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Breaking News - The UNLV School of Medicine has been awarded a Governor's GME Task Force grant of $521,301 to establish a new fellowship program in forensic psychiatry. This will be the first fellowship of its kind in Nevada. F orensic psychiatry is a special branch of psychiatry that deals with the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offenders in prisons and jails, where there are few resources for their care or treatment. This one-year long program will train two forensic psychiatry fellows per year.
Making the Rounds with Founding Dean Dr. Barbara Atkinson
 Issue 200 - June 25, 2019
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

For the UNLV School of Medicine, summer can be a busy time of year. Many of our students are embarking upon research projects or shadowing physicians in the hospitals and clinics. Our graduate medical education staff is busy with the inflow and outflow of resident physicians. The new residents, who come to us from medical schools all over the country, are now moving to town to be indoctrinated on the procedures at our teaching hospitals. Meanwhile, there’s another group of residents, who have just completed their 3 to 6 year residencies with us, and are now graduating to fellowship training or private practice. Saying goodbye to these residents is always a happy/sad moment. They have all worked incredibly hard -- and now they are about to spread their wings and fly. To mark their graduation from residency, each department organizes its own ceremony. I hope you enjoy reading about the residents and the important role they play in helping UNLV transform healthcare in Southern Nevada. 
Barbara signature, first name only
UNLV SCHOOL OF MEDICINE WELCOMES 107 NEW RESIDENT PHYSICIANS
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Dr. Kate Martin welcomes the newest class of resident physicians during intern orientation June 18th at UNLV.
Speaking to a room filled with more than a 100 new residents during UNLV School of Medicine intern orientation last week, Dr. Jeffrey Murawsky, Chief Medical Officer for Sunrise Hospital, did something unusual. He stood before the group and gave out his personal cell phone number. Then he repeated it several times slowly, so everyone had time to enter the digits into their phones. Murawsky explained: “Save that number, because once you immerse yourself in your residencies, there will come a time, maybe in the middle of the night, or on a weekend, when you need some help or direction. It’s going to happen, and when it does, you can call me.”

Dr. Murawsky’s reason for giving out his personal cell phone number was simple. “Starting any new job can be a little scary, and especially for a job like this. These young doctors are very bright and extremely well qualified, but they know from day one that the stakes are high, there’s no room for error, so we need to be there for them if they need us.”

Murawksy was referring to the 107 new residents who will begin working in the UNLV School of Medicine’s partner institutions, including University Medical Center, Sunrise Hospital, and VA Southern Nevada Health Care System beginning July 1st.

Many of the young doctors are moving here from different parts of the country after graduating from medical schools including USC’s Keck School of Medicine, UConn, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and the University of New Mexico. The latest class of residents also includes several graduates from UNR and Touro University Nevada.  

For these new residents, the road to Las Vegas hasn’t been easy. Securing a residency spot at the UNLV School of Medicine is a highly competitive process. For example, Internal Medicine received 3,700 applications for 26 slots, and OB/GYN received 530 applications for just six open positions.

“Members of the incoming class of residents are daring, different and diverse,” says UNLV School of Medicine Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Dr. Kate Martin. “ This group of individuals comes from near and far, but with one goal in mind, to become the very best physicians they can be -- and they’ll do so while serving our community, hopefully to remain here much longer afterward, as many physicians tend to practice where they train.”

Thanks to funding from the Governor’s GME Task Force grants, a resident’s lounge is being created. It will be a place where the young doctors can unwind, complete with gaming consoles, televisions, computers and comfortable couches. There will also be an exercise room outfitted with treadmills and various exercise equipment for the resident’s use. 
“Our graduating residents are extremely well prepared for the next step in their careers. The future looks bright, we can’t thank the graduating residents enough for their contributions and we look forward to welcoming our next class.” 
-- Dr. James Alexander, Chair OB/GYN
Cycle of Life

Meanwhile, graduation ceremonies are being held this month for 79 UNLV School of Medicine residents who have completed three to six years of residency training. During their time together, the long hours and grueling schedule often creates a tight bond between the young doctors and their faculty physician mentors -- so it can be hard to say goodbye.

Those emotions were evident during OB/GYN’s graduation at the Red Rock Country Club. Assistant professor Dr. Lawrence Shaw used his special brand of humor to poke fun at graduating chief resident Dr. Hillary Allen. Then he recounted how Dr. Allen grew into one of the best, most committed residents he’s ever encountered. 

Each of the graduating residents talked about their time together, describing the unique friendships formed, how they relied on each other for support and encouragement - and through happy tears, how they would pick each other up whenever one became discouraged. All three talked about how important it was for them to occasionally get away from work and have some fun, taking hikes in nearby Red Rock Canyon to clear their minds.

They also praised their residency program director, Dr. David Jackson for his compassion and consistent support. The residents described how they would call Dr. Jackson in the middle of the night with a question, and he would not only provide a thorough explanation over the phone, but would show up the next morning with several pages of text on the subject.  

OB/GYN’s evening graduation ended on a high note when the department chair, Dr. James Alexander provided an upbeat overview of the entire department, saying “our graduating residents are extremely well prepared for the next step in their careers. The future looks bright, we can’t thank the graduating residents enough for their contributions and we look forward to welcoming our next class of residents.” 
IN THE NEWS  
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Birth Spacing Research - UNLV School of Medicine & March of Dimes


FOX5 TV


Dr. James Alexander


June 25, 2019


MEDICINE BY THE NUMBERS


58,229 Applicants

32,194 Positions


A total of 58,229 applications were received for 32,194 positions offered in the 2019
Main Residency Match



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