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!
Kudos, Pediatric Heart Team
The Heart Institute at Arkansas Children’s, under the direction of Dr. Brian Reemtsen, Professor of Surgery, achieved an outstanding milestone of zero surgical mortality for congenital heart disease patients in FY 21 – an accomplishment never before achieved by the program. Congratulations and many thanks to Dr. Reemtsen and his team, including Dr. Lawrence Greiten, Assistant Professor of Surgery, along with the faculty in Pediatric Cardiology, led by Dr. Paul Seib, Professor and Section Chief. I join with Dr. Reemtsen in expressing appreciation as well for team members in Anesthesiology, ICU and OR staff, and colleagues in Nursing. This remarkable team effort was achieved through excellent collaboration, accurate diagnosis, skilled surgical care, cutting-edge ICU care, and cohesive inter-stage management of children and adults with congenital heart disease.
Nationally Ranked – Again!
The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) program at UAMS has been ranked among the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for the third straight year. Kudos to Dr. John Dornhoffer, Chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the ENT team for their dedication to world-class patient care, education and research. The ENT program wasn’t the only UAMS standout in the new rankings. UAMS was recognized as a Best Hospital for 2021-2022, and five clinical care areas were named as high performing – Colon Cancer Surgery, Diabetes, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement and Stroke. Way to go! Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.
Transitional Year Success
A new paper by Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Dr. Molly Gathright and colleagues discusses the first three years of the College of Medicine Transitional Year Residency Program and its success in meeting the needs of unmatched medical graduates. The paper, published in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, explains that such a program can provide an institutionally valued, feasible and sustainable solution to the concerning national trend of having graduates who do not initially match to residency positions. Jennifer Hankins, M.P.H., Dr. Mohammad Zia Siddiqui, Dr. Carol Thrush and Dr. Tim Atkinson collaborated on the study with Dr. Gathright, who serves as UAMS’ Designated Institutional Official.
A Nonideal World
The latest book by Dr. Laura Guidry-Grimes, Assistant Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, has just been published by Springer. “Applying Nonideal Theory to Bioethics,” edited by Dr. Grimes and Dr. Elizabeth Victor of William Paterson University, contributes to scholarly discussions about whether the world and its challenges – and how we think through them – are best handled through an “ideal” or “nonideal” lens. The book argues that because the world in all its imperfections is nonideal, idealizing misses the mark and cannot address real-world issues, including bioethical considerations in fields such as medicine and public health.
Bone Health & Longevity
Dr. Stephanie Dayer, a 2020 graduate now completing her internal medicine residency at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, is the first author on a paper with Geriatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery colleagues, “Does Superior Bone Health Promote a Longer Lifespan?” Dr. Gohar Azhar, Professor of Geriatrics, is senior author on the article published in Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation. Co-authors include Dr. Simon Mears, Amanda Pangle, B.S., Dr. Priya Mendiratta and Dr. Jeanne Wei. The team evaluated the bone health of the oldest community-dwelling individuals living in rural Arkansas and found a low percentage of osteoporosis and fractures, which likely reduced the morbidity and mortality in this population and potentially contributed to their overall longevity.
Top 10%
We just heard the good news that Anesthesiology residents Dr. Bardia Azar and Dr. Dylan Trujillo scored in the top 10% of residents nationwide who took the American Board of Anesthesiology BASIC examination in June. As Dr. Charles Napolitano, Professor and Program Director noted, this is a testament to their hard work and dedication. I join with Anesthesiology Chair Dr. Jill Mhyre in congratulating Dr. Azar and Dr. Trujillo and thanking Dr. Napolitano for his leadership along with Dr. Shannon Dare and Dr. Riley Lide for their outstanding work overseeing this area of the residency program.
Community Liaisons
The UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine Residency Program has named Dr. Diorella Lopez-Gonzalez and Dr. John Ukadike as Community Medicine Liaisons for 2021-2022. The second-year residents will lead initiatives and outreach to promote the health and wellbeing of Little Rock residents, especially those in socio-economically depleted and/or underserved areas. A particular focus will be COVID-19 vaccination. Dr. Gonzales and Dr. Ukadike follow in the footsteps of the inaugural Community Medicine Liaison, 2021 residency graduate Dr. Alexa Martin. Our thanks to these excellent residents for taking on this important work.
Student Leadership Award
College of Medicine senior Anusha Majagi has already demonstrated the exceptional leader she will be as a physician in the years ahead. Among many service activities, she established the UAMS branch of Walk with a Doc, a program that promotes health and wellness and fosters connections between UAMS physicians, students and community members. The M.D./M.P.H. student serves on the executive board of the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center, where she directs volunteer training, and works with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine as a rural student ambassador. Dr. Danny Wilkerson, Professor of Anesthesiology and President of the Arkansas Medical Society, presented Anusha with the AMS Student Leadership Award at the White Coat Ceremony earlier this month. Congratulations on this well-earned honor, Anusha!
Student Published
Fourth-year medical student Helena Drolshagen is the first author on an article, “Surgical and non-surgical treatment of inguinal hernia during non-elective admissions in the Nationwide Readmissions Database, published in Hernia. She had previously presented the study at the American Hernia Society Conference last year. Dr. Hanna Jensen, Assistant Professor of Surgery, was senior author on the project.
Top Docs
Congratulations to the many College of Medicine physicians named to Little Rock Soiree’s inaugural “Top Docs” list. The magazine compiled the list of outstanding physicians in numerous specialties based on votes of peer physicians in the Little Rock metro area. You can check out the list here.
Putting Patients First
It is always wonderful to hear about great patient experiences at UAMS and our partnering hospitals. For me, they reaffirm the impact we can have on patients in so many circumstances, whether it is an emergency that brings them to us, a need for expert specialty care, or the pursuit of compassionate primary care. Here are excerpts from patient surveys I’ve heard about recently. Kudos to these outstanding physician colleagues!
“Dr. Meryll Pampolina (Emergency Medicine) was absolutely the best ER doctor who has ever treated me. 10 on a scale of 10 on professional conduct and very thorough when explaining treatment options.”
“Dr. Romona Davis (Ophthalmology) is an outstanding ophthalmologist. She is not only very professional and knowledgeable in her field, but extremely personable as well. She is thorough and goes above and beyond to provide the best possible care, often identifying and treating issues early, before they become potential threats to one’s vision.”
“It was my first time seeing Dr. Jarrett Lea (Family/Preventive Medicine), and I came to him with a very complex condition. He listened carefully, read over all of the notes from previous doctors and even collaborated with them to come up with the best treatment plan for me. I was blown away by his attention to detail and willingness to help. Happy to say we officially found our new family PCP!”
I would also like to share some kinds words from the parent of a patient of Dr. Sarah Cobb and the Pediatric Neurology team at Arkansas Children’s. “Dr. Cobb is a perfect example of family-centered care. She always asks for my input on complex matters related to his treatment and options. I cannot thank her and her team enough for taking such great care of my kiddo. He is thriving today because of them.”