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“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality” – Warren Bennis
May 31, 2013
Dear Colleagues and Friends, Patching the Doctor Shortage… NBC Nightly News… The AAMC in conjunction with NBC News recently put together a remarkable piece on addressing the national physician shortage. The relevant issues ranged from the rural physician shortage to the need to grow more residency programs. The news piece – http://nbcnews.to/140u4O8 – mentions solutions such as abbreviated curriculums, scholarships and proposed federal legislation that would create 15,000 new GME slots over the next five years. While the problems and potential solutions aren’t news to any of us on the frontline of educating physicians, it’s great to see thorough coverage of a topic of such importance to our physical, emotional and, frankly, economic wellbeing. Kudos to the AAMC for its efforts to get the story out there. We continue our efforts throughout Georgia to advance residency positions. Active in Athens… Wrapping up the Third Year… Partnership Gaining Real Momentum Speaking of which, our students at the GRU/UGA Medical Partnership are finishing up their third year and the campus is getting ready for its first, fourth-year class. We will be graduating our first class of 230 students next year! Incredible! This summer, application will be submitted to the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education for an internal medicine residency program and residency clinic at St. Mary’s Health System with the expectation that the first residents will be matriculated in July 2015. Our colleagues also are working with Athens Regional Medical Center on new residency programs. A serious amount of progress has been made and a serious amount of work has been done to build medical education across our state. Our thanks goes out to many for the work that got us here. Still more expansion news coming this summer with the official opening of the Northwest Campus based in Rome. Great Strides, Impact… Another Inspirational MCG Graduate Most of us would say Dr. Eric Pfeifer has a tough job every day: He’s Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Oklahoma. But in the aftermath of the horrific tornado that ravaged parts of his state, killing 24 people, including seven children, the word “tough” is simply insufficient. But within 48 hours of this unspeakable tragedy, our 1993 graduate along with the team he praises, had identified all the victims, their cause of death and notified their families. Interestingly, when Dr. Pfeifer arrived in 2011, it was at an office plagued by inefficiency and, just days before, another storm killed 10 others. You can proudly learn more about Dr. Pfeifer and his outstanding contributions at http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/22/18425640-oklahoma-medical-examiner-cataloging-the-dead-a-horrific-task. We send great praise to Dr. Pfeifer, his team and the people of Oklahoma for their commitment and courage. More National News… Sharing Expertise Dr. Dimitrios Moskophidis shared his insight this week with a reporter working for the medical news service HealthDay about a really fascinating study out of the University of Pennsylvania that indicates, at least in animals, gene therapy can turn cells in the nose into a fortress again some pandemic strains of the flu. Not surprisingly, the piece got great attention across the country, making its way to more than 100 television sites as well as other major national outlets such as U.S. News and World Report. Check it out at http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/05/29/gene-therapy-may-protect-against-flu-pandemics and way to go Dr. Moskophidis! Great Representation… Cultivating our Leadership Dr. Al Head and two of our Anesthesiology residents went to the nation’s capital to serve as advocates for the American Society of Anesthesiologists at the ASA Legislative Conference. They also met with Georgia Congressmen and Senators to help increase awareness about current and future issues in this specialty. Our thanks to Dr. Head, as well as Dr. John Blackburn, up-and-coming Chief Resident and current President-Elect of the Resident Section of Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists, and Dr. William Thomas for their fine representation! Check out this link to read more about the conference –http://bit.ly/12jY75S . Speaking of News You Can Use… Check out this month’s Medical e-News http://bit.ly/12iVPDX. Upcoming Events… June 2 – The Children’s Hospital of Georgia – Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals telethon will broadcast live from the CHOG lobby from noon to 6 p.m. on WRDW-TV News 12.The broadcast will include video tours of the hospital; conversations with patients, donors and staff; and recognition of committed partners and supporters. Go to http://www.wrdw.com/community/cmnto learn more and see some inspirational stories of our patients, their families and our colleagues. June 4 – Join the race to fight hunger with the Golden Harvest Food Bank Drive and our CHOG. There will be a ‘friendly” competition among departments and units and those that collect the most money and the most food by weight will be recognized. The weigh-in is Tuesday, June 4, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. in Room BT 1811 in the children’s hospital. All food items need to be delivered to that room by 1 p.m. For more info, contact Andrea Putzier at 1-4633. June 7 – A faculty and staff development opportunity is being offered by the Southeast Campus at the beautiful Jekyll Island Convention Center. Medical School Expansion in Georgia: Public Health’s Role in Medical Education will be held from1-5 p.m. Featured speakers include Brenda Fitzgerald, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. For more information, contact Malinda Moore at 912-466-7540 or marmoore@gru.edu. June 13 – MCG Chair Investiture Ceremony, starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Lee Auditorium. If you can’t be there in person, check out the live stream at www.gru.edu/stream. Or, link in with the event page on our MCG Facebook http://on.fb.me/1azHbWP . Images and happenings from the event will be listed there as well as the live stream link. Check out our MCG Facebook page at www.facebook.com/grumcg and Twitter page as well #Follow. Enjoy the weekend!
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