Dr. Jay Vary Receives UW Medicine Cares Award
Congratulations to Jay Vary, MD, PhD, (he, him, his), Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Operations for the UW Division of Dermatology, who has been selected as one of UW Medicine’s Spring 2022 Cares Award provider recipients!
The Cares Award was established in 2013 to formally recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and excellences of those in the UW Medicine community who consistently exemplify our Service Culture Guidelines — professional standards that ensure that anyone who encounters UW Medicine receives the same great care and service throughout the system.
Staff, faculty, patients, and community members are eligible to nominate a UW Medicine healthcare professional, staff member or a care team that has made a difference in patient care or the work environment. Recipients are selected by the UW Medicine Patients are First Reward and Recognition Committee and the UW Medicine Cares Award Committee at the University of Washington Medical Center.
Dr. Vary was one of three recipients of the Spring 2022 award alongside Drs. Jenelle Badulak, Adjunct Assistant Professor for the UW Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and Rupali Jain, Clinical Associate Professor for the UW Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Vary’s Nomination Letter
— Dr. Vary is the enthusiastic medical director of our outpatient dermatology services at UW Medical Center-Roosevelt Dermatology Center. Aside from being an outstanding dermatologist, he has been committed to issues around diversity, equity, and inclusion for many years prior to this phrase or concept being popular. During his faculty tenure at the UW, he has been quietly supporting efforts at recruiting medical students from underrepresented groups to our specialty and to bring them to the UW in the hopes of diversifying our very homogenous division.
I have worked with him personally on projects centered around the way skin of color is represented in Dermatology and his passion and thoughtfulness around this is undeniable. Recently, he was responsible for a major push to have UW Medicine offer adhesive bandages in a range of diverse skin tones, something that started initially within dermatology but has spread to the entire health system. Dr. Vary is a largely unsung hero who is more interested in getting things done rather than claiming credit. I imagine there is a part of him that would be mortified to be called out for his accomplishments and service, but that is the exact reason why he has my highest recommendation for this award.
— Dr. Vary has been a highly effective leader in terms of medical student education and championing patient care. He is the Medical Director of our main site, the Roosevelt Dermatology Clinic. He oversees all our faculty at that site. He also is very active in many roles within UW Dermatology including relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as our Faculty Recruitment Committee. Dr. Vary is extremely well liked and respected.
— I love the fact that Dr. Vary has been nominated for this important award. I believe he embodies the kind of teaching, service, and clinical care that this award aims to target. Thank you so much for considering him for this.
