UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - April 2, 2024/CLINICAL

Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected]

Table of Contents

Message from the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week – Clinical

Announcements

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Message from the Chair

Diane McKee, MD, MS


Registration is open for department’s retreat on May 16th at 12:15 at the South Street campus in Shrewsbury. You can find the agenda here and register here:  https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0kMgaoIIyXsKDX0.

I hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events


FMCH Grand Rounds - 1st Annual Warren J. Ferguson Visiting Professorship,

Tuesday, April 2nd, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Kiame J. Mahaniah, MD, MBA, presents, "Inspiring Clinicians to Engage with their Community".

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09


Department of Medicine Special Grand Rounds - Howe Lecture

Thursday, April 4th, 12:00 - 1:00pmJennifer Reidy, MD, MS, FAAHPM, presents, '"I'm finally learning how to live with my lung disease:" a patient's story of palliative care and digital medicine.' See flyer for additional information.

https://umassmed.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qsBdErX1SjSiyUobQFnGQA#/registration

Focus of the Week - Clinical

Josephine Fowler, MD, MBA, Vice Chair of Clinical Services


The Eclipse and Health

Don't forget to protect your eyes during the upcoming eclipse. Boston is expecting a nearly total eclipse on April 8th. Although not 100% coverage, the Boston area will likely see about 90% coverage.

Below are some key things to remember.

  • This is the first nearly total eclipse since 2017.
  • The moon is expected to cover the sun for about 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
  • The moon will align perfectly with the sun around midday.
  • Remember staring at the sun during an eclipse can cause blindness.
  • Get the appropriate coverage for your eyes, eclipse glasses, or an appropriate handheld viewer. Make sure these viewers have no scratches.
  • Do not use eclipse glasses or handheld viewers with binoculars, cameras, telescopes, or any other optical device. The concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious injury.


Bird Flu in the US

Remember bird flu? The CDC has identified the second human case of bird flu (H5N1) in the US.

  • The person tested positive for H5N1. The person was exposed to dairy cattle which is a potential source.
  • The individual was treated with Tamiflu and instructed to isolate themselves.
  • The CDC states the risk is low.


Medical Assistant Apprenticeships Coming Soon!

UMass Memorial Health, SHARE and Quinsigamond Community College are partnering to offer an “earn and learn” registered apprenticeship program for caregivers to gain the skills needed to become a Medical Assistant (MA) at an Ambulatory or Community Medical Group location. This paid training program is open to all eligible part- and full-time caregivers. Info sessions start Tuesday, April 9th. Visit our Internal Career Pathways for more information.

Announcements


22nd Annual Primary Care Days will be held Tuesday, April 9th and Wednesday, April 10th, 8:30am - 2:00pm, Beechwood Hotel, 363 Plantation Street, Worcester. Please see flyer for additional information and schedule.

Do you know of a graduating medical student going into Family Medicine who stands out as deserving of the Annual Ann Nemitz Award?

The Ann Nemitz Award is given to a student in the graduating class who emulates many of Ann's values. The spirit of this award emanates from the way Ann Nemitz practiced medicine. Her guiding principle, from which all of her behavior followed, was that it was truly "a privilege to serve" others. She was a passionate activist for family medicine, particularly women's health and family-centered maternity care. Ann proved David Loxterkamp's words true: "First is the knowledge that doctors rise to their best by serving the least of the their patients - the least insured, the least curable, the least attractive, responsible, grateful. The least like us." Please send your response to Mike Ennis at [email protected] 

 

Black Maternal Health Week Event

The Collaborative in Health Equity (a partnership across many parts of UMMH and the UMass Chan Medical School) is hosting an incredible set of events for Black Maternal 

Health Week (April 11-17). We hope you’ll take some time to listen, learn, and engage on this important topic. You can read all about it in the attached program or check out the website: https://www.umassmed.edu/healthequity/collaborative-in-health-equity/

Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Healthcare From The Perspectives of Survivors Symposium

Monday, April 29th, 9:00am-2:30pm, A symposium dedicated to understanding the scope of commercial sexual exploitation, its impact in healthcare, and ways in which we can positively impact these patients. Please contact Stevie Yang, [email protected], Evelyn Semenov, [email protected] or Ivy Mwangi, [email protected] for more information.

Upcoming Meet the Author Event at UMass

May 9, 2024, 5:30pm, Umass Chan Medical School - Lazare Auditorium

Worcester District Medical Society and the Lamar Soutter Library are proud to offer this Meet the Author Event featuring Dr. Sunita Puri. Dr. Sunita Puri is the Program Director of the UMass Chan Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship and Associate Professor of medicine. A graduate of Yale and a Rhodes Scholar, she completed medical school and residency in internal medicine at UCSF and her palliative medicine fellowship at Stanford. She is a contributor to the NY Times, LA Times, and JAMA. She is the author of That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, a critically acclaimed literary memoir examining her journey to the practice of palliative medicine, and her quest to help patients and families redefine what it means to live and die well in the face of a serious illness.


UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center is hosting a Teddy Bear Clinic on

May 18th, 2024. This year’s Teddy Bear Clinic is sure to be an exciting adventure that kids will love. Not only will they get to learn more about the doctor's office but also meet some educational professionals who will help teach them about proper hygiene and healthy habits. If you are interested in hosting a booth, please fill out the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/QhusB1NXCw. Please note, all booth volunteers who are not already UMass Memorial employees will need to be onboarded by our volunteer services group and will need to be pre-registered with UMass Chan to be on site. If you have any questions or would like to talk more about the Teddy Bear Clinic, please feel free to reach out to [email protected]


Recruiting volunteers for the Worcester Free Care Collaborative

Jim Ledwith would like to encourage colleagues to step into a special experience in volunteer medicine. Jim has enjoyed working with the student-run free care programs since 2006, and there are now six programs at varied sites across the community that operate weekly on Monday through Thursday evenings.  The program provides a low-pressure environment in which we can engage with students and patients without concern about coding and RVUs, and the gratefulness of uninsured individuals who need our assistance is incredibly rewarding. Some of the programs are facing a staffing crisis, especially for the next two months. Please consider offering an evening, and if you like it, return every month or two. Just add your name and contact information to this Google Form = https://forms.gle/SSg2zviZsG3KhzT27 and the student coordinators will connect you with a team that fits your availability.

Department Member Recognition


Congratulations to Suzanne Cashman for being the Keynote speaker for the 4th years students’ Capstone Day.


Emma Dudley ’24 was recognized as a Capstone Award winner for her multi-year qualitative research work with Dr. Ekaterina Pivovarova on understanding individuals’ experiences of addiction who were participating in recovery courts.  


Tracy Kedian, the Associate Dean of Admissions at the UMass Chan Medical School was an invited speaker at Northeastern University, Boston College, Boston University and the University of California Davis speaking about the medical school’s practices for promoting diversity in the admissions process, the medical school interview and best practices for writing a medical school application.

Frankly Speaking Podcast


A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367.


Please join us for an overview: This episode explores the use of data from smartphone recordings as a diagnostic tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), highlighting at-home testing as a more accessible, convenient, and appropriate option for some patients. Hear how the evidence can inform your practice and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with OSA. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MPAS, PA-C, presents: "Sleep Lab in Your Pocket: Smartphone Diagnostics for Sleep Apnea" - Frankly Speaking Ep 374.

Wellness Resources


The Caring for the Caregiver Program provides resources such as the Caregiver Support Line (508-334-HELP) and The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers a variety of services and supports (including virtual peer support and wellness tips. EAP can be accessed at 866-263-3525, or www.LiveandWorkWell.com,

[company code: UmassMemorial]. More information is available on the Caring for the Caregiver page.

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban



New members always welcome. 

Please join us at 6:30-7:30am for a gentle awakening yoga session led by the talented

Liz Erban. All are welcome. 

Happy third year anniversary to the yoga class.  

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91343267992?pwd=ZHF3NHVrVlR1MVdMV09HSE5lTzdsQT09

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk Newsletter are available at 

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/ under Resources.