Medical school ‘like All Black selection’ – focus is on what is best for the team – Stuff.co.nz

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Northland District Health Board member and Auckland University senior lecturer Mataroria Lyndon says we are generations away from worrying about Mori and Pacific students taking all the places in medical school.

Mori doctors feel unsupported and undermined as debate continues over whether Otago University medical school's admissions scheme is unfair.

The university is fighting a legal challenge to its Mirror on Society policy, which prioritises entry into first-year medical school for special category students Mori, Pasifika, rural, refugee and low socio-economic.

The legal challenge is from a man who claims the policy meant his child missed out on general entry, despite their results averaging more than 92 per cent.

Last month, a selection policy change discussion document presented to the University of Otagos medical admissions committee suggested capping the number of Mori and Pasifika special entry spaces, though the university maintains it was not a proposal for change.

Dr Mataroria Lyndon, who is a Northland District Health Board member, public health doctor, Auckland University senior lecturer and Fulbright scholar, said talk of Otago limiting progress was disappointing to say the least.

READ MORE:* Otago Uni will fight legal challenge to its med school special entry scheme* Caution urged over 'out of blue' proposal to limit special pathway for Mori, Pasifika at Otago Med School* She aspired to be a doctor at 10, to 'make a point' that Mori can

I feel for Mori medical students in these programmes who are feeling that they are being perceived negatively.As medical students, everybody sits the same assessments and comes out with the competencies expected to graduate. There is no difference there.

POOL

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield offer support to Otago Medical School's admissions policy. (First published September 4, 2020)

Lyndon, a graduate of Auckland Universitys counterpart scheme, said publicly funded medical schools were obliged to think beyond individuals and to serve the nation.

Getting into medical school is not a given. It is actually part of a broad strategy or plan.

Lyndon, a South Aucklander who was the first in his family to go to medical school, completed a thesis about why students pursued medicine. It showed Mori students were more motivated by serving their communities.

The same could be said about Pasifika and rural students, he said.

It is not just being Mori, for Mori, it is for everybody.

Pkeh benefited from coming from long lines of medical professionals.

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Professor Papaarangi Mary-Jane Reid, Auckland University head of Mori health, says medical school selection is like All Black selection, where you may think your child has what it takes but they may not be the best fit for the team.

University of Auckland Professor of Mori health and public health doctor Papaarangi Reid compared medical school selection to All Black selection in the September 20 edition of E-Tangata magazine.

A parent might think their child worked hard and had what it took but they might not be the best fit for the team, she wrote.

Most of the nation is ready to be benevolent towards Mori and our needs but many choke when it comes to affirming our rights and when our excellence may constrain their privilege.

The comments come after 785 female doctors signed a letter urging Otago University not to place any limits on the scheme.

Dr Janet Rhodes September 3 letter to Dean Professor Rathan Subramaniam said the scheme had begun the slow process of addressing [racial] disparity in a system designed by Pkeh for Pkeh.

Rhodes, a trainee general surgeon, told Stuff debate about the scheme was leaving her Mori colleagues feeling unsupported and undermined.

It is making them feel like their struggles are really unvalidated.

She was frustrated society was listening to people who have the resources to fight on a legal platform and ignoring Treaty of Waitangi legalities.

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Northland District Health Board member, public health doctor, Fulbright scholar, and Auckland University senior lecturer Mataroria Lyndon says we are generations away from worrying about Mori and Pasifika taking all places in medical school.

Academic ability was not enough to make a good doctor.

Nobody should be trying to get into medical school without a back-up plan.

Of the 202 students granted entry from the 2019 first-year health science course, 120 came from special categories. Some argued the current policy allowed all places to be filled by special entry students.

Lets say there was an intake where that happened, I think that is something that should be celebrated as a real success, rather than denigrated, Rhodes said.

Opposition to that possibility showed underlying racism.

A spokeswoman said the university had received letters from a variety of people and organisations expressing views on the equity scheme.

The universitys senior leaders will meet medical students next week to discuss their concerns.

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Medical school 'like All Black selection' - focus is on what is best for the team - Stuff.co.nz

A University of Minnesota medical student apparently vandalized the George Floyd memorial. His health care classmates want him expelled. – Sahan…

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When treating patients of color at a pair of HealthPartners clinics in St. Paul, Bryan Leyva said he doesnt shy away from having conversations with them about race.

I ask them how theyre doing, said Leyva, a third-year medical resident at the University of Minnesota in pediatrics and internal medicine.

Many times they say, Im OK. And then I say, Given what were dealing with, with COVID, and given all the protesting and police brutality towards Black communities, Im surprised that youre doing OK. It really speaks to your resilience and your strength.

This, Leyva said, often gets patients to open up about their experiences, including conversations like whether theyve experienced racism in the clinic. Its just one of the ways that Leyva, who was born in Colombia and grew up in Rhode Island, tries to counter systemic racism in health care.

So when Leyva first heard last week that one of his university medical peers defaced an iconic mural of George Floyd, he said he felt complete and utter outrage.

Volunteers at Floyds de facto memorial sitethe scene of his late May police killing on Chicago Avenue and East 38th Streetcaught a man on the night of August 18, spray painting black paint on the eyes of Floyds image and putting an X on his face. The man ran away. After a chase, the volunteers caught and confronted him.

Instead of calling the police, the volunteers asked the man to call a friend on his cell phone, and the friend identified him as Daniel. They then took the mans picture, published it on social media and let him go.

Soon, social media users identified the man as Daniel Michelson, a 26-year-old medical student at the University of Minnesotas Rochester campus. The Minnesota Reformer last week reported that Michelson admitted to defacing the Floyd memorial and expressing remorse.

Michelson, according to the news site, said that he was drunk and didnt remember vandalizing the mural, adding that he made a terrible mistake that just doesnt represent who I am or what I value.

Now, in a protest in front of the University of Minnesotas Moos Tower, several dozen of Michelsons fellow med studentsalong with doctors, nurses and healthcare workerscalled for Michelsons expulsion from medical school.

Its not about revenge, Leyva told the gathered crowd. Expelling Daniel Michelson is about who we are. Its about character. Its about our values. And its about our actions and how our actions align with those values.

Michelsons current student status at the university is unclear. The universitys website lists that he was most recently enrolled in the medical school this summer. University spokesperson Katrinna Dodge told Sahan Journal that a medical student by this name is not currently enrolled as of August 20that is, two days after the incident.

Dodge said that privacy laws and University Board of Regents policy prevents her from disclosing more information.

The University does not condone the defacement or damage of any public property, and specifically condemns the recent vandalism of the George Floyd mural at the site of Mr. Floyds murder, she said in a statement.

Michelson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment sent to his university email account.

Many of the rallys attendees wore white medical coats to show solidarity with the White Coats for Black Lives student group, which helped organize the rally. Several also held signs with slogans like, Racism is a public health issue and Health care is a social justice issue.

One protester held a replica of the street-sign posts of the 38th and Chicago intersection, where police killed Floyd. Several speakers described the location and mural as sacred ground.

Jeanelle Austin, who lives just blocks from the site, explained that the mural was made out of pain, as a gift to the community to help us grieve.

What would happen if someone came into your mosque, to your church or to your temple, Austin said, and defile what you consider sacred?

Austin, who has helped maintain the memorial site at the intersection this summer, also rejected Michelsons explanation that he was drunk and doesnt remember defacing the memorial.

If you are drunk and you are driving a vehicle, you are still held responsible for your actions, she said.

Abdi Khalif, a registered nurse who helped organize the protest, made a similar assertion.

As the saying goes, a drunken mans words are a sober mans thoughts, Abdi told the crowd.

Roughly 100 people stood on the Moos Tower front plaza. Appropriate for medical students, the crowd stood far away from the speakers, wearing masks. Behind Abdi, four protesters wearing white coats held two large banners, including one that read, George Floyd, enough is enough.

Prakrithi Srinand, a fourth-year medical student, said that the historic problems with health care in communities of color, especially in Minneapolis, prompted her to attend the rally.

For someone in our own community to add to this trauma is so devastating, Srinand said, in reference to Michelson.

Srinand, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India, plans to practice obstetrics-gynecology. And she pointed to higher premature births among Black mothers as just one example of systemic racism within that medical specialty.

If we can take him out of the equation, I think that would be a good thing for all of our patients of color, she said.

Having someone in the medical field adding to this problem, she argued, will only do vulnerable patients more harm.

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A University of Minnesota medical student apparently vandalized the George Floyd memorial. His health care classmates want him expelled. - Sahan...

Letter from the Editor: The science of sleep – Medical News Today

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Given the unprecedented challenges of recent months, its perhaps unsurprising that many of us are experiencing sleep deprivation.

In a recent survey conducted in the United Kingdom, around 75% of respondents said that unease around the COVID-19 outbreak has caused sleep disruption, while 77% reported that lack of sleep has interfered with their day-to-day functioning.

Lack of sleep can lead to several mental and physical health problems, including depression, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, highlighting the importance of getting a sufficient amount of shut-eye.

With this in mind, we decided to dig a little deeper into the world of sleep this month. We explored the science behind slumber and provided you with further information and resources to help you get a good nights sleep.

Within our news content, we investigated the connection between sleep and mental health, and examined why the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have altered our nighttime dreams.

Definitely, people are reporting more dream recall, more vivid dreams, more bizarre dreams, and more anxious dreams since March, Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, told us.

We aimed to dispel some of the widespread myths surrounding sleep with the first of our Medical Myths series. Does your brain really shut down during sleep? This article helps clear things up.

We also looked at racial disparities in sleep, including why Black Americans are more likely to experience sleep deprivation than white Americans. In a follow-up piece, physicians weighed in on what might explain these disparities.

To find more information and resources on sleep, visit our dedicated hub.

Continuing our coverage of racial disparities, we recently published an article on how to be an ally. This important piece highlights the need for all of us to be active in the fight against racism.

The burden of fighting against racial inequality must not fall on Black people exclusively. The recognition of this fact is necessary when fighting to keep the movement alive in demanding for tactical change.

In alignment with World Mosquito Day this month, we took an in-depth look at how climate change has impacted the spread of West Nile virus in the United States. Its certainly an interesting read.

Other content that has piqued your interest this August includes our coverage of research suggesting that an existing drug called Ebselen previously used to treat bipolar disorder and hearing loss may help combat COVID-19. You were also interested in our article on a study that suggests COVID-19 symptoms may appear in a certain order.

For those of you who wish to take a break from COVID-19-related news, the latest in our Recovery Room series looks at whats been happening elsewhere in the world of medical research.

Is there a health topic youd like to read more about? Let us know by emailing us at editors@medicalnewstoday.com. You can also reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter.

Ill return next month with more on what youve been reading.

Until then, be safe, happy, and healthy.

Honor Whiteman, Editorial Director

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Letter from the Editor: The science of sleep - Medical News Today

This Is Why I’m Working as a Medical Assistant While I Advance My Education – Nurse.org

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Taylor Brune @heartsinbloomhealth is many things. To start, perhaps above all else, she is passionate about healthcare. Brune, who recently survived COVID-19, suffers from chronic autoimmune deficiencies, which began from a bite from a tick. As a result, she has had to learn and research much in the medical world so that she is as well equipped as possible to survive her severe afflictions.

On top of all that, Brune is also a Medical Assistant. In this capacity, she works with healthcare providers as a liaison to patients, in administrative capacities and other roles to ensure the facility operates smoothly. Brune, never one to shy away from a challenge, is also a student continuing her education. She is using her experience as a Medical Assistant to help transition to, one day, becoming a doctor. That is her ultimate aim.

We caught up with Brune to ask her about this long professional journey, her fight with COVID-19, her passion for healthcare and much more.

@heartsinbloodhealth

When and why did you decide you wanted to be a Medical Assistant?

The last ten years, I have dealt with my own health issues and my own health journey of developing chronic disease and autoimmune disease after a bite from a tic. So, when I lost my health, I was engulfed in the medical world and I was a patient 24-7 and having to do research for myself and be my own health advocate. In the process of learning how to heal myself, I grew the passion of wanting to help heal others.

While I was going through treatments, I was like, this is my calling. This is where Im supposed to be. This is why Im having my health issues and going through this huge life transition and transformation. When that realization happened, I decided to learn about medicine and how to switch my degree over to pre-med and integrative health.

Going into medical assisting school, was the first step in my path. And Im going to be a doctor one day no matter how long it takes! No matter what challenges I face, I know that everything Im going through in my own health is helping me transform into the best person that I can be so that I can be the best doctor for patients. Since Ive had the perspective of being a patient for so many years, I know exactly what theyre thinking and feeling.

If youre interested in becoming a medical assistant here is an awesome guide to start your research - it answers questions like,

After you read this interview go to the full Medical Assistant Career Guide.

Show Me Medical Assistant Programs

What was the process like for you to become a Medical Assistant?

First, I prayed a lot about it. I knew I wanted to switch my degree to pre-med but, I also wanted to work in the medical field a lot sooner. Becoming a doctor takes years in pre-med and medical school.

So, I figured the first step to completely immerse myself in the medical field as soon as possible was to complete a medical assistant program and to actually start working in the field that I love so much. Once I graduated from my medical assistant and phlebotomy program I immediately started working in the field. The experience Ive gained has just confirmed that this is where Im supposed to be and I love it!

How long did the process take, what type of schooling did you?

For medical assisting in California , I needed to go to a medical assisting school. I went to a trade school and enrolled into a medical assisting program. Medical assisting programs are more about gaining hands-on experience in an actual doctors office. This is how the program was set up,

The program style was really beneficial to help me to get on-the-job training and also land a great position right after graduation,

At the same time, though, Ive been going to Arizona State University Online to finish my Bachelors degree, which Ill be finishing in the fall. This fall, Ill have my Bachelors as well as my medical assisting diploma.

As a medical assistant its important to be certified. I took a national certification exam and every two years, I complete the required credits and retake the test to keep my certification up to date.

@heartsinbloodhealth

How did you land your first job as a Medical Assistant?

It was actually pretty easy for me because I seem to interview really well with medical places. My first job was working at a naturopathic office. Next, I went to primary care and oncology. So, thats where Ive been working the last year. Now, Im at Scripps Health Hospital in dermatology.

Theres a lot to know for the job and you have a lot of responsibilities - from first-aid to computer work to patient liaison. Do you like having all these aspects to your workday?

I love it! I have gained so much experience including,

Drawing blood is my absolute favorite because I really enjoy direct patient care. But, overall working with different modalities, systems and technologies has taught me so much about the medical field. Each private practice is completely different and the providers are unique in that they offer different specialties and treatments. Its been fun learning all these different skills.

@heartsinbloodhealth

Your long-term goal is to be a doctor. How did you choose becoming a medical assistant for that aim and how has it helped?

There are a few reasons why I chose medical assisting as my first step towards my goal of becoming a doctor,

What do you like least about being a Medical Assistant or the healthcare field, in general?

For my own personal experience, I have an immune compromised self. I just dont like that I pick up illnesses so easily. I even picked up COVID. Flu season is also difficult for me. Im thankful for the fact that everyone is now taking more precaution in the medical field. Ive observed that people are more mindful of sanitizing and patients are wearing masks. It gives me hope that at least this year I will have stronger defenses and not catch as many illnesses. But theres many great things about working as a medical assistant, too. Each person has their own experience.

As a chronic illness patient myself, the one negative that I dont like is that I feel some doctors dont have time to really hear their patients. When Im a doctor, that is something that I really want to change. However, Ive been really fortunate to work with providers who are integrative in their mindset and do give their patients time. Even now, working with providers who arent integrative, they still give patients time and hear them. Ive been really fortunate to work with good providers. But, from the perspective of a patient, I had to go through multiple providers to get to good ones - and, I didnt like that.

@heartsinbloodhealth

What advice do you have for other people looking to become a Medical Assistant today - first steps, things to keep in mind?

One of the main things is to really look inside yourself and question yourself. Ask yourself really important questions like,

@heartsinbloodhealth

As you said, you recently recovered from COVID-19. What was that experience like for you personally and professionally?

In the beginning of the year, we actually started seeing patients have lung flues and pneumonias with weird symptoms and they were just really sick in January. I believe that COVID-19 was definitely here in the United States in California in January. But we didnt know what it was yet. But then when they started announcing it in February, we definitely got more traffic in the office and we were taking care of patients - even though it was primary and oncology, a lot of the patients in the beginning stages when they were starting to get sick would come to us. So, we were being exposed to COVID-19 and it spread through the staff.

The COVID-19 symptoms started out mild for me. I just figured it was the stress from working and being the only medical assistant since we were short-staffed during that time. Then once the rest of the clinic tested positive, I was like, Oh, no! I think I may have it!

I got tested. The week after I tested positive the illness became super severe for me. I have asthma and type-one diabetes - it went straight into my lungs. I decided to just face it and not be crippled by fear. I set my mind to believe that I would not die from it. Because Id learned with my chronic illness that you just have to stay positive no matter how grim it looks. And really just focus on what you can do to heal.

During the time when it was really severe, I went to the hospital and towards the end, I was able to go home and recover.

Now, its been three months since I've been cleared. I still have lung damage. My body is still healing. My body is still recovering from it in that aspect. But I was very fortunate because Ive had over ten years of experience being a chronic illness patient and working in the medical field. With that experience in mind, I knew how to take care of my immune system and listen to my body. When I got it, it was the beginning of the pandemic when doctors really didnt know anything about it. They didnt know what to tell me. They didnt know how to help me. So, for a lot of it I was on my own. I had to figure out how to survive COVID-19.

Luckily, my knowledge and prayer and by the grace of God and blessings, I was able to fight it, survive it. I was able to apply my knowledge to quickly do a regimen of trying to boost my immune system fast. I made a point to not stress, not think negatively, not fear, and not feed into any of that. I just tried to stay calm through the whole thing. Eventually, after 70 days, I was cleared.

What was the most difficult symptom of COVID-19 for you?

I think, honestly, the worst part was not being able to breathe. Even now, its still hard to breathe. It felt like I was suffocating 24-7, there was no relief. I was even on a breathing machine, not a ventilator, but a nebulizer breathing machine every four hours and taking medication just to be able to survive. I probably should have gone on a ventilator at that point because my oxygen stats were just in the 80s and so low and I was so sick. But I just didnt want to go on the ventilator. When I went into the hospital, they gave me fluids, took all the tests to make sure there was no other organ damage.

So, it was just kind of traumatic, honestly! But I learned a lot. Im grateful to be alive. Im grateful to be able to help anyone, you know? Or to face it without as much fear, even though it is really scary. To have hope and to try to stay calm.

You seem connected with people, both in-person and digitally. How has this helped, how has Instagram helped spread your story?

Its so amazing because I just started sharing my story of being a chronic illness patient and so many people could relate to that. Then when I started sharing my story and my experiences working in the medical field so many more people would message me and connect with me. Ive met so many amazing people, its amazing whats come out of Instagram. Whats come out of this community is just so many different opportunities and abilities to be able to hear other peoples stories, share my story, be able to learn from others, be able to help others. Its made me a better person and its also helped me be able to have a stronger voice.

When youre about to start your day, what is the final thing that passes through your mind before you open the doors to work?

Every morning, I just say a prayer, walking in, in my mind. And I dont know if this is going to sound corny but because this is my calling, I really, truly want to make the most of my job.

I pray right before I walk in every single morning that God uses me as a light of warm light and love to each person that I come across so that my day is very purposeful and meaningful and that Im able to uplift someone in some way. Or help someone in another way or just comfort a patient in a way that they need. I pray every day that my light shines through to the patients and staff around me.

Still have specific questions about becoming a medical assistant? Read our ultimate guide to becoming a Medical Assistant now.

Show Me Medical Assistant Programs

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This Is Why I'm Working as a Medical Assistant While I Advance My Education - Nurse.org

AbbVie pens $30M Harvard University viral pact with coronavirus in the crosshairs – FierceBiotech

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AbbVie and Harvard University have signed up to a new $30 million early-stage infectious disease pact with coronavirus and hemorrhagic fever viruses two key targets of the deal.

AbbVie will stump up the cash over three years and additional in-kind support that taps its scientists, expertise for collaborative research and early-stage development efforts.

These will be focused on a series of infectious disease areas and potential therapies including antibodies and small molecules against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, as well as the coronavirus family it comes from.

Overcoming Scalability Challenges with Autologous Therapies

Catalent presents a clinical-to-commercial perspective on autologous therapies. Join experts Prof. Gerhard Bauer and Catalents Dr. James Crutchley as they discuss challenges and an innovative methodology to commercially scale autologous therapies.

Back in June, AbbVie also teamed up with cancer and inflammation biotech Harbour BioMed, alongside Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center, which are now working together to develop a new antibody to both prevent and treat COVID-19.

This comes after AbbVies HIV med Kaletra (Aluvia), a combination of antiviral drugs lopinavir and ritonavir, failed across the board in a recent 199-patient clinical trial. It didnt top standard of care at improving clinical symptoms, extending life span or cutting viral shedding in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.

It is now betting on an experimental and partnered approach toward tackling viruses.

A key element of having a strong R&D organization is collaboration with top academic institutions, like Harvard Medical School, to develop therapies for patients who need them most, said Michael Severino, M.D., vice chairman and president of AbbVie.

There is much to learn about viral diseases and the best way to treat them. By harnessing the power of collaboration, we can develop new therapeutics sooner to ensure the world is better prepared for future potential outbreaks."

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AbbVie pens $30M Harvard University viral pact with coronavirus in the crosshairs - FierceBiotech

Announcement Regarding Bard Hall | Office of the President – Columbia University

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Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

I write today to share an important change, namely that Bard Hall, the CUIMC residence hall on Haven Avenue, will be renamed.When this dormitory opened in 1931, it was named for Samuel Bard, the founder of what is now Columbias Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Bard was a significant physician in the 18th century, a pioneer in obstetrics and treating diphtheria, who served as George Washingtons doctor. He also owned slaves (the countrys first census in 1790 lists their number as three). We know about at least one instance, in 1776, in which he advertised, with a promised reward, for the return of a fugitive slave.

Bard Hall is a dormitory for our clinical students. We all understand how careful we need to be in shaping the environment, symbolic as well as physical, in which we ask our students to live and to call home. These are sites with the special resonance that comes from mixing the personal features of daily life with the formation of lasting friendships and a sense of community with a shared mission, together with a period of life involving extraordinary intellectual and professional growth. The change I am conveying here, however, also feels urgent not only for the individuals who have been asked to call Bard Hall home, but for the many students, staff, and faculty in the broader Columbia community, and especially vivid at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where the contradiction between the egalitarian health service norms they cherish and slavery's denial of full human standing is starkly blatant and offensive.

In June, I asked Interim Provost Ira Katznelson to convene a group to consider campus names and symbols associated with matters of race and racism. As they began to fashion a longer-term process to thoroughly review these matters, work that will continue as the academic year begins, the committee forwarded to me the unanimous recommendation on which I am acting.

Of course, we cannot, indeed should not, erase Samuel Bards contributions to the medical school. But we must not recall this history without also recognizing the reason for our decision to rename Bard Hall. As the fall term advances, I will share how we will honor this building with a name that represents our Universitys values.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger

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Announcement Regarding Bard Hall | Office of the President - Columbia University

Class of 2019’s Nathan Wood, M.D., wins MTV nomination for viral rendition of ‘Lean on Me’ – The South End

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Wayne State University School of Medicine-educated physician.

Institute of Culinary Education-trained chef.

ABC News Medical Unit contributor.

MTV award nominee.

Class of 2019 alumnus Nathan Wood, M.D., might have the most diverse resume of any doctor practicing medicine today.

Dr. Wood is nominated for a MTV Video Music Award in the Everyday Heroes: Frontline Medical Workers category for his performance of Lean on Me. He recorded the song for his Instagram, @drchefnate, after an exhausting 14-hour night shift on the intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. He was an Internal Medicine/Primary Care intern at the time.

The hospitals first COVID-19 patient was admitted to the unit that night in March, his last before a planned two weeks of vacation.

People in health care, we were really nervous. It was like, Okay, who knows what this is going to be like?, he said. When I went back, the whole hospital had changed.

The New Haven breakout happened in late March, around the same time as that in New York City. Entire floors had to be converted to COVID-19 units. It was pretty wild after for a long time. By July, things had gotten back to normal. We had hundreds and hundreds of COVID patients. It was pretty severe for a while, he said.

Dr. Wood, now a second-year resident, wasnt going to post the original video at all because he saw flaws in his singing and piano playing. Then singer-songwriter Bill Withers died March 30, and he wanted to honor him.

Its not perfect, but its genuine, and hopefully its a nice tribute to him, he said.

A couple of days later, he woke up to an email from a New York producer who put it on his morning show, and it went wild after that, he said.

The MTV recognition came out of nowhere as well. He arrived home from a walk, opened his computer and checked a very official-looking email from the television network.

Music has always been a creative outlet for the doctor, who took piano lessons through high school and continues to sing at churches, weddings and fundraisers. Cooking was a pastime as well, so much that he took a year off medical school at WSU to attend the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, and even spent time working in restaurants. He loves to write as well, and is in the middle of a four-week internship in the Medical Unit for ABC News, proofing scripts for ABCs nightly news and Good Morning America, and writing for ABCNews.com.

Whats his advice for juggling so many different gigs? You have to have a balance of long-term and short-term projects. And it feels much less like work if theyre things you really enjoy. You have to really get to know yourself, find hobbies you enjoy, and make them part of your daily and academic vocational life. Dont be afraid. If you really like something, share it with the world. Because people like passion.

The Muskegon, Mich., native is still not sure if the category will be included in the 8 p.m., Aug. 30 broadcast, or if the nomination is the recognition for him and the four other nominees.

Tune in to MTV or MTV.com to find out.

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Class of 2019's Nathan Wood, M.D., wins MTV nomination for viral rendition of 'Lean on Me' - The South End

Seattle Researchers Team Up To Build Hi-Res Brain Map Of Alzheimer’s Disease – PRNewswire

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The center is funded over five years by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health and is headquartered at the Allen Institute, with additional projects based at UW Medicine and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Their work will build off methods developed at the Allen Institute and elsewhere through the NIH-funded BRAIN Initiative that use genes switched on in individual brain cells to classify the cells into categories, or cell types.

Using these methods to study brains from people across the spectrum of early- to late-stage Alzheimer's disease should reveal the specific kinds of neurons and other brain cells that are most vulnerable at the beginning of the disease, said Ed Lein, Ph.D., Senior Investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, a division of the Allen Institute, and Lead Investigator of the new center. Such a detailed understanding of Alzheimer's origins is desperately needed, as many once-promising treatments primarily aimed at disrupting the disease's hallmark plaques of beta-amyloid protein in the brain have failed to benefit patients. Currently, no therapies exist that can halt the progression of Alzheimer's, which afflicts approximately 5.8 million Americans and, together with other dementias, costs the U.S. an estimated $290 billion every year.

"We're trying to cure a disease of a complex system we fundamentally don't understand," Lein said. "Historically, the field has focused on the amyloid hypothesis, but that hasn't panned out for treatment. What's really needed is to take a fresh look at the basic progression of the disease across the brain, and we now have high-resolution cellular and molecular technologies in place to do just that."

Like all resources generated at the Allen Institute, the data from this center will be openly available to the scientific community at large. The researchers aim both to make direct scientific headway into the root causes of Alzheimer's disease and to provide a foundational data resource to catalyze progress in treating other neurodegenerative diseases.

The center's work could also uncover new insights into both the people who have a natural resistance to developing the hallmark amyloid plaques and those who develop these plaques but never develop dementia. Understanding where this natural resistance and resilience arises in the brain could point to new therapeutic pathways.

"Alzheimer's disease is incredibly complicated, in part because different cells and parts of the brain are differentially affected," said Bradley Hyman, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurology and Alzheimer's researcher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital who also serves as an advisor to the new research center."This complexity makes it very difficult to model in experimental systems, and direct examination of the human brain is without a doubt crucial to understanding the disease.The technology developed at the Allen Institute provides a new approach to unravel these mysteries I can't wait to see what they discover."

Building off foundational brain scienceThe center's projects will build off recent and ongoing work led by Lein and collaborators to generate a cell "census" of the healthy human brain. In that foundational work, the researchers use single-cell technologies originally developed through genomics research to describe brain cell types by the complete set of genes the cells actively use. The new research will apply those techniques to identify how specific brain cell types and their active genes are affected as Alzheimer's disease progresses with the ultimate goal of finding new drug targets.

The experiments will rely on postmortem brain tissue from the University of Washington School of Medicine BioRepository and Integrated Research (BRaIN) laboratory, which supports brain donation from research participants in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, a long-running study of brain aging led by Kaiser Permanente and UW Medicine, and from UW Medicine's NIA-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The tissue donations will come specifically from participants in these studies who consent to donate their brains to science after they die. The research teams will analyze cells from multiple brain regions from approximately 100 people, ranging from people with normal cognition and little or no sign of Alzheimer's disease in the brain to those with late stage Alzheimer's dementia.

The new research center will also adapt brain-banking methods to allow the application of modern single-cell technologies to postmortem brains. This will provide samples ready for the analyses in this project and generate a brain tissue repository that can be used for future single-cell studies.

"This work wouldn't happen without the generous research participants and their dedication to support dementia research," said C. Dirk Keene, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at UW Medicine and one of the principal investigators at the center. "We want to honor their incredible gift to science by making sure we can study their brains using the latest, most advanced technology to have the greatest impact for years to come."

Past brain census projects led by Allen Institute researchers have served as a foundation for both basic science and disease-related studies. The current award brings the Institute's total amount of external grant awards to approximately $250M since the research organization's inception in 2003, when it was launched by the late Paul G. Allen.

"Our founder was a champion for foundational research in brain science and for the importance of sharing resources openly with the community," said Allen Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Jones, Ph.D. "He knew that this type of research could catalyze future advances in human health and disease. This award and the research it will support speak to the strength of his vision."

Other investigators in the center include:Michael Hawrylycz, Boaz Levi, Rusty Nicovich, Julie Harris, Rebecca Hodge, Jeremy Miller, Jennie Close and Michael Wang of the Allen Institute; Paul Crane, Martin Darvas, Laura Gibbons, Thomas Grabowski, Suman Jayadev, Caitlin Latimer and Joey Mukherjee of UW Medicine; and Eric B. Larson of Kaiser Permanente.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19AG060909. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the Allen Institute for Brain ScienceThe Allen Institute for Brain Science is a division of the Allen Institute (alleninstitute.org), an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit medical research organization, and is dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. Using a big science approach, the Allen Institute generates useful public resources used by researchers and organizations around the globe, drives technological and analytical advances, and discovers fundamental brain properties through integration of experiments, modeling and theory. Launched in 2003 with a seed contribution from founder and philanthropist, the late Paul G. Allen, the Allen Institute is supported by a diversity of government, foundation and private funds to enable its projects. The Allen Institute for Brain Science's data and tools are publicly available online atbrain-map.org.

About UW MedicineUW Medicine is one of the top-rated academic medical systems in the world. With a mission to improve the health of the public, UW Medicine educates the next generation of physicians and scientists, leads one of the world's largest and most comprehensive biomedical research programs, and provides outstanding care to patients from across the globe. The School of Medicine faculty is second in the nation in federal research grants and contracts with $923.1 million in total revenue (fiscal year 2018) according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

UW Medicine includes Airlift Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center Montlake, UW Medical Center Northwest, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Valley Medical Center.

About Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research InstituteKaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) improves the health and health care of Kaiser Permanente members and the public. The Institute has conducted nonproprietary public-interest research on preventing, diagnosing, and treating major health problems since 1983. Government and private research grants provide our main funding. Follow KPWHRI research onTwitter,Facebook,LinkedIn, orYouTube.For more information, go to:www.kpwashingtonresearch.org.

Media Contacts:

Rob Piercy, Director, Media Relations, Allen Institute206.548.8486 | [emailprotected]

Susan Gregg, Director, Media Relations, UW Medicine206-616-6730, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Allen Institute for Brain Science

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Seattle Researchers Team Up To Build Hi-Res Brain Map Of Alzheimer's Disease - PRNewswire

Black people are underrepresented in medical research. She wants to change that. – News@Northeastern

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For as long as Shellaina Gordon can remember, the word research for her has conjured images of white laboratory coats and tubes of solution. But inside those lab coats, she never saw anyone who looked like her.

And yet, growing up in a family of seven that has dealt with plenty of sickness, Gordon has always found herself drawn to the field of difficult-to-treat diseases, and specifically the study of the proteins involved in human disease, and how their expression, structure and function cause illness.

She decided early on that she wanted to pursue a career in science and medicine to help reduce the healthcare disparities that adversely affect underrepresented communities.

There is a lack of physician-scientists working at this level and especially those of color, says Gordon, a biochemistry student who is in her third year at Northeastern. My hopes are to counteract this reality by exploring disease proteomics at the molecular levelunderstanding the fundamental differences between different groups of people will be instrumental in developing useful, effective therapeutics.

An aspiring physician-scientist, Gordon says she intends to learn how the intricacies of medicine intersect with socioeconomic status and race in the development of treatments. Her research goals include learning about the onset and progression of disease in different ethnic groups. She also wants to teach and mentor undergraduate students, especially those who come from underserved backgrounds.

At some point in my career, I hope to become a tenured professor at a research-intensive university running my own lab, she says.

Gordons research career began in the lab of Teresita Padilla-Benavides, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Under Padilla-Benavides tutelage, Gordon has published three scientific journal articles on projects she completed that explored the role of transition metalswhich include metals such as manganese, copper, and zincin the development of cells.

At Northeastern, Gordon is treasurer of the student diversity advisory council of the College of Science and of the womens club water polo team. She is also a member of the Black Engineering Student Society, where she says she has found community and interdisciplinary discussions of science.

I have been able to network and take advantage of opportunities in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics], she says.

Earlier this year, Gordon was rewarded with a Goldwater Scholarship to support her pursuit of a career in medicine and science.

Established by Congress to honor Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Goldwater Scholarship is a highly competitive, merit-based award given to college students who plan to pursue research careers in mathematics, engineering, and the natural sciences.

I am incredibly honored to be a part of such an elite, aspirational community, Gordon says. Although I aspire to be a physician-scientist, I anticipate my path to this career will not be linear. In this final year, I hope to further understand where I can make an impact on science and in the world and then act on it.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Black people are underrepresented in medical research. She wants to change that. - News@Northeastern

A Charlotte Doctor on the Day-to-Day Reality of COVID-19 – Charlotte magazine

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Dr. Erika Myers, DO, specializes in the acute care of adult patients at Carolinas Medical Center. Shes been in practice for 17 years and currently works at CMCs main campus, where shes treated COVID-19 patients since late March. In April, we caught up with Myers, a three-time Charlotte magazine Top Doctor, to discuss the day-to-day reality of the outbreak at a major hospital: the physical and emotional strain on her team, the surge of patients, and what remains true about the doctors and nurses she counts as colleagues. Her responses have been edited for clarity and space.

Working in an acute care hospital is challenging under the best of circumstancesemotionally, intellectually, physically. We have to share a new diagnosis of metastatic cancer to someone in the prime of their life. We guide families through a loved ones terminal illness, describing the process of the body shutting down. Were at the forefront of the opioid crisis. The days are long, and the workload feels unmanageable at times. But what keeps us going is the support of our partners. Each of us helps when someone is down.

When the coronavirus pandemic began overseas, we watched from afar and thought that something of this magnitude would likely never affect us in the same way. Im in a Facebook group for Charlotte-area physician moms, and toward mid-February, we were starting to hear accounts from Italy, and local physicians were posting interviews with different doctors in Europe. Our hearts ached as we read the words of the exhausted physicians in Italy. And then their reality began to close in on our lives. First in Washington state, then New Yorkthose were the hot spots. Locally, schools began to close, businesses shut down, and before we knew it, we were at the center of a medical crisis.

We didnt plan for anything like this in medical school. In the ER, we plan for catastrophes like a plane crash or a mass shooting and simulate what we would do in situations with mass casualties coming in. But no one was ready for anything of this scale. I really grasped the weight of this crisis in Charlotte when the hospital closed down anything that was elective to focus on the surge of patients coming in for COVID-19 symptoms.

If a patient tests positive for COVID-19, they go to the COVID unit to be seen by our COVID team, which is made up of hospitalists like me. Now were seeing them with advanced technology, or virtual care, so the physical exam and all discussion, even with specialists, is held via computer, and a doctor is behind a camera to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19.

When we first started seeing cases, we looked for fever, shortness of breath, and cough. Wed ask if theyd recently traveled to areas that were high-risk. But its evolved to include other symptoms weve learned about over time, like lack of smell or taste, COVID toes in kids (painful red or purple lesions on a childs feet that resemble frostbite), strokes, and cardiac effects. This virus can affect almost every aspect of your body.

Typically its the end of the first week that someone with COVID-19 gets sicker very quickly. So were careful to be ready on days five to seven for any change in their condition. We watch for worsening inflammation and see if the patient needs more oxygen. If a patient suddenly gets worse and requires a ventilator, the ICU team takes over. When they improve, they become our patients again.

Although theres still so much we dont know, many think this rapid decline is due to a cytokine storm, which gets active when your body knows it has to fight something and your immune system overreacts. (Ed.: Cytokines are proteins that immune system cells produce, and scientists believe overproduction in response to the virus causes lung inflammation and fluid buildup that can lead to death in COVID-19 cases.) Why it happens to one patient and not another, no one knows yet. With a COVID-19-related cytokine storm, you can have swelling of airways and severe damage to the lungs.

Our infectious disease specialists decide when a COVID-19 patient gets treatments; each one is on a case-by-case basis. Remdesivir is a drug we use for a cytokine storm. If you can prevent that, you can stop the progression (of COVID-19). Other options are Tocilizumab, which works to block the immune reaction, and we started convalescent serum this week. (Ed.: Convalescent serum is plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients that contains antibodies to fight the virus.)

When youre in hospital-based medicine, you dont have a long-term relationship with patients, so its about helping to build a system that can attack this disease better. If I were in private practice, Id get to know the patient and their family. But right now, Im helping to put a system in place. I do think the system at CMC was prepared in a sensenot for a pandemicbut weve already been doing lots of virtual care. That was already set up, and it allows resources to get to people who live further out. Other cities didnt have as much time to prepare, but we had time to ramp upmore so than cities like New York or Seattle. So far, weve had enough beds and test kits.

Theres always fear that today could be the day we have more patients than beds, though. We fear patients dying. We worry that members of the health care team will get sick. We worry about our critical care colleagues, managing the sickest of the sick. We pray that our nurses and techs, who spend far more face-to-face time with the patients, stay healthy. For the first time in our careers, we worry about our own mortality. Were terrified well bring it home to our families, our children, our spouses, our fathers who are on chemotherapy. No one went into medicine thinking they were going to give up their lives. You miss out on a lot of things in your 20s when youre in med school, sure, but you dont worry that youll die at a young age.

The support system we had built in our office has changed. Social distancing means were no longer eating lunch as a group in our office. Now we write our daily notes separately, either at home alone or in solitude at an empty nursing station. Weve lost the ability to bounce ideas off each other or share a complicated case. We line up every morning to answer questions about symptoms we may have and get our temperature taken before we can to walk into our respective units. We strap on one mask, maybe two, grab some goggles, and gown up. Then we grab our list and begin our rounds.

CHRIS EDWARDS

I get ready for work in a different manner now. One set of shoes for home, one for work. No makeup, no jewelry. The wedding ring thats been on my finger for 12 years stays in the jewelry box. I wear clothes I can wash daily. Coming home should be carefree, but now I have a different routine before dinner. Take my clothes off outside and run to the shower. Is there a small amount of virus on my hair? Did I touch my face? I wipe down the doorknobs at home. And those of us who stay at home are lucky; others live away from their families. Instead of relaxing at night, mindlessly reading or playing with our kids, we watch the news and scour the internet, hoping for a breakthrough.

Treating patients for COVID-19 symptoms makes me nervous, but once Im caring for them, its uplifting because I know Im making a difference. Bedside manner is so important right now because these patients are scared and completely and utterly alone. We have to be good at explaining their symptoms in a way that makes sense to them. Theyre hospitalized and isolated for 14 to 21 days. Its a long time to be alone and separated from family. I sent a patient to hospice recently and the family couldnt be therenot because the patient had coronavirus but because its everywhere else.

I fear that we wont get back to what normal was, that well continue to live with trepidation for the foreseeable future, that we cant just get up and travel to see our loved ones, and well constantly wonder who will get sick and when. Its hard to know the exact point when you have enough beds and resources in place and you can allow people some freedom. I worry about a second problem for the people with chronic illnesses who couldnt get their meds while they were at home and out of work. People who cant afford their blood pressure medicine anymore could have a massive stroke. Someone who needed a hip replaced but postponed surgery during the pandemic could have a fall.

Its hard to imagine this will fully go away anytime soon. I think the most exciting thing we can hope for is a vaccine. Its amazing to see scientists all over the world coming together to find this common solution. I think its important to listen to what virologists and microbiologists say, not just physicians. Creating a vaccine and understanding how a virus replicates and how to stop it is so important. And using antibody tests could change everything.

A close friend and colleague of mine gives a lecture to our physicians assistant and nurse practitioner fellows called Introduction to Antibiotics. Its a universally loved talk that ends with each fellow picking the four antibiotics they would choose to help them survive if there was a zombie apocalypse. Its about understanding what you would need to treat a widespread group of things. A decade later, I would never have imagined that zombie apocalypse would be the fight of our career, this battle against a microscopic virus.

In my best-case scenario, were able to slowly open up small sectors of our world again. Over the next six months, well figure out better ways to treat the virus and prevent it in the future. A lot of people are willing to help, donate plasma, or be a guinea pig to test vaccines. I hope kids go back to school in fall. When winter comes, I hope we dont close down the world again. I hope were better prepared than we are now. You have to jump-start the economy, but you cant do it at the risk of your people.

This experience makes me believe in the medical profession more. The majority of people who are in medicine do it because they want to make a difference. Outpatient nurses are rounding in the hospital because they want to help and they care. Others are coming out of retirement or volunteering to go to New York and help. It makes me feel more proud of who we are. One thing I still know to be true about the medical profession is that people really are in it to do good.

Its a very interesting time in the world, and I think well be better because of it. Ive felt more like a parent than I ever have after this time at home with my kids, supervising the schoolwork, doing the laundry, cooking the meals. In that way, its allowed us all to be truer because were not wrapped up in the craziness that we used to live. Its nice not to be running all the time. Ive learned that life is sacred. Slow down, spend time with your family. Cherish your elders. Remember all those that were willing to give up their life to save someone they didnt know. My hope is that this pandemic will help medicineand societyheal.

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A Charlotte Doctor on the Day-to-Day Reality of COVID-19 - Charlotte magazine

What to Know About Applying to Medical School as a Nontraditional – Michigan Medicine

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Then you need to find these courses. Some people find a post baccalaureate program that will hit all these requirements. If you work full-time like I did, though, and cant enroll in a full-time postbac program, you can collect these classes from colleges in your area. Depending on your location, you may have an undergraduate institution close by that will allow you to enroll as some type of lifelong learner to take the courses there without formal degree plans from their institution.

Another option, and what I did, is to find the courses scattered around different junior colleges in the area. This was the only way for me to meet the requirements by taking them around my full-time work schedule (early in the morning, late at night, on weekends). Some people worry that will look bad but when asked on the interview trail, it was a source of pride for me to explain that if I had to manage multiple schedules and travel hundreds of miles at odd hours to take these courses to pursue my medical dreams then that was exactly what I was going to do. I think most schools ended up seeing it as proof of commitment.

First, the AAMC is the absolute best resource and starting place to create a list of critical deliverables for your primary application, such as your undergrad transcripts, MCAT scores, personal statement, extracurricular activities and letters of recommendations, as well as dates when the primary application, secondary application, MCAT/CASPR, interview timeframes and commit dates are due.

Second, having a pre-health advisor and mentors are key for maximizing your responses. If you dont have a pre-health advisor like I didnt, you can request one from National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (volunteer.advisor@naahp.org) and get matched with an advisor who has volunteered to help nontraditional students. My advisor, Gina Camello at the University of Southern California, was critical in helping me wrap my head around the process, requirements and refining my personal statement through many, many drafts (Thank you, Gina!). Other mentors who were critical came from my involvement with theAmerican Medical Womens Association. So many physicians who charted this path before me have been so generous with their time and wisdom on how to be successful in getting into medical school and beyond.

It seems like a long time, but theres much to do and gather. The best thing you can do is get organized and know what needs to be completed by when and give yourself lots of buffer time. Things like getting official transcripts sent can take much longer than you anticipate. If youre going to ask for letters of recommendations from specific individuals, give them enough time and information to be successful in helping you. I studied for the MCAT for eight months. It took six months of drafts before my personal statement was succinct enough to be worthy of application, and I had considered myself a prolific writer before this.

A high quality application takes a lot of time and introspection so make sure you get highly organized and give yourself enough time to complete things because theres no shortage of stories of people who dropped out of the application process because it was coming down to the wire for submitting items, and the pressure was too much.

I think its important to find out what about your life experience is unique, whats your differentiator, and how does that apply to what your vision is for your future medical career.

Admissions teams highlight repeatedly that applicants who really know themselves on this level and can show dont tell stand out as the most serious candidates. This means having specific life stories and examples ready that can back up the points you want to illustrate. Anyone can say yes, I am resilient, but having a real world scenario where you proved that will be taken much more seriously. If you are a nontraditional candidate, by linear time definition alone, you may have an advantage in having had more opportunities to attain these skills and experiences.

Theres a common quote in medicine that if you can see yourself being happy doing anything else, you should do that instead. I completely agree.

Medical school is hard: mentally, physically, emotionally. But there is a Nietsche quote that, He who hasa why []can bear almost any how. And I think this is true for medicine. Your why has to be so strong to be able to keep you going through a profession that requires so much from you. For a while I had this dream but thought I was too late or too old now. I was reminded by Earl Nightingale that time passes anyway, you may as well be doing what you love. I knew that at the end of my life if I didnt try I would deeply regret it because I know I have something very important to contribute to medicine. I also was held back for a while thinking that committing to medicine would mean sacrificing family and going into financial debt. However, so many mentors (especially through the American Medical Womens Association) reinforced that many successful physicians also have rich family lives.

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My calling for medicine had grown so loud that when I was finally ready to apply I was willing to give up any amount of time, family or money to see this through. As it turns out, you dont have to be this extreme. Ive learned that life is a great balancing act and with the right strategies, planning and preparationyou can have all the things!

There are many jobs that help people so that is not enough of a reason for any admissions officer to feel confident about a candidate. You need to articulate specifically why you want to be a physician vs. another role.

This is why its important to spend some volunteer time shadowing or on medical missions so you can really be sure this life is for you. A good format to answer why medicine in conversation or your personal statement that I was exposed to is to break it down into: 1. When your interest was piqued about medicine; 2. The further development of that interest; 3. Your final commitment point.

When you apply later in life, admissions teams want to make sure youve given this tremendous thought and that your diverse life experiences have informed the natural culmination to this decision.

First, applicants should know what the requirements are from different schools because some will want science professors, some will want non-science, etc. These are key to know and identify as early as possible, especially if you will need to (re)build these relationships.

If you have spent a majority of your time in a professional career or other venture, you should absolutely consider getting letters from people in these spheres. I had letters that covered career, volunteer work, science instructors and longtime mentors. If you have been out of school for a while and your letters are as diverse as your experience, thats also okay! I would also try to identify people who can speak to a range of your attributes that youd like to demonstrate. Maybe your director at work can speak to your innovative qualities, your volunteer manager can reflect on your ability to execute, your science teacher can reflect (beyond your science aptitude) on your teamwork with classmates, etc.

In my humble opinion from observing the process, what is competitive to one school is a liability for another. What that means is that certain schools want to be known for certain values and have curriculum, opportunities and faculty who represent those interests. The most important thing is fit, not to win them all. For example, with my technology background and vision for the future of technology/medicine, not all medical schools valued or had support for that direction and thats okay. For me, good fit meant being at an institution that valued diversity, inclusion and pioneering new health technology, which is exactly what I found at the University of Michigan. Other schools may have seen my background and thought what can we offer someone who is passionate about technology if we dont really invest in that for our students or faculty?.

A great way to know if a school is going to want to invest in you and the uniqueness you bring is to do research on the projects their faculty are involved in because I think it shows what the institution values. If your dreams are surgical and a majority of their projects are mostly around primary care, no matter how eloquently you describe being inspired by the graceful gesticulations of reconstructive surgery, it may not be a match.

The other positive tip about researching projects at the institution is that perhaps you find a lab or team you want to work with if accepted, and at the interview you can speak more concretely about that particular school and your plans. That shows admissions that you will hit the ground running if admitted and have done research about their school that makes them feel that their institution is really special to you and not just a copy, paste, change name, someone please accept me. You are going to spend the next four plus years at this institution so its very important that you have done enough research about the school to know that you actually want to go and could be successful and contribute there.

Again, sort of depends on the school and what they value. Forward-thinking, tech-inclined schools will be excited about your passion for and experience with new technology or methods. Rural schools may be more impressed with your experience on topics that affect their patient populations more severely, like health care access or perhaps substance abuse. It can be a good idea to see what kinds of things the school gets research funding for because that may tell you what traits they care most about.

SEE ALSO:Reality Checks: Michigan Medical School Students Open Up

As a general blanket statement, most schools will highlight research, diversity and service. I think ultimately, though, the pre-med life experiences that ends up being most attractive are ones that are:unique(so you will have a different perspective to share),altruistic(so you are internally, mission driven) andauthentic(which shows you are introspective and resilient).

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What to Know About Applying to Medical School as a Nontraditional - Michigan Medicine

Dr. Hopson left lasting legacy on Vicksburg and Warren County – The Vicksburg Post – Vicksburg Post

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With more than five decades in the medical field, Dr. Briggs Hopson Jr. touched countless lives and influenced those who followed.

He has been described as a gentleman, a family man, a mentor and a visionary.

On Saturday, Hopson died. He was 82.

Briggs has been a leader in our medical community for almost 50 years, Dr. Paul Pierce III said. He has been very important to Vicksburg medicine and to me in particular.

Pierce recalled the impact Hopson had on his decision to go into the medical field.

I started out as an engineer and when I first started thinking about going to medical school, I went to Briggs to get his advice and he was encouraging, Pierce said. I started talking to Briggs on a Sunday and the next day Briggs called me up and wanted to know if I could come talk to Dr. Rowlett and I did.

All three men had been part of the 412th Engineer Command and before becoming a doctor, Rowlett, too, had been an engineer.

Dr. Rowlett was very encouraging to me, and so Briggs was important for me personally in assisting me in making up my mind to go back to school to be a doctor, Pierce said.

Pierce also credited Hopson for the current hospital facility in Vicksburg.

I think Briggs was the driving force behind that almost 20 years ago and that in my mind is his legacy, Pierce said. There were two big clinics competing with each other. Briggs had a large part to do in getting the clinics together so we could take two moderate size hospitals and have one large hospital.

Leigh White, Merit Health River Region Marketing Director, agreed.

Along with other key individuals, (Hopson) was instrumental in the vision, planning and oversight of the construction of our beautiful facility on Highway 61 North, White said.

While practicing in the Vicksburg healthcare systems, White said, Hopsons tenure included his leadership as Chief of Surgery for Mercy Hospital, Chief of Staff for Parkview Regional Medical Center, member of the Board of Directors at Merit Health River Region and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Merit Health River Region.

He was well known as an accomplished surgeon and loved by the many patients who received his skilled, compassionate care, White said. It was truly an honor to know him and work with him. He will be truly missed by everyone at Merit Health River Region.

In addition to his medical career, Hopson was also committed to the Miss Mississippi Corporation and the annual Miss Mississippi Competition and the Miss Mississippi Oustanding Teen Pageant.

During his tenure as CEO and chairman of the board, he took Miss Mississippi to the next level of excellence and as a result, Miss Mississippi has had a long successful track record, Miss Mississippi Board Chairman David Blackledge said. During his time we had 13 preliminary swimsuit winners, three preliminary talent winners, eight top 10 finalists, nine runners-up to Miss America and two Miss Americas. What an accomplished record he had of his over 40 years of service to the Miss Mississippi Organization.

Blackledge said Hopson spent hours working to obtain patron and scholarship money in an effort to assure all of the contestants, not just the winner or runners-up, would have funds to further their education and career.

And in my opinion, that was one of his greatest accomplishments. He truly took pride in that because Miss Mississippi was one of the top cash scholarship givers in the Miss America Organization for many many years, Blackledge said. He wanted to see all of these young ladies do their best and further their education.

Funds raised also help provide for award-winning Miss Mississippi productions.

We had one of the best TV productions that you could have because of his efforts and obviously he worked very close to Pat (Hopson) to make that happen, Blackledge said. We laughed and kidded that Doc raised the money and Pat made it happen.

On a personal note, Blackledge said, Hopson served as a mentor to him.

Not only did he advise me all those years with the pageant, Blackledge said. He was a father figure to me after my dad had passed away. He certainly gave me advice and Godly wisdom to help me in my life.

Pierce called Hopson a gentleman and someone who was easy to get along with.

He conducted himself in a gentlemanly fashion and was a motivation to us all. He was also a good family man. All his children were excellent. He and Pat did something right, Pierce said. They raised wonderful children. All of them are good kids who live meaningful lives.

Briggs Hopson meant a lot to people, particularly me, Pierce said. He will be missed.

As dynamic as Hopson was in the medical field, and in being a key leader in the Miss Mississippi Corporation, his children him remembered him for far more.

My dad was a rock with his quiet presence and his unconditional love and the way that there was nothing we could do that would make him say anything but I love you, Hopsons youngest daughter, Kathy Ricks said. He didnt have to discipline us because we knew he loved us so much, we wanted to make him proud. I know he got mad at us, but I honestly cant remember a time when he was, because everything he did, he always said, I love you no matter what and you truly knew it.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but a drive-by visitation is planned for Friday afternoon along Dr. Briggs Hopson Boulevard in front of the Vicksburg Convention Center.

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Dr. Hopson left lasting legacy on Vicksburg and Warren County - The Vicksburg Post - Vicksburg Post

Black mother-daughter duo start their medical careers together – TODAY

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As the Kudji women prepare to start their residencies during the coronavirus pandemic, theyve embraced a unique perspective on the unusual circumstances. As a mom, I'm very concerned about starting in the middle of a pandemic. We worry about having enough PPE. I worry about my child, potentially being exposed to COVID. But at the same time, you know, this is what we signed up for.

At the same time, it also gives you an opportunity to see disease processes that you probably would never see, be a part of a solution that you probably never get an opportunity to be a part of, you know, and really get an opportunity to educate the public. So it's all about perspective and what you can contribute during this time.

Although it has been 156 years since Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American woman to earn a medical degree and 121 years since Dr. Emma Wakefield-Paillet became the first black woman to practice medicine in Louisiana, the number of black females pursuing medicine hasnt grown much since.

In a 2019 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, only about 5%, or 45,534 of physicians surveyed identified as black or African American. Kudji said, It's honestly not very common. Like 2% of physicians are African American women. Even at the hospital that I'm going to start working at, there's only one African American female surgeon out of probably about 50.

Female surgeons in general are just uncommon. It's not often that I see people that look like me in my field so that's why it's so important to us to make sure that we do show our faces and spread our story.

It's so important because when I was coming up, I remember watching 'The Cosby Show' or 'A Different World,' and we would all run to the television in college when that show would come on because you didn't have that. It was the first time you saw an African American doctor, African American attorney and a family and you saw that image before you," Kudji Sylvester said.

To give young black girls and women a look into their lives, the Kudjis are sharing their personal experiences online. Kudji explained, We created a blog called The MD Life, where we try to explain some things that we struggled with, like how to apply to medical school, how to get into medical school, how to become a surgeon, and explain it to people and provide information that we wish we would have had from the beginning.

Both mother and daughter will start their residencies on July 1. Kudji Sylvester will be based in Lafayette, Louisiana for three years while Kudjis surgical rotation will last five years and require her to travel between Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans.

When you're young and you don't see someone that looks like you doing something that you want to do, when you see other people doing it, you kind of start to think well, maybe these people are inherently somehow better than me," Kudji said.

"And so, that's why I think representation matters. It shows young people or even older people that, no, there's nothing inherently wrong with you, you're not less intelligent or less capable. You know, you can do it too.

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Black mother-daughter duo start their medical careers together - TODAY

From MLB to MD: Former baseball player Mark Hamilton begins his medical career in midst of a pandemic – CBC.ca

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Mark Hamilton won a World Series ringin unusual fashion as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.

This week, in a major career transition, he begins his residency as a physician in New York City a city hard hit by COVID-19.

Hamilton was a backup first baseman for the Cardinals for half of the2011 season, but was playing in the Dominican Republic when the team won the World Series. He still received a World Series ring.

After a few years of playing internationally and in the minor league system, Hamilton was released. He retired from baseball in 2014.

"While you never want to be released and it definitely hurts, it actually worked out perfectly. The timing of it couldn't have been better," he said.

He had a plan:go back to university and,eventually, go to medical school.

Hamilton spoke with Day 6 host Brent Bambury about making the shift MLB to MD.

Ten years ago, you made your Major League Baseball debut. And then this month, you're making your debut as a doctor. Which one feels like the better fit for Mark Hamilton?

You know, I think the truth is that they're both a good fit for me. They're both a big part of who I am, and a big part of my journey and my story.

When I was young, my father wasa very prominent researcher in oncology and pathology, and I always wanted to be a physician. My grandfather was a professional basketball player for several years in the precursor of the NBA, and I always wantedto play professional sports.

I'm glad I was able to play baseball while I was young. It's a young man's game, and you can't continue playing it forever. And now I'm glad that I can go into a medical career that I can continue practising for the rest of my life.

Your residency is in New York, and this is a city that's been hit hard by COVID-19. You're starting off in internal medicine. What types of patients do you think you'll be working with?

I anticipate there being a lot of COVID patients still. I know that, you know, our hospitals here have discharged several thousand already. They've done an incredible job.

I'm with Northwell Health, which is the largest health-care employer in the Northeast. And we have a lot of COVID patients remaining, some that have been sick for a while, who have needed intensive care that hopefully, you know, we're anticipating or hoping moving them along to recovery.

And we are well aware that this isn't over, especially in population density like New York. We're anticipating having continued new cases, and we're expecting those people to come in the door.

When you were in baseball you spent a long time on the road. You didn't get to see your family as much as you would have wanted.

But now you're going to be working in this field and then coming home to your family, your wife, your two young daughters. Are you concerned for their safety because of the COVID infections?

It's definitely a concern. It's something we're going to try to mitigate a little bit.

My kids and wife are going to go up to my in-laws in Connecticut at the beginning of my residency, and that'll give me a little bit of time to kind of get my feet under me, see how many COVID patients I'm directly in contact with, and kind of let them be at a distance for a short period of time there. And then we'll make a decision from there.

Obviously, I'd want to see them every day. One of the biggest things [when I played baseball] was how much I was away. It's been wonderful being home for these last six years and in school and seeing them all the time. But at the same time, you know, safety is paramount.

I'm wondering what it feels like to be starting your medical career during a global pandemic. Is there any way that this could be an advantage for you? Does it feel like this is a challenge that is going to require dexterity?

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think that there's a lot of things to navigate with this.

We've seen it before, actually. And there's been a lot of people writing about it lately, which is: people that enter medicine during a dire time, during a time of uncertainty, typically kind of get forged in the fire more rapidly. I'm hoping that's the case for me.

One of your baseball heroes is former Yankee Bobby Brown. What made you a fan of Bobby Brown?

So, that was my dad's doing. When I was young, my dad really inspired me with his work. But also, clearly I had an affinity for baseball.

It was clear at an early age that I was at the very least going to have an opportunity to play collegiately, if not beyond. And he really fostered this idea that I could do both.

And hisrole model he supplied me with is Bobby Brown, who played for the Yankees, won a couple of World Series with them, and went on to become a doctor.[He] went to Tulane Medical School and was a cardiologist for a long time. [He] was also the president American League.

And I'll tell you, one of the best experiences of my entire life has actually come out of this situation, where I've gone into medicine and gotten a little bit of press with my graduation.

Tulane University Alumni Association actually reached out to me, and I was able to have a conversation with Bobby Brown about two weeks ago. And we spoke on the phone for about two hours discussing baseball, his career and my career, medicine, listening to his advice about how to go about things. And it was really incredibly special to go full circle.

Written and produced by Laurie Allan. Q&A edited for length and clarity.

To hear the full interview with Mark Hamilton,download our podcastor click Listen above.

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From MLB to MD: Former baseball player Mark Hamilton begins his medical career in midst of a pandemic - CBC.ca

Why this Black intern, a grandfather, worked many years as mechanic – American Medical Association

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By every measure, the journey of Carl Allamby, MDculminating in his graduating medical school at 47 in 2019was an unlikely one.

He is among the 6.2% of 2019 medical school graduates identified as Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. And in 2018, only5% of US physicianswere Black andless than half of them were men, according to the AAMC. Furthermore, only 5.6% of 2019 medical school graduates were older than 32,AAMC data indicated. Black people account for 12% of the United States population.

Among the barriers that Dr. Allamby, an AMA member, cited in his forging a career in medicine: A lack of Black physician role models in his life.

One of the biggest obstacles was just having it in my mind that you could be African American and become a physician, Dr. Allamby said during an interview with JAMA. All the physicians I had seen during childhood and probably into early adulthood were everything but African American.

I grew up in a blue-collar town where unemployment was pretty high, he added. I remember some of the people who lived in my neighborhood. They were bus drivers and garbage men. A lady who lived across the street was a librarian. All of these were noble professions. But there just wasn't that example to follow at a young age in order to become a physician.

Learn whats needed to improve physician diversity pipeline programs.

Diversity in the physician workforce has known benefitsincluding improved patient outcomesand medical schools are working to create more of it. Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), is a gold standard in doing so. About 75% of the medical students enrolled at the historically Black Atlanta institution are African American.

That success in attracting Black studentsand those from other racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicineis the outgrowth of more than 30 years of work. Some of that work starts with teaching students about careers in science as early as kindergarten.

Unfortunately, there are leaks throughout the pipeline to medicine and health professions, but in particular, for those students on the younger end, being able to see what is possible, is very important, said Rita Finley, PhD, an assistant dean for educational outreach at MSM. It becomes especially difficult if you dont have anyone at home who can help guide you in the right direction.

Many students that I have spoken with in the K12 space dont think that being a physician is an option. They feel that there are limits to what they can do and achieve. We want them to know that there are no limits.

TheAMA Doctors Back to School program also aims to increase the number of minority physicians and work toward eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. The program sends minority physicians and medical students into the community as a way to introduce children to professional role models and show kids of all ages from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups that a career in medicine is attainable for everyone. Learn more about theAMAs work to reduce disparities in health care.

For older learners, MSMs Reach One Each One Program offers high school aged students a hospital-based, multidisciplinary medical mentoring program. Past cohorts that have gone through the intensive multiweek course have shown that they are more likely to pursue careers in health care, according to a 2016 study.

Morehouses programs to diversify the physician pipeline exist through and beyond K12 and undergraduate programsan on-campus masters degree program in medical science that serves an academic enhancerhave proven to be a valuable resource for students pursuing medical careers.

Once students arrive on campus, faculty members take an active interest in their lives and learning. Morehouse considers its family atmosphere and involved faculty to be keys to its success.

This anecdote shared by Martha L. Elks, MD, PhD, MSMs senior associate dean of educational affairs, reflects what that looks like.

One medical student said that as the work got tough at Morehouse and doubt started to creep in, the student looked up and saw a Black physician faculty member.

The student reflected on what that faculty member had been through and concluded, I can make it.

That was the very essence of the quiet role modeling that our faculty do, Dr. Elks said. Their presenceand caring about the studentsis such a link to what is possible. We dont just tell them, we show them.

Dr. Elks shared the Morehouse strategy with members of the AMA Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium at a conference last year during her presentation, Creating the future health care workforce: Promoting equity in admissions and throughout the educational continuum.

As for Dr. Allamby, he hopes that his story can offer evidence of the possibilities to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Theres nothing special about me, he told JAMA. If I can do this, if I can face the challenges of a robust medical education, then almost anybody else is capable of that exact same thing. Thats the kind of image I try to portraythat this is something thats totally within your scope. If its something you want to do, you should go for it.

Launched last year, theAMA Center for Health Equityhas a mandate to embed health equity across the organization so that health equity becomes part of the practice, process, action, innovation and organizational performance and outcomes.

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Why this Black intern, a grandfather, worked many years as mechanic - American Medical Association

Why Some Cancers May Respond Poorly to Key Drugs Discovered – UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

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AUSTIN, Texas Patients with BRCA1/2 mutations are at higher risk for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers that can be aggressive when they develop and, in many cases, resistant to lifesaving drugs. Now scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Ajou University in South Korea have identified a driver of the drug resistance that can make a life or death difference for patients with these cancers.

A major issue with cancer treatments is the development of resistance, said Kyle Miller, a UT Austin associate professor of molecular biosciences. When treatments stop working for patients, its incredibly demoralizing and its been a huge drive in research to understand these resistance mechanisms.

In a paper published today in the journal Molecular Cell, the researchers describe a protein that may help doctors predict which patients will become resistant to a class of drugs frequently used to treat BRCA 1/2-deficient tumors. The finding could help create more effective treatment plans for their patients.

The scientists identified that a protein called PCAF promotes DNA damage in BRCA 1/2-mutated cancer cells. Patients with low levels of this protein are likely to have poor outcomes and develop resistance to a type of drug that is used to treat BRCA-deficient tumors, called a PARP inhibitor.

PARP inhibitors are an important breakthrough in treating these aggressive cancers, Miller said. What we found is that when levels of PCAF are low, it actually protects the cancer cells from this drug. By testing biopsy samples, doctors may be able to tell using PCAF as a molecular marker for PARP inhibitor responses what treatment may work best for a patient.

Fortunately, there is already another class of drugs on the market, called HDAC inhibitors, that can boost the effectiveness of the PCAF protein. HDAC inhibitors and PARP inhibitors have the potential to be prescribed as a combination therapy.

Previous studies have shown that these two drugs work well together, Miller said. We believe weve found the reason why.

It is possible to test for PCAF levels in biopsy or tissue samples, Miller said, and in the future, the test could be included on a standard panel for cancer testing.

But unlocking the workings of PCAF doesnt just offer clues to combatting cancer. Because this protein is responsible for modifying chromatin, the stuff that organizes 6 feet of DNA in each of our cells so that it fits into its nuclear volume, PCAF also may offer important clues about cell replication.

The focus in my lab is on understanding chromatin and its impact on replicating DNA, protecting DNA and controlling access to DNA, Miller said. Our goal is to understand how every molecule is interacting inside our cells, as this gives clues to what is going wrong in human diseases.

Jae Jin Kim and Seo Yun Lee from the Miller lab were first authors on the paper, and Blerta Xhemalce, an associate professor of molecular biosciences at UT Austin, and Ji-Hye Choi and Hyun Goo Woo of Ajou University contributed to the research.

The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award and the National Research Foundation of Korea. Miller is a CPRIT scholar with the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas, a member of the Livestrong Cancer Institutes of Dell Medical School and a member of the Dan Duncan Cancer Center at the Baylor College of Medicine.

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Why Some Cancers May Respond Poorly to Key Drugs Discovered - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

Best Medical Schools in Florida | Top Med Schools

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The medical schools in the state of Florida are consistently very competitive. Top ranked Florida medical schools require students to have a bachelors or masters degree plus a MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) score above a designated threshold to be considered for admissions. Core med school programs generally take four years of full-time study to complete, resulting in a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) or Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). Once a degree is conferred, students must complete an internship and residency at approved hospital facilities. This phase is followed by a practical and written examination prior to applying for state licensure in Florida. Visit our med school degree page about a degree in medicine or our PreMed portal for additional educational insights and advice.

Get information on the best med schools in Florida today with state listings or by with exclusive search technology. The trove of educational resources will help students better understand how to become a doctor in Florida plus illuminate what it takes to enter other medical fields like neuroscience, bioinformatics, genetics, and cytotechnology. Discover the best path for you and collect information from the top rated med schools in Florida today.

The Florida medical schools listed below are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which is an organization that provides accreditation for medical education nationwide.

Schools are sorted by size with the largest medical schools first, based on the number of medical student graduates per year.

Visit the website for University of Miami at http://welcome.miami.edu/

Visit the website for University of Florida at http://www.ufl.edu/

Visit the website for University of South Florida at http://www.usf.edu

The medical school is located on the Florida State University College of Medicine Campus in Tallahassee. Visit the website for Florida State University at http://www.fsu.edu

Visit the website for Florida International University at http://www.fiu.edu

Visit the website for University of Central Florida at http://www.ucf.edu/

Visit the website for Florida Atlantic University at http://www.fau.edu/

Physicians can work in many types of specialties which may cause a large range in salary expectations. Here is a list of average annual salaries for general practitioners working in major cities in Florida.

+520% Above State Median Income

+449% Above National Median Income

Doctor's in Florida take home an average 97.79 per hour. Annual earnings for Doctor's working in the State of Florida average $203,410 which is 520% above the state median income and 449% above the national median income for all occupations. Employment for a Doctor makes up just 0.02% of the working population in Florida and is limited due to the specific qualifications required along with the schooling involved in this career path. The increasing demand for qualified Doctors coupled with the educational barrier to enter the field is met with a steady supply of eager college graduates anxious to make a long-lasting impact in the lives of others in and around Florida.

Notes: Tuition & fee amounts are for both Florida in-state residents and out of state students, unless noted otherwise. The tuition information displayed is an estimate, which we calculated based on historical data and should be solely used for informational purposes only. Please contact the respective doctor school for information about the current school year.

Source: IPEDS Survey 2012-2015: Data obtained from the US Dept. of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data may vary depending on school and academic year.

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Novant wants to buy or manage a Wilmington hospital. The medical center’s trustees have OK’d the bid. – Winston-Salem Journal

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Novant Health Inc.'s bid to take over operations of New Hanover Regional Medical Center advanced Tuesday when that hospital's board of trustees approved recommending the offer.

The next step is the New Hanover Board of Commissioners addressing Novant's $5.3 billion offer at its July 13 meeting.

Novant is attempting to establish a third flagship in North Carolina. Novant operates Brunswick Medical Center in neighboring Bolivia, where it opened a $100 million, 78-bed community hospital in July 2011.

As part of its bid to manage or own the Wilmington hospital, Novant has agreed to form its first-ever medical education partnership with UNC Health and its medical school. UNC Health already provides educational and clinical services to the New Hanover system, which is made up of 855 licensed beds at three hospital campuses.

Last Thursday, the Novant offer was recommended to the trustees by a 21-member group made up of trustees, hospital physicians and local community advocates.

If the commissioners approve the recommendations, the advisory group said, there will be multiple other steps and considerations over the coming months, and the public will continue to be kept informed." One would involve the hospital and New Hanover County executing a letter of intent with Novant Health.

The Wilmington Star-News, quoting New Hanover chief communications officer Jessica Loeper, said it could take until September or October for a final vote.

Daily management decisions would remain based in Wilmington, according to the Novant proposal.

Novant said the New Hanover hospital would have a representative on Novants board if a joint venture is formed, or two members with a fully integrated partnership with Novant as the parent company.

The trustees passed a resolution Tuesday to place $200 million from the sale into a fund that would support hospital employees and area providers.

While we firmly believe a partnership is in the best interest of the community and the NHRMC team, we know any transition is difficult for those doing the work and continuing to provide care, Jason Thompson, the trustees' chairman, said in a statement.

We want to provide the resources to help them personally and professionally so they will stay with NHRMC and grow with the organization for many years to come.

The $200 million would come out of the estimated $1.9 billion in proceeds going to New Hanover County.

Another $300 million could go toward a New Hanover County Revenue Stabilization fund to help protect local taxpayers from unexpected expenses and downturns, Another $50 million would be placed in a mental and behavioral health fund.

The trustees endorsed establishing a $1.25 billion community foundation to provide financial support to health and social equity, local education, community development and community safety.

We see the partnership with Novant Health as the best way to meet the growing needs of the region with expanded services, more affordable care options and a culture that is similar to NHRMCs," Thompson said.

The advisory group has been in place since October and listed Atrium Health and Duke Health as finalists. Bon Secours/Mercy Health, HCA Healthcare and UNC Health also submitted proposals.

Carl Armato, Novants president and chief executive, has said Novant and the Wilmington hospital are natural partners with aligned values and not-for-profit charitable missions.

Maintaining and expanding medical education at (the hospital) will allow Novant Health to best serve the Wilmington community, while continuing to build the pipeline of physician talent for North Carolina.

The attempt to find a new management team or owner has drawn opposition from community members, and a Save Our Hospital advocacy group is pursuing internal financial options.

"Save Our Hospital Inc. is a group of concerned citizens in New Hanover County who believe county leaders have endorsed a flawed process with a pre-determined outcome to sell our community hospital to the highest bidder," said Gene Merritt, the group's president.

"If not stopped, this deal will mean higher costs with no guarantees of better access or quality of care for our community."

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Novant wants to buy or manage a Wilmington hospital. The medical center's trustees have OK'd the bid. - Winston-Salem Journal

East grad overcomes challenges on journey to be a neurosurgeon – Akron Beacon Journal

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A national television audience learned about Aaron Palmer this month because he is a rarity.

Palmer, 33, a graduate of Akrons East high school and Walsh University in North Canton, is one of relatively few Black doctors and one of even fewer training to be a neurosurgeon.

Palmer, who graduated from East in 2005 and had a bumpy road to get where he is, is a "minority within a minority," CBS news correspondent Adriana Diaz said in her report for the "CBS This Morning" show.

Diaz noted that the number of Black males attending U.S. medical schools has dropped since the 1980s.

"I often get mistaken for whoever works at the hospital, [every kind of worker] but a doctor," Palmer said in an interview with the Beacon Journal.

He spoke from Chicago, where he works at a downtown hospital. Hes in his fourth year of a seven-year residency program for those training to be neurosurgeons. The program is part of Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine.

Palmers journey started in Akron, where he grew up in a struggling neighborhood on the east side.

"There were seven of us [his parents and their five children] in a two-bedroom house," Palmer said.

His mother, Amy, now retired, was an LPN and then a registered nurse. His father, Hollis, who died in 2010, was a tree trimmer for Summit County.

The house was affordable and it was next door to Hollis mother, Amy said, explaining why the family stayed in the home. Amy lives in New Franklin these days, where the family moved in 2004.

While Aaron Palmer was in high school in Akron, he had no dream of going to medical school.

"I had no idea of what degree to get," Palmer said. "It sounds very foolish, but my 18-year-old mindset at the time was to get a scholarship so I could play football at a university."

He ended up at Walsh University after a brief stint playing football at a school out of state.

At Walsh, he barely played a season of football before he lost interest. He wasnt interested in applying himself to his studies, either, after choosing chemistry as a major because it "sounded cool."

His GPA reflected his lack of interest, hovering around a 1.5-2.0 for his first three years at Walsh.

Something clicked

In 2009, "something clicked," Palmer said, as his dad was growing sicker from esophageal cancer from which he died in 2010.

That year, Palmer had shadowed a Black surgeon at Summa Akron City Hospital for a couple of days and glimpsed a possible future for himself.

The surgeon, Palmer said, "reminded me of my dad [in the way] people really looked up to him and he helped people out."

Palmers father, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, was a leader in the familys neighborhood, devoted to his family and helped lead the East Pee Wee Football program.

"He was a mentor and a male figure to a lot of people who didnt have that," Palmer said. "Hed break up fights in the street. Hed fix appliances for people."

"My husband said a child does better than their father and their mother," Amy Palmer said.

"Im proud of all my children," she said of her four sons and one daughter.

Around this time, Ann Caplea, a professor at Walsh, reentered Palmers life.

Palmer had earlier taken an anatomy and physiology course from Caplea and had not done well, earning a D.

Caplea, director of human anatomy at the school, advised pre-med students at the time. Palmer sought her out, asking her if medical school was attainable.

"I knew she would be honest and tell me if I had a chance," Palmer said in a talk he gave this month to Walsh freshmen.

Caplea, who has kept in touch with Palmer, recalled that life-changing meeting.

"I really felt like he was capable [of getting in] if he put his mind to it," she said.

Palmer "would have moments of brilliance" in the class in which he got a D, she explained. "I thought, You know, he knows this [material]."

Palmer needed motivation, Caplea said.

"Thats what happens with students sometimes, they dont have the motivation, and they just do enough to get the minimum," she said. "And that was Aaron before he decided he wanted to go to medical school.

She helped Palmer lay out a plan. For three semesters over a period of more than two years, Palmer loaded up on classes. He retook ones in which he had done poorly while also taking needed prerequisites.

He had to drop out at times to earn money to continue. To raise cash, he and his older brother, Timothy, who now owns a used-car dealership in Tallmadge, bought and sold used cars.

Finally, in 2011, Palmer graduated from Walsh with a 3.1 GPA.

Exposed to neurosurgery

His senior year, he applied to numerous medical schools and received many rejection letters. Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University accepted him, awarding him a scholarship that substantially reduced his tuition.

He laminated his acceptance letter to medical school and placed it on his fathers grave.

He vowed to not repeat his initial performance at Walsh and buckled down from the start.

In his third year at Wright State, Palmer was in a clinical rotation when a neurosurgeon let him assist in a surgery. Palmer was hooked.

"It was the fist time I saw the brain," Palmer said, recalling the surgery on the brain of a comatose man who had been in a car accident.

"We went to patients room the next day the guy is there changing the channels on his TV, watching the news. I thought, Oh wow, this is what I need to do."

But there was yet another hurdle ahead.

In their fourth year of medical school, students go through a process to be "matched" with residency programs. Palmer failed to land a match with a program in neurosurgery, a highly competitive specialty.

But Palmer wasnt defeated.

He spent a year working in general surgery at a hospital in Michigan and tried again.

"I felt like I had let everybody down," Palmer said. "I felt I had come too far to not truly do more" more clinical research to bolster his application, more networking and more applying.

He got accepted at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine and works at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Giving back

"I have stumbled every step of the way," he said.

Now, he said, he feels obligated to give back to other struggling students, helping them study, serving as an example of what can be accomplished despite myriad struggles.

He speaks out about the lack of racial diversity in medicine.

Only about 5% of physicians identify as Black, while African Americans account for 13% of the countrys population. Only 6% of graduates at U.S. medical schools are Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

"We have a lack of role models," he said.

"The only reason Im here is because people reached out and said, Hey, I can help you. Thats how we can really make a huge impact on peoples lives."

More Black doctors would mean better health outcomes for Black patients, Palmer said, echoing studies that show theres a greater sense of trust and communication between Black physicians and patients.

Health inequality is playing out in the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, health experts note, pointing out the disproportionate number of Blacks, as well as other minorities, and the poor who are at risk from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

When he completes his residency in Chicago, Palmer would like to return to Northeast Ohio. Hes intrigued with the possibility of combining medicine and public policy.

"A lot of the issues [of racial and socioeconomic disparities in medicine] they've been politicized heavily. I dont think these are political issues. I just think these are human rights issues."

Beacon Journal reporter Katie Byard can be reached at kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.

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Is The Pandemic Fast-Tracking The Disappearance Of The Physical Exam? : Shots – Health News – NPR

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Virtual medical appointments are more common since the coronavirus pandemic began. But without physical exams, doctors may miss certain diagnoses and miss out on building relationships with patients. filadendron/Getty Images hide caption

Virtual medical appointments are more common since the coronavirus pandemic began. But without physical exams, doctors may miss certain diagnoses and miss out on building relationships with patients.

Despite a foothold in medicine that predates Hippocrates himself, the traditional physical exam might be on the verge of extinction. The coronavirus crisis has driven more routine medical appointments online, accelerating a trend toward telemedicine that has already been underway.

This worries Dr. Paul Hyman, author of a recently published essay in JAMA Internal Medicine, who reflects on what's lost when physicians see their patients almost exclusively through a screen.

A primary care physician in Maine, Hyman acknowledges he'd already begun second-guessing routine physicals on healthy patients as insurance requirements pushed doctors away from them.

But while Hyman is now providing mostly telemedicine, like many doctors during the pandemic, he writes that he has gained a clearer sense of the value of the age-old practice of examining patients in person. He notes the ability to offer reassurance, be present for his patients and find personal fulfillment as a doctor.

"I think there's something therapeutic about seeing a physician and having them lay their hands on you, and my sense from the feedback I've gotten from the article already is that a lot of people agree that it's therapeutic in its own right and that can be lost without the physical exam," Hyman told NPR.

Hyman spoke with NPR about his experience adjusting to a new world of medicine, one that eases access to health care providers yet has the potential to erode basic human connection.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How has the sudden shift toward mostly virtual visits changed the way you practice medicine?

It's changing almost week to week as I go through and learn, then try to understand what the virtual visit is providing and what it's not providing. It's kind of a learning experiment in real time. In some ways, I am more cautious because I am not sure what I am missing from not seeing the patient in person. And so I try to think through what I would have gained from the physical exam. And if there is enough of a concern about that, then I will advocate for the patient to be examined.

It does give me, for some patients, a lot of insight into the way they live their lives and what their home or work environment is like, which can help me understand more about where their health concerns fit into their overall priorities. I think it's helped me connect with patients in different ways.

What are some things that are much easier to catch through a physical exam or might be missed using telehealth?

We don't really completely understand sometimes what we're missing because we haven't really done medicine this way. I give the example of a patient whose heart is not working as well, and that's causing fluid buildup in their body. For that specific patient, it would have been challenging to make the diagnosis over the video or a phone; it takes touching the patient, being able to listen to their heart, legs, look at their blood pressure and look at the veins in their neck to make that diagnosis.

Another one that I often worry about is dizziness. People can feel dizzy for many reasons. Some of them are very common and not concerning, but occasionally the reason is serious. It's very hard to distinguish some of those reasons on a video trying to walk a patient through an exam.

Beyond the obvious potential for missing a diagnosis, what else is lost in the doctor-patient relationship when you can't do physical exams?

I have to agree with [Abraham Verghese's] description of a ritual, that there's something about coming into the office and going through a history and being examined and that ritual provides real comfort and meaning to both a physician and to the patient.

I mentioned in the article, too, that the exam is an objective piece of data. The patient has a narrative of their illness that the physician is trying to understand to help them feel better, but then the patient may think one thing is going on and the physician may think another. The exam can really be helpful as a piece of science or data that helps clarify what should happen next.

Especially in our world of electronic health records and a lot of other things that can be very distracting, it's that moment in time when the physician is fully present. And I think that can be really supportive, meaningful and important.

You mentioned in the essay that one of the primary roles of a physician is listening to the patient. Are there instances where a virtual visit provides a better environment for doing that?

I think there are, if the patient is fully present during the visit. Sometimes patients can be distracted, doing other things. But there are opportunities in the virtual visit to actually really connect and listen without some of the distractions of a busy office and an exam room. We still have to remember that most of what we're going to learn about a patient's illness is going to be through listening to them.

Insurance providers and volume-based metrics have already reduced the frequency of performing routine physical exams on healthy patients. Has the business of medicine already started to devalue a doctor's touch?

I think what is devalued is humanistic interaction between a patient and a physician development of a relationship and good listening. The way billing codes have worked for primary care, you could put down parts of your physical exam, so it wasn't being completely devalued. But I think it is devaluing to patients to request doctors do visits so quickly. More time is needed, as physicians, to listen to our patients and develop relationships, to think critically about them.

Less time with patients seems to be the enemy for doctors, both virtually and in person.

Yeah, time is the most critical part. And we're just getting less and less of it. I just got an email from a doctor, a pediatric specialist, about how he always does a very complete physical exam because he needs, as we've learned in medical school, to take a step back, think about the big picture and not miss something. That mindset is not valued in the current situation.

You anticipated some wearable technologies that might give more objective information about patients during virtual visits in the future. Are you worried technology may replace the physical exam?

I think there's tremendous benefit to some of the wearable technologies, but I think that society is going to need people to interpret what the wearable technology is telling you. But, we're primary care physicians, we're detectives and we still follow the rules of "when in doubt, examine the patient," right? Right. So a lot of times where I see a patient, when it's not clear what is going on and I'm trying to figure [it] out, I put all these puzzle pieces together.

I think that [the physical exam is] a skill and a tool. I still agree it's a core and fundamental part of being a physician. This isn't, you know, the end to our identity as physicians. I think that we need to evolve. As our data evolves and technology evolves, we need to evolve with it. But we just can't leave it fully behind.

Kristen Kendrick is a board-certified family physician in Washington, D.C., and a health and media fellow at NPR and Georgetown University School of Medicine.

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Is The Pandemic Fast-Tracking The Disappearance Of The Physical Exam? : Shots - Health News - NPR