UW Dermatology Gathers for Annual Division Retreat

UW Dermatology held its Annual Division Retreat on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, welcoming faculty, staff and trainees for a full day of reflection, team building, and goal setting at the University of Washington’s wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ “Intellectual House,” a longhouse-style gathering space on campus.

The annual working retreat invites all members of the division to come together, meet new team members, celebrate achievements over the last year and work on division-wide initiatives for next year and beyond. It is also a time to step back, reaffirm our shared values and mission and build bonds between team members.

The theme of this year's retreat, “From Acorn to Oak,” focused on the future growth and development of UW Dermatology as the division prepares to become a department within the UW School of Medicine in 2023.

This year's retreat included a “Shark Tank” activity with attendees proposing new division-wide activities or initiatives to improve communication and collaboration among teams, and a “Narrative Medicine” exercise led by UW Dermatology residents Drs. Caitlin Crimp, Mariam Alam, and faculty mentor Dr. Andrea Kalus, which asked attendees to work collaboratively on group poems.

The highlight of the day was a visit by some "ear-resistibly" fluffy guests from 24 Carrot Parties. Staff, faculty and trainees had the opportunity to take turns snuggling with bunnies to relax and wind down for an hour of pure cuteness overload.

Huge appreciation to all who helped organize and present at this year’s retreat; Alyssa Deguzman, Dr. Michi Shinohara, Dr. Paul Nghiem, Melina Mambalam, MHA, Paul Anthony Riili, Dr. Meredith Sheedy, and our Admin Team. 

Special thanks to UW Dermatology’s Volunteerism Committee for helping coordinate another successful food drive this year to support the UW Food Pantry.  

Click to view more photos of the retreat. — Thanks to Jung Hyun Lee, PhD, for the fabulous photos!