All posts by Niloofar Shahmohammadi

Town Hall Questions 4/18/22

Your questions highlight student needs and allow us the opportunity to assist you, so keep them coming.

Questions (these two are similar): 

Is it possible to get unit printers? The library isn’t able to print necessary documents from powerchart and does not open early enough for certain rotations. We have also been told by nurses we are not allowed to use the computers in the hospitals to print because they are meant for nursing. Thank you! 

Can we have printers in all units for equity?  The library is not open early enough for some rotations (doro, surgery) and personal printers are expensive.  Printing in the hospital is difficult, for example one printer is only printing on prescription paper. 

Answer:

Thank you for sharing these questions!  My apologies that it took two weeks to answer these questions, but they generated a robust discussion about how we best create this service for you all.  Student affairs has contacted the IT department for the school and requested that student printers be placed in accessible areas in the medical school for your use at any time.  The IT department has been very responsive, and is working on obtaining printers for installation as soon as they can get them.

Question:

Can we replace the filter for the water bottle filler on 3rd floor SOM by the MSA room please? It’s been in the “red zone” since January. Thank you!

Answer:

The facilities department wants a replacement filter just like the rest of us!  The filters are on backorder – and have been so since January, when the request for a new one was submitted.   We checked for an update this week and learned that the filters have not yet arrived.  Our need is on the list, so we’ll get one installed as soon as they arrive. 

Announcement:

This is from Dr. Rogers, Dr. Jones, Dr. Walker, and Dean Jackson, who want to remind the Year 6 students that you must finish your educational endeavors in order to graduate.  That seems obvious, but the distraction of preparing for internship, completing licensure paperwork, and planning for July seems to interfere with someone’s educational requirements each year, putting their graduation in jeopardy.  You must complete all degree requirements to graduate.  That means attending ambulatory clinic until May 12, attending your clinical rotation, completing your coursework, etc.  Student affairs and curriculum are here to help you if you have any questions or conflicts.  Let’s finish strong! 

Gold Humanism Honor Society Induction Class of 2022

The UMKC chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society recently selected the induction class of 2022. All nominees were stellar candidates, and it was truly difficult to select an induction class from such an impressive group of individuals. We congratulate all nominees and a formal celebration and induction ceremony was held on Thursday, February 24th, 2022.

Student Inductees

Anum Ahmed

Mozammil Alam

Anissa Bernardez

Imaima Casubhoy

Ryan Deutsch

Erin Galakatos

Susriya Gangireddy

Jordan Grimmett

Jordan Held

Brandeline Jungels

Sahithi Katragadda

Shreya Majagi

Francesca Moisson

Steven Obiefuna

Siddharth Ramesh

Supriya Reddy

Nina Russell

Shil Shah

Som Singh

Rachel Wright

Carolyn Yoakum

 

Resident Inductees

Dr. Mohamed Ahmed (Internal Medicine, PGY-2)

Dr. Allen Ghareeb (OB-GYN, PGY-3)

Dr. Elizabeth Dempsey (OB-GYN, PGY-4)

Dr. Rachel Oldfather (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, PGY-1)

Dr. Sara Anderson (Psychiatry, PGY-3)

Dr. Ronald Palmen (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, PGY-2)

 

Faculty Inductees

Dr. Angela Barnett (Community and Family Medicine)

Dr. Stephanie Ellison (Emergency Medicine)

Dr. Sara Gardner (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics)

Dr. Srikala Subramanian (Emergency Medicine)

Town Hall Q&A 2/14/22

Question:

I was wondering when we will learn more information about match day in regards to how many family members will be allowed to be there and if it will be in person and where?

Answer:

What a perfectly timed question!  Student affairs staff met with the Year 6 class officers on Feb 9 to discuss Match Day, so we now have lots of information to share.  Look for an email next week with lots of detailed information, but here is a brief summary:

Match Day is planned to be an in-person event.  Of course, we’ll follow University and City guidelines if things should change on March 18, but we are planning to be in-person.  The event will be held at Swinney Recreational Center beginning at 10am.  Due to the venue size, there is no limit on guest numbers.  Year 6 students are excused from clinical responsibilities on March 18, so plan to arrive at Swinney by 10am for your class photo at 1015.  We are super excited to be back in-person to celebrate!

Town Hall Q&A 2-7-22

For the medical school graduation, is there a limit to the number of guests the graduates can bring? Will graduation be streamed for people who can’t make the ceremony in person?

Is there a limit to the number of guests we can bring for the hooding ceremony?

Will the hooding ceremony be live streamed?

 

Answer:

Before I answer the question, I want to remind all senior students that your class officers are involved in planning the SOM event.  Please share your thoughts and suggestions with them.

Here is a summary answer for you, and more information will be shared as it becomes available:

 

Graduation Celebration Events:

  • UMKC School of Medicine Achievement Ceremony at the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts Helzberg Hall.
    • Friday, May 13, 2022: 3pm – 5pm.
      • The venue requires the event to be ticketed. To ensure fair opportunity for graduates and their guests, we anticipate a limit of 8 tickets per graduate (graduates will not need a ticket)
      • This event is School of Medicine specific. With the feedback from your class representatives, this event is intended to be a student-centered celebration of all of your accomplishments!
        • This event will include traditional aspects of graduation weekend such as:
          • Hooding (as applicable)
          • Senior award acknowledgement
          • Recognition of membership (AOA, Gold Humanism, etc)
          • Recognition of residency destination or future plans
          • Title of dissertation
  • UMKC University-wide Commencement ceremony at Kauffman Stadium. “Commencement at the K”
    • Sunday, May 15th, 2022: 10am.
      • This event is being organized by Special Events on Volker campus. This is the official UMKC commencement ceremony.
      • At this time, I don’t anticipate a limit to the number of guests.

The plan is for both events to be live-streamed

Town Hall Q&A 1/31/2022

Question: 

Could we please have more elaboration on the difference between May 13 SOM graduation celebration and the May 14/15 school-wide commencement? Which event will include hooding by docents, which event will include our names called/walking across stage, which event do we recite the Oath, and which date do we legally become physicians (i.e. on diploma)?

Answer:

  • The May 13 School of Medicine celebration event will include events specific to our medical school, including reciting the Oath of Physicians and being hooded.  At the event, you will be recognized and walk across the stage.
  • The University commencement ceremony will occur on May 15.  Student names will be read and you will walk across the stage.  The University ceremony is the official commencement ceremony, and your degree is conferred at this event so your diploma date will read May 15.

 

 

Roo Pantry Updates 12/20/21

We are now a year old!   We opened on November 11, 2020 and so far we have distributed for the months of August-September:

Food Given to HSD Satellite Pantry from Main Stock  
Month Pounds
August 1254.2
September 1445.9
October 1569.5

We believe the amount will go up for November and December.   We serve all UMKC health science students on the UMKC Health Science campus and that is over 2000 students.  We are also serving UMKC Hospital Hill Apartments which is an additional 160 students.

In March of 2021, we added a refrigerator and in October a freezer was donated by Dr. Paula Monaghan-Nichols so we can now stock frozen, healthy foods.  As a result of increased use, we have doubled our order of milk, almond milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, and frozen beef, turkey and pizzas for the freezer.   The Health Science District Community Garden on 22nd and Gilham also distributed nearly 400 pounds of fresh kale, tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, peppers and sweet potatoes through the months of May-November.   We also purchase and stock feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, sanitizer wipes, masks, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

We function entirely on volunteers to pick up food and stock items so that our budget goes entirely to serving student food security.

 

Town Hall Q&A 12/13/2021

Question:

Why are we still taking our NBME Shelf exams on Zoom?

(As all students in clinic are vaccinated and are comfortable wearing masks, I am confused why everything is back to person except for the high stakes NBME exams. The practice of using Zoom is tiring and makes the exams often an hour longer to get everyone checked in and many people run into technical difficulties. The stress of Zoom NBME exams is unnecessary, and I am wondering why there are still no options to take these exams in person.)

Answer: 

Thank you for the question.  There is a lot of items to consider when changing the testing process, and the curriculum, testing and student affairs offices need a bit more time to answer your question.  Stay tuned, and we’ll have an answer for you as soon as we can.  In the meantime, if you have any problems with the testing technology, please contact Mr Francisco Linares, the testing and services assistant.  He has a lot of knowledge in assisting students and has been very successful in problem-solving with them.

Town Hall Q&A 12-6-21

Question:  
Can we host the match in person somewhere more socially distanced than theatre A, B, and C?
Answer:   The student affairs planning persons (Betsy and Brent) will meet with the year 6 class officers in January to begin planning the Match Day event, so please be certain to communicate your thoughts with your class officers.   We wish to plan an in-person event that is safe, can accommodate students, families and friends, and that meets the city/county requirements that may be in place in March.  We look forward to working together to plan a fabulous, celebratory event.
Question:  
What is the date of graduation?
Answer: 
The SOM is planning a celebration event in May, and the contract for the day and location is currently being vetted.  As soon as it is signed, which I predict will be within 2 weeks, we’ll share the details with students, staff, and faculty.   The University has not yet finalized the date of the May commencement ceremony, so continue to watch your email for that announcement.
 
Question:

Can the SOM install an ice machine? I think it’d really increase the quality of life for our students.

Answer:
Thanks for submitting this suggestion.  We’ve forwarded your request to the University director of facilities, and he is investigating options on how to accommodate your request.  We like ice too and look forward to having a machine!

Town Hall Q&A 11/16/2021

Question:

How does the updated Kansas City mask mandate reflect at UMKC SOM and at TMC/UH?

Answer:

The short answer is that masks continue to be strongly encouraged but are not required at the medical school.  The hospital setting is completely different – TMC/UH has a mask requirement due to the clinical environment, so you must continue to wear a mask while in the hospital/clinic setting.  The same is true for all of our clinical affiliate sites.

On November 5, Chancellor Agrawal and Provost Lundgren sent the following message which pertains to the School of Medicine building and all buildings on the UMKC campus:

To Our Campus Community:

We are updating our UMKC masking policy effective today. The Kansas City mask mandate will continue but will only apply to K-12 students, ages 18 and younger. That means masks are recommended but no longer required on the UMKC campus, as outlined by the University of Missouri System Board of Curators.

In keeping with CDC recommendations, UMKC officials request that all individuals wear masks in indoor spaces – especially when social distancing is not possible. Protecting the health and safety of our campus community continues to be a top priority as we continue to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks will still be required in certain clinical spaces, including the School of Dentistry building, Student Health and Wellness and Community Counseling and Assessment Services.

We appreciate the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in regards to COVID safety that have kept our campus Coronavirus case counts very low.

Although this changes previous guidance on masking, all other COVID-related protocols remain in place, such as notifying the university about an exposure, symptoms or positive results and following isolation/quarantine procedures.

We continue to urge vaccination for all members of our community as our single best defense against COVID-19. To get vaccinated, we offer:

• An ongoing series of on-campus free vaccination clinics for students, faculty and staff. Clinics will be offered at the Student Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 9, Nov. 23 and Dec. 7. As an incentive, we are offering a $25 gift card to every student, faculty or staff member who receives a vaccine at these clinics. Each person vaccinated at one of the upcoming clinics also will be automatically entered in a drawing to win one of several $200 and $500 gift cards.

• Free vaccinations by appointment through our partners at University Health/Truman Medical Centers. Register online or call (816) 404-CARE (2273) and press option 1.

We must each do our part to ensure that we can continue to offer in-person teaching, learning and community service. Please remember to stay home when you are sick, get tested if you have COVID symptoms, follow quarantine guidance and report positive cases to the university.

In this together,

C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
Chancellor

Jenny Lundgren, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Town Hall Q&A 11/8/2021

Question:

The policy for excused absences only allows 4 days off during an elective rotation. For students in the middle of interview season, this is difficult to follow and I was wondering if there is an exception for interview season? 

Answer:

Council on Evaluation policy states that students cannot be absent for more than 4 days during a one block elective and still receive credit for the rotation. The Council on Curriculum encourages students to work with their electives to schedule days off; any excused absences during elective blocks are approved at the discretion of the elective evaluator. It is up to the elective to set a students’ schedule and determine if flexibility is possible while still meeting the rotation objectives and expectations.