Month: June 2009

Dr. Bruce E. Gould Receives Faculty Recognition Award

Bruce E. Gould, M.D.
Bruce E. Gould, M.D.

Congratulations to Dr. Bruce E. Gould who was awarded the UConn Health Center Board of Directors Faculty Recognition Award. Established in 2003, the award recognizes and celebrates excellence in faculty members.

Dr. Gould, professor and associate dean for primary care at the UConn School of Medicine, has earned a reputation as an advocate for public health, primary care and preventative medicine. He also serves as director of the Connecticut Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program, medical director of Hartford’s Department of Health and Human Services, and medical director of the Burgdorf Health Center, a community clinic serving the underserved population in Hartford’s north end. A primary care general internist, Dr. Gould also is the founder of and adviser to the Mobile Free Migrant Farm Workers Clinic, which has served Connecticut’s migrant farm worker population since 1998.

Dr. Gould is involved in the development and delivery of the medical school’s quality improvement and patient safety curriculum, as well as its nutrition curriculum. He helped establish UConn’s Urban Service Track, a special mentorship program designed to produce doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists committed to serving Connecticut’s urban underserved populations, and the Youth Health Services Corps, a nationally recognized recruitment program that trains and places high school students as volunteers in various health care agencies.

Commencement Thoughts

I was truly honored and proud to participate in the Health Center’s Commencement exercises for the first time as Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Connecticut. The School of Medicine and the School of Dental Medicine graduated women and men who were trained by the finest faculty, inspired by their fellow students, and supported by family and friends. These new physicians and dentists embark on a journey well prepared to tackle the challenging face of modern healthcare. I hope they will continue to be passionate about their work, be open to new ideas, and be generous to the people who need them. As caretakers of patients, our goal is to heal some, help many, but comfort all.

The Graduate School also participated in the ceremony, and for the first time, Ph.D. students graduated alongside their physician and dentist colleagues. As someone who has obtained a Ph.D., I well know what a grueling and uncertain task it is. The average student now spends between five and seven years completing their degree. As they embark upon careers of scientific inquiry, I wish them well.

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