During the month of March, Dr. Natalie Henderson provided essential service to the medical school program that will allow 12- 4^th year students to receive credit for an ICU rotation and graduate on time.

On March 17^th, all clinical rotations for med students were shut down nationally  by the LCME and the AAMC, and are still shut down. At this time, schools were given latitude to convert required clinical courses to virtual versions so that M4 students could complete their graduation requirements and graduate on time. UofL School of Medicine had 12 senior students who had not yet completed their 2-week ICU rotation, which is required for graduation. Dr. Henderson stepped up into the breach without additional compensation or time away from clinical service and designed an innovative, effective, and educationally sound plan to meet with these students daily and ensure they completed the core academic requirements of the ICU rotation. I was able to personally monitor the class as an observer twice and debriefed with the students on the last day of the course. They universally praised Dr. Henderson as a teacher and expressed their appreciation for her efforts to complete their education by available means.

Dr. Henderson also served as a mentor for these students in a time of significant grief and confusion, as their Match Day and Graduation were canceled and they struggled to find living quarters in remote cities during a pandemic lock-down. Her kind and calm and no-nonsense presence really helped keep them from panicking and made them feel cared for in this time of distress and uncertainty. In addition to verbal appreciation, several students emailed me independently to express their appreciation for her help and presence in their education. 

We truly are grateful for Dr. Henderson’s leadership during this crisis and appreciate her selflessness and service to the school. We would not have been able to make such an effective plan to graduate these students without her leadership, expertise, and willingness to give of her time while also manning a busy PICU service. Many thanks to your department for nurturing and supporting Dr. Henderson as an excellent teacher in our program.

Amy Holthouser, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education
University of Louisville School of Medicine