Dear Vanderbilt Medical Alumni:
This year’s Reunion weekend — held in October — became a “double” Reunion when we combined the twice-postponed Reunion 2020 with our regularly scheduled Reunion 2022. This combined 2020/2022 VUSM Reunion weekend welcomed back 40 individual special anniversary Doctor of Medicine graduating classes to Nashville, offering us the opportunity to celebrate double the milestones!
In addition, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our Master of Public Health program during Reunion and held events for our Lonnie S. Burnett Society (Obstetrics & Gynecology), (Amos) Christie Pediatric Society, Office for Diversity Affairs, and Medical Scientist Training Program. Having alumni “come home” to VUSM/VUMC for the weekend was wonderful, and we are so pleased that we had this opportunity to reunite with our alumni, in person, this fall.
The weekend was full of activities, including several wonderful CME programs, a family brunch before the Vandy football game, an anatomy lab tour, an update on medical school admissions in 2022, a visit to the historical collections, and as always, the chance to enjoy the campus and reconnect with friends. In addition, we were delighted to recognize our Distinguished Alumni and Service Award winners from both 2020 and 2022, whom you can read more about on page 43 of this issue.
I want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for all our alumni volunteers who worked with us on Reunion weekend. These include both our class chairs and our gift chairs who worked to encourage classmates to come back (and give back) to VUSM. Those who were with our 2020 Reunion had a three-year journey to see Reunion happen, and we are thankful to all our volunteers for their efforts to make Reunion 2020/2022 a success! I’m also very appreciative of all the work my VMAA team put into the weekend as well. The partnership with alumni volunteers really helped make this a remarkable weekend.
The VMAA is excited to be back “on the road again.” We have missed being in person with our Vanderbilt medical alumni and are thankful that conditions allow us to have more gatherings moving forward. We were able to visit with two groups in April — the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in Philadelphia as well as a Chicago regional event in conjunction with the American College of Physicians meeting.
This fall, we enjoyed seeing alumni at four different events — the American College of Surgeons meeting in San Diego, California, Infectious Diseases Week in Washington, D.C., American Society for Radiation Oncology in San Antonio, Texas, and a Boston regional event in conjunction with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Boston.
We are already making plans to be in person at the American College of Cardiology in March 2023 as well as help celebrate the H. William Scott Jr. Society 50th Anniversary in Nashville in March 2023. We are planning to add additional specialty society events in the spring as well as additional regional events on the West Coast and in the Southeast…so stay tuned to find out when the VMAA will be in your area!
Please stay in touch with us so that as we plan events and develop programs in the future, you can be the first to know! You can update your contact information on our website at medschool.vanderbilt.edu/alumni or by scanning the QR code on this page.
I send my best to each of you for continued health and safety for you and yours,
Sarah Creekmore Woodall, A&S 2000
Director, Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Affairs