past twenty years working at all levels of medical education, ranging from medical students to residents and endocrinology fellows because I really enjoy watching and helping to shape the maturation process for those who are passionate about caring for patients and to grow along a path of their own choosing.”
“One of the most important things I try to do in my role as Program Director is to set a comfortable climate for learning. We encourage residents to speak out and commit themselves to a plan of action, and not be afraid of being wrong. Two things that I think are essential to being a good doctor are a sense of humor, and a sense of humility. What I mean by that is that it’s important to be able to laugh with your patient and with your teachers. You learn more if you’re having fun while doing it. It’s said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. That’s what we want the residency experience to be for our residents! As for humility, I’ve always thought that one of the best ways to avoid errors in medicine is to always entertain the possibility that you might be wrong. Being open to new ideas is important to being a life-long learner.”
“So what are we looking for in our residents? Three things. Number one, doctor: we want people who really care about their patients, who are good listeners, communicators, and comforters, as well as knowledgeable practitioners. When I interview a candidate for the residency, I always try to imagine that I’m the patient, and they’re my doctor. Would I feel at ease and be comforted by such an encounter? Number two, teacher: we want people who love working with interns and medical students, and helping them to achieve a higher level of understanding about disease, physical diagnosis, communicating, and management of patient problems. And number three, scholar: we want people who are curious about the unknown, and passionate about pushing the boundaries of what we do know. We have many opportunities for residents to engage in research in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, medical epidemiology, and hepatology, in both laboratory and clinical settings. Here, you have the opportunity to work with senior investigators such as Dr. Jim Sowers in diabetes and metabolic syndrome, Dr. Bill Fay in microvascular physiology, Dr. Jamal Ibdah in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Dr. Les Hall in patient safety, and Dr. Bill Steinmann in clinical epidemiology. And there are many other opportunities! If any of this sounds like you, we’re eager to hear from you and hope to see you in the very near future!”
