In the popular 1989 sitcom Doogie Howser, MD, a young Neil Patrick Harris plays a teenage prodigy who becomes the youngest licensed doctor in the country at the age of 14. While the plotline seemed unrealistic to most, the show ran four seasons and the actor became a household name. This week, life imitates art as a 13-year-old girl, who graduated high school at the age of 12, has been accepted into medical school.

"Today I'm just grateful. I graduated High school LAST YEAR at 12 years old and here I am one year later I've been accepted into Med School at 13," Alena Analeigh, who goes by The Brown STEM Girl on Instagram, started her post. "I'm a junior in college. I've worked so hard to reach my goals and live my dreams."ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

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She then went on to give her mother credit for her success. "Mama I made it. I couldn't have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful. You cheered me on, wiped my tears, gave me oreos when I needed comfort, you never allowed me to settle, disciplined me when I needed . You are the best mother a kid could ever ask for. MAMA I MADE IT! You always believed in me.You allowed me space to grow and become, make mistakes without making me feel bad. You allowed me the opportunity to experience the world," she continued. "I pray God blesses me so big you never ever have to want for anything in this earthly life. You sacrificed so much for me (people have no idea what we have been through) and here I am while it seems so far away the end of this college chapter is going by so fast. MOMMY I MADE IT!!!!!"

RELATED: This 13-Year-Old is Headed to Medical School. "Mama I Made it."

In the post, she also shared an image of her acceptance letter from the Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Heersink School of Medicine, which she will attend in 2024. The school confirmed her admission to CNN. According to their website, the school, a partnership between the medical school and Alabama HBCU's provides early acceptance to the students who meet their requirements for acceptance and matriculation.

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"I'm still a normal 13-year-old," Alena, who is studying for two separate degrees at both Arizona State University and Oakwood University, told The Washington Post in an interview. While most people would consider her a genius, the modest teen chalks it all up to dedication. "I just have extremely good time management skills and I'm very disciplined," she said.

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However, according to her mom, Daphne McQuarter, her daughter was blessed with a beautiful mind. "Alena was gifted," she told The Washington Post. "It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books." Alena is looking forward to paving the way for other young, Black girls. "It feels amazing to be able to create a path for girls that look like me," she told WP. "It doesn't matter how old you are. You can do it. Don't let anybody tell you no."

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This 13-Year-Old is Headed to Medical School. Mama I Made it. Best Life - Best Life

Medical student wellness requires numerous resources. One of those assets is proving to be the students themselves.

With an understanding of that, medical schools are beginning to increase formal peer-to-peer wellness programs.

We work very hard to understand the student perspective, as faculty, said Lee Rosen, PhD, associate dean for students at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (UVM). But there's parts of that perspective that are best understood by people who have gone through it recently.

Managing milestones with peer support

UVM has robust programming centered around peer-to-peer wellness. It includes a student-run wellness committee and two programs that help students with particular pain points in the early years of medical schoolthe transition to medical student and preparing for the Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination(USMLE).

The Big Sibs program pairs each new first-year medical student with a second year. The second-year student meets with the first-year student to provide emotional and logistical guidance, especially around the transition to med school.

What we do as professionals is learn to be people who take care of each other so that we can take care of the people, Rosen said. And that has to begin on day one of medical school.

Reducing physician burnout is a critical component of the AMA Recovery Plan for Americas Physicians. You took care of the nation. Its time for the nation to take care of you. Its time to rebuild. And the AMA is ready.

Far too many American physicians experience burnout. That's why the AMA develops resources that prioritize well-being and highlight workflow changes so physicians can focus on what matterspatient care.

The Step Sibs program matches a second-year medical student with a third or fourth year during dedicated study time for Step 1. The relationship, Rosen said, is specifically for emotional rather than academic support.

Isi R. Beach, is a UVM medical student in the midst of a research year. As a member of the wellness committee, she was instrumental in the development of the Step Sibs program and acted as a mentor to an M2 approaching her test date.

We like the idea of the peer-to-peer mentor because faculty took the boards years ago, but that was before it was before it turned into this really high-pressure event, she said.

It's helpful to have a student mentor because theyre probably more up to date on the best advice and they're more approachable. It's a lot easier to have the cell phone number of fellow med student than it is to call up a faculty member. It's really helpful to have that on-demand sort of advice.Learn the 4 key elements of medical student well-being.

A lesson in compassion

UVM hopes to expand the peer-to-peer program to include a resident-student mentorship program around the Match, the key milestone in the later years of medical school.

The barriers to entry for the mentorship piece, Beach said, were low.

As far as the time commitment, people used their sibling as much or as little as they wanted, she said. For me it was kind of just checking in every week or every other week over text, and it really wasn't any strain on me.

Even if it is adding one more thing to the list for medical students, Rosen believes that the mentor-mentee relationship has value outside of the wellness arena.

Students who take care of each other, who support each other to be successful, those are the kind of physicians that you want to have out in the world, he said. Those who create effective teams, who make the people around them better, that's what residency program directors are looking for.

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How medical students aid each other in the quest for well-being - American Medical Association

I am concerned. There is a brewing storm within the normally collaborative and professional family of medicine as nursing organizations and other nonphysician associations advocate in state legislatures across the country to be allowed to practice independently and without restriction or supervision. Although I understand their motivation in advocating for their profession, I fear for the unintended consequences of this movement that will ultimately undermine the public trust in the entire medical system.

I have practiced and been partners with many nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) during my career, many of whom are very capable of seeing patients independently after years of experience. I have also seen firsthand that most new graduates are far from prepared to practice outside a structured environment with mentors and experienced physicians.

Additionally, I have been critical of the inadequate supervision requirements that have been in place for decades, being neither protective of the public nor designed to improve the knowledge or skills of those supervised. In essence, supervision should be the version of advanced training that residencies are for physicians.

As a family physician, I totally understand having to prove my competence. When I entered practice, as is still true today, doing obstetrics or managing complex hospital patients was not standard in my hospital for family physicians, nor was such training assured simply by graduating a residency. (There is a difference between experiential vs hands-on practical training).

Despite training as a resident, I was required to consult and be supervised to prove my knowledge and ability, and I ultimately gained full obstetrical privileges and admitting privileges to the intensive care unit and coronary care unit. It felt demeaning, but with time and wisdom, I realized it did more for my specialty and my own standing in the medical community.

Traditionally, state medical boards are set up to license physicians and regulate the practice of medicine. They are required to set the minimum standards of practicing medicine in the state, broadly defined as diagnosis and treatment of disease, prescribing medication and performing surgery. Almost without exception, states have moved away from their own certification exams to requiring physicians pass each part of the extensive three-part United States Medical Licensing Examination; part three being taken during the first year of residency training, and licensure coming after completing one year of post-medical school residency training.

New physicians can then get their medical license, but almost all complete a residency before entering independent practice. With state legislatures granting full independent practice to advanced practice nurses and PAs and each board granting their own licenses, we are on the way to having multiple standards of the practice of medicine. I am afraid the long-term effect of this move will play out over time and, unfortunately, in the courts.

I am also concerned about the increasing lack of public transparency regarding the training and credentials of the clinician who is caring for them. There is a trend by many hospitals and other corporate clinics to staff their urgent care centers, primary care clinics with NPs or PAs, often without an onsite physician.

Although the motivation seems to be greater availability of staff and lower costs, there is concern about whether new hires at these sites are ready for such independent practice. I believe the public still expects physician care as the primary option when seeking care, particularly in the emergency department or urgent care setting. If that is no longer the standard of practice, then the public should be made aware.

There is more to unpack on the subject of physician, NP and PA workforce, as well as the many aspects of the growing conflict within the house of medicine. We at Medical Economics will begin to examine the conflict and take a deeper dive into training differences, data regarding the claim that NP or PA care is equal to physician care, and whether the growing numbers of NPs and PAs is solving our geographic distribution problem. Well also look at who is hiring NPs and PAs, the economic drivers of this movement and emerging examples of places and policies that assure patients receive the best possible care from these practitioners.

L. Allen Dobson Jr., M.D., FAAFP, is a family physician and editor-in-chief of Medical Economics.

See the article here:

The growing division within the house of medicine - Medical Economics

Freshman Warrior M.D. Class of 2026 student Tareq Hanna has won the Wayne State University Alumni Associations 2022 Howard A. Donnelly Award, given to two undergraduates considered to have made outstanding contributions to the universityin areas of leadership and service while maintaining high scholarship during undergraduate studies.

Hanna, a first-year physician-in-training at the WSU School of Medicine, was a member of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College as an undergraduate, and in May received a bachelors degree in biological sciences from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, with a minor in chemistry.

He served as an organic chemistry peer mentor, as well as a research assistant at the Parkinsons Disease Lab. Hanna has volunteered with the Wayne Health Mobile COVID-19 Testing Team, in the emergency room at Beaumont Hospital Farmington Hills, and served as president of the Detroit Diabetes Association. He has been involved with the National Arab American Medical Associations Wayne State chapter, expanding student opportunities and serving as collaboration chair.

The Howard A. Donnelly Award was established in 1927 at the request of Donnelly, a longtime WSU supporter.The award is given annually totwo selected candidateswho will completetheir bachelor's degree studies in May of that year.

I am very honored to be recognized with this award. Looking back at the nearly century-long history of this award and all those who have received it, I cannot help but be proud to be added to this list of great alumni, Hanna said. Thank you to anyone who has been there for me as a friend or a mentor throughout the process -- you know who you are.

Hanna moved to Michigan in the 2010s, after living in the Middle East and Canada.

I loved my time at Wayne State for the previous four years so much that they couldnt get rid of me! The medical school is known for being one of the best in the country and has a strong history of innovation in the field while training great clinicians. More than anything, I love the support system in place at WSU. They truly will not let you fail and they go the extra mile to see you succeed, he added.

Hanna is looking forward to continuing the work he started during undergraduate studies.

We just had our first exam, so I have quickly immersed myself academically and I am getting up to speed with the medical school lifestyle, but I am also trying to get involved outside of classes. The medical school community is just as great as the undergraduate community, so they give us lots of opportunities to get involved, he said.

Continue reading here:

Alumni Association honors medical student with Howard A. Donnelly Award for outstanding leadership and service - Wayne State University

How to make sure resignations don't derail your staff retention.

Welcome to Five Minute Practice Fix, featuring instructional videos by physician and business of medicine expert Neil Baum, M.D. These videos are 5 minutes (this one is a bit longer) in length and will provide practical ideas and suggestions that have been tested in his practice or used by other physicians that significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of their medical practices.

Today's episode focuses on retaining workers at your practice during the Great Resignation.

About Neil Baum, M.D.

Dr. Baum is Professor of Clinical Urology at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Baum is the author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice-Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which is in its 4th edition, has sold over 175,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish. He has also written The Complete Business Guide to a Successful Medical Practice, which was published in 2015. He has written a book, Whats Going on Down There? which has served as a guide for womens health.He has written ten books on practice management and the business of medicine.

Dr. Baum was the columnist for American Medical News for more than 25 years. Dr. Baum wrote the popular column, The Bottom Line, for Urology Times for more than 20 years. He has authored or co-authored over 250 articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed medical publications on various urologic topics as well as articles on practice management.

Dr. Baum has recently published a book, The Business Basics of Building and Managing a Healthcare Practice,(Springer 2019), which emphasizes the importance of being involved in the business of a medical practice.

Continue reading here:

Managing staff during the Great Resignation: Focus on stayers, not leavers - Medical Economics

Family, classmates and professors are mourning the death of 30-year-old UC Davis medical student Joshua Brandon Crane. The five-year Navy veteran disappeared under the water Friday at a social event he organized for his medical school colleagues."He saw some women in distress in the San Juan Rapids," his sister Jessica Crane told KCRA 3. "No hesitation, he jumped off his board and he got in the water and got them out."Sacramento Metro Fire and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office recovered his body in the American River on Saturday."In every sense of the word, he was a hero," his sister said. "He was a hero to a lot of people, everyone views him that way. He's my biggest hero."Crane was born in Chico and raised with his sister by their single mother. Their father died 29 years ago Monday. He went to Chico High School, then joined the navy at the age of 18.He served for five years and was stationed at Camp Pendleton and in Okinawa, Japan. When he returned, he enrolled in Chico State for undergraduate classes, with dreams of going to medical school."He was holding out for Davis," his sister said. "That was the big one."Fast forward to this summer, Joshua was a fourth-year student at the UC Davis School of Medicine.The associate dean of students, Dr. Sharad Jain, told KCRA 3 he was working toward a residency in internal medicine. He dreamed of doing that at UC Davis, as well.During his time in medical school, Dr. Jain said Joshua volunteered with people experiencing homelessness, refugees who were new to the Sacramento area, and vulnerable and marginalized communities. Dr. Jain and Joshua met on Thursday, the day before he disappeared under the American River. The two had a special bond. "We talked about his hopes, his dreams, and his ideas for a career ahead," he reflected. "I felt like he was at a really good place at the time, so I think that made this loss even more tragic."Right now, the medical school is working with Joshua's family to arrange a memorial service.His classmates have put together a GoFundMe to help his family in the meantime. If you would like to help, click here.

Family, classmates and professors are mourning the death of 30-year-old UC Davis medical student Joshua Brandon Crane.

The five-year Navy veteran disappeared under the water Friday at a social event he organized for his medical school colleagues.

"He saw some women in distress in the San Juan Rapids," his sister Jessica Crane told KCRA 3. "No hesitation, he jumped off his board and he got in the water and got them out."

Sacramento Metro Fire and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office recovered his body in the American River on Saturday.

"In every sense of the word, he was a hero," his sister said. "He was a hero to a lot of people, everyone views him that way. He's my biggest hero."

Crane was born in Chico and raised with his sister by their single mother.

Their father died 29 years ago Monday.

He went to Chico High School, then joined the navy at the age of 18.

He served for five years and was stationed at Camp Pendleton and in Okinawa, Japan.

When he returned, he enrolled in Chico State for undergraduate classes, with dreams of going to medical school.

"He was holding out for Davis," his sister said. "That was the big one."

Fast forward to this summer, Joshua was a fourth-year student at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

The associate dean of students, Dr. Sharad Jain, told KCRA 3 he was working toward a residency in internal medicine. He dreamed of doing that at UC Davis, as well.

UC Davis School of Medicine

During his time in medical school, Dr. Jain said Joshua volunteered with people experiencing homelessness, refugees who were new to the Sacramento area, and vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Dr. Jain and Joshua met on Thursday, the day before he disappeared under the American River. The two had a special bond.

"We talked about his hopes, his dreams, and his ideas for a career ahead," he reflected. "I felt like he was at a really good place at the time, so I think that made this loss even more tragic."

Right now, the medical school is working with Joshua's family to arrange a memorial service.

His classmates have put together a GoFundMe to help his family in the meantime. If you would like to help, click here.

Continued here:

Joshua Brandon Crane, a Navy veteran and UC Davis medical student, dies after saving others in the American River - KCRA Sacramento

Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, is a social media juggernaut when it comes to healthy sleep and the behaviors behind sleep disorders.

His online profile, cultivated largely on Twitter, caught the attention of producers who were filming a documentary on sleep. Dr. Grandner is featured in The Quest for Sleep, which will be screened at The Loft Cinema in Tucson on Aug. 21.

Social media use before bedtime can be one reason people lose sleep. Dr. Grandner knows moderation is key.

Social media isnt there to calm you, he said. Its there to sell you stuff, distract you and keep you engaged. What often happens is people get all worked up and mentally engaged, where they then have to detach and wind down. That mental activation becomes as much a barrier to sleep, or more, as light. And distraction in itself causes a lost sense of the passage of time.

Fear of missing out, or FOMO, can drive social media engagement and often leads to excess screen time that contributes to poor sleep. Thats due to artificial light from electronic devices, mental activation and a lost sense of time that screens engender.

You should not look at sleep as a cost of time. You should see your sleep as your commute to tomorrow.Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR

Pace yourself, and set limits on how much time youll spend online and when youll stop, said Dr. Grandner, who is an associate professor, BIO5 Institute member and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at Banner University Medical Center Tucson. Ironically, some smart phones track and inform you of your screen time, allowing you to do just that. Fitness watches that connect to your phone will allow you to track the quality of your sleep.

Even so, Dr. Grandner says, he struggles with screen-time limits for his two sons, ages 13 and 10.

Theyre both pretty good sleepers, he said. But thats because they know what to do. In our house, there are rules around sleep. We have a routine. We turn the lights down at a certain time. Sneaking screens is a perennial battle, but thats their generation. For me, the only time we could sneak screens was Saturday morning for cartoons.

Dr. Grandner was born in New York City and as a child moved to Pine Valley, a rural hamlet near Ithaca, south of New Yorks Finger Lakes area. The experience of moving from the multicultural melting pot of the city to the country, where his family bought a house next to a dairy farm, broadened his perspective and enhanced his insights as a psychologist, he said. His career in sleep health began as a fascination with dreams in high school.

I got very interested in dreams as a way to understand things we cant understand when were awake. I would read books on dream interpretation, which got me into knowing a little bit about sleep science. The idea of that as a career, though, was not even on my radar yet.

Dr. Grandner, who played piano and guitar, initially wanted to major in music composition at the University of Rochester but switched to psychology his sophomore year. Then, a classmate got a job as a tech in a sleep lab at the medical school.

My reaction was, Wait we have a sleep lab on campus? Like, this is a thing? Why did I not know this?

He signed up for a class on sleep and dreams with Michael Perlis, PhD, a behavioral specialist in sleep health who became one of his mentors and one of the biggest names in the field of insomnia research. A UArizona graduate, Dr. Perlis studied in Tucson under Dick Bootzin, PhD, a psychologist and renowned pioneer in sleep and sleep disorders research. Dr. Bootzin, along with Stuart Quan, MD, a former UArizona pulmonologist and professor emeritus whos now the Gerald E. McGinnis Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, established UArizona as a powerhouse in sleep health research.

Dr. Grandner worked in Dr. Perlis lab prior to graduating, then did his masters and doctoral work in psychology at San Diego State University and University of California San Diego. He reconnected with Dr. Perlis as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. There, Dr. Grandner earned a second masters degree, this one in translational research, under Allan Pack, MBChB, PhD, who launched the countrys first division of sleep medicine and grew it to become one of the largest sleep research programs in the world. Dr. Perlis arrived at Penn the same year, and he and Dr. Grandner remain collaborators today.

This is where my connections to UArizona started, Dr. Grandner said. The other connection his wife is from southern Arizona made it natural for him to apply at UArizona when looking for a faculty position in 2015.

When it comes to sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Grandner said the biggest impact came at the start, when most people stayed up later and woke up later during lockdowns. Schedule disruptions and less natural light exposure threw off many peoples circadian rhythms, affecting their sleep. Flexible time, work-from-home and hybrid schedules allowed people more sleep time that otherwise would go to the morning office commute, he added.

Weve found people can do all kinds of things remotely and more flexibly. And that way, we can protect natural sleep patterns, Dr. Grandner said, referring to related American Academy of Sleep Medicine- and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded research he participated in. Some people commute a long time in the morning and some dont have to, and being flexible about some of these things is great.

Many sleep issues, which are often tied to ongoing, persistent health issues, could be overcome by better sleep routines and sleep plans, he said.

People think about going to bed as, How much time do I have left in my day to devote to sleep before tomorrow? How much do I have left to do to be able to put everything down so I can be done? And that is the wrong way to look at it, Dr. Grandner said. You should not look at sleep as a cost of time. You should see your sleep as your commute to tomorrow. We should be thinking of sleep as an investment in our performance the next day.

And, he added, remember to relax. Take a deep breath. Exhale.

Nobody got to sleep faster by trying harder.

Original post:

Put Down the Phone, Catch Better Zzzzs with Michael Grandner - University of Arizona

The covid-19 pandemic has not discouraged applications to medical school. Viktorija Kaminskaite and Anna Harvey Bluemel investigate how much has changed in the application process since the start of the pandemic, and how students are adapting

Since 2010 the numbers of medical school places have risen by 31% (British Medical Association), with a corresponding increase in applications for those places. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) reported that medical applications increased by around 20% in 2020.1 Continuing disruptions to education are likely to have a lingering effect on applications in years to comeUCAS also reported a 47% increase in reapplications to medicine in 2021, suggesting that more students than in previous years were unable to secure a place during their first round of applications.2 Prospective candidates have been forced to adapt to new application processes and navigate increased uncertainty. Alongside the problems facing all potential medical candidates, the covid-19 pandemic has threatened to widen already existing inequalities in admissions, particularly the gap in recruitment of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.3

Medical work experience is often considered vital for prospective applicants to gain an understanding of a career in medicine, and to provide experiences that can form the basis of applications. When lockdowns were announced in March 2020, non-essential staff were pulled from clinical areas, cancelling planned work experience. As in many other areas, medical students

Read more from the original source:

Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on medical school applicants - The BMJ

BALTIMORE In the stuffy fourth-floor attic of a historic Baltimore academic building, amid discarded furniture and dusty filing cabinets, Larry Pitrof discovered treasure.

The trove isnt worth millions. But its a fascinating relic and a historic bridge between fact, lore and baseball.

Archibald Moonlight Graham played two innings of right field in a major league baseball game in 1905 and had zero at-bats. That was the extent of his big league career, a forgettable footnote in baseball history.

Then, years after his death, author W.P. Kinsella included Graham in his 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, which became the inspiration for the 1989 film Field of Dreams. The film that immortalized the phrase, If you build it, he will come, and which is beloved by American fathers and sons, launched Graham into folk hero status.

But Graham is no tall tale. He spent most of his life as a doctor and attended the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore in the early 1900s.

Pitrof is the medical school alumni associations executive director. Hes also a baseball fanatic whos long been intrigued by Graham.

Every few months, for one reason or another, hes visited the fourth floor of the schools Gray Hall, a 182-year-old building less than three blocks from Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Each time, hed pass a few cabinets, and each time, for 28 years, hed half-pause and half-wonder if anything from Grahams past was inside.

After Major League Baseball played its first Field of Dreams game on Aug. 12 next to the filming location in Iowa, Pitrof on a hunch there might be some trace of Graham decided to peek in the cabinets. There, within a stack of documents dating from 1812 to 1916, he found a dozen letters between the schools dean and one Archie Graham, one of baseball historys most unassuming legends.

There was that tingling feeling, Pitrof said.

The Graham documents span 1903 to 1905, the years Graham attended medical school in Baltimore while continuing his baseball career in the summers. They include Grahams matriculation cards and correspondence with the school.

Writing from Scranton, Pennsylvania where he played in the minor leagues after his MLB appearance with the New York Giants Graham noted he was enclosing $30, which he owed to the institution. In one letter, he sought a recommendation. In another, he asked whether there was any chance for me to get into Bay View in a training position, likely referencing the current Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center east of the city.

Before this discovery, there were only a handful as few as five or six known Graham signatures. In the letters, Pitrof found four more.

Graham went on to become an adored doctor, as depicted in the movie. He also made essential contributions to medical research. It was his 1945 study that prompted pediatricians to begin regularly monitoring blood pressure in children.

Theres a bounce in Pitrofs step and a thrill in his voice when he discusses Graham, who some categorize as a cult figure.

No, Pitrof protests. He was a role model.

Everybody had that chance that got away

Jonathan Algard created an eBay account in 2000 in pursuit of a historic needle in a haystack.

A baseball autograph collector who works in a foundry in Pennsylvania, Algard had the remote goal of landing a Graham signature. He took a meticulous approach, purchasing yearbooks from a high school in Chisholm, Minnesota, where Graham lived as an adult. He hoped Graham, a school physician, might have signed one for a student.

Dozens of yearbooks and 17 years into his search, Algard found it: a 1943 yearbook Graham signed for a graduate before the young man headed to World War II.

Algard, 52, has been collecting autographs since he was 5 years old, and his collection numbers in the thousands. He estimates he has six Hank Aaron autographs. But hes never gone to the lengths he did for a Graham autograph.

The character itself in the movie, I dont know, I think everybody can relate to, in a way, he said, trying to explain his and others fascination with Graham. Everybody had that chance that got away.

Its unknown why Grahams moniker was Moonlight. His medical school yearbook notes he enjoyed midnight walks and its also been suggested its because he moonlighted as a doctor. But articles at the time dubbed him Deerfoot for his supreme speed and Dr. Graham, because of his medical background. He was an exceptional minor league player and a fan favorite.

And yet, he had only the solitary MLB appearance 117 years ago last week stepping into the on-deck circle once, but never batting. He later served as a doctor for more than half a century, until his death at 88.

Field of Dreams, a reflection on the relationship between a father and son, stars Kevin Costner as an Iowa farmer who plows over his corn to build a diamond for ghosts of baseballs past. Graham is depicted both as a young ballplayer and, later in life, as a cherished pediatrician. When Costners character calls it a tragedy that Graham never realized his dream of batting in the big leagues, the fictionalized Graham replied: Son, if Id only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes, now that would have been a tragedy.

The movie takes artistic liberties, such as portraying Graham as living his whole life in Chisholm, making no mention of his origins in North Carolina nor of him attending medical school in Baltimore.

But, as in the movie, Grahams legacy is celebrated in real life. The high school in Chisholm awarded a scholarship in his honor for 20 years after the films release. The baseball field in the town is named for him, as is a festival held each August.

Grahams pioneering research into blood pressure in children was seminal, Pitrof says. And after the doctor died in 1965, a U.S. representative from Minnesota inserted his obituary which called Graham a champion of the oppressed for his generosity to children into the Congressional Record.

They did not embellish this mans character, Pitrof said of the movie.

Four signatures with a niche value

Letters between Graham and the University of Maryland School of Medicines dean sat in the cabinet, likely for decades. Despite not being preserved until recently, they remain in good condition. They are easy to read and detail practical matters: Graham sending a certification from a former school (the University of North Carolina), Graham requesting an academic catalog for a friend, and the dean writing that he is very glad to see that you have done so well academically.

Its a real glimpse into his life, said Tara Wink, the schools historical collections librarian and archivist.

One letter is signed, Your friend, Archie W. Graham, while another has a squeezed-in A.W. Graham. Two matriculation cards are signed Archibald Wright Graham.

A 1963 check signed by Graham sold for $3,000 in 2008, but signatures from the most germane period in a historical figures life are more valuable, making it possible the recently discovered letters are worth more. Still, their value is, like Grahams story itself, niche.

You could credibly make the argument that the signatures are a few thousands of dollars, and you could certainly make the argument that theyre tens of thousands of dollars, said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions in Exton, Pennsylvania, which specializes in vintage sports memorabilia.

A modern-day Moonlight

Mark Hamilton reacts to news of the discovery the way many others do: Thats so cool.

Like Graham, Hamilton had a brief major league career, and like Graham, he became a doctor. Hamilton is a Baltimore native who attended Friends School before moving away at age 12. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 and hoped to return to the big leagues, but an injury sidelined him in 2013.

When major league opportunities dwindled, he heeded some advice from his father: Baseball is a young mans game. You can be a doctor forever. Around the age of 30, he, like Graham, retired from baseball and pursued medicine full time. He graduated from medical school in 2020 and is an interventional radiology resident at Northwell Health in New York City.

During his brief MLB career, he notched 12 hits.

I definitely didnt expect my final major league bat to be my final major league bat, he said last week. I thought Id probably get called back up.

In the film, Graham retires from baseball after his major league appearance. In reality, he played three more years in the minors, likely hoping for another shot at the big leagues.

His movie self expresses a sentiment similar to that of Hamilton: Back then, I thought, Well, there will be other days. I didnt realize that was the only day.

This is history

Pitrof said the letters will likely stay in an archive at the schools Historical Collections Department; the storied system boasts one of the oldest medical schools in the country, as well as the worlds first dental school.

But he said if other organizations the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Smithsonian Institution, for example sought to display the correspondence, the alumni association would consider such a request.

This is history, Pitrof said. This is a big deal that this was uncovered, and its bigger than us.

If the correspondence is exhibited, its likely to attract visitors. People will come.

If they ever put them on display, said Algard, who still flips through his Graham-signed yearbook on occasion. I will probably go see them.

2022 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Autographs of Moonlight Graham of 'Field of Dreams' fame are discovered at Baltimore medical school he attended - The Killeen Daily Herald

Alena Analeigh made history by becoming the youngest black person to get accepted into medical school.

TEMPE, Ariz. At 13 years old, Alena Analeigh is making history as the youngest Black person to ever get accepted into a medical school in the United States.

In just one year, Alena has already finished two and a half years of college by taking a full course load at Arizona State University and Oakwood University.

I really want to leave my mark on the world. And lead a group of girls that know what they can do, Alena said.

12 News talked with Alena last year when she got accepted to ASUs engineering program at only 12 years old with dreams of one day working for NASA.

But another passion took over shortly after: biology.

It actually took one class in engineering, for me to say this is kind of not where I wanted to go, she said.I think viral immunology really came from my passion for volunteering and going out there engaging with the world."

She was inspired by a trip to Jordan and The Brown STEM Girl foundation.

What I want from healthcare, is to really show these underrepresented communities that we can help that we can find cures for these viruses, Alena said.

If everything goes as planned Alena will be 18 when she becomes a doctor.

I want to inspire the girls. I want them to see that there are no limits, she said.

Alena will attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine.

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'I want to leave my mark on the world': 13-year-old girl gets accepted into medical school - 12news.com KPNX

LITTLE ROCK Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson expressed his full confidence, support, and excitement in the future of Henderson State University in a joint news conference Thursday with Henderson chancellor Chuck Ambrose.

Praising the leadership that has worked hard to right the ship to put Henderson State on a good path, Hutchinson said that Ambrose has made tough decisions. He has my support in the decisions hes made. The most important reason for his confidence, Hutchinson said, is Hendersons singular focus on student success and on making college education more affordable, to make it more successful, and to make it more engaged going through the lower grades all the way up to grad school.

Asserting that Henderson will meet the 21st-century workforce needs, Ambrose said that through new partnerships with Arkansas State University, other two-year campuses, and New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Henderson will create pathways to high-demand jobs and meeting the needs of our communities.

Based in New York, NYIT-COM is an accredited private medical school with a degree-granting campus in Jonesboro. It is one of the largest medical schools in the U.S.

According to Ambrose, Henderson is involved in creating an I-30 learning community from Saline County to Arkadelphia, including K-12 partners, Arkansas State University-Three Rivers, Saline County Career and Technical Campus, and Henderson.

We will look a little different than higher education around the state, Ambrose said, and thats okay.

CLICK HERE to read more of this article at The Arkadelphian.

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The Arkadelphian : Henderson to partner with NY medical school, two-year campuses - Magnoliareporter

Gerry Escovitz, 85, of Ardmore, retired vice dean and professor of medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, expert and international consultant on medical education, and former chair of the board of directors at Freire Charter School, died Sunday, May 29, of a cardiac event at his home.

Celebrated by his colleagues at Freire in 2020 for his consultation, strength, counsel, insight, and curiosity, Dr. Escovitz, they said, challenged students everywhere to become critical thinkers, doers, knowers, visionaries, inventors, and leaders ready to build the future.

Dedicated to education and inspired by young people, he served on the board of directors at the Philadelphia high school beginning in 2001, was vice chair, treasurer, chair of the education committee, and then, from 2014 to 2020, chair of the board. He had such passion for the school, said his wife, Francyn. He believed in the youth of tomorrow and today.

Dr. Escovitz helped Freire establish a permanent school on Chestnut Street, earn national attention for accelerating student growth, and add a middle school on Market Street, a tech school on Broad Street, and a second high school in Wilmington. He was inquisitive, involved, thoughtful, and very funny, Kelly Davenport, chief executive officer and network founder at Freire Schools, said in a tribute. But, most of all, he really loved our kids.

Dr. Escovitz helped 2,500 students graduate during his two decades of leadership at Freire. At their June board meeting, the directors said he always believed in the right for every student to have the best, top-notch college prep education regardless of race, background, zip code, or experience. Gerry, you will guide us, and our commitment is to honor you now after you have honored students all these years.

Before his time at Freire, Dr. Escovitz championed medical education and research for nearly three decades as a doctor, professor, and administrator at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, now the Drexel University College of Medicine, and as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation.

He published papers on continuing medical education, health-care accountability systems, and other medical topics, and directed domestic and international medical education projects with the American College of Physicians, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Society of Medical College Directors of Continuing Medical Education.

Certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, he began his career in Philadelphia in 1969 as assistant professor and deputy director of the regional medical program at Jefferson Medical College, now the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He earned grants, served on medical committees, commissions, councils, and boards across the country and in Israel, and was a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in residence in Bellagio, Italy, in 1991.

Born June 26, 1936, in Boston, Dr. Escovitz graduated from Boston Latin School, still the oldest existing school in the United States. He earned a bachelors degree at Harvard College in 1958 and a medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn in 1962. He worked for the U.S. Public Health Service in the 1960s and went on to serve with several organizations, including as president in 1983 of the Society of Medical College Directors of Continuing Medical Education.

He married Ellen Strober, and they had daughters Karen and Lisa. After a divorce, he married Francyn Elion Sacks in 1998 and welcomed her two sons and two grandchildren into the family. I always said I hit the jackpot, his wife said.

Dr. Escovitz was a lifelong Red Sox fan, played tennis and golf, liked classical music, and became a choral singer in his 60s. He was witty, humorous, and optimistic, maintained many long-term friendships, and was interested in history and politics.

He was a Renaissance man, his wife said. He would help anyone. He cared about others. He was a special person.

In addition to his wife, former wife, and daughters, Dr. Escovitz is survived by three grandchildren, a brother, and other relatives.

Services were June 1.

Donations in his name may be made to the Dr. Gerald Escovitz memorial fund at Freire Charter School, Freire Foundation, PO Box 59028, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.

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Gerry Escovitz, retired vice dean and professor at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and charter school board member, has died at 85 - The...

Fourth-year medical student Mackenzie Bennett was on a conference call when news broke that Roe v Wade had been overturned. The topic was telehealth and medication abortion.

We stopped the meeting, we just had to log off and sit in those feelings for a minute. It was honestly really devastating, says Bennett, who is pursuing dual medical and public health degrees specializing in OB-GYN at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.

In coming weeks, Georgia will probably ban most abortions after six weeks. For students like Bennett pursuing their medical education in states poised to ban abortion services, the ruling impacts not just the training they will receive, it leaves them grappling with the personal, moral and practical challenges of a common (and sometimes, life-saving) healthcare procedure becoming criminalized. Clinical training opportunities for providing abortions are already limited in the US typically, students who want that training have to seek it out. In the wake of Roes overturning, those opportunities will become even more limited, forcing some students to travel out of state to seek out full-spectrum training, potentially prompting an exodus of medical students from the states banning abortion services.

The medical institutions they attend are left wondering how their OB-GYN programs will be able to give students the required clinical training to maintain their accreditation. That clinical experience involves observation of, and hands-on training in, uterine evacuation procedures, including medication abortion, first-trimester aspiration abortion, and dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures used not just for induced abortions, but also for miscarriage management and other aspects of reproductive healthcare.

If we cant show that were providing enough of an experience for them to gain competency in that area, then that threatens the accreditation of any program thats meeting that challenge, says Dr Carrie Cwiak, an Emory professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and director of the medical schools family planning division. Thats what were potentially concerned about.

Some of Bennetts classmates have raised concerns about the what-ifs: what happens if an ectopic pregnancy rolls into the emergency department? What does this mean for cancer treatment? It has implications for everyones practice and everyones personal life, says Bennett, who is a member of Medical Students for Choice. I think people are realizing that this impacts them no matter what specialty theyre pursuing. Its incredibly far-reaching.

Medical students are weighing implications of Roes reversal on both professional and personal levels. As someone who has a uterus and can get pregnant, this will affect me personally, says Laura Rush, a second-year student at a different medical school in Georgia (the school did not want students giving its name). But also as future physicians, potentially OBs, who want to treat our patients with empathy and using evidence-based medicine, it feels like its disregarding a lot of that.

Sachi Shastri, a second-year student at the same school, is considering a career in either OB-GYN or psychiatry. She says that the news, while not a surprise, was still shocking as is the sense that her future career could be in jeopardy. I dont think I let myself believe that this future was so close and so present.

She says peers at her school who previously never expressed opinions about abortions are now speaking up. Rush adds that in the wake of the supreme court ruling, there was an increase in signups for her campuss chapter of Medical Students for Choice.

There is only one accrediting body for OB-GYN residency training in the US, The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). In response to the supreme court decision, ACGME is proposing possible changes to its rules for OB-GYN programs: in states where laws prevent students from receiving clinical experience, programs will have to provide students access to training in a state that does. (Students with religious or moral objections can opt out.) While some medical students OB-track or otherwise seek out elective travel rotations already as a way to broaden their experience, Cwiak points out that abortion bans could make these travel rotations mandatory a financial and logistical burden for some students.

Cwiak says when it comes to abortion education lectures wont change, and educators might increasingly incorporate simulations with models. In medical education, we need to ensure that people have direct observation of the care we provide, and participation in that care, under supervision, says Cwiak. Especially when youre talking about procedures: you have to develop a skill, and confidence in that skill, and make sure youve done enough cases to learn that skill adequately.

To learn those skills, some students are limiting their residency options to states where abortion is legally protected. I think thats a large undertone of the conversations Im having with other medical students, especially ones that are in their last year like me, as were applying for residency, Bennett says. This has a major impact on where you can get trained, and what kind of training you can get. And, by extension, where medical trainees choose to eventually practice.

Others are concerned that the training they have already lined up in restricted states will no longer be available to them. Ive got a rotation lined up in reproductive health [in Georgia] where I would get that training on doing medical abortions, and Im worried that I wont be able to get the training I want, says Ben Haseen, a medical student at Atlantas Morehouse School of Medicine. Haseen adds that, as a transgender man, access to reproductive care is a personal issue, not just a professional one. Its a big deal for me, because medical access is my biggest passion, he says.

With the restrictive laws, you likely will see a behavioral change, that people will make decisions about where they choose to train, where they choose to practice, depending on the legislative landscape [in that state], explains Cwiak. If states and their legislations are interfering with your ability to practice safe, effective, ethical healthcare, like abortion care, you could understand that people would be reticent about training and practicing there.

Its an ethical dilemma for some trainees: leave their state to seek out the training they want, or stay and try to train and practice within the legislative confines of their state. Im very conflicted because I do not want to leave the south, says Haseen. I love being in the south because I love the patients here. Im at this crossroads where I could get training up north and then come back, but I also dont want to leave my patients here and abandon them.

With over half the countrys states likely to ban or severely restrict abortion, students and educators alike are also concerned that an exodus of providers from these states, will further compound healthcare disparities and worsen existing public health crises. (Data show that states with abortion restrictions have higher maternal mortality rates. In Georgia, half of the states counties lack a single OB-GYN provider, and maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the country.)

The people who live in these states still deserve an excellent quality of care and excellent doctors with world-class training, just like everywhere else in the country, says Bennett. But if people feel like they cant get a full education here, theyre not going to want to come here, and that just makes everything worse down the line.

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Thorne receives the 2022 Excellence in Public Health Award from Lieutenant Commander Toya Kelley, U.S. Public Health Services

Tyler Thorne grew up in the Hmkua district on Hawaii Island, and though he appreciated its beauty and small town charm, he also experienced the reality of living in a rural community with severe disparities in healthcare. Disparities he witnessed firsthand watching his mother battle cancer.

That experience led Thorne to the University of Hawaii at Mnoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), where he is a fourth-year student with a commitment to improving healthcare to rural areas. That commitment has not gone unrecognized as Thorne has been chosen to receive the prestigious 2022 Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). The national award is presented annually to medical students who are public health champions advancing the mission to protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation and who are helping to address public health issues in their community.

(My mother) had a delayed diagnosis due to the lack of providers and had to fly to another island for her treatment, said Thorne. I believe that my medical education is a great opportunity and responsibility to serve and promote change in my communitythese are all opportunities I could not have gotten at any other medical school.

Thornes work to address issues related to rural healthcare include an internship working with the Palau Ministry of Health and Public Health Department to investigate the use of telemedicine and provide suggestions for improvements, which were ultimately implemented.

As an active member of JABSOMs Rural Health Community Group (RHCG), he has taught fourth-graders about the dangers of tobacco and vaping ands led a series of healthcare career days to high school students throughout Hawaii Island, Lnai and Molokai. This work inspired him to organize a healthcare career program at his alma mater, Honokaa High School, to expose the students to medicine and other jobs in healthcare.

Pursuing a Certificate of Distinction in Rural Health at JABSOM, Thorne has engaged in activism for bills impacting healthcare in rural communities. He spent a significant amount of his medical school training on rural islands and training in Federally Qualified Health Centers. From these experiences he co-authored a publication focused on the effectiveness of the RHCG in promoting medical students interest in serving rural communities.

In addition, Thorne co-authored a journal article and a book chapter on the shortcomings of medical education in presenting racially diverse dermatological pathologies in textbooks. He recognized that the lack of diverse representation hurt patients due to skin concerns that were difficult to recognize due to the providers unfamiliarity with common pathologies on dark skin. This prompted Thorne to lead a group of students in the construction of the online database, The Color of Skin, composed of images of skin conditions in racially diverse populations to be used as a learning resource and reference for UH students and physicians.

Currently, Thorne is doing a year of research at the University of Utah, focusing on orthopedic trauma as well as the genetic and cellular aspects of fracture healing. He will graduate from JABSOM in May 2023. His long term goals include returning home to provide orthopedic care for adults and children on Hawaii Island while continuing research to improve clinical outcomes for surgeries.

Thorne joins an exclusive list of only five JABSOM students to have received the USPHS award, including Jester Galiza (2021), Kalei Hosaka (2020), Elisabeth Young (2018) and Brandyn Dunn (2014).

Read more on the JABSOM website.

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Passion for rural healthcare earns med student national honors | University of Hawaii System News - University of Hawaii

The National Football League is launching a program to invite medical students from historically Black colleges and universities to work with NFL teams medical staffs this season. The goal is to help diversify the pipeline of Black doctors who are interested in careers in sports medicine.

As part of their coursework, third- and fourth-year medical students do one-month clinical rotations focused on different specialties, often within the teaching hospitals affiliated with each medical school. The NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative will allow students interested in sports medicine to do a rotation at an NFL club, working alongside physicians caring for professional athletes.

What we're really looking to do is to have the students understand all of the elements to go into the care of the NFL athlete, and also connect with mentors and advisors who they can stay in touch with as their careers develop, said Dr. Allen Sills, a neurosurgeon and the NFLs chief medical officer.

The program will accept 16 medical students interested in either primary care sports medicine or orthopedic surgery from four HBCUs: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine and Meharry Medical College.

Students will be placed with one of eight participating NFL clubs: Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.

Participants will learn how to provide care to players "both in practice situations, game day situations, in the training room, possibly in physicians offices, and even in surgery as well, Sills said. So it's a comprehensive overview of the sports medicine team of a professional team.

Nearly 86 percent of the members of the National Football League Physicians Society identify as White, and only 5 percent identify as Black, according to an NFL press release citing internal surveys.

Sills said the NFL has a long way to go to increase diversity among its medical staff. But the problem of lack of diversity in U.S. medicine is even broader.

According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, less than 12 percent of U.S. physicians identify as either Hispanic or Black, but census data shows these groups make up 18 percent and 13 percent of the U.S. population, respectively. Parts of sports medicine fall under orthopedic surgery, which is among the least diverse specialties in medicine, with only 3.4 percent of medical school faculty identifying as Black, according to one study.

We need to be very intentional about that. And we need to work on this pipeline of people who are choosing these careers, and making sure that we assist them, Sills said.

According to a statement from the NFL, the program will recruit medical students from additional academic institutions in future years, and expand to include placements at more NFL clubs across the U.S. in 2023.

The program will also work toward widening the sports medicine pipeline for other people of color and women in the seasons ahead [and] broaden to disciplines beyond primary care sports medicine and orthopedic surgery.

Disciplines that may be added in future years include: physicians assistants, certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists and behavioral health clinicians.

This story comes from a reporting collaboration that includes the Indianapolis Recorder and Side Effects Public Media, a public health news initiative based at WFYI. Contact Farah at fyousry@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @Farah_Yousrym.

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To spur diversity in sports medicine, NFL teams will host med students from HBCUs - WFYI

This step is one of many that the College has taken over the past decade to remove barriers for students, and it makes Bowdoin one of just seven institutions nationally with comprehensive need-blind aid policies for all students, regardless of citizenship.

Ensuring access to a Bowdoin education is central to our mission. This commitment to need-blind admission for our international applicants is another important part of a remarkable program of access and affordability that only a few other colleges and universities are able to provide, said Bowdoin College President Clayton Rose.

Bowdoin has long been a leader in eliminating barriers for students, including adopting the countrys first test-optional admissions policy in 1969.

As it seeks to be accessible to all students, regardless of their financial circumstances, the College currently provides students with financial aid awards that meet their full calculated need and has done so without loans since 2008.

Now Bowdoin joins Harvard University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Dartmouth College, and Amherst College in including all students, regardless of citizenship, under its need-blind admissions policy.

It is critical that a great liberal arts education like Bowdoins be accessible to students from all economic backgrounds and all citizenships, said Claudia Marroquin, senior vice president and dean of admissions and student aid.

This latest policy makes Bowdoins message clearwe welcome the worlds most talented students, regardless of background, and we are doing all we can to support students from admission to graduation, Marroquin said.

Our highest priority is making a Bowdoin education affordable for everyone.

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Bowdoin College Expands Need-Blind Admissions Policy to Include International Students - Bowdoin College

Gov. David Ige with state lawmakers, UH and JABSOM leadership, and leadership from affiliated health partners.

Gov. David Ige signed two bills to help combat the states increasing physician shortage and support the University of Hawaii at Mnoa John A. Burns School of Medicines (JABSOM) mission to retain more of its graduates to practice medicine in Hawaii. Ige signed Senate Bill 2657 and Senate Bill 2597 into law on July 7 at JABSOM.

The Hawaii Physician Workforce Assessment Project Report indicates that Hawaii is in need of at least 750 doctors, with the greatest statewide shortage being in primary care specialties. The proportional need is greatest on the neighbor islands, with both Maui and Hawaii County experiencing a physician shortage of 40%.

In addition to the bills introduced by the legislature, Ige identified the physician shortage as a priority at the start of the 2022 legislative session by including funding to expand JABSOMs residency program in his proposed budget.

My administration is committed to supporting the development and expansion of high-quality educational and training sites, especially on the neighbor islands where we face the greatest challenge, said Gov. Ige. Mahalo to our lawmakers for also making this a priority and to JABSOM and our local medical partners for their dedication to ensure our local residents can access the healthcare they need now and in the future.

Senate Bill 2657 funds JABSOMs expansion of medical residency and medical student training opportunities on the neighbor islands, and with the U.S. Veteran Affairs (VA) Pacific Islands Healthcare System sites across the statespecifically in areas where healthcare is most needed. The VA is a valuable partner in JABSOMs academic programs. Internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, geriatrics and addiction medicine residents or fellows have part of their curriculum based at VA sites.

Currently, some medical students complete pre-clinical rotations for up to three months on the neighbor islands of Hawaii Island, Lanai, and starting this academic year, Kauai. Third-year students participate in a longitudinal clerkship program where groups of students train in the same location for a five-month long rotation in rural communities. Third year students presently train at several locations on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai.

Data show that more than 80% of physicians who graduate from both JABSOM and its residency programs tend to stay in Hawaii to practicethat is one of the highest retention rates in the country, said JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges.We know that physicians who train in rural areas on our neighbor islands are also more likely to put down roots and nurture the communities that theyre in. We look forward to expanding our medical training opportunities to these underserved areas and to stay true to JABSOMs vision of ALOHA: Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All.

More than 80% of physicians who graduate from both JABSOM and its residency programs tend to stay in Hawaii to practiceJerris Hedges, JABSOM Dean

To alleviate the shortage of physicians in the state, more than 225 physicians participate in JABSOMs Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency and fellowship programs. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii also has a primary care internal medicine residency program and the Hilo Medical Center is the sponsor of the Hawaii Island Family Medicine Residency Program. With the exception of the Hilo-based program, the remainder of these civilian residency programs are on Oahu, with some having clinical rotations on the neighbor islands. The neighbor island rotationsthrough the VA clinics or in partnership with other neighbor island physicians and health systemsgives residents and fellows the opportunity to train and eventually practice in rural areas.

Residency Programs, as the employer of the JABSOM residents and most fellows, is committed to our rural and at-risk communities by training our future physician workforce, said Natalie Talamoa, executive director of Hawaii Residency Programs. We are excited that the State of Hawaii shares our goal and look forward to working together on this initiative to invest in our neighbor island communities that have been hardest hit by the physician shortage. This funding will increase access to training opportunities for our residents and fellows, and provide them exposure and understanding of our most vulnerable populations so that they want to return to serve these communities.

The VAs ability to expand Graduate Medical Education can help reduce the effects of a forecasted physician shortage here in the Pacific Islands, especially in Hawaii, thanks to the partnership we have with the John A. Burns School of Medicine, said Adam Robinson, Jr., director of the Veteran Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System. We take pride in providing the largest education and training enterprise for health professionals in the nation, but we cant do it without the relationships we share with our valued academic affiliate residency sponsors.

Senate Bill 2597 allows for more loans to be given in the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program, which helps graduates of JABSOM and other health professions reduce their educational debt in exchange for remaining in Hawaii to practice. Loan repayment programs are a critical part of addressing the health professional workforce shortage, and Hawaiis program has proven to be highly successful.

According to JABSOMs Hawaii and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center Director Kelley Withy, 83& of loan repayers have remained in Hawaii to practice, and 70% have remained at the site where they performed their service. Currently, there are 25 active providers in the program with another seven waiting for funding. We are very thankful to the legislature for the matching funds so that we can provide more opportunities to those interested in caring for communities where there is a dire shortage of healthcare providers.

Health care professionals who have benefited from the loan repayment program serve on all islands and in the communities of Waimea, Kihei, Waianae, Hilo and Wailuku; at Federally Qualified Health Centers in Kalihi-Palama and Kokua Kalihi Valley; and in public institutional settings at the federal detention center in Honolulu, the Halawa correctional facility and the Maui County correctional center. Health care professionals who are eligible to participate in the program include physicians, nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers and many others.

Those present at the bill signing ceremony included state lawmakers Rep. Gregg Takayama, Rep. Ryan Yamane, Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, UH President David Lassner, JABSOM Hedges, JABSOM Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, JABSOM Associate Dean for Administration and Finance Nancy Foster, as well as leadership from affiliated hospitals, the Hawaii Residency Programs, Inc., the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, and leaders from several of JABSOMs clinical departments and the Office of Medical Education that oversees the MD Program curriculum.

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Bills address the physician workforce shortage, especially on the neighbor islands | University of Hawaii System News - University of Hawaii

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Pediatric hand specialist also will be orthopedic surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Childrens

Lindley B. Wall, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery and a member of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery's hand and microsurgery service, has been named director of the Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Orthopedics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Lindley B. Wall, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery and a member of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgerys hand and microsurgery service, has been named director of the Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Orthopedics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Wall also has been named orthopedic surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Childrens Hospital.

Wall is a national leader in the treatment of pediatric hand and upper-extremity congenital deformities and spasticity conditions. She also treats fractures and complex nerve injuries affecting the upper limbs. Wall has advanced the understanding of and therapies for these conditions through qualitative research focused on patient and caregiver expectations in these unique populations.

Dr. Wall is a national leader in pediatric hand surgery, and in her new position, she will drive excellence throughout the entire pediatric orthopedic program, said Regis J. OKeefe, MD, PhD, the Fred C. Reynolds Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Wall has been a key member of our hand and microsurgery service for a decade, and her leadership and commitment will enable the Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Orthopedics at Washington University to continue its ascent among the top programs in the country.

Wall succeeds Charles A. Goldfarb, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery who now is serving as the departments executive vice chair.

It is an honor to have the opportunity to serve the Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Orthopedics in this new role, Wall said. I look forward to working with St. Louis Childrens Hospital to continue to elevate orthopedic care for children by developing new and exciting clinical programs and initiatives, and increasing our geographic reach.

Wall earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University before earning a medical degree and completing her residency in orthopedics at Washington University. She subsequently completed the Mary S. Stern Hand Surgery Fellowship in Cincinnati. After a pediatric hand surgery fellowship at the orthopedics hospital Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas, she returned to Washington University in 2013 as a faculty member in orthopedics. In 2017, she earned a masters of science in clinical investigation from the university.

An author on more than 80 peer-reviewed research papers, Wall was nominated and elected to the national medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha in 2011. She also is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, and the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America. Wall is an associate editor for The Journal of Hand Surgery (American Volume) and a reviewer for the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,700 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, and currently is No. 4 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Wall to direct pediatric and adolescent orthopedics Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington University School of Medicine...

Many people cant imagine starting their day without a cup of coffee or tea. Consuming caffeine can even help people get through that afternoon slump. About 85% of adults consume 135 milligrams of caffeine daily in the U.S. This is equivalent to 12 ounces of coffee, which is the most common source of caffeine for adults.

Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that can be found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, cacao beans, guarana berries and yerba mate leaves and quickly boosts alertness and energy levels.

Caffeine can also be made synthetically and added to drinks, food, tablets and supplements. Yet while caffeine is often talked about for its negative effect on sleep and anxiety, it can offer some benefits too. Three physicians share what to know about caffeine.

The AMAsWhat Doctors Wish Patients Knew series provides physicians with a platform to share what they want patients to understand about todays health care headlines.

In this installment, three AMA members shared what doctors wish patients knew about caffeine. They are:

Pay attention to consumption

The amount of caffeine in brewed coffee can vary greatly depending on the type of bean, the amount of grind, the size of the particles, the brew time and other factors pertaining to the source, said Dr. Kilgore. And then, of course, tea and soft drinks tend to have less caffeine.

Most people have safely under 400 milligrams a day, which is what the Food and Drug Administration considers safe, she said.

Of course, if you're getting jittery, it's too much caffeine, said Dr. Clark. But, in general, about two 8-ounce cups of coffee should be the limit because a cup of coffee has between 100 and 200 milligrams of caffeine.

Try small, frequent doses

One of the things that people don't realize is, if you think of it as a medicine, then the best way to use it is in small, frequent doses, said Dr. Kilgore. So, 20 milligrams to 100 milligrams at a time as opposed to the standard American mug of coffee.

And then just getting it into your brain a small amount at a time, she added, noting that if you're home with the increase of telework and things like that it might be easy to just serve yourself a little bit at a time throughout the day.

Then, when you start to feel your mental performance lagging, take it a little bit moreup until 2 p.m., Dr. Kilgore said.

Caffeine may help depression

In low doses, caffeine may help depression, said Dr. Clark. The reason is because caffeine stimulates dopamine, which is a chemical in your brain that plays a role in pleasure motivation and learning.

Low levels of dopamine can make you feel tired, moody and unmotivated, among other symptoms, she said. But having more dopamine helps patients with depression by improving their mood.

How it is metabolized varies

Caffeine is rapidly absorbed, typically within 45 minutes, and is metabolized in the liver at rates subject to significant genetic variability, said Dr. Devries.

It is highly metabolized with about 3% or less being excreted in the urine, said Dr. Kilgore. The half-life of the drug typically is around four to five hours, but it can range dramatically from as quickly as an hour and a half to as much as nine hours, depending on genetic factors and coadministration with other medications, including oral contraceptives, and smoking.

Smokers have massively increased clearance, so they will keep it around for a shorter time, she added, noting that pregnancy gets greatly reduced metabolism, so women need to watch how much caffeine theyre drinking.

With insomnia, limit caffeine

Fortunately, typical intake of caffeine within the range of most coffee and tea drinkers has minimal risk, apart from perhaps difficulty sleeping for some, Dr. Devries said.

The obvious side effect is that it can cause insomnia because it is intentionally trying to keep someone awake, said Dr. Kilgore. In people who dont regularly drink caffeine, theyre the most vulnerable to the insomnia component.

When people drink it regularly, they sort of learn what they can do, but in general its best not to drink after about 2 p.m., she said. But some people will be able to drink it right before bed if theyre a chronic user, so it just depends on their own experience.

Coffee and tea have health benefits

Coffee and tea are true feel-good stories in nutritionwe like them, and they like us back, said Dr. Devries. Both coffee and tea are linked to a host of health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, lower risk of type 2 diabetes and improved longevity.

Most of the benefits are noted with intake in the range of 25 cups per day, he added, noting the source of the benefits, beyond caffeine, are a wide range of biologically active polyphenolschemicals with powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Caffeine can help with exercise

It actually can help exercise as well, said Dr. Kilgore. It's shown to improve endurance and speed as well as just having a decreased perception of fatigue.

By using caffeine in different forms, people might be able to maintain exercise longer in a session, she said, noting that athletes often will take it intentionally before they exercise.

Some people may feel anxious

There are concerns about increasing anxiety for some people, said Dr. Clark. This is because caffeine is a stimulant and it stimulates some of the chemicals in your brain, speeding everything up.

Even in moderate amounts it can cause jitteriness and anxiety, said Dr. Kilgore, noting that caffeine can also increase respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure, which is most often fine in normal people, but if they have a light health condition it should be under consideration.

Brewing method affects cholesterol

Interestingly, brewing method does matter, said Dr. Devries, noting that unfiltered coffee made with a French press or Turkish style and, to a lesser extent, espresso, are associated with a small but significant increase in LDL cholesterol that does not occur with filtered coffee.

The reason is that filtered coffee removes much of the cafestol, a compound naturally found in coffee that raises blood cholesterol levels, he added.

There can be withdrawals

The most common concern about coffee is that it has a withdrawal syndrome, said Dr. Kilgore. When this occurs, people feel like they need to keep using it, even if they don't need it that particular day for its intended benefit of increasing alertness; and that withdrawal effect can happen as soon as 12 hours after the last coffee in people who use it regularly.

It can last up to one to two days if intentionally stopped after prolonged use, she added, noting that some effects can last even up to nine or 10 days with headache, nervousness and fatigue.

Too much may lead to headaches

If you consume too much caffeine, it can also cause headaches, said Dr. Clark. This is often in addition to feeling nervous and anxious.

But caffeine can also sometimes help headaches, she said, noting that for some people, it can actually treat their headaches or migraines.

Caffeine can also be used medically to treat headache because it improves the absorption of other analgesics, said Dr. Kilgore. It actually causes vasoconstriction. That by itself can also make the headache go away. So, it can cause headaches, and it can also help.

Weight gain may be decreased

Caffeine can actually decrease weight gainnot necessarily cause weight loss, said Dr. Kilgore. It increases your base metabolic rate and can suppress appetite a bit, which is useful if someone's thinking of trying to be careful about their weight.

The important thing, of course, is that in the United States so much of our coffee has all this added cream and sugar, which adds to weight gain, she said. So that really only pertains to black coffee, which has two calories a cup.Because it can make you feel less hungry and reduce cravings, but then for people who always have sugar in their coffee it probably increases cravings because of the sugar, Dr. Kilgore added.

Decaf is not free of caffeine

Decaffeinated coffee has only slightly lower levels of polyphenols than regular coffee, Dr. Devries said. Because of the preservation of high polyphenol levels, the association of decaffeinated coffee intake with improved longevity remains.

It is important to point out that decaffeinated coffee isnt zero caffeine, but certainly much less, said Dr. Kilgore. A lot of people think it's without caffeine, but it's not. It's about 2 to 15 milligrams, so certainly far less than caffeinated.

But even if you went to decaf, you would probably have some withdrawal symptoms if you dont withdraw judiciously, she added.

Try to avoid energy drinks

The more serious risks of caffeine are mostly related to heavy consumption from use in energy drinks and in supplement form, said Dr. Devries. Anxiety and unsafe behaviorsespecially in adolescentsare associated with energy drink use.

High blood pressure, palpitations and arrhythmias are other possible risks with high intake of supplemental caffeine, he added.

Dont cut caffeine right away

Its important to know how much you're drinking in the first place, so really be honest with yourself about how much youre drinking and keep track of it for a few days, said Dr. Kilgore. This will allow you to get a true sense of how much caffeine youre consuming.

If you need to reduce the amount of caffeine you are consuming, slowly decrease your intake, said Dr. Clark. This means you can do half caffeinated or you can mix in some decaffeinated beverages in sodas and coffee.

Dont cut out caffeine completely all of a sudden because them you may experience some bad withdrawal syndromes, she said. If you need help with how to decrease your intake or youre getting headaches when youre trying to go off caffeine, talk to your doctor.

Decrease intake if pregnant

For people who are pregnant, you should decrease your intake of caffeine, said Dr. Clark. This is because the caffeine does go to the baby and can speed up the babys heart rate.

Additionally, the baby can become dependent on caffeine and have withdrawals when the baby is born, she said. Thats why you should dramatically limit your caffeine intake when pregnant. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that those who are pregnant limit caffeine intake to less than 200 milligrams per day.

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What doctors wish patients knew about the impact of caffeine - American Medical Association

BOSTON High dose inhaled nitric oxide gas (iNO) is a safe and effective respiratory therapy for pregnant women hospitalized with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, resulting in a more rapid weaning from supplemental oxygen and reduced length of hospital stay, according to a research team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In a study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers from four Boston hospitals reported that the addition of twice-daily nitric oxide to standard of care oxygen therapy decreased the respiratory rate of pregnant women with low oxygenation levels of the blood without causing any side effects.

To date, very few respiratory treatments to complement supplemental oxygenation in COVID-19 pregnant patients have been tested, says senior author Lorenzo Berra, MD, with the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, MGH. Investigators from all four medical centers that participated in our study agreed that administration of high dose nitric oxide through a snug-fitting mask has enormous potential as a new therapeutic strategy for pregnant patients with COVID-19.

Pneumonia triggered by COVID-19 is particularly threatening to pregnant women since it may quickly progress to oxygen insufficiency in the blood and bodily tissues, a condition known as hypoxemia, requiring hospitalization and cardiopulmonary support. Compared to non-pregnant female patients with COVID-19, pregnant women are three times more likely to need intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, or advanced life support, and four times more likely to die, notes Carlo Valsecchi, MD, lead author in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, MGH. They also face a greater risk of obstetric complications such as preeclampsia, preterm delivery, and stillbirth.

Nitric oxide is a therapeutic gas that was initially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for inhalation treatment of intubated and mechanically ventilated newborns with hypoxic respiratory failure. With MGH driving many early studies, iNO in high concentrations was also shown to be effective as an antimicrobial in reducing viral replication of SARS-CoV-1 and, more recently, SARS Co-V-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. During the first wave of COVID-19, MGH treated six non-intubated pregnant patients with iNO at high doses of up to 200 parts per million (ppm). Findings of a more favorable outcome with iNO led MGH clinicians to offer this treatment to other pregnant patients, and to design the current study to determine the safety and efficacy of iNO200 for COVID-19 pneumonia in pregnancy.

To that end, a collaborative network of four medical centers in the Boston area was formed. In addition to MGH, it included Tufts Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Boston Medical Center. Researchers and clinicians from multiple departments -- including critical care medicine, respiratory care, and maternal fetal medicine -- studied 71 pregnant patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to these hospitals, 20 of whom received iNO200 twice daily. The study found that iNO therapy at this dosage, when compared to standard of care alone, resulted in reductions in the need for supplemental oxygen and in hospital and ICU lengths of stay. No adverse events related to the intervention were reported in either mothers or their babies.

Being able to wean patients from respiratory support quicker could have other profound implications, including reducing stress on women and their families, lowering the risk of hospital-acquired infections, and relieving the burden on the health care system, notes Berra. Above all, our study supports the safety of high dose nitric oxide in the pregnant population, and we hope more physicians will consider incorporating it into carefully monitored treatment regimens.

Berra is an associate professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School (HMS), and medical director of Respiratory Care, MGH. Valsecchi is a post-doctoral fellow and investigator in the Department of Anesthesia, MGH. Co-authors include William Barth, Jr., MD, vice chair of Obstetrics, MGH, and an associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, HMS; Ai-ris Collier, MD, investigator and instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Ala Nozari, professor of Anesthesiology at Boston Medical Center; Jamel Ortoleva, MD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology at Tufts Medical School, and cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and critical care physician at Tufts Medical Center; and Anjail Kaimal, MD, chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, MGH, and an associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, HMS.

About the Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. TheMass General Research Instituteconducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than $1 billion and comprises more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 30 institutes, centers and departments. In August 2021, Mass General was named #5 in theU.S. News & World Reportlist of "Americas Best Hospitals." MGH is a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

Obstetrics and Gynecology

High-Dose Inhaled Nitric Oxide for the Treatment of Spontaneously Breathing Pregnant Patients With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia

7-Jul-2022

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

See the article here:

Inhaled nitric oxide reduces hospital stay and improves oxygenation in pregnant patients with COVID-19 pneumonia - EurekAlert