“Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
You Show Your Pride… By Wearing MCG
As you are out there putting together a new look for spring – or asking someone to do it for you – how about showing more of your MCG style! You can show your pride with an unprecedented variety of long- and short-sleeved t-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, and vests. You can get a huge assortment of bags that will stylishly carry pretty much anything. You can even get a decoration for your car. Some serious stuff to be had at www.georgiaregentsgear.com or by calling customer service at Advanced Online, which is putting these goods together for us, at 877-471-5410. You could even visit our bookstore! We want to thank Karl Munschy, Director of Auxiliary Services, for helping make this happen and Alison Rohdy, a designer in Communications and Marketing, who is helping ensure that what’s out there, looks great.
By the Options You Have… and the Choices You Make
Speaking of showing your MCG pride, we just have to mention again that last week’s Match Day went so amazingly well. We told you that 30 percent of our seniors will stay in Georgia, which is just fabulous, but we want to highlight again that 20 percent – 1 in 5 of our students – chose to stay right here. We absolutely love Alex Olney’s reaction, who matched here in obstetrics and gynecology, http://on.fb.me/1M4hztd. This unprecedented-in-the recent-past interest in staying with us, especially among a group of students who mostly have their choice among many top programs, did not just happen. It was the result of a thorough assessment followed by improvement of what we offer residents, with GME Guru Dr. Walt Moore, M.D./Ph.D. Student Brett Heimlich, and Vice Dean Paul Wallach all taking a hugely important leadership role. Check out more Match Day fun at https://vimeo.com/122989758 and check out where everybody is going at http://on.fb.me/19TXO6G. Just awesome.
You Work Hard… For Patients and Each Other
One of the many areas we improved as part of our strategic reinvestment in resident education was by involving our residents in important issues, such as the ongoing implementation of electronic health records. Recent improvements to our EHR include bettering the all-important communication with patients, including automatic visit summaries, which provide essential information such as the specific diagnosis, drugs prescribed, and how they should be taken, for both our inpatients and outpatients. There’s even a quicker way for those of us who are privileged to take care of patients to find the correct diagnostic code. Most of us likely agree that technology is a great thing, including an EHR that gives us access and information far beyond what the old file folders could provide. Still, this remains an important and definite work in progress. We particularly want to thank Dr. David Fallaw, our Chief Medical Information Officer, and Dr. Dave Freeman, our EHR Physician Champion (what a great title) for ensuring that our electronic health record works optimally to benefit our patients and to assist the amazing individuals who care for them.
You Make New Partners… And Colleagues
More great news on the residency front. The University System of Georgia (USG) initiative to bring 400 new residency positions to our state and, in the process, involve more hospitals in the huge job of educating the next generation, is making some serious progress. Hospitals and health systems that are in various stages of considering/ developing residency programs include St. Mary’s Health Care System and Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens; the Southwest Consortium, where Colquitt Regional Medical Center in Moultrie is making great progress toward a rural track family medicine program; Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome; Tanner Health System, serving east Georgia and west Alabama; and Wellstar Health System and Gwinnett Medical Center in the Atlanta area. Our thanks to Ben Robinson and the USG GREAT Committee for shepherding this truly innovative statewide effort. You may remember that our partner in Athens, St. Mary’s, had a record number of applicants for its brand new internal medicine residency program that starts this very summer! Our congratulations to Drs. Shelley Nuss and Bruce Middendorf for leading this. It’s just terrific to have so many new – and long-time – partners.
You Provide… Great Counsel
Back at home base, our faculty continue to have some serious national impact. Our Dr. Norman B. Thomson III, who came to us in 2011 as Chief of General Radiology, has been appointed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment. This 15-member panel advises the secretary as well as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on reimbursement rates for outpatient procedures. Serious and complicated stuff here. Dr. Thomson was nominated by the American College of Radiology and appointed by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell for his term. We would have happily nominated him as well. Thank you Dr. Thomson for your service.
You Just Overall Rock…
Finally today, outstanding accolades for a newer faculty member and another really nice individual. Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy, is an obstetrician-gynecologist and molecular biologist who came to us last year from Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. At MCG, he directs the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Division of Translational Research. Like so many of you, Dr. Al-Hendy wants to help define the next standard of care. His particular interest is non-surgical options for women with fibroids, a hugely common problem for which he is pursuing some innovative solutions. As we speak, he is attending the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation, where he is receiving the President’s Achievement Award, honoring a junior society member with an outstanding record of scientific investigation and a promising research career, and the Rogerio A. Lobo Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to reproductive sciences by a society member. Way to go, Dr. Al-Hendy. Check out more about him in the latest issue of GResearch magazine http://bit.ly/1bxFYqN.
Upcoming Events
Through this evening – 4th Annual Come Out for Health Week at GRU. Check out all events here, http://gruequality.weebly.com/come-out-4-health-week.html or call the MCG Office of Student and Multicultural Affairs at 706-721-2522.
April 17 – MCG Faculty Senate, noon, Lee Auditorium
April 17 – Raft Debate, sponsored by the MCG Alumni Association, 6 p.m., Lee Auditorium.
April 18 – MedWar, the Southeast Medical Wilderness Adventure Race, tests your physical fitness and medical knowledge, see http://www.active.com/augusta-ga/adventure-racing/races/southeast-medwar-2015.
April 23-26 – Alumni Weekend, http://grualumni.com/file/MCGAlumniWeekend_Web.compressed.pdf.
April 22 – Dr. Ricardo Azziz’s final State of the Enterprise address, noon, Lee Auditorium. The Small Auditorium (BC-1400) will serve as an overflow room. Lunch will be provided.
April 28 – Town Hall meeting with students, noon-1 p.m., Harrison Commons, GB 1220A.
May 1 – State of the Medical College of Georgia address, noon, Lee Auditorium, lunch provided.
May 4 – MCG Graduation Dinner, 6:30 p.m., location to be determined.
May 7 – Hooding Ceremony, 2-4 p.m., The Augusta Convention Center, 901 Reynolds St., (New location!), Dr. James L. Olds, Assistant Director for the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), the National Science Foundation.
May 8 – Graduation, 2 p.m., James Brown Arena.
May 14 – MCG Faculty Senate Awards Ceremony, 5 p.m., location to be determined.
June 25 – MCG Investiture Ceremony, 5:30 p.m., location to be determined.
July 14 – Town Hall meeting with students, noon-1 p.m., Harrison Commons, GB 1220A.
Oct. 27 – Town Hall meeting with students, noon-1 p.m., Harrison Commons, GB 1220A.
Jan. 12 – Town Hall meeting with students, noon-1 p.m., Harrison Commons, GB 1220A.
Hope you have a great weekend!