Under the Scope newsletter celebrates three years

Under the Scope, the monthly newsletter of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, just celebrated its third anniversary of informing, inspiring, and engaging staff, faculty, residents and fellows.

When the monthly employee newsletter was launched in October 2018, the department’s team of 350 was spread across five locations. By sharing stories about the department’s breakthroughs in research, dedication to patient care, advanced training, and people and teams behind the scenes, department leaders felt colleagues would be better informed about what is happening in the department.

“We also hoped the newsletter would help our people recognize the positive impact they are having, together, on the lives of patients today and in the future,” says department Chair Craig Buchman.

Highlighting stories about the people in the department was, and continues to be, a priority for  Debbie Scherr, executive director of Business Affairs.

“We are a department of dedicated, hardworking people accomplishing amazing things for our patients, and for future patients, so we feel it’s important to feature a variety of stories about our people,” she says.

In addition to stories about research, education and patient care, every month the newsletter features Q&As with people in the department, from staff and residents to faculty and alums.

The department is now spread across 15 clinic and office locations, so the newsletter is more important than ever, says Buchman.

“Under the Scope helps us celebrate the department’s accomplishments, while renewing our focus on the mission: to improve patient lives by advancing our field,” he says.

In addition to being sent to the entire department on a monthly basis, another version of Under the Scope is sent to alumni, referring physicians, medical students who are applying to residency, and Washington University colleagues. Since its launch, 50 issues of Under the Scope have been sent, including a total of nearly 700 stories.

Brian Faddis, PhD, and marketing and communications consultant Callaway Zuccarello publish the newsletter every month with the input and direction of Buchman and Scherr.