July 22, 2026 — Over the past two years, the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine has seen a profound transformation in its faculty recruitment and retention strategy: a revamped faculty orientation process, the addition of a faculty wellness committee, a newly launched and curated LinkedIn page, and an internal department resources bridge page

The timing of each of these advancements isn’t coincidental to when Benice Ylagan joined the department team in 2024. Rather, these tactics were a direct result of her leadership and passion for community. And her innovative strides did not go unnoticed by her colleagues and supervisors. In April, she was one of 20 College of Medicine faculty and staff members honored with a UF Superior Accomplishment Award for her dedicated efforts.

As the recruitment and retention manager of the department’s administrative services team, she is the first point of contact for every new external candidate and oversees the search and onboarding process for all employees.

“I’m trying to recruit for my department, but at the same time, I’m trying to build a relationship with this stranger who’s about to commit years of their life here; someone who may have never heard of Gainesville or this department,” she said.

When Ylagan’s position opened, a three-year faculty hiring plan was designed to enhance staffing stability and decrease spending on temporary coverage for leave of absences or staff shortages. She accomplished this goal in two, streamlining a strenuous process to support the hiring of nearly 20% of faculty and 50% of staff, resulting in a 15% increase in faculty coverage.

“Recognition with a Superior Accomplishment Award means a lot,” she said. “What it tells me is that the quiet work our administrative team does behind the scenes is actually being seen, it’s being recognized and it matters to the people we serve.”

While Ylagan’s position with the Department of Emergency Medicine began in 2024, she’s worked for UF for nearly five years, starting as a human resources assistant for the College of Medicine Department of Community Health and Family Medicine following the completion of her undergraduate studies at Santa Fe College. She shifted to full-time work under the guidance of her former administrator Jon Coffey, who shaped an atmosphere foundational to her growth.

“From a manager standpoint or leader standpoint, that’s the type of employee you want,” Coffey said.

Ylagan’s calling for optimization dates even further back to management positions in the restaurant industry. Many of the strengths her colleagues identified, like her drive and attention to detail, stem from being thrown into situations where she had no choice but to figure things out, she said.

“I like to build processes and infrastructures that would be sustainable without me,” she said. “They’re structures that make everything more efficient, making our process timelier. All that stuff can happen without me, but it needs to be built first. I think that’s what I’m proud of doing.”

She attributes her resilience and adaptability to watching her mother immigrate her family to the U.S. from the Philippines when Ylagan was 11.

“Watching her rebuild a life for my siblings and me with no one showing her how helped me develop a muscle I still rely on today: the ability to walk into unfamiliar situations, figure out what’s needed and find my way forward without a roadmap,” she said.