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Brown University Medical School Dean to Lead Second Session of Five-Part Virtual Future of Medicine Summit : SF STAT! – South Florida Hospital News

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Danzig

October 5 2020 - Allan R Tunkel, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Chief of Medical Education at the Brown University Alpert Medical School, will be presenting, The Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Education on Thursday, October 8, 6-7:30 p.m.nPresented by the Palm Beach County Medical Society (PBCMS) as part of the annual Future of Medicine Summit, the event is free to participants, who may register at:

Started in 2007 by Jose Arrascue, MD, the Future of Medicine Initiative brings together community leaders to define issues, establish partnerships and implement strategies for change. At the annual Summit, national and community health care leaders gather to explore the "hot topic" issues facing healthcare.

He received a Ph.D in experimental pathology before earning a medical degree at the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. He completed a Residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and an Fellowship in infectious diseases from the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville. He has been at Brown since 2013 and previously taught at the Drexel University College of Medicine for a decade.

For more information and the Future of Medicine, Contact Katherine Zuber at KatherineZ@pbcms.org or 561-433-3940.

Penn Medicine Researchers Receive $5.4 million Grant to Find Genetic Drivers of Testicular Cancer – Newswise

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

Newswise PHILADELPHIAThe international hunt to find more genetic risk markers for testicular cancer is expanding. A team of researchers led by Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, deputy director of the Abramson Cancer Center and the Pearl Basser Professor for BRCA-Related Research in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was recently awarded $5.4 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health to continue the long-standing genomics work of the TEsticular CAncer Consortium (TECAC).

A total of nearly $7 million has been awarded to TECAC, which includes researchers from 27 institutions around the world, whose collaborative goal is understand the genetic susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).

TGCT are the most common cancer in the United States and Europe in men between the ages of 15 to 45, and the number of cases has continued to rise over the past 40 years. Approximately 50 percent of the risk of disease is due to genetic factors, higher than for other cancer types.

To date, TECAC has identified 22 novel susceptibility alleles, bringing the total number of risk markers to 66. Nathanson led a study in 2017 published in Nature Genetics that identified eight of those markers in previously unknown gene regions, as well as four in previously identified regions.

Members of TECAC also were the first to identify CHEK2, a moderate penetrance gene for TGCT. Penetrance refers to the proportion of people with a mutation in specific gene. Unlike other solid tumor types (e.g. breast, ovarian), the inherited risk of TGCT is likely due to multiple variants rather than any single gene.

Our work has revealed critical roles for genetic variants and mutations in testicular germ cell tumors and defined the biology of TGCTs as associated with defects in maturation of male germ cells, but theres still much more to discover with this highly heritable disease, Nathanson said. This grant will allow us to continue to pool our resources and expertise to better understand its biology and etiology, as well as provide data that can help identify men at higher risk of the disease and in need of surveillance.

The latest round of funding will focus on three projects: identify rare and common variants using whole exome genetic sequencing from biosamples of more than 2,000 men; conduct a transcriptome-wide association study, or TWAS, to identify novel candidate susceptibility genes in nearly 250,000 men (the largest to date); and further evaluate any variants or gene discovered from those two projects using tools, such as CRISPR, in cells.

Other Penn collaborators on this grant (R01 CA164947 A1) include David Vaughn, Linda Jacobs, Li-San Wang and Mingyao Li.

Penn Medicineis one of the worlds leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of theRaymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania(founded in 1765 as the nations first medical school) and theUniversity of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $8.6 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top medical schools in the United States for more than 20 years, according toU.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $494 million awarded in the 2019 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health Systems patient care facilities include: the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Centerwhich are recognized as one of the nations top Honor Roll hospitals byU.S. News & World ReportChester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; and Pennsylvania Hospital, the nations first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is powered by a talented and dedicated workforce of more than 43,900 people. The organization also has alliances with top community health systems across both Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, creating more options for patients no matter where they live.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2019, Penn Medicine provided more than $583 million to benefit our community.

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Penn Medicine Researchers Receive $5.4 million Grant to Find Genetic Drivers of Testicular Cancer - Newswise

Now’s the time to have a difficult talk about physician suicide – American Medical Association

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Danzig

As physicians, we are well-conditioned to deliver difficult truths to our patients whenever the situation demands it. We are not as comfortable accepting such truths about ourselves, even when we know that physicians can suffer from the same physical and emotional ailments that affect our patientsincluding depression and suicide.

The third annual observance of National Physician Suicide Awareness Day on Sept. 17 offers an opportunity to shine a light on this troubling issue, strip away the stigma that surrounds it, and encourage physicians and other health care professionals who are struggling with burnout and depression to seek the help they need.

The facts are devastating. U.S. physicians have one of the highest rates of suicide of any profession. Multiple factors fuel this tragic situation. The modern working environment for physicians and other health professionals can best be described as high-stakes dysfunction. Physicians are under increasing demands and scrutiny to deliver quality care amid ever-changing rules and administrative hassles that interfere with their primary mission.

Starting in medical school, or even earlier at the undergraduate level, an emphasis on physical stamina and mental toughness leads to a normalization of high levels of stress, sleep deprivation, excessively long workdays and a lack of free time to spend with family or friends.

Many physicians face anxiety that stems from crushing levels of student debt, the hassles posed by a poorly designed digital workplace, administrative burdens and red tape, and a host of other stress-inducing factors, plus the added strain that comes with raising children and other responsibilities in the home.

All of this and more leads to higher levels of stress, burnout and depression within our physician ranks. Such feelings of stress and anxiety may never factor into a persons decision for self-harm. But it is also true that our profession is becoming more complex, more burdensome and more challenging by the day.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this situation and brought physician wellness to a crisis point through increased social isolation, reduced access to community support and fewer opportunities to seek counseling or other mental health resources, among other factors.

Our AMA is well aware of the physical and mental demands that modern medicine places on medical students, residents, practicing physicians and their colleagues. We continue to speak out against the long-held stigma placed against those who might otherwise choose to seek care for behavioral health issues, partly because they fear doing so might jeopardize their medical licenses and careers.

Long-standing AMA policy encourages state licensing boards and other credentialing bodies to ensure confidentiality when physicians seek out counseling or other services to address their feelings of burnout, career fatigue, stress or depression. A physicians mental health should only factor into licensing and credentialing when it currently adversely affects his or her ability to practice medicine in a competent, ethical and professional manner.

Earlier this year, the Medical Society of Virginia played a key role in securing a new state law creating the SafeHaven program, which provides confidential behavioral health resources and ongoing wellness support to physicians in a manner that does not place their medical license at risk, except in extraordinary circumstances.

Texas, Idaho and other states provide confidentiality protections for physicians undergoing the care of a mental health professional; these protections should be available to physicians in every state. The AMA has also drafted model legislation to raise awareness of this critical issue and to influence policymakers.

Additional resources designed to reduce stress and foster well-being can be found in our AMA STEPS Forward practice-improvement strategies and elsewhere on the AMA Ed Hub. For example, one of the evidence-based online modules focuses on assessing risk factors and warning signs for suicidal ideation, while another helps identify at-risk physicians with an emphasis on prevention strategies and facilitating access to care.

Finally, I urge physicians to join the movement to change the way we talk about suicide. A great deal of stigma and a sense of shame surrounds the phrase to commit suicide. The verb commit frequently has a negative connotation, and is often used when discussing crimes or sins. It needlessly distinguishes a self-inflicted death from all other types of death, conveys guilt and culpability, and depicts the person who died as an offender rather than a victim of a mental health condition. Saying that someone died by suicide helps dispel the sense of shame that still surrounds it.

If we are to end the devastation wrought by physician suicide, a single day that calls attention to this crisis is merely a starting point. We must be vigilant for signs of burnout and depression within ourselves and among our colleagues, and we must not hesitate to seek help when we recognize something is amiss. Physicians have resilience and self-reliance in abundance, but when we rely on those traits above all others, we put our own well-being and that of our patients and colleagues at risk.

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Now's the time to have a difficult talk about physician suicide - American Medical Association

5 Most Desirable Medical Specialities Around the Globe – SWAAY

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Danzig

With a lack of certainty surrounding the future, being and feeling healthy may help bring the security that you need during these unpredictable times.

When it comes to your health, there is a direct relationship between nutrition and physical activity that play an enormous part in physical, mental, and social well-being. As COVID-19 continues to impact almost every aspect of our lives, the uncertainty of the future may seem looming. Sometimes improvisation is necessary, and understanding how to stay healthy and fit can significantly help you manage your well-being during these times.

Gyms, group fitness studios, trainers, and professionals can help you to lay out a plan that will either keep you on track through all of the changes and restrictions or help you to get back on the ball so that all of your health objectives are met.

Most facilities and providers are setting plans to provide for their clients and customers to accommodate the unpredictable future. The key to remaining consistent is to have solid plans in place. This means setting a plan A, plan B, and perhaps even a plan C. An enormous amount is on the table for this coming fall and winter; if your gym closes again, what is your plan? If outdoor exercising is not an option due to the weather, what is your plan? Leaving things to chance will significantly increase your chances of falling off of your regimen and will make consistency a big problem.

The key to remaining consistent is to have solid plans in place. This means setting a plan A, plan B, and perhaps even a plan C.

The rise of stress and anxiety as a result of the uncertainty around COVID-19 has affected everyone in some way. Staying active by exercising helps alleviate stress by releasing chemicals like serotonin and endorphins in your brain. In turn, these released chemicals can help improve your mood and even reduce risk of depression and cognitive decline. Additionally, physical activity can help boost your immune system and provide long term health benefits.

With the new work-from-home norm, it can be easy to bypass how much time you are spending sedentary. Be aware of your sitting time and balance it with activity. Struggling to find ways to stay active? Start simple with activities like going for a walk outside, doing a few reps in exchange for extra Netflix time, or even setting an alarm to move during your workday.

If you, like many others during the pandemic shift, have taken some time off of your normal fitness routine, don't push yourself to dive in head first, as this may lead to burnout, injury, and soreness. Plan to start at 50 percent of the volume and intensity of prior workouts when you return to the gym. Inactivity eats away at muscle mass, so rather than focusing on cardio, head to the weights or resistance bands and work on rebuilding your strength.

Be aware of your sitting time and balance it with activity.

In a study published earlier this year, researchers found drug-resistant bacteria, the flu virus, and other pathogens on about 25 percent of the surfaces they tested in multiple athletic training facilities. Even with heightened gym cleaning procedures in place for many facilities, if you are returning to the gym, ensuring that you disinfect any surfaces before and after using them is key.

When spraying disinfectant, wait a few minutes to kill the germs before wiping down the equipment. Also, don't forget to wash your hands frequently. In an enclosed space where many people are breathing heavier than usual, this can allow for a possible increase in virus droplets, so make sure to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Staying in the know and preparing for new gym policies will make it easy to return to these types of facilities as protocols and mutual respect can be agreed upon.

From work to working out, many routines have faltered during the COVID pandemic. If getting back into the routine seems daunting, investing in a new exercise machine, trainer, or small gadget can help to motivate you. Whether it's a larger investment such as a Peloton, a smaller device such as a Fitbit, or simply a great trainer, something new and fresh is always a great stimulus and motivator.

Make sure that when you do wake up well-rested, you are getting out of your pajamas and starting your day with a morning routine.

Just because you are working from home with a computer available 24/7 doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your entire day to work. Setting work hours, just as you would in the office, can help you to stay focused and productive.

A good night's sleep is also integral to obtaining and maintaining a healthy and effective routine. Adults need seven or more hours of sleep per night for their best health and wellbeing, so prioritizing your sleep schedule can drastically improve your day and is an important factor to staying healthy. Make sure that when you do wake up well-rested, you are getting out of your pajamas and starting your day with a morning routine. This can help the rest of your day feel normal while the uncertainty of working from home continues.

In addition to having a well-rounded daily routine, eating at scheduled times throughout the day can help decrease poor food choices and unhealthy cravings. Understanding the nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy can help you stay more alert, but they do vary from person to person. If you are unsure of your suggested nutritional intake, check out a nutrition calculator.

If you are someone that prefers smaller meals and more snacks throughout the day, make sure you have plenty of healthy options, like fruits, vegetables and lean proteins available (an apple a day keeps the hospital away). While you may spend most of your time from home, meal prepping and planning can make your day flow easier without having to take a break to make an entire meal in the middle of your work day. Most importantly, stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

While focusing on daily habits and routines to improve your physical health is important, it is also a great time to turn inward and check in with yourself. Perhaps your anxiety has increased and it's impacting your work or day-to-day life. Determining the cause and taking proactive steps toward mitigating these occurrences are important.

For example, with the increase in handwashing, this can also be a great time to practice mini meditation sessions by focusing on taking deep breaths. This can reduce anxiety and even lower your blood pressure. Keeping a journal and writing out your daily thoughts or worries can also help manage stress during unpredictable times, too.

While the future of COVI9-19 and our lives may be unpredictable, you can manage your personal uncertainties by focusing on improving the lifestyle factors you can controlfrom staying active to having a routine and focusing on your mental healthto make sure that you emerge from this pandemic as your same old self or maybe even better.

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5 Most Desirable Medical Specialities Around the Globe - SWAAY

Foster School of Medicine to welcome Class of 2024 with White Coat Ceremony – El Paso Herald-Post

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Danzig

The Foster School of Medicine class of 2024 will receive their firstwhitecoats as part of the time-honoredWhiteCoatCeremony on Saturday.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first year that the schools future doctors will not have their coats placed on them by deans of the medical school. Instead, each of the 116 students in the class of 2024 will approach the podium and give a short message of gratitude to those who have helped them reach this milestone.

Gordon Woods, M.D., associate professor of Internal Medicine and college mentor, will give the keynote address.

At this years ceremony, the Foster School of Medicine continues its own tradition with its twelfth class. The Class of 2024 will be welcomed by faculty and staff, the El Paso community and fellow Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso students.

TheWhiteCoatCeremonyis a traditional rite of passage for entering medical students. Started in 1993 by Arnold P. Gold and his foundation, theceremonyis designed to remind students of the humanism inherent in their chosen field.

Since its inception at the Columbia University College ofPhysicians and Surgeons, thewhitecoattradition has expanded to97% of medical schools throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Foster School of Medicine, marking its 10th anniversary in 2019, held its firstWhiteCoatCeremonyin 2009 to welcome an inaugural class of four-year medical students.

What:Foster School of MedicineWhiteCoatCeremony

When:9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26

Where:Medical Sciences Building (MSB) II, TTUHSC El Paso campus,5001 El Paso Drive

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Foster School of Medicine to welcome Class of 2024 with White Coat Ceremony - El Paso Herald-Post

"Welcome to Medicine" in-Training, the online peer-reviewed publication for medical students – Pager Publications, Inc.

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

You dont deserve abuse because youre a medical student.

You dont have to tough it out because youre a medical student.

You dont have to sit in silence and painfully nod along with an attendings racist, misogynistic lectures because youre their medical student. You dont need to pick the skin off your cuticles to stop yourself from replying. You dont need to learn how to hide your grimaces behind your mask because you know youll have to listen to them attack your identity for the next several weeks.

My first interaction with my new attending immediately set off alarm bells in my head: when I introduced myself, he commented on what a difficult name I had and asked twice if he could call me Abby. Throughout the day, he would go on to flippantly joke about mental illness, insist COVID-19 was a liberal political ploy, scoff openly at the message of the Black Lives Matter movement and call every female in the office (including patients as well as myself) inappropriate pet names like baby girl and little lady.

As he casually spouted countless racist or sexist views, I held my tongue and hid my discomfort. He was a white male attending in a suburban clinic and worked exclusively with other white male attendings; it didnt appear he had ever been challenged about his views or his behavior. As a woman of color and a student, I certainly wasnt going to speak up myself. This rotation was 1:1 with the attending and without other medical students, interns or residents to validate my concern, I convinced myself I would just have to make it through the next two months.

From just one day in the clinic, I had compiled a list of 13 bullet points that outlined the most flagrantly inappropriate comments and actions from my attending. But I still didnt trust my experience was I overreacting? Was I being too sensitive? Was I going to ruin this attendings life by voicing my concerns? As just a med student, did I even deserve the right to feel uncomfortable?

When I tentatively mentioned to colleagues and mentors the litany of offensive, problematic statements my attending physician had said during the first two days of my rotation, a common response was, welcome to medicine. That struck a nerve. I didnt want to accept that statement as fact, I didnt want to accept this environment as inevitable, and I didnt feel that we, as the next generation of physicians, should have to. More than my own discomfort, it was the frustrating complacency of that welcome to medicine statement that finally convinced me to reach out to my school about the attending.

I wasnt alone in my hesitancy to bring my concerns to my administration. The 2019 graduation questionnaire by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) noted that though 40.1% of graduating medical students experienced mistreatment during their time in medical school, only 23.2% of those students reported their experience. Students cited fear of retaliation, doubt that an event was important enough to report and the belief that nothing would be done about the situation as reasons for not reporting.

These were all thoughts that ran through my head; at the bottom of the hierarchy of medical education, we dont trust ourselves enough to believe that what feels wrong might actually be wrong. Most insidiously, a 2018 study found that one of the leading reasons medical students dont report mistreatment during their clinical years is the perception that mistreatment is a normal part of medical education, a rite of passage if you will Welcome to medicine.

When I came forward, I realized I was lucky because I had the most supportive medical school administration I could have hoped for. When I tentatively asked, Is this really that bad? they replied with a resounding YES! making it clear that they were on my side. They took me seriously and removed me from that rotation the minute they heard my concerns. I felt like my safety was their highest priority and Im grateful for that.

While my medical school acted swiftly in my defense, I later learned that other medical professionals were less supportive. After I left my rotation, I heard from students working in the same office that the other attending physicians were whispering about that poor medical student who did the right thing by leaving the clinic. Those physicians discussed amongst themselves how that attending had been becoming increasingly problematic, how his conspiracy theories were getting increasingly incredulous and he was becoming increasingly irreverent towards patients and students. They had known before my name had ever even shown up in the office inbox that this attending was a questionable teacher and provider, but never brought their concerns to the attending himself or the schools who subjected their students to him.

I struggled with pangs of betrayal and loneliness: these physicians had nodded to me in public and had gossiped about that poor medical student in private. While I was fielding microaggressions one-on-one across a desk, berating myself to get a grip, fighting against my own instincts, they had known all along that I was going to struggle and left me to flounder anyways. Those white male physicians, who held the most power in that clinic and would face few consequences by speaking up about a sexist and racist colleague, did nothing.

It genuinely baffled me that they could have these discussions about how inappropriate this attending was and still smile at me walking beside him every morning. I cant help but wonder- perhaps they were so complacent because they didnt see this as an anomaly in medicine. Perhaps they thought it was something students needed to get used to. Perhaps they too thought, Welcome to medicine.

I didnt learn much medicine the first week of my rotation, but I learned something else: I dont want to subscribe to the culture of medicine that makes students believe they have to tough it out. Medicine isnt an old boys club anymore. If we cant expect attendings to speak up on our behalf, then we will have to advocate for ourselves. I dont mean to say that there arent thoughtful, supportive attendings that continue to fight for us there are, and Ive had the privilege of working with many of them.

This experience has shown me, however disappointing the thought may be, that I cant necessarily count on that. But the old guard is not the future of medicine we are. Even as medical students, when we see things that we believe are wrong whether that is sexist and racist comments from attendings, overly harsh treatment of trainees or impolite comments about patients we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to act on them by bringing them up to the administration that oversees medical education. And when we eventually find ourselves in those positions of power as senior residents, attendings or medical school faculty, we must remember what it felt like to be at the bottom of the hierarchy and speak up for those below us. We can work towards a better system than, Welcome to medicine.

Image Credit: Best Shoes for Nurses(CC BY 2.0)bygm.esthermax

Contributing Writer

Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Apshara Ravichandran is a third-year medical student at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. In 2018, she graduated from Williams College with a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and chemistry. She enjoys reading, running, and going to the local dog park in her free time. After graduating medical school, Apshara would like to pursue a career in a pediatric specialty or child psychiatry.

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"Welcome to Medicine" in-Training, the online peer-reviewed publication for medical students - Pager Publications, Inc.

OUWB Anesthesiology Interest Group wins top honor in US – News at OU

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicines Anesthesiology Interest Group was recently named the American Society of Anesthesiologists Outstanding Anesthesia Interest Group for 2019-20.

It was the fourth consecutive year that OUWB students in the Anesthesiology Interest Group (AIG) were awarded a top honor from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). (The announcement came just a couple of weeks after OUWBs Pediatric Interest Group was named Pediatric Interest Group of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

According to the society, awards are presented annually to those AIGs that show an exceptional level of participation, enthusiasm, program quality, professionalism, and involvement in their university, community, and at (ASAs) annual meeting.

The OUWB AIG currently at about 240 members edged out similar organizations from medical schools across the U.S., including last years winner from University of California San Francisco. (OUWB was named ASAs Most Innovative AIG in 2019.)

Through this award, the American Society of Anesthesiologists recognizes OUWB as an outstanding school for what we do in our group and the opportunities that we provide for students, said Alan Nguyen, the OUWB student who served as president for 2019-20. This lets program directors and other students know that (OUWB) is a contender.

The fact that weve won an award four years in a row is really saying something about our students and the dedication that they put into events, he added.

OUWBs AIG, launched in 2013, is designed to increase awareness of the spectrum of clinical practice in anesthesiology as well as encourage medical students to explore career opportunities within the field of anesthesiology.

The group aims to go beyond whats available through the OUWB curricular experience by providing opportunities for mentorship, education, and hands-on experience with anesthesiology faculty and residents.

Anesthesiology is one of those specialties where you might not get that much exposure in your first and second years (of medical school), said Paul Patel, current president of OUWBs AIG. The role we play in offering those anesthesiology-related connections and activities is crucial in providing early exposure to a field they otherwise might not get until their fourth year.

Patel said the group aims to hold an event once a month. Among other events held by OUWBs AIG in the last year were:

We put a lot of effort into making events that participating students, residents, and doctors will enjoy, said Nguyen. To get the Outstanding AIG Award offers proof positive that our hard work really does pay off.

Prior to last year, ASA annually awarded three schools an Outstanding AIG Award.

In 2018, OUWB shared the honor with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the University of Oakland College of Medicine.

In 2017, OUWBs AIG was named outstanding alongside the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Vanderbilt University College of Medicine.

Nguyen said ASA changed the program starting in 2019. Changes included having only one school named Outstanding along with categories for Best New AIG and Most Innovative AIG.

Stacie Griebahn, president, ASA Medical Student Component, ASA, congratulated OUWBs AIG on being one of the top AIGs in an email announcement.

Your AIG deserves recognition as a model AIG that exemplifies the mission of the ASA Medical Student Component to encourage medical student participation in anesthesiology, provide resources for medical students pursuing careers in anesthesiology and providing leadership, research and education in the field of anesthesiology within your school, she said.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, atadietderich@oakland.edu.

Follow OUWB onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.

NOTICE: Except where otherwise noted, all articles are published under aCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. You are free to copy, distribute, adapt, transmit, or make commercial use of this work as long as you attribute Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine as the original creator and include a link to this article.

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OUWB Anesthesiology Interest Group wins top honor in US - News at OU

How To Set Up Your Clinical Space Efficiently? A Complete Guide

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Ashlie Lopez

Were You Aware of the Look of One's Clinic that could help determine the connections that you might have with your patients? A healthy, comfortable clinical space is where the patients can feel relaxed and comfortable. For that you can discover how to favorably impact people who move across the clinic with speedy and very affordable design methods that could smooth workstreams, enhance patient safety, and boost team and patient connections. With more plans and cheap designs for smooth workstreams, you can connect with contractor books. It's easy to understand and is a thorough guidance, which allows you to study successful building, power of positive clinical space, boosting methods, the relation between doctors and patients, and many more. It will guide you on how to tackle the situations and eco-friendly environment for patients.

As a doctor, you operate with individuals to successfully Take Care of present Problems And protect against future disorders. Preventive treatment methods may begin as soon as patients put in the clinic. What can they view and practical experience? Contractor books are the best source for all the answers you need. ANd tell you exactly how your personnel can navigate the identical distance. How can patients proceed through space all through the trip, and also just how can they believe as though they browse their journey?

Addressing those queries using accessible layout alternatives can reduce Patient stress and enrich team civilization. Even a Free On-line module from the AMA's Actions Ahead Assortment Demonstrates How.

Use those five measures to maximize your clinic's distance:

Develop teamwork stations that enhance interactions

Well-designed Operate channels and components may enhance efficacy and Strengthen team civilization.

Place test rooms near the workforce's job space to lessen the distance that has to be traveled amongst actions and also enhance assessment place visibility. Because take short guidance from contractor books.

Create possibilities on their team to socialize with and nurture an even far more collegial environment. Glass walls make it possible for mates to find each other while preserving solitude and reducing sound.

Place furnishing to encourage patient engagement.

The structure, Designs, and Sorts of desks, evaluation tables along with Chairs may do the job with each other to promote successful interactions and eye.

When an individual may sit at a seat to consult together with the medic rather than shelling out the full trip on the exam table, then they indeed are more inclined to experience favorably concerning the trip.

Mount machines onto the walls onto a detachable arm or utilize laptops so that your workforce is free to alter their location to confront the individual patient.

Add positive distractions to alleviate patient anxiety.

Patients participate in your practice's environment to collect clues regarding The standard of maintenance they'll obtain. It can impact their faith from the clinic and also their general encounter.

Sitting in a living room might be more stressful. Because Patients might feel stressed or frustrated predicated in the waiting-room encounter. Good distractions, such as, for instance, window perspectives of all-natural configurations, divert focus from migraines, and make a constructive disposition.

Video may hamper the worries of ready. Because Adding art depicting landscapes using high visual thickness, healthy foliage, and hot weather or even favorable connections involving folks reduces stress.

Reconfigure rooms to feel spacious and welcoming

That Is no requirement to rip walls down, build new chambers to create a Space appear far roomier. Simple rearranging may make a tiny space feel open and more comfortable.

Jazz a consultation up the distance with added light or enhance stern overhead light. Place test tables in an angle to spare the wall up area for more extended seats.

Utilizing lighting, warm-colored paint onto the partitions may increase the constructive result of this art you've picked in the third step.

Connect with patients while incorporating technology

Typing or analyzing an individual's digital Wellness document may shoot Away from individual interaction and frustrate patients and physicians.

Raise your attention and share some screen with your patients to favorably impact their participation and adherence to treatment methods. Semi circular desks and big monitors can assist you in maintaining face to face touch. Because we involving patients within their very own info.

Try out executing the a-team confirmation approach, at which a nurse, physician assistant, or instruction helps with record-keeping to permit the medic to supply more excellent comprehensive Care to sufferers.

Physicians talk about changing their practice space.

"We had been inconveniencing our sufferers and generating unneeded Work," explained Morris Gagliardi, MD, associate clinical director of Gouverneur overall health at new york.

"Fretting about greater wayfinding for individuals along with groups such as Services together. At the practice demonstrated fantastic chances for individuals to deliver an even better, patient-centered working experience," he explained.

Vermont family doctor Michael Toedt, MD, has discovered Adjoining team chambers having open-distance teams get the job done most useful. He chose never to own some personal offices inside their brand new center.

"Being a doctor, I'm Not operating to Locate the staff members. I have to organize caution," Dr. Toedt explained. "I do not need to worry about this Patient maybe perhaps not after a behavioral wellness pro or dietician. Because we supply the hottest handoff in realtime "

Attuned to the Signs of Trouble | Harvard Medicine magazine – Harvard Medical School

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Danzig

Although the problem is slowly being addressed, McKinley-Grant says it is crucial that health care providers are trained in recognizing diseasesand subtle changesin all skin types.

Almost every mother, regardless of the ethnicity or age of her child, can tell when they are pale and not feeling well, she says. The underlying hues of the skin are not only the result of the presence of melanin, but also reflect red blood cell counts and oxygen levelsmeasures that are vital signs for all humans. We need to train our health care providers to recognize changes in hue in all skin types, including the skin of Black and brown people.

When we invite people for lectures or to contribute to a textbook or health care literature, she adds, we need to start making it almost mandatory that they show a diversity of ethnicity and skin color in the presentation, with images of disease in black and brown skin.

Rashes that may look red on a light-skinned patient tend to appear darker brown or purple on brown or black skin. Anemia appears as gray on dark skin rather than ghostly pale on light skin, while the darkening of skin associated with hyperpigmentation, itself a sign of Addisons disease and other conditions, may go unnoticed on dark skin. For inflammation, says McKinley-Grant, its important to ask the patient where the warmth and pain is and whether the area in question looks like their normal skin color.

Dermatologists also discern problems in people with darker skin tones by looking for patterns. Pattern recognition is a huge part of our training, says Freeman. We get 12,000 to 16,000 hours of supervised patient care. That allows us to learn to recognize patterns. So if you see a pattern but dont know how to interpret it, call a dermatologist.

That may be easier said than done these days. Since 1999, American Academy of Dermatology surveys have steadily shown that skin doctors themselves report there are not enough of them to go around, especially with the increasing demands on the profession as a result of population aging and rising rates of skin cancer and other cutaneous diseases.

Dermatology is one of the highest paying fields of medicine, and it has one of the lowest burnout rates. The ever-increasing market for cosmetic dermatologywhich is paid for out-of-pockethas put an even greater burden on residency programs.

At Harvard, 70 percent of our residents stay in medical or academic dermatology, says Freeman, but were probably the only school in the country with that statistic. Not everyone who wants to is able to match into the field, and these are really good students. Its common to take a year off from medical school and do a year of dermatological research just to get in.

Many schools are combining residencies in internal medicine and dermatology. Dermatologists look at a rash and then develop a differential diagnosis, then ultimately get a history, says Loscalzo. Internists do just the opposite, gathering a lot of history, looking at all aspects of the patients physical exam, and then trying to correlate whats going on with the skin to whats happening internally. Its a totally different heuristic, and a combined residency is a great way to learn both worlds.

To train AI at high levels of accuracy, you need an enormous collection of photos, and even the largest dermatology photo libraries dont have standardized diagnoses where a group of dermatologists agree.

Continuing medical education, workshops, and events like Mass Generals annual Dermatology Bootcamp, hosted by Kourosh, are helping to bridge the gap. Through programs like this, dermatologists at HMS are always more than ready to teach and give lectures to other providers and trainees in our hospital system and the community, Kourosh says.

In addition, the use of telehealth has helped extend expertise. Although its use increased 53 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to a 2019 article from the American Medical Association, its use has expanded again. Earlier this year, the AMA detailed extensive changes to telehealth, all allowed for in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020. Among those changes: expanding the list of services that can be delivered remotely, ensuring payment of physician fees for those services, and updating the requirements for accessing remote care to permit physicians to conduct telehealth visits from their homesand patients to access them from theirs.

These changes have been especially useful for dermatology and are increasing access to health care in all specialties, particularly for underserved patients in rural areas and elsewhere, for members of the military, and, during this pandemic, for patients sheltering in place, says McKinley-Grant.

Apps and artificial intelligence also hold promise, though, according to Kourosh and others they have a long way to go. To train AI at high levels of accuracy, Kourosh says, you need an enormous collection of photos, and even the largest dermatology photo libraries dont have standardized diagnoses where a group of dermatologists agree. Add to that the dearth of patients of color represented in most collections. Multiple efforts are being made now to do this correctly and safely for patients, but it may take years, she adds.

Until then, internists, primary care doctors, and other specialists remain patients first line of defense. Its true that time is a bigger limitation than in the past, admits Loscalzo, but if youre not carefully considering skin symptoms, youre not being a thorough physician.

Elizabeth Gehrman is a Boston-based writer.

Images: Juti/Essentials Collection/Getty Images (top); John Soares (Freeman); Mark Finkenstein (McKinley-Grant)

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Attuned to the Signs of Trouble | Harvard Medicine magazine - Harvard Medical School

Can you have both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time? – NJ.com

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

As flu season approaches some people are asking if it is possible to contract COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.

Unfortunately, yes, you can have both viruses, says Dr. Carl S. Goldstein, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

These are different viruses and because they are structurally different, there is no cross-immunity, Goldstein says.

And if you have both? The risk of respiratory failure requiring a ventilator or cardiopulmonary death is much greater, he says.

The concern is that both of these diseases converge on respiratory failure, Goldstein explains. So COVID independently can lead to ventilator-dependent respiratory failure, as can influenza, and influenza notoriously can set the stage for a bacterial pneumonia occurring on top of influenza. So the risk is that if you are infected with both COVID and influenza, they will both exact harm independently and, likely, synergistically.

Goldstein says those who are already at risk for poor outcomes from COVID are exactly the same people who are at risk for poor outcomes when it comes to the flu.

"That population over 65, underlying cardiac or pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, HIV, AIDS, cancer or cancer chemotherapy, organ transplant recipient that whole list of people who are at-risk people,' now become at really high risk people, he says, but adds that the the strategies which protect against COVID (masks, hand hygiene and physical distance) are "exactly the same strategies that protect against influenza, making these protective behaviors even more important.

How to tell whether you have COVID-19, the flu or both is a call best made by your physician, Goldstein says, adding that early intervention is critical for high-risk patients.

Clinically they both may present with fever, cough, muscle aches and pains. You cannot rely on symptoms to discriminate between these two diseases or between more common viral infections, he says. And if youre a person at risk and you develop respiratory symptoms any of them: fever, chills, cough, congestion shortness of breath, any of them if those symptoms are anything other than really ordinary, that probably deserves medical assessment because both influenza and COVID can get really ugly, fairly quickly.

And if its just the flu, an early diagnosis can often lead to effective therapy with Tamiflu or other antiviral agents, which, in some cases, could be lifesaving, Goldstein says.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

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Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com.

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Can you have both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time? - NJ.com

How to help medical students keep tabs on their mental health – American Medical Association

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Danzig

The ongoing pandemic is putting a spotlight on mental health as depression and anxiety continues to affect millions of Americans. But even before COVID-19, concern about the well-being of medical students was on the rise. About one in three medical students report symptoms of depression, and one in nine experiences suicidal ideation.

The University of New Mexico School of Medicine (UNM) recognized the need for some sort of intervention and developed a multilevel approach to help destigmatize mental illness among health care workers and raise awareness about support opportunities. UNM wanted to make it normal for medical students to talk about mental health and make it culturally acceptable to ask for help.

To make that happen, UNM had to start the conversation early. Before the schools formal white coat ceremony, the assistant dean for professional well-being would spend almost an hour talking about mental health with the family members of UNMs incoming students.

During that conversation, family members would receive a booklet about supporting their loved one during medical school. The booklet shares important things to know about medical schoolranging from the expected time commitment to the fact that it will likely be an emotional roller coasteras well as tips for communicating with medical students and suggestions for spouses, partners, or significant others. There is a page on random acts of kindness and support, and two pages breaking down the alphabet soup that is the language of medical training and medicine.

There also is a page titled When Students Should Seek Help. Included in the list of 14 scenarios are more obvious signs such as using alcohol or illicit drugs to self-medicate or having thoughts of self-harm, but also included are subtler signs such as when:

The success of UNMs work is spotlighted in an AMA STEPS Forward module, Normalizing Mental Health Care During Medical Student Training.

During orientation, medical students hear from upper-level students who have accessed the schools health and wellness resources about why they felt they needed help, whether they found the experience helpful and whether they faced any repercussions for seeking assistance.

First-year students have taken part in an annual wellness retreat that features a panel of three or four physicians who are in recovery from addiction. These panelists have been primary care physicians, cardiologists, residents, psychiatrists, anesthesiologists and infectious disease specialists, demonstrating that addiction can strike anyone. The first-year students hear firsthand about the signs and symptoms of substance-use disorder, as well as the recovery process.

In addition, the wellness dean would meet with small groups of students to discuss the adjustment to medical school and remind them of the resources available to all students.

Students also have had the opportunity to meet with the CEO and chief medical officer of the New Mexico Medical Board, as well as with program directors and the associate dean for graduate medical education to discuss concerns over reporting mental health history as well as ongoing issues they face related to mental health. These conversations led the director of graduate medical education to craft a list of frequently asked questions about mental illness and whether there are any subsequent repercussions handed down.

Overall, feedback for the schools wellness work has been positive, and in the past five years, the program has grown from three part-time positions to six part-time rolesfour faculty, one psychiatrist and one psychologistas well as a full-time program coordinator.

TheAMAs STEPS Forward open-access modules offerinnovative strategies that allow physicians and their staff to thrive in the new health care environment. STEPS Forward is part of theAMA Ed Hub,an online platform that brings together allthe high-quality CME, maintenance of certification,and educational contentyou needin one placewith activities relevant to you, automated credit tracking and reporting forsome states and specialty boards.

Learn more aboutAMA CME accreditation.

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How to help medical students keep tabs on their mental health - American Medical Association

Durham student with dreams of med school wins $100,000 in lottery game – WRAL.com

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Danzig

By N.C. Education Lottery

Raleigh, N.C. On Saturday night, Kaila Moore of Durham had a dream that shed bought a scratch-off ticket. Acting on that dream led her to buy her first lottery ticket and a $100,000 win.

Ive never bought a lottery ticket ever in my entire life, said Moore. I literally had a dream that I bought a scratch-off. So, when I woke up I went and bought one.

She went to the Food Lion on West Main Street in Durham Sunday morning, paid $20 for the $4,000,000 Gold Rush game, then took her ticket home to scratch it.

Her reaction to realizing shed won? Excitement.

I was with my mom, said the East Carolina University student. She was more excited about it than me!

They both knew this money was going to go toward Moores education.

I plan to go to medical school and medical school is not cheap! she said. Im going to invest some of it in a mutual fund and the rest Im just going to save.

Moore claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings she took home $70,756 but said she wouldnt celebrate until after her physics class and studying.

The $4,000,000 Gold Rush game launched in August with three top prizes of $4,000,000 and six $100,000. Two $4,000,000 and three $100,000 prizes remain.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $13.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County in 2019, visit http://www.nclottery.com and click on the Impact section.

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Dr. Seymour Schwartz, Who Wrote the Book on Surgery, Dies at 92 – The New York Times

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Danzig

Sy is the aspirational mentor that we all want to emulate, said Dr. David Linehan, chairman of the surgery department at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who also holds the title Seymour I. Schwartz professor of surgery. Dr. Linehan praised Dr. Schwartz for his towering intellect, spirit of collegiality, indefatigable work ethic, unending curiosity and enduring relevance.

Dr. Craig R. Smith, the chairman of the surgery department at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, recalled Dr. Schwartzs insatiable intellectual curiosity and called him a polymath of the first order who was much, much more than just another academic surgeon.

Seymour Ira Schwartz was born on Jan. 22, 1928, in the Bronx, to parents from Jewish immigrant families. His father, Dr. Samuel Schwartz, was a physician who taught anatomy at Polyclinic Hospital in Manhattan and whose family was from what is now Belarus. His mother was Martha (Yampolsky) Schwartz, who managed her husbands medical practice and whose parents were from Poland.

A gifted actor in student productions at DeWitt Clinton High School, Sy was encouraged by his father to pursue a theatrical career, but decided to become a surgeon instead. Accepted by Yale but unable to afford the tuition, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin on a scholarship and completed his pre-med degree in two years.

He began medical school at Syracuse University, earned his degree from New York University and, in 1950, completed his internship at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

In the 1960s, while serving on the University of Rochesters admissions committee, he was appalled to learn that a highly qualified candidate was being rejected because he was Jewish. Dr. Schwartz inquired how he, a Jew from New York, had been admitted and was told that school officials had mistaken him for Sidney Schwartz, a young tennis star from Brooklyn.

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Dr. Seymour Schwartz, Who Wrote the Book on Surgery, Dies at 92 - The New York Times

As college football forges ahead, why MLB-like postponements and delays may be in its future – CBS Sports

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Danzig

College football will look a bit like Major League Baseball this fall with periodic stoppages due to COVID-19 positives, the dean of UAB's medical school told CBS Sports. Selwyn Vickers said there was "better than a probably 80% chance" the ACC, Big 12 and SEC will play this fall limited by those interruptions.

"I think it will look a little bit like Major League Baseball," Vickers said. "You're invariably going to have a team that will be quarantined for some reason or not."

MLB's 60-game season has been interrupted most significantly by COVID-19 breakouts among the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. The Marlins didn't play for eight days in July and August. The Cardinals had to stop for 15. Other smaller outbreaks among other teams have caused other games to be postponed.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has continually warned that there could be what calls "disruptions" that will occur in the fall season due to COVID-19. Next to having to cancel the season altogether, having to postpone or interrupt it is the next-highest concern of the stakeholders.

Those stakeholders are aware that not all teams from all conferences will play the same amount of games. Especially as there are still 40,000 new COVID-19 cases and 1,000 new COVID-19 deaths per day across the United States.

"I think they'll have enough pressure after a couple of teams have to quarantine," Vickers said. "I would say there's not a great chance that you'll have transmission on the field because people will be tested 24 hours before a game, and they'll be in a hotel.

"I think it's just the surrounding atmosphere outside of practice that puts the risk [into play]. But I honestly think it looks like Major League Baseball, which gets its stride after a couple of teams realize, 'You know what, we have to shut the whole team down. Cancel a game or take one of our bye weeks in order for some people to recover.'"

UAB has the largest public academic medical center in the Southeast. Vickers has been dean of the medical school since 2013. His university's team plays in Conference USA. While UAB advises the University of Alabama in its coronavirus protocols, Vickers stressed that -- in terms of sports -- each SEC school has its own medical team.

Periodic disruptions would be the next hurdle for a game that his hoping to fit a season in amid the pandemic. The ACC and Big 12 have built in three bye weeks for their teams to make up games before the conference championship game. The SEC has two possible bye weeks but is starting two weeks after their aforementioned Power Five counterparts.

The Big Ten is in the process of deciding when it will play football again. Last month, the Big Ten and Pac-12 said they would attempt to play a spring 2021 schedule. The Big Ten is reportedly considering a late November that would stretch the season over both semesters. The Pac-12 is mulling a late 2020 start but aims to play sports again around Jan. 1, 2021.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has come under fire for overseeing the process that postponed the 2020 season on Aug. 11, six days after the conference released a fall schedule.

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As college football forges ahead, why MLB-like postponements and delays may be in its future - CBS Sports

Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast in-Training, the online peer-reviewed publication for medical students – Pager Publications, Inc.

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Danzig

As physicians, we are immediately thrust into a leadership position from the moment we finish medical school. Despite this, most medical students will obtain little formal leadership training. We seek to improve our leadership abilities as burgeoning physicians. We developed this podcast to challenge ourselves to explore ideas in leadership development and how they apply to medical training. We hope to educate and motivate others to further develop themselves as leaders in healthcare. We have three episode types:

Inside-Out Leadership: In order to be an effective leader an individual must seek first to improve themselves. In this category, we compile and discuss seminal works in personal development, literature we have personally found impactful and recent publications that we feel have helped us as as growing leaders.

The Main Course: The Main Course is our leadership development series where we learn from leaders around the world about what it takes to improve leadership skills. These discussions will not only draw from healthcare leaders, but also leaders in other professional fields. We hope that by learning from those in leadership already, we will be better prepared for entering healthcare team as leaders ourselves.

Healthcare 101: In order to be an effective healthcare leader, you must first understand the system to which you belong.We will be working to learn more about the healthcare system from leaders within it, books, and our own endeavors. We will focus on growing our listeners basic understanding of the the system of healthcare in the United States, the changes that may occur in the coming years, and how this will impact our future as physicians.

Image Credit: Provided by Caleb Sokolowski and Peter Dimitrion

Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast

Columnist

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Peter is a second-year MD/PhD Candidate at Wayne State University School of Medicine. In 2016, he graduated with Honors from the University of Pittsburgh double majoring in chemistry and molecular biology. He then earned an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins in 2018. Peter currently holds a Thomas C. Rumble Fellowship and the Jerry A & Mary D Martin Memorial Scholarship from the AHEPA Educational Foundation. In his free time, he enjoys rock-climbing, cooking and hiking. After graduating from medical school, Peter would like to pursue a career in Dermatology as a physician-scientist and pursue a career as a physician-writer as well.

Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast

Writer-in-Training and Columnist

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Caleb Sokolowski is a second-year medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. In 2018, he graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of science in Human Biology. Caleb is interested in medical ethics, policy, and education. In his free time, Caleb participates in number of activities including sports, CrossFit, paddle boarding and cycling.

Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast

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Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast in-Training, the online peer-reviewed publication for medical students - Pager Publications, Inc.

Join us for a panel discussion on the COVID vaccine in the Black, Latino communities in Savannah – Savannah Morning News

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Danzig

Savannah Morning News| Savannah Morning News

Join us for an open discussion about the facts and myths of the COVID-19 vaccine, featuring local medical professionals and historians.

In-personcapacity will be limited to comply with CDC recommendations. The program will be live-streamed at facebook.com/savannahnow and savannahnow.com.

You canRSVP herefor the event.

Participants:

Moderators:Rana L. Cash, Savannah Morning News; Tanya Milton, Savannah Tribune

DanielBrownparticipated in the COVID vaccine clinical trials that made the emergency approval of the vaccine possible. He isan emeritus member of the 100 Black Men of Savannah.

Dr. Bonzo Reddick, a Savannah native and son of Judge Bonzo and Betty Reddick, is a 1994 graduate of Windsor Forest High School. A graduate of Morehouse School of Medicine, Reddick is a primary care physician at JC Lewis Health Center. He is also on the faculty in theDepartment of Family Medicine at Mercer Medical School at Memorial.

Dr. Cecil Bennettis a family practice physician at Newnan Family Medicine Associates. A graduate of Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Bennett has served on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Academy of Family Medicine. He was a recent presenter for the African American Newspaper organization to warn of the danger of COVIDs and to provide information on the coronavirus vaccine.

Beatriz Seversonis a registered nurse and advocate for Hispanic communities in Savannah. She serves as a community volunteer for the Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition, Health and Mental Health Teams; the Savannah Prevention Coalition, under the leadership of Beyond the Bell; and HOLA, a task force created by Savanah Mayor Van Johnson.

Tammi Brownworks for the Georgia Department of Health as the Chatham County Nurse Manager. She was integral to setting up and managing the successful COIVD testing program at the Savannah Civic Center and was among the first people in Georgia to receive the Pfizer vaccine when it became publicly available in the state.

Dr. Karla-Sue Marriottserves as Interim Chair of the Chemistry and Forensic Science Department at Savannah State University. Dr. Marriott has studied the history of vaccines around the world and its effects in communities of color.

This event is presented by the Savannah Morning News, Savannah Tribune, E-93 and Magic 103.9.

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Join us for a panel discussion on the COVID vaccine in the Black, Latino communities in Savannah - Savannah Morning News

Art Fahrner-Edward Jones Alton High School Remarkable Redbird of the Month: Anastasia Reinier – RiverBender.com

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Danzig

ALTON - Anastasia Reinier is the Art Fahrner-Edward Jones Remarkable Redbird of the Month.

Anastasia, an Alton High junior, is very active student and devoted Redbird. She is involved in a number of extracurricular activities at school as well as within the Riverbend and St Louis area communities.

Anastasia had planned to run track as a Redbird in the 2019-2020 school year and was practicing to participate in the 200-meter and 400-meter runs, but the season never started last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. She remains hopeful that there will be a track and field season yet this year.

Anastasia is involved in singing with a Christian based high school group called Encounter, a group that is known for performing concerts at churches across the area. Encounter represents over 30 churches in the Alton area and is dedicated to sharing through the ministries of music, service, fellowship and participation in the life of the church. Anastasia is also involved in FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) and participated in a number of community service projects including feeding the homeless, raising awareness around domestic violence, cancer awareness and also Operation Snowball, an organization that focuses on leadership development to encourage young people to avoid taking drugs.

Anastasia has also represented Alton High School at FCCLA state competition where she received a gold medal and a Most Outstanding Award for all her achievements.

She is devoted to her community and also worked on a project to bring hygiene bags to the Oasis Center, a shelter for abused women in downtown Alton and even compiled a recipe book to help families in the community. Additionally, Anastasia has also done volunteer work and bell ringing for the Salvation Army and has also assisted in fund raising for the Ronald McDonald house.

Upon completion of her career at Alton High, Anastasia's goal is to complete her undergraduate college degree and continue to medical school. She hopes to become a doctor with a focus on pediatric surgery.

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Art Fahrner-Edward Jones Alton High School Remarkable Redbird of the Month: Anastasia Reinier - RiverBender.com

Dallas ISD and UT Southwestern partner to open a new kind of school – Dallas ISD

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Danzig

Science starts here for the next generation of students entering a PK-8 biomedical school in the heart of Dallas medical district. Dallas ISD and the UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) together will launch a new transformation school slated to open its doors next fall.

The Medical District PK-8 Biomedical School will start by serving scholars in prekindergarten through first grade, expanding one grade level each year up to eighth grade.

The curriculum will immerse students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by introducing real-world experiences in biomedical science. These daily explorations, centered on a STEM-based curriculum, will also provide firsthand exposure and direct access to innovative field trip opportunities.

The unique partnership is one of the first in the nation to focus on biomedical science for elementary students at a medical institution.

This school model is another game-changer for students as the district joins hands with an incredible partner to reimagine learning, said Michael Hinojosa, superintendent of Dallas ISD. It also highlights how science continues to evolve in a unique, relatable, and innovative way with students as young as three years old. This partnership will help connect students with cutting-edge resources that develop them into the next generation of scientists and medical professionals.

The Medical District PK-8 Biomedical School will have no academic requirements or attendance boundaries. Enrollment offers are generated at random, through a lottery system, based on the number of seats available in each grade coupled with the students priority group.

This exciting endeavor underscores what it takes to build and inspire the next generation of physicians and scientists instilling a love for science in children at an early age, said W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean, UT Southwestern Medical School. Our hope is that the added hands-on experiences and education they will gain during their years at the Medical District PK-8 Biomedical School will be the beginning of a lifelong connection to math, science, and discovery.

Fifty percent of the seats are reserved for economically disadvantaged students and 50 percent are offered to non-economically disadvantaged students.

The school will be located on the UTSW campus at 6516 Forest Park Road. Families may apply during the application period from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, 2022.

For more information, visit http://www.dallasisd.org/medicaldistrictschool.

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Dallas ISD and UT Southwestern partner to open a new kind of school - Dallas ISD

Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste – The New York Times

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Danzig

Michele Miller, of Bayside, N.Y., was infected with the coronavirus in March and hasnt smelled anything since then. Recently, her husband and daughter rushed her out of their house, saying the kitchen was filling with gas.

She had no idea. Its one thing not to smell and taste, but this is survival, Ms. Miller said.

Humans constantly scan their environments for smells that signal changes and potential harms, though the process is not always conscious, said Dr. Dalton, of the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Smell alerts the brain to the mundane, like dirty clothes, and the risky, like spoiled food. Without this form of detection, people get anxious about things, Dr. Dalton said.

Even worse, some Covid-19 survivors are tormented by phantom odors that are unpleasant and often noxious, like the smells of burning plastic, ammonia or feces, a distortion called parosmia.

Eric Reynolds, a 51-year-old probation officer in Santa Maria, Calif., lost his sense of smell when he contracted Covid-19 in April. Now, he said, he often perceives foul odors that he knows dont exist. Diet drinks taste like dirt; soap and laundry detergent smell like stagnant water or ammonia.

I cant do dishes, it makes me gag, Mr. Reynolds said. Hes also haunted by phantom smells of corn chips and a scent he calls old lady perfume smell.

Its not unusual for patients like him to develop food aversions related to their distorted perceptions, said Dr. Evan R. Reiter, medical director of the smell and taste center at Virginia Commonwealth University, who has been tracking the recovery of some 2,000 Covid-19 patients who lost their sense of smell.

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Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste - The New York Times

In Her First Book, Olivia Campbell Details How the First Women in White Coats Changed the World of Medicine – Medical Bag

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Danzig

In the early 1800s, womens access to meaningful healthcare was grim, with many dying from diseases curable re. Because, for the most part, they werent allowed to attend medical schools, female physicians were unheard of, and women often avoided male doctors. Some didnt want to be examined by men, and others were afraid that a diagnosis would ruin their marriage prospects. Three brave souls Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Garrett-Anderson, and Sophia Jex-Blake setoff tochange that. Despite societal reproof, discrimination and countless obstacles, they proved their ability to practice medicine and founded women-run hospitals and medical schools that trained female physicians.

Writer Olivia Campbell chronicles their journeys, which spanned from Europe to the United States and back, in her upcoming book, Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine (Park Row). Medical Bag spoke to Campbell about her inspiration and interest in the subject.

What motivated you to write a book about these women?

I read about male students rioting in Philadelphia and Edinburgh, Scotland, against women wanting to attend school alongside them. In the 1869 America, male students at the Philadelphia Hospital hurled spitballs and obscenities at the students from Womans Medical College of Pennsylvania who came to attend a lecture alongside them. A year later in Scotland, a mob of about 200 male students threw mud, rotten eggs and trash at what became known as the Edinburgh Seven seven female medical students who began attending the school, and Sophia Jex-Blake was one of them. The riots were a year apart, and I thought that was fascinating two parallels, two schools, two different countries at about the same time. The men didnt want women to study medicine. Moreover, the entire medical and societal doctrine declared women unfit to study. These three women transcended that barrier, and I wanted to tell a story of how they came together to make medical school possible for other women.

Why were women considered unfit to study?

The Victorian medical views originated from the teachings of ancient Greece, which believed that inside every person theres a creature that drives them to have sex. Inside women, that was the uterus, which craved not only sex but also semen and could be fully satisfied only when pregnant. If a woman spent too long a time without carrying a child, her uterus, called hystera in Greek, became bored and started causing health problems, from heart palpitations to hysterics. Even though womens health issues were usually caused by malnutrition, pregnancies and poor work conditions, their entire nature was believed to be controlled by their uterus. They werent supposed to go to school because studying was too taxing on their minds they would use their energy on their brain instead of their uterus.

Throughout history, women always helped people heal, nursing everyone from ill children to wounded soldiers back to health. Why was there so much mistrust in womens ability to be doctors?

Women were practicing healing arts everywhere in the world throughout history they were herbalists and healers and shamans. But when the church decided to make medicine an official profession and started establishing universities where one could get medical degrees and licenses to practice, they began to prosecute women. Thats when they started witch-hunting campaigns, accusing women of witchcraft. Scared of being burned at the stake, women stopped practicing medicine. Essentially, this was the patriarchal control establishing the fact that medicine is a mans job. The men rioted against women studying because they were scared of the competition. And they used the faulty science to keep their monopoly.

How did these three unwavering women change the field of medicine?

They became doctors at the time when women couldnt go to school, but they had to fight every step of the way, so they decided to create schools specifically for women.

Elizabeth was the first, sort of the grandmother of the movement, and the other two came later, inspired by her example. In 1847, Elizabeth was accepted to Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York, essentially by mistake. When male students voted whether to accept the first female student, they thought it was a joke, so they voted in favor of acceptance. Sophia persuaded University of Edinburgh professors to admit her along with six others, which eventually led to riots. Lizzie attended several schools, but each would kick her out after some time, so she studied privately with physicians and eventually managed to get a license. The three womens paths crossed at different times, in the United States and England. Ultimately, Elizabeth started a medical school for women in New York, and together the three created the London School for Women. They also established women-run hospitals. They even performed surgery, such as removing breast cancer. They proved to the world that women could be doctors and surgeons.

Even today, its hard for women in medicine to keep the life-work balance. How did your three trailblazers manage that challenge?

At the time, being independent women defeating societal norms pretty much ruined your marriage chances. Elizabeth never married, but she adopted a daughter. Sophia was a lesbian, who had a partner when she was young, but they parted ways and later in life she lived with another one. Lizzie had four marriage proposals and accepted one. She and her husband had a very progressive relationship two people going to work was a very modern idea at the time, especially when one of them was pregnant. Lizzie had three children, two of whom survived, and her daughter pioneered the idea of women doctors treating men. So Lizzie was the proof that a female physician could indeed have it all just like so many women do today.

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In Her First Book, Olivia Campbell Details How the First Women in White Coats Changed the World of Medicine - Medical Bag

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