Deborah German, MD, Founding Dean, University of Central Florida College of Medicine on How She Built the Program from Square One
For our August 17th episode, Senator Frist sits down with Dr. Deborah German, the Founding Dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, who shares how she took on a seemingly impossible task and united an entire community around her vision.
Dr. German says of her vision, “I wanted to build a medical school that would be among the best, and ultimately would become a global destination for research, patient care and education. The College of Medicine had one person in it, and that was me.”
Established in 2006, the UCF College of Medicine is one of the first U.S. medical schools in decades to be built from the ground up. Under her impressive leadership, the College of Medicine:
- Achieved full accreditation
- Raised funds to provide full four-year scholarships for the entire Charter class
- Built a team of over 500 faculty and staff, and
- Oversaw construction of 375,000 square feet of medical school space in the emerging Medical City at Lake Nona in Orlando.
Dr. German is also a long-time friend of Senator Bill Frist. They have known each other since their days together at Vanderbilt where she was Associate Dean for Students and later Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education. Her passion and inclusive leadership was clear then and is palpable in this interview.
“Day one of medical school, minute one of medical school, I have a class with them [the new students] in front of all of their parents, all of the faculty, all of the staff, and I have a blackboard. And on the blackboard I write, ‘The Good Doctor – A UCF Tradition.’ And I tell the students that they are entering a wonderful profession, and I ask them to imagine the person they love most in the world is sick, and no one knows what’s wrong with them. And they’ve been in four waiting rooms, four different doctors, and we still haven’t figured it out. And they are very worried about this loved one. And they’re sitting in the waiting room with them. And I want them to tell me the qualities that they hope this next doctor will have. And on a blackboard, I write whatever they say…. And at the end of that exercise, I tell them that we have a contract that we have just created, that they will work to become this doctor that we’ve written on the blackboard over the next four years. And this is a contract with me, with their faculty, with their community, and with each other.”
Dr. German goes on to say, “Four years later, I get up to give the commencement address. And I talk a little bit about the class, but one of the questions I ask them as they’re sitting there in their caps and gowns… is if they remember their first day, their first minute of medical school. And of course they all nod their heads. And then I ask them if they remember The Good Doctor. And they say they do.” She then asks, “…well, this is the day, have you become The Good Doctor?”
As the room goes quiet, Dr. German gives them a charge they will never forget, “You have now realized that becoming The Good Doctor is a lifelong endeavor.”
Click here to listen to this week’s episode and hear more from Dr. Deborah German on how she built a world-class medical school, and so much more, from the ground up.
