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!
The Gift of Serenity
The generosity of our research community and others across the COM and beyond has resulted in an oasis for front-line clinical team members at UAMS – a “Rejuvenation Room” that offers respite from the difficult and stressful work of caring for COVID-19 and other patients. I mentioned last month that the fundraising drive spearheaded by our basic science chairs raised more than $5,000 in the first day. In two short weeks, contributions from the COM reached $12,050, and a $10,000 gift from a private donor brought the total for furnishing the room to $22,050. Learn more about the sights, sounds and amenities of this amazing space, as well as the fundraising effort, in the UAMS Newsroom. So proud of our COM Team!
Another Record Year
The Solid Organ Transplant Program has achieved another record year in terms of volume and, most importantly, some of the best outcomes for kidney and liver transplant patients in the country. Dr. Lyle Burdine, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Solid Organ Transplant Surgical Director, did a fantastic job last week highlighting the program and outcomes for the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. “These results are indicative of the overall care patients receive at UAMS and, as these patients depend on all of the care teams at UAMS for successful outcomes, we greatly appreciate everyone’s efforts in this ongoing endeavor,” Dr. Burdine said. I couldn’t agree more!
National Appointment
Congratulations to Dr. Ahmed Abuabdou, Associate Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine and Associate Chief Medical Officer for UAMS Medical Center, on his election as the next Vice President-Operations for the American College of Physician Advisors (ACPA). His term will start in January. At UAMS, Dr. Abuabdou’s roles include leading the Physician Advisory Program, serving as Physician Champion for the Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) Program, and serving as Editor of the UAMS CDI newsletter Concise is Nice, which provides clinical documentation guidance for faculty, residents and fellows. Dr. Abuabdou is also an active member of the CDI Education Committee for the ACPA.
100% Pass Rate
I am delighted to share another example of the excellence of our residency and fellowship training programs with you this week. This year’s graduates of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, led by Dr. Amy Phillips, had a 100% pass rate on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Qualifying Exam, leading to six straight years of 100% passage. Kudos to Dr. Phillips, and I join with her in thanking all of the outstanding faculty members who made this possible and congratulating the hard-working residents, past and present, who put so much work into preparing for this exam.
Ten for the Team
A team of UAMS cardiologists has published its 10th paper on fractional flow reserve based on data from Arkansas patients. The current paper, “Exhaustion of coronary vasodilatory reserve in the resting state: Clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes after intervention,” was produced by a group including Drs. Srikanth Vallurupalli, Shivkumar Agarwal and Malek Al-Hawwas and led by Dr. Barry Uretsky, Chief of Cardiology at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. “This high quality research has impacted clinical care and is widely cited in national and international practice guidelines,” said lead author and Cardiology Fellowship Director Dr. Vallurupalli. “Additionally, as an educator, it gives me great pleasure that cardiology fellows over the past six years have played a significant role in both research and the writing phase of all 10 of these papers.”
Compassionate Conversation
The terrible toll of COVID-19 and barrage of disinformation about so-called alternative therapies has led to heartbreaking situations for patients and families as well as extremely difficult situations for UAMS team members striving to provide the best possible care. Ethics Consultation Service members Dr. Jamie Watson and Dr. Laura Guidry-Grimes were working with colleagues from multiple disciplines on one such case and were struck by the thoughtful and especially helpful work of Dr. Mitchell Jenkins, Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases. As the Medical Humanities and Bioethics colleagues noted, Dr. Jenkins made a difference through his compassionate conversation with a family member and the careful documentation he shared with others involved. Hats off to Dr. Jenkins, Dr. Watson and Dr. Guidry-Grimes, and to all of our team members working so hard in these difficult circumstances.