GRAND FORKS — The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences is celebrating the promotions of several administrative faculty.

SMHS Dean Marjorie Jenkins said in a release that each of the administrative changes will help the medical school better meet its mission of serving North Dakota. In an interview with the Grand Forks Herald, she commended the staff and faculty at the school for their important work.

She meets with her associate deans and senior associate deans twice a month. They have more than 100 years of institutional memory between them, she said.

“They have been so absolutely phenomenal,” she said. “They’re just all in and just hardworking. … I love to tell them how appreciative North Dakotans are of their work.”

The medical school announced four promotions. They include:

• Dave Relling, former chair of UND’s Department of Physical Therapy, will become the senior associate dean for health sciences.
• Susan Zelewski, a veteran clinical professor in the SMHS Department of Pediatrics, will be the associate dean for graduate medical education.
• Dinesh Bande, chair of the med school’s Fargo-based Department of Internal Medicine, will be associate dean for academic and clinical integration.
• Jennifer Peterson has been named assistant dean for “Phase 2/3,” and will be traveling to clinical sites in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota to bolster the med school’s clinical curriculum, the release said.

Peterson’s role will involve establishing or expanding clinical preceptor sites for third- and fourth-year medical students, as well as leading student education initiatives related to residency interviews and helping to coordinate the application and residency match process for graduating students.

“I am looking forward to working closely with medical students in their final two phases of medical school,” Peterson, who also is a pediatrician at Altru in Grand Forks, said in the UND release about the promotions. “They are bright individuals who work hard and impress me every day. I am also very excited to work with other clinical faculty across the state and region.”

Zelewski had previously served as assistant dean for Phase 2/3, as well as associate dean for clinical medical education. As associate dean for graduate medical education, she will focus on the med school’s post-graduate medical residency and fellowship programs, the release said.

“I am excited to start this new role as associate dean for (graduate medical education) and for the exploration and learning it brings,” she said in the release. “I look forward to the opportunity to continue contributing to our school’s efforts to expand health care for the people of North Dakota in a new setting.”

Bande’s new role as associate dean for academic and clinical integration will have him building collaborations between UND and other academic institutions with clinical teams within the state’s health systems. Aligning practice, education and research will help bridge the gap between evidence-based care and population health, the release said, while also fostering innovation and health care delivery excellence.

“At the SMHS, one of our key goals is to shape a future workforce – and upskill current professionals – by promoting partnerships between academic organizations and teaching health systems focused on value-based care principles,” Bande said in the release, referring to UND’s new Learners Improving Value Equation initiative. “This initiative aims to embed health system sciences – including quality and safety, patient-centered care, utilization management, clinical documentation integrity, population and public health, clinical informatics, artificial intelligence, leadership and policy and advocacy – into both medical and graduate medical education. I am humbled and honored to have the unique opportunity to collaborate and further our school’s purpose.”

Relling, as senior associate dean for health sciences, will have responsibility for all non-medical training programs at the med school. That includes physical therapy, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, athletic training, medical laboratory science and programs in population health and public health, the release said.

“The health sciences programs at the SMHS have excellent leadership, faculty, staff and students,” he said. “The interprofessional and collaborative educational opportunities prepare graduates to be knowledgeable, compassionate and effective health care providers for North Dakota and the nation. I am honored to step into the role of senior associate dean to support the department chairs and programs as they serve the people of North Dakota through education, research and service.”

Otto is the University of North Dakota reporter for the Grand Forks Herald.