“Every Man That Undertakes To Be Of A Profession or Takes Upon Himself An Office Must Take All Parts Of It, the Good and the Evil, the Pleasure and the Pain, the Profit and the Inconveniences All Together and Not Pick and Choose: For Ministers Must Preach, Captains Must Fight, and Physicians Attend Upon the Sick ”
~William Boghurst, Apothecary, Great Plague of London, 1666
November 18, 2011
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
Memorials … Our Way to Remember Those That Touch Our Hearts and Minds …
Last Friday’s Annual Memorial Service (special assignment featured on TV http://www.wrdw.com/specialcoverage/headlines), to honor donors who contribute so much to health sciences education was a touching event in many ways. To hear the heartfelt sentiments from students was motivational and our class had opportunities to learn human dignity, personal sacrifice and sanctity of the human body as they studied and trained with these cadavers. I heard repeatedly from family members how much the ceremony meant to them. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to our students, faculty and staff that put so much time, effort and thought into the ceremony.
We also had a remarkable memorial service for Dr. Alan Roberts. Dr. Roberts was an outstanding physician, mentor and friend to many at GHSU … as said by Dr. Madaio, “Dr. Roberts was the conscience of the Department of Medicine and arguably, the entire University”. His contributions to our institution and community will be a part of our GHSU family always. Out thanks to the Department of Medicine, especially Dr. Lee Merchen, for their leadership in hosting this event.
Recruiting Our Brightest and Best Residents and Students … It’s Everybody’s Business …
Last week, we highlighted ‘recruitment season’ for residents and students on campus ‘checking us out’. We appreciate our residents embracing so many changes (including their own mandated reduction in resident shift hours) and their participation in our institutional efforts (e.g. Quality Campaign) and recent RRC reviews. With Dr. Walt Moore’s leadership, GHSU has also made resident-specific improvements (e.g., food preferences, on-call support, balance of training-service) and we continue to seek additional resident training (e.g. University Hospital, other community hospitals) and research opportunities. Moreover, we have also increased our student research with our Summer Medical Scholars Research Program (several presentations highlighted in past Dean’s Diaries). Our medical students’ academic curriculum and test scores are the envy of other academic institutions and with our class size increase to 230; we are the 6th largest medical school in the nation. So … as you interact with residents and students (both external candidates and our medical students) who are considering GHSU please ‘talk up’ these aspects that make GHSU a great place to train. While candidates should choose the best fit for them, we should not sell ourselves short… we have MUCH to offer and take pride in our institution. Putting our best foot forward now will ensure we have the best and brightest in the future. Recruitment is everybody’s business.
Congratulations on Many Fronts …
Congratulations to the Bone Marrow Transplant program upon receiving FACT re-accreditation for another 3 years. Initial accreditation for the program occurred in 2008 and we are now accredited to 2014. Many thanks go to the unified efforts of everyone who participated in this survey.
We also want to applaud our Department of Radiology – Diagnostic section for being awarded Continued Accreditation for three years by the Residency Review Committee. Many thanks to our GME office, faculty, staff, residents, and students that prepared for this site visit.
We would also like to congratulate Dr. Jerry Allison on recently being appointed as the new trustee for medical physics for the American Board of Radiology.
Congratulations also go to Dr. Richard Schwartz and our Emergency Medicine physicians who are known as national leaders in training and education of our military and others on front-lines of global disasters. Dr. Schwartz is an original creator of the National Disaster Life Support series and Version 3.0 of this course was recently published. This is a remarkable course on disaster readiness for first responders, public health professionals, clinicians and emergency management personnel.
First Ever Integrated Department Meeting …
The Department of Orthopedics recently held the first-ever ‘integrated’ departmental meeting. There was a resounding turnout from faculty, staff and residents to review and discuss departmental progress with the goal to raise the bar as ‘service that says yes’. Thanks to Dr. Norman Chutkan and his team for their leadership.
AAMC Annual Meeting a Huge Success … GHSU Also Featured Prominently …
At the annual AAMC meeting, we had many prominent presentations by our medical students and faculty and – as featured earlier – our student Ms. LaShon Sturgis received the coveted Nickens award for humanism. Our MCG former Dean and now AAMC CEO, Dr. Darrell Kirch delivered an inspiring President’s address on the “new excellence” emerging in academic medicine – urging our community to judge our successes by how well our missions improve health and meet communities’ needs at our front doors, not by arbitrary rankings. Our reception honoring Dr. Rhee Fincher and Mr. David Hefner also drew colleagues and leaders from across the nation as we showcased GHSU’s progress. Photos, videos, and presentations from the meeting can be found at www.aamc.org.
Upcoming Dates and Events …
November 21 and 28 at 1 pm in the Lee Auditorium
Need answers regarding Outlook? For more information, please visit georgiahealth.edu/itss/exchange
November 30 – Employee Recognition Event – Kroc Center – Breakfast begins at 7:30
An event honoring Georgia Health Sciences University, Medical Center Associates, faculty and staff with 5 – 20 years of service.
November 30 – The Doctors – 4 pm Channel 26 (WAGT)
Tune in to see Dr. David Terris and one of his patients featured on the television show The Doctors “Medical Breakthroughs You Need To Know About” (www.thedoctorstv.com). Dr. Terris’ pioneering work developing a no neck scar approach to thyroid surgery will be covered.
December 2 – ‘A Red Carpet Affair’ GHSU MCG Talent Show, 6:30 to 9 pm – Lee Auditorium
Come join in an evening of fun with the judges (Drs. Azziz, McKie, and Ganapathy). Proceeds will be donated to the Christmas Party benefiting children with HIV infection. Contact Vijay Palvia, Director (vpalvia@georgiahealth.edu) for more information.
December 2 – 2012 SGEA Conference Submission Deadline
University of Kentucky COM will host the 2012 Regional Conference of the Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) ‘Best Practices in Medical Education: Bring Us Your Best’, April 19-21, 2012. Visit the website at http://www.cecentral.com/live/2874.
December 6 – 6:30 pm – Employee Recognition Event – Kroc Center
A dinner event to honor Georgia Health Sciences University, Medical Center Associates, faculty and staff with 25 – 40 years of service.
December 8-10, Beginning at 6 am – 2011 Cares for Kids Radiothon
Radio stations 104.3 WBBQ and 96.3 Kiss FM will broadcast live from the lobby of the Georgia Health Sciences Children’s Medical Center. Pledges can be made anytime through the online giving portal at www.georgiahealth.org/giving and during the Radiothon by calling 1-877-719-KIDS (5437).
December 14 – President’s Lecture Series – Lee Auditorium – President’s Lecture Series Continues
Dr. Guatam Chaudhuri, Distinguished Professor at UCLA, will present “Free Radicals and Their Interactions: Implications in Breast Cancer” and a grand rounds lecture on “Hormone Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease: The Estrogen Paradox”. Please place this on your schedule. More information will be forthcoming.