With patient outcomes in the nation’s top 10%, the UF Health Shands Transplant Center is once again Florida’s foremost destination for transplants. As of July, five organ transplant types demonstrate exceptional results as evaluated by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR.

SRTR’s five-tier outcome assessment looks at three main metrics: survival on the waiting list, getting a transplant faster and one-year organ survival.

“Our exceptional team of skilled surgeons, compassionate health care professionals and infrastructure has played a pivotal role in this remarkable achievement,” said Thiago Beduschi, M.D., chief of the division of transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery.

One year after the UF College of Medicine launched the Well-Being Index, a tool designed to help residents, fellows and program leaders better understand the stressors associated with residency training and improve management of mental health needs, the college has gathered data on what trainees have identified as strengths of their programs, as well as areas where improvements can be made.

The College of Medicine made access to the short, confidential questionnaire and associated resources available last July, piloting it with trainees as a project under the people pillar of the college’s strategic plan. With the tool now open to physician faculty, the college’s goal is to collect as many responses as possible to guide the development of the most beneficial approaches to improve well-being for the college community.

The students in the UF M.D. class of 2027 hail from 43 undergraduate institutions and include parents, a U.S. Army combat veteran, a muralist and a former professional soccer player.

“There have been many advances in medicine since I went to medical school, and today new technologies and artificial intelligence are evolving medicine further, but what it really comes down to is caring for the patient,” said Joseph Fantone, M.D., senior associate dean for educational affairs. “Stepping forward to be an advocate for your patients is critical and something we looked for in you as part of this selection process, and you’ve all exhibited these values and character traits. We’re really pleased you’re joining us.”

This year also saw the greatest number of first-year students joining the MD-PhD Training Program, with 11 students beginning their journeys toward becoming physician-scientists this fall.