Welcome from the Chairman
Welcome to the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Our mission is to provide the best care to the patients we serve, an excellent educational experience for our students and trainees, and to advance and contribute to the understanding of human illness and disease through a rich and stimulating research environment.
Our department offers outstanding facilities and a dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff committed to further advancement in terms of scientific achievement, clinical service and medical education. Our faculty members continue to receive national and international recognition for their efforts in these and other areas of achievement. Because of our dedication in these areas, we continue to be successful in the recruitment of faculty and staff that will lead us to prominence in Internal Medicine. This new and energetic faculty, coupled with exceptional faculty already in place, makes this department well positioned to meet present -- and future -- challenges in health care and medical education.
Research is a growing focus at the Department of Internal Medicine. Prominent areas of study currently include Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Hypertension, Immunology & Rheumatology, Nephrology, Hematology / Medical Oncology and Radiopharmaceuticals and Pulmonary / Critical Care Medicine. The department is increasing investigative efforts through a multidisciplinary approach to research, which has increased cooperative partnerships between divisions and departments within the School of Medicine and other colleges on the Columbia campus. In addition, the department continues to further expand scholarly activities and encourages faculty, residents and fellows to actively participate in research and to pursue opportunities to present and publish their findings.
Our clinical programs in the department are designed to be responsive to the ever changing healthcare environment. We pride ourselves in delivering high quality, cost effective clinical care in a patient-centered multidisciplinary approach. Although there is growing emphasis on diagnosis and treatment in the outpatient setting we maintain an active inpatient service for all University Hospitals and Clinics. We have observed unprecedented growth in the demand for our procedure-oriented subspecialties. In addition, we continue to enhance our primary care activities by expanding our geographical presence of general internal medicine.
The Internal Medicine education programs are first rate and have led many collegiate units. Our curriculum is dynamic which permits adaptation to the ever-changing needs of health care in the marketplace. Today our curriculum accentuates care in the ambulatory setting and continuity of patient care, which further enhances our students, residents and fellows understanding of primary care. This combination of experiences produces physicians who may elect to practice in rural and under served communities. The Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs remain a key part of the University of Missouri's mission to meet the health care in Missouri.
The faculty and I consider it a privilege to work with you, the physicians of the future, and we take our contributions to your education seriously. My expectations of all members of our Department are simple, yet demanding: a commitment to excellence in clinical care, education, scholarly inquiry and research, and recognition that learning is a life-long process.
Kevin C. Dellsperger, MD, PHD, FACP, FACC
Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine
