“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” –Napoleon Hill
Reaching the hard to reach…
We absolutely must start out this week by telling you how proud we are of our medical students for working with their peers in our university’s nursing and physician assistant programs to reach even more diverse patient populations. We’ve talked before about our students’ eagerness to learn the practice of medicine and these students are doing just that… practicing what we teach. Under the leadership of Drs. William Salazar and Bruce Leclair, these students will run two free clinics next month – the Clinica Latina and the Equality Clinic – to help provide culturally-competent, interdisciplinary care to underinsured members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities. How cool is that?! The plan is for the clinics to run every other week in the Interdisciplinary Practice and Research Clinic, beginning with a kickoff celebration on Sept. 8 in the lobby of the Health Sciences Building, complete with catering provided by Teresa’s Mexican Restaurant. Tickets are $10 per plate or $5 with GRU student ID and all proceeds for the event will benefit the clinics. Many thanks to our own Lauren Albor, class of 2017, for heading up the planning for this event. For more information, contact her at lalbor@gru.edu. We hope you will come out and show your support!
Learning to Provide the Best Care…
Here’s another awesome example of making a difference. We’ve talked before about the great importance and need to provide quality care to Georgians in the rural areas of our great state. Well, thanks to the development of the Certificate Program in Rural Community Health, a community-based extended clerkship that will immerse medical students in a comprehensive educational experience in clinical medicine at our SW campus, our students will be primed to do just that. This 12 credit-hour program will provide students with basic tools, principles and knowledge to investigate rural health issues and to determine solutions to rural health problems, as well as create a support network among students, rural physicians, residents, and other rural health and agricultural professionals. Very cool! You see, our hope is that by working, living, and learning in a rural community, our students will be inspired to enter primary care disciplines and practice in these communities as they experience the rewards and opportunities of rural practice. Hats off to Drs. Clyde Simmons, Sandra Mobley, Kathryn Martin, and Paul Wallach for their leadership and tireless efforts towards meeting the diverse health care needs of our state and providing the best educational opportunities for our students!
And Creating a Healthy Learning Environment…
Speaking of staying on top of our game in education and training, we just have to give a big ‘shout out’ to our Office of Graduate Medical Education for leading the charge when it comes to creating the absolute best learning environment for our residents. To ensure that we provide the ‘best of the best’ in training, the GME office is hard-at-work planning the annual day-long GME Leadership Development Program Retreat scheduled for Aug. 22. This year’s theme: A Healthy and Respectful Trainee Learning Environment, will feature informative panel discussions about patient safety and quality health care, patient care transitions, and fatigue management, among others. A big “thank you” to Dr. Walt Moore, our colleagues in the GME office: Amy Legg, Candice Henderson, Mary Stephens, and numerous others who are lending their expertise and time to participate in the retreat.
For the Next Generation of Health Care Professionals…
While we’re on the topics of learning and development, we just have to mention that our Faculty Development team, led by Dr. Ralph Gillies, is hosting a half-day workshop, Career Development 101, on Thursday, Sept. 11, from 1-5 in the Alumni Center. CD101 is geared toward recently hired health sciences faculty to get them acquainted with unchartered territory, to include helping them understand promotion and tenure, why it’s important and how to engage learners, and how to move a research project from start to finish. Super! Seasoned pros in each area will join in to share their wisdom during the workshop, formatted to be reminiscent of David Letterman’s famous “Top 10”, with each expert giving their top three recommendations for someone just starting their career. While MCG is leading the charge, the workshop is open to all new health sciences faculty, with plenty of opportunities for follow-up with individual colleges after. Truly terrific opportunity!
And Outstanding Faculty… Is What We’re All About
Good news on the research front: the numbers are in and we reached $106M in total extramural activity for last fiscal year- which is the highest in the history of the institution! Can I get an “awesome”?! This is particularly impressive given the economic challenges surrounding funding for research. Our number of grant submissions is also higher than ever before and looking at both the absolute number of research awards and NIH awards, we were up in fiscal year 2014 over the previous year. Our ability to ‘hold our own’ during this tough time of financial uncertainty attests to the high caliber of stellar faculty and outstanding research colleagues we have here at the state’s public medical school. Many thanks to all for your efforts and dedication.
As Well As Caring For Those Who Care For Others…
As we draw to a close, we just have to say how thankful we are today and every day for our employees that take such great care of our patients and their families. Now, it’s our turn to take care of them for a change… and what better way than a clean car?! Because we all know clean cars make happy people. Volunteer Services is offering to scrub-a-dub-dub your car just to say “Thanks” for all you do. Pull into the old Sports Medicine Clinic on 15th Street any time before 3:00 today to get your car washed for free!
And Helping Those Who Need It Most
Finally, we’d like to close out this week by bringing attention to very sensitive, often devastating subject. The shocking news this week about the death of beloved actor-comedian, Robin Williams is a tragic reminder that mental illness can affect individuals from all walks of life. The latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicide rates are climbing, with over 39,500 deaths by suicide reported in 2011, making suicide the tenth leading cause of death among Americans. Basically, someone in the U.S. commits suicide approximately every thirteen minutes… that’s over one-hundred suicides each day. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention tells us that the reality is most suicides can be prevented because the majority of those who commit suicide suffer from treatable conditions, but are reluctant to seek help due to the stigma associated with mental illness. Please visit AFSP’s website for more information about warning signs, finding help, and other resources at http://bit.ly/1oxha6o. We are also fortunate here at MCG to have great expertise in our Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior. To learn more about our state-of-the-art treatment for depression and suicidality highlighted by WJBF earlier this week, please visit: http://bit.ly/1nSMBCv and http://bit.ly/1l6wfeW.
Upcoming Events
Today – Freshman Convocation for undergraduates, all day at the Summerville Campus.
Now – Artist Activist is open now through Friday, Sept. 5 at the gallery, located in Washington Hall on the Summerville campus. Gallery events include: Artist Talk with Sue Coe on Aug. 28 from 5-6 p.m. at University Hall and Opening Reception from 6-7 p.m. at Washington Hall Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art.
Aug. 28 – MCG Alumni Association, Athens Regional Reception, 6 pm, at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Mark Ellison.
Sept. 6 – Please mark your calendars for the university’s Day of Service to the community.
Sept. 6 – MCG Foundation 60th Anniversary Celebration in conjunction with the Alumni Association’s Augusta Regional Reception, 6 pm, Augusta Marriott.
Sept. 7 – MCG Alumni Association Board Meeting, 9:30 am, GRU Health Sciences Campus.
Sept. 8 – GRU Health Sciences Student Free Clinic Kick-off and Open House, 5:30-8 pm in the Atrium of the Allied Health Sciences Building.
Sept. 22 – Presidential Lecture Series, noon, Lee Auditorium. Dr. Lloyd Jacobs, former University of Toledo President, led a vigorous process of growth and transformation to establish a new vision, a new identity and a new level of educational quality and excellence at the university. For more info visit gru.edu/president/lectureseries.
Oct. 7 – MCG Alumni Association Regional Reception in Savannah, 6 pm, Savannah Golf Club.
Oct. 11 – White Coat Ceremony, 2 pm, Bell Auditorium.
Oct. 16 – Opening of the J. Harold Harrison MD Education Commons! More details to come.
Feb. 24 – MCG Alumni Association Planning Committee, Nominating Committee, Board Meeting and Regional Event, starting at 2:30 pm, Idle Hour Country Club, Macon.
March 5 – MCG Alumni Association Regional Reception, 6 pm, Northeast History Museum, Gainesville.
April 17 – Raft Debate, sponsored by the MCG Alumni Association, 6 pm, Lee Auditorium.
April 23-26 – Alumni Weekend.
May 4 – MCG Graduation Dinner, 6:30 pm, location to be determined.
May 7 – Hooding Ceremony, 2 pm, Bell Auditorium.
May 8 – Graduation, 2 pm, James Brown Arena.
Have a great weekend!