For the last eight years, Erica VanderKooy, MD, has served as associate program director for the Pediatrics residency program at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed).
It’s her time in that role – along with the support of her mentors and colleagues in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine – that has prepared her now as she steps into the role of program director, effective March 1. She succeeds Kelly A. Brown, MD, who has served as program director since 2016 and is set to become the medical school’s Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official (DIO).
“Obviously, I have big shoes to fill but I think Dr. Brown and I have worked together well as a team since we both got here in 2016, so this is a natural movement up so to speak,” Dr. VanderKooy said. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to work in a slightly different capacity with the amazing team we have in Pediatrics and with our residents, who are fantastic and motivate me every day to be a better teacher and clinician.”
Dr. VanderKooy is an alumna of Calvin College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2006. Later, she earned her MD degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 2010 and completed her Pediatrics residency training at the University of Michigan/C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in 2013.
After working in Ann Arbor and then Aurora, Colorado, Dr. VanderKooy and her husband, Timothy VanderKooy, MD, an emergency medicine physician, returned to Michigan in 2016 to join the faculty at WMed. In 2017, Dr. VanderKooy became associate program director for the Pediatrics residency program, a role in which she has focused on recruitment, training, and support of pediatric residents.
“Short term, I want to ensure we have a smooth transition as Match Day and Match Week are right around the corner,” Dr. VanderKooy said. “Long term, I want to continue the work of growing our residency program and our profile, both in the community and more broadly.”
As she steps into her new role, Dr. VanderKooy will be supported and assisted by Jocelyn Deleon, MD, and Nicole Garton, MD, who will serve as associate program directors. Dr. VanderKooy said she is excited to work with Drs. Deleon and Garton, and believes their experience as physicians and leaders will be an asset to the residency program and help enhance training for residents moving forward.
“I’m really excited to work with them; they both bring different perspectives and different strengths,” Dr. VanderKooy said. “We complement each other well and together, we make a complete team.”
In addition to the opportunity to work closely with Drs. Deleon and Garton, Dr. VanderKooy said she is also grateful to Dr. Dilip Patel, chair of the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, who encouraged her to step into the role of program director after Dr. Brown made the decision to take on her new leadership role.
“Dr. Patel is an incredible leader within our department and when this opportunity came up, he advocated for me to seek out this role,” Dr. VanderKooy said. “I really appreciate his encouragement and his belief in me.”