Issue link: https://kusm-wichita.uberflip.com/i/1545861
to see patients. A fellow in the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a member of the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the board-certified Tatpati specializes in polycystic ovarian syndrome, with additional research interests in access to care and medical education. In 2020, the Wichita Business Journal recognized Tatpati with an Excellence in Healthcare-Women's Health Award. But Tatpati was also particularly interested in improving resident teaching of medical students and faculty development for faculty who trained residents. When she joined the KUSM-Wichita faculty in 2007, she also joined forces with Anne Walling, M.B., Ch.B., now professor emerita of family and community medicine. Walling was responsible for faculty affairs and professional development on the Wichita campus at that time and together they worked to strengthen faculty development training for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The department's residency program is the busiest OB-GYN program in the state. As her academic career progressed, Tatpati branched into other avenues for improving the medical education of students and residents. She helped create the clinical competency committee for the OB-GYN residency program. When Mike Brown, M.D., retired in 2017, Tatpati became the Department of OB-GYN clerkship director until 2021. Then she became KUSM-Wichita associate dean for undergraduate medical education, managing the program curriculum for students in years one through four of their medical education, until she took over the helm of the school. Her upward progression was more the result of "seeing if there's a space where I'm needed," than a planned road map with the school's top administrative position as the destination. Prior to becoming dean, Tatpati said, she contemplated and even consulted with Minns on whether becoming the dean was a "good next step." "I love my clinical work and the day in and day out of that. There are always things that amaze me and are wondrous about what I'm able to do there," Tatpati said of her practice to help couples become pregnant. "But medical education is also reinvigorating and exciting. It's an area that I have always felt I can be helpful and be a change maker." Since its creation in 1971, the Wichita campus has focused on addressing the shortages of rural doctors and access to care. It's a mission that relies on a community-based model comprising partnerships with practicing physicians, medical practices and hospitals, and other educational institutions. Those partnerships, which Tatpati calls "the hallmark" of KUSM-Wichita, have been significant in determining opportunities for growth in medical education and responding to the healthcare needs of Kansans. We work with our partners. We talk with them about what their needs are, the community needs they are seeing and the rural health needs they are encountering, and we see how we can best fill those needs. I think that starting from that ground level and working together helps us make good decisions and ensures that we are providing the most useful programming and education. — Laura Tatpati, M.D., dean, KU School of Medicine-Wichita " " STRENGTHENING LEARNING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES 5