For almost four years, as Chancellor of the Summerlin Campus, and Founding Dean of Roseman’s College of Medicine, I have been meeting with community leaders, educators, 
healthcare professionals, and members of all political parties. Each one has brought their unique perspective regarding the many healthcare needs of the community. The time spent listening, and understanding the community from their viewpoint, has been valuable, and conversations continue, many times a week, either here on Roseman’s Summerlin Campus, or out in the community.
This outreach provides me the opportunity to not only share the mission and vision of the College of Medicine throughout our communities, but also to contribute to the further growth of medical education in southern Nevada, such as advocating for expansion of graduate medical education. Graduate Medical Education is a critical component of medical education as it provides the specialized training that new doctors acquire immediately after earning their Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degrees. Since, more often than not, a doctor will typically remain in the community in which they completed their residency training, expanding graduate medical education is paramount for addressing the ongoing physician shortage in our region.
Over the past few years, with the help of Governor Sandoval, the Nevada State Legislature, and local hospitals, we’re starting to see new graduate medical education opportunities materialize in southern Nevada. Recently, Dr. Tom Hunt, the College of Medicine’s chair of Family Medicine, was appointed program director of the Valley Health System Family Medicine Residency Program. This residency program, a partnership between the Valley Health System and Optum, will eventually have 30 residents specializing in family medicine, a medical specialty with extreme shortages in our region and across the country. Opportunities like this family residency program can be transformative. I look forward to the development and expansion of graduate medical education in many specialties of medicine in the near future. More about Dr. Tom Hunt and the Family Medicine Residency Program at the Valley Health System will be shared in the print edition of spectRUm in May.
While we continue to work towards helping our medical community grow and prosper, as well as full development and accreditation of the College of Medicine, our faculty and staff continue to make their mark through community service. Most recently, we devoted time and resources to help stock the food bank at Democracy Preparatory at the Agassi Campus, a school that serves a significant number of low-income and under-served families. We were grateful for the opportunity to provide much-needed food and hygiene products to serve these families.
To learn more about the Summerlin Campus’s outreach efforts and activities, I invite you to follow the College of Medicine and Summerlin Campus on Twitter – @RosemanMedicine. And while you are at it, check out @rosemanuhs and Roseman’s Facebook page to stay informed regarding the activities of all of Roseman’s colleges and programs.
Mark A. Penn, MD, MBA
Chancellor – Summerlin Campus
Roseman University of Health Sciences