Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently!
NMA Surgical Leadership
Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Laryea, Professor and Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery, on his appointment as Chair of the Surgical Section of the National Medical Association (NMA). The NMA is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients and a leading force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of health disparities. At UAMS, Dr. Laryea also serves as Medical Director of the Cancer Service Line. Dr. Laryea will provide stellar leadership for the NMA Surgical Section as Chair through August 2023.
National Statisticians Honor
Dr. Paula Roberson, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics in the College of Medicine and Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, has been awarded the American Statistical Association (ASA) Founders Award, the ASA’s highest honor. Already a Fellow of the ASA, Dr. Roberson was recognized at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, D.C., last week for three decades of distinguished service to the organization and the profession. She has held numerous roles within the ASA, including President of the Arkansas Chapter, leadership of the Council of Chapters, and as a member of many committees including Women in Statistics, the Joint Committee on Women in Mathematical Sciences, and awards committees. Congratulations, Dr. Roberson, on this well-earned honor!
Safer Care for Agitated Patients
Dr. Michael Wilson, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry, is at the forefront of national initiatives to provide better care for Emergency Department (ED) patients who are severely agitated due to mental illness or drug intoxication – and de-escalate crises that can result in violent assaults on ED providers. Dr. Wilson’s insights are highlighted in a new special report in Emergency Medicine News about the impact of Project BETA, the Best Practices in the Evaluation and Treatment of Agitation. Dr. Wilson was senior author on a key earlier article on Project BETA in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open. Project BETA guidelines underlie many of the protocols currently in use in the UAMS Emergency Department, including the order set for behavioral health patients developed in coordination with Psychiatry. Well done.
Camp Laughter
A shout-out to the Arkansas Children’s and College of Medicine team members who made this year’s Camp Laughter, a beloved event for cleft and craniofacial patients and families, so much fun. The event at Camp Aldersgate is also important to patients and families because of the opportunity to share and learn from one another’s experiences. Leaders of the multi-disciplinary effort included Dr. Larry Hartzell and the ENT/Cleft team, Dr. Sagar Mehta and the Plastic Surgery/Craniofacial team, Dr. Kirt Simmons and the team in Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry, and the Audiology, Speech and Nutrition teams at Arkansas Children’s. Very special thanks to Camp Coordinators Sarah Valdez, Jordan Davis, Dana Thomas and Nicolle Boswell.
Student to Present Nationally
Congratulations to third-year MD/MPH student Blaire Taggart, who will be giving an oral abstract presentation at the annual Thrombosis & Hemostasis Summit of North America in Chicago tomorrow. She will present the “Role of a multidisciplinary ‘Period’ Clinic for management of adolescents with abnormal uterine bleeding – a single institution experience.” The presentation is the result of her work toward an Honors in Pediatrics with coauthors and mentors Dr. Divyaswathi Citla-Sridhar, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Shelley Crary, Professor,of the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology; and Dr. Laura Hollenbach, Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Way to go, Blaire!
Helping Duchenne MD Families
The Comprehensive Neuromuscular Program team at Arkansas Children’s did a great job co-hosting a recent workshop for families impacted by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration in about 1 in 5,000 male births. The team partnered with the non-profit CureDuchenne on the workshop, which drew families of boys with DMD, or the similar condition Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), from Arkansas and neighboring states. Several team members shared information on the neuromuscular program and current developments in the field. Kudos to Dr. Aravindhan Veerapandiyan (Pediatric Neurology); Dr. Kindann Fawcett (Postdoctoral fellow and nutritionist); Tiffany Boyd, RN; Dr. Amit Agarwal (Pulmonology); Dr. Shipra Bansal (Endocrinology); Dr. Vikki Stefans (Developmental Pediatrics/Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation); Dr. Seth Sorensen (Neuropsychology); Wanda Mitchell, RN; and Melissa Hicks-Wittman, PT.
International Teaching
Dr. Ariel Berlinski, Professor of Pediatric Pulmonology, has been invited to share his expertise in an upcoming webinar on pediatric respiratory care organized by the Respiratory Therapy Program at Chang Gung University in Taiwan. At Arkansas Children’s, Dr. Berlinski serves as Medical Director of the Pulmonary Diagnostic Laboratory, Medical Director of Respiratory Care Services, and Director of the Arkansas Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Center. Dr. Berlinski also directs the Pediatric Aerosol Research Laboratory at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute.
EM Ultrasound & Lawsuits
Department of Emergency Medicine faculty members Dr. Jason Arthur, Dr. Zachary Lewis and Dr. Gregory Snead were co-authors on a paper first-authored by former faculty member Dr. Brian Russ that examined malpractice lawsuits relating to point-of-care emergency ultrasound. The team of emergency ultrasound experts found that not performing an ultrasound appeared to convey the greatest legal risk for emergency medicine providers, lending further credence to the conclusions of previous studies. The study indicates that performance of point-of-care ultrasound may convey a protective legal effect. The article was published this month in the Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Program Coordinators Rock!
And finally this week, as we look forward to GME Professionals Day this Friday, I want to take a moment to thank our GME Program Coordinators for their hard work, creativity and dedication to the professional and personal success of our residents and fellows. As Dr. Molly Gathright, Vice Dean for GME and Designated Institutional Official, said in this recent announcement, this is a great opportunity to consider how important Program Coordinators are to our training programs. These outstanding professionals are an important part of our mission to train the next generation of physicians for Arkansas and beyond. I join with Dr. Gathright in encouraging all residents, fellows, program directors and department leaders to do something special for your Program Coordinator this Friday. They truly rock!