Tripartite Leadership: Yancy’s vision for GIM

Dr. William Yancy became the Interim Division Chief of General Internal Medicine (GIM) in January 2023. His leadership embodies the tripartite mission of patient care, research, and education that remains the foundation of the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Yancy is a professor of medicine in GIM and has been a member of the department for over 23 years. He completed his undergraduate education at Duke, medical school at East Carolina University and residency and chief residency at the University of Pittsburgh. He returned to Duke for his GIM fellowship and joined faculty directly after.

“The division is obviously really important to me because it's been my professional home for my entire career,” says Yancy.

Yancy has always been involved in education, early on in his career as a chief resident and throughout his Duke tenure, and with all levels of learners. When he first started as a faculty member at Duke his focus was heavily on research, but later, after accepting a leadership role, his career shifted to providing more clinical care.

Yancy
Dr. William Yancy

“I feel like I can relate to faculty in all three different areas, regardless of their focus,” says Yancy. “I also feel really passionate about supporting our faculty in all three of those areas.” 

Yancy’s ultimate vision is to make the division more prominent at Duke, in the school of medicine and in the health system.

“I think our faculty and our staff have done a fantastic job of that already. So, for me, it's more just highlighting what's already being done and finding ways to grow it, because we have tremendous leaders in all three areas. Since research has become more complex and our researchers have such diverse interests, I also hope to simplify and streamline research processes for our DGIM faculty.”

Bringing People Together

Another immediate goal for Dr. Yancy is bringing people together in person. He recently held a gathering for all division leadership to discuss his goals for the division, hear any issues our leaders are facing, and to connect and collaborate with each other.

“We have such a large division, and it is really import to be able to connect with each other in person. COVID got in the way of that for a while, but I hope to find ways to bring our faculty and staff together more frequently and meaningfully.”

Another goal for Yancy is to have a GIM monthly conference series. This would help bring the division together and give a platform to share the tremendous work taking place in DEI, education, research, and patient care. 

Rooted in Durham

Both Duke and the city of Durham hold a very special place in Yancy’s heart. His parents, both in medicine, met at Duke and worked here. He was born and raised in Durham and several of his family members have attended Duke for school and/or currently work here. 

“My whole family is pretty Duke entrenched,” says Yancy with a grin.

Dr. Yancy hopes to keep meeting with division members and learning more about their concerns, dreams, and what support he can offer them. To set up a meeting with Dr. Yancy reach out to his administrative coordinator, Christina Alamo.

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