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!
Honoring Service to UAMS
Congratulations to our team members who are being recognized for their many years of service to UAMS. This year’s honorees include the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology’s Dr. Howard Conaway, who earned his 50-year pin, and two 45-year COM team members, Dr. Joan Cranmer of the Department of Pediatrics and Andrea Easom, APRN, of the Department of Internal Medicine‘s Division of Nephrology. Many others have made countless contributions over 30, 35 or 40 years at UAMS. Employees are recognized after every five years of service, and those with 20-plus years were invited to a virtual celebration held yesterday. Learn more about Dr. Conaway, Dr. Cranmer and Ms. Easom, and see lists of all of this year’s Employee Service Award recipients, here.
Insights on Early Antibody Treatment
Internal Medicine resident Dr. Lana Abusalem and Infectious Diseases Fellow Dr. Cole Wood presented data from UAMS at the national IDWeek Conference that indicates the optimal time for providing monoclonal antibody infusion (mAb) for COVID-19 patients. The data from the UAMS team, led by Dr. Juan Carlos Rico and Infectious Diseases Fellowship Director Dr. Ryan Dare, showed improved outcomes when mAb was given within the first five days of symptom onset. Their research has gained national attention and was recently highlighted in InfectiousDiseaseAdvisor as a high-impact study. Well done.
WHO Keynote Speaker
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Chief Resident Dr. Tommy Martin did a fantastic job delivering a keynote presentation last week for a World Health Organization panel that is addressing health care misinformation. Dr. Martin presented “Social Media: Maximizing your Message” to health care personnel and scientists from around the world as part of WHO’s Operation Fides. Way to go, Dr. Martin!
Fantastic at FMX
The UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine Residency Program was well represented at the annual FMX (Family Medicine Experience) Conference. The residency’s faculty team – Drs. Shashank Kraleti, Lauren Gibson-Oliver, Diane Jarrett and Beth Schmit – had seven posters accepted for presentation. Third-year resident Dr. Swapna Manyam co-authored two of the posters, and medical students Molly Kyle, Emily Phelps and Erica Dewey coauthored three. The UAMS team’s topics included wellness, peer-evaluation and implementation of longitudinal curricula. FMX is the largest family medicine conference with more than 5,000 physicians, students and American Academy of Family Physicians members participating. The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine also had four posters accepted at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine national conference this year.
Advocating for Student Diversity
A shout-out to Kimberlyn Blann, Associate Director of Admissions & Outreach Programs in the College of Medicine, on her appointment as Co-Chair of the UAMS Underrepresented Student Recruitment, Engagements and Retention Subcommittee. The subcommittee, appointed by Dr. Brian Gittens, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, advocates for UAMS students across the state with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion. Kimberlyn served in the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion prior to joining the Dean’s Office in May. She will bring expertise, energy and a strong commitment to UAMS’ core values in diversity to her work as Co-Chair alongside Dr. Eduardo Ochoa, Associate Professor and Community Pediatrics Section Chief.
Best Practices Publication
Dr. Muhammad Athar, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, coauthored a tutorial on best anesthesia practices for Caesarean Delivery for Anaesthesia Tutorial of the Week (ATOTW). The online continuing medical education resource from the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) is widely used around the globe. Congratulations, Dr. Athar.
Putting Patients First
Finally this week, it is my great pleasure to share an essay by UAMS Northwest faculty member Dr. Sharon Reece that has just been published in JAMA. Dr. Reece serves as the Family Medicine champion for our new three-year primary care scholars M.D. track on our regional campus in Fayetteville. She was recently appointed to be the Family Medicine Clerkship lead in Northwest Arkansas and serves as the regional simulation education expert. Dr. Reece writes eloquently in “Good Enough for Whom?” about the year she spent with an indigenous community in remote northern Canada – and the realizations she came to about herself and what it truly means to put patients first. We are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Reece on our team. You can read her essay here.