A Commitment to Excellence
UW Medicine CEO Paul Ramsey’s passion for rowing is paying off for Husky crews
By Mark Moschetti
Former Husky coxswain Laura Denman remembers thinking that she didn’t regard herself as anyone particularly special during her days as a pre-med student.
Then she met Dr. Paul Ramsey – CEO of UW Medicine, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Washington.
“You feel like you’re one of a thousand pre-meds,” Denman said. “It’s pretty incredible to be an undergrad and sit down with the dean of your top-choice medical school. To have him take time out of his incredibly busy schedule and listen to your aspirations, it made the UW seem attainable – provided I worked really hard.”
Denman kept working hard, kept coxing the Husky men, finished her undergrad degree in public health in 2012, and now is a first-year med student at UW’s School of Medicine Spokane.
And Paul Ramsey? He has kept reaching out, to Denman and other members of the Huskies’ national-caliber crews who are interested in medicine. This is one dean and CEO who hasn’t forgotten his days as an undergrad – or as a rower.
“A bunch of what you learn in rowing fits very well in medicine,” said the 65-year-old Ramsey, who still rows regularly – and competitively. “It’s based on teamwork, accountability, identifying goals and ways to achieve them. And it’s based on trust and trusting the other person in the boat with you.”
Ramsey, a Pittsburgh native and Harvard graduate, has always enjoyed working with students, and often has been engaged in some aspect of teaching since starting his career in the 1970s. Ramsey said it was about 10 years ago when he began mentoring some of the UW rowers.
“He has been incredible for our program and for rowing in the Northwest, and for the hospital system,” said men’s rowing head coach Michael Callahan said. “He’s dean of the medical school, a vice president of the university, and it’s refreshing to know that someone in those seats is interested in students on campus.”
“Being a competitive rower in an elite program is a major commitment. You have to put in the work, organize your time, and work with others,” Ramsey said. “It’s not only about training yourself, but training yourself to work with others.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the type of discipline, work, teamwork and trust that go along with success in an elite rowing program are those same characteristics that are needed for success in healthcare.”
Former UW rower Colin Phillips (Class of 2006), who was mentored by Dr. Ramsey says “To have Dr. Ramsey around was an amazing example of someone who had done both things very successfully. I had a chance to meet with him and discuss the best way to go from an intense rowing, scholastic, undergrad experience to a medical school experience that was equally intense.” Phillips is now a cardiology fellow in Boston, and – just like Ramsey did – is teaching med students.
What Ramsey does – and how he does it, whether as a dean, fellow rower, or as someone who is just there for people – isn’t lost on Phillips.
“I thought through rowing, I had accrued enough exercise to not work out for the next 10 years,” he said with a laugh. “But Dr. Ramsey told me that no matter what you do, you need to work out for an hour every day. Those are words I still live by.”
