Leading the Department of Medicine is a privilege. There is the pride in seeing the accomplishments of our faculty, excitement in building new Divisions and launching new graduate training programs and a sense of future-building inspired by the training of talented young physicians. Above all I have the sense of being engaged in a dynamic and passionate team dedicated to achieving positive goals: preventing disease and healing people, teaching medical students and residents, and performing research that will improve the future. However, medicine is not an easy profession.