Tag Archives: Graduate Medical Ed.

Long-time Department of Anesthesiology chair, Dr. Eugene Fibuch, retiring in April

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Dr. Eugene Fibuch
Dr. Eugene Fibuch

Eugene Fibuch, M.D., professor and long-time chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology, has announced plans to retire and step from his position as chair in Spring 2014. The department has been fortunate to have his leadership as the Chair since 1997.

He has served as only the second chair in the history of the department, and was the second program director for the residency for 35 years until transitioning that responsibility to Adam Reese, M.D., ’99, earlier this year. Under Fibuch’s leadership, the residency program flourished, graduating more than 125 residents, most of whom remain and practice in this region. Fibuch recruited the first Westport/Missouri Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology, John Wang, M.D. Together, they enhanced the research and scholarship in the department.

His leadership has extended beyond the department to include quality initiatives at Saint Luke’s Hospital and Saint Luke’s Health System. His efforts were instrumental in the recognition of Saint Luke’s Hospital as a Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award winner in 2004.

Most recently, Fibuch participated with the School of Medicine and the UMKC Bloch School for Management in the development of a Physician Leadership Program that is now in its second year.

He served as vice-chair of the Department of Anesthesiology from 1985 to 1997 and was appointed chair of anesthesiology at UMKC in 1997, overseeing a program with faculty and residents at Saint Luke’s Hospital, Truman Medical Centers, and Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Reese took on the role of residency program director last October. Reese completed his anesthesiology residency at UMKC and a neuroanesthesia fellowship at the Mayo Clinic.

The School has formed an eight-member search committee, chaired by Mark Friedell, M.D., professor and chair of surgery, and is currently in the process of developing a list of candidates for a new department chair. The position has both academic leadership responsibilities for the department across the School of Medicine and clinical leadership responsibilities at Saint Luke’s Hospital.

The affiliation agreements between the UMKC School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals of Saint Luke’s Hospital and Truman Medical Center stipulate the process for academic department chair searches. The Anesthesiology Chair is primarily located at Saint Luke’s Hospital, with required residency rotations at Truman Medical Center. Thus the search committee is composed of eight members: three appointees from St. Luke’s Hospital, three from the School of Medicine, and two from Truman Medical Center.

There will be opportunities for faculty members from all affiliates, including Children’s Mercy Hospital, to meet candidates when they interview. A search firm will be engaged for a national search for the next chair of the department.

Dr. Moormeier appointed Department of Medicine chair

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Jill Moormeier, M.D.
Jill Moormeier, M.D.

The School of Medicine and Truman Medical Centers announced the appointment of Jill Moormeier, M.D., professor of medicine, as the new chair of the Department of Medicine. The appointment is effective immediately for a term of up to two years.

Moormeier has served as associate dean for Graduate Medical Education since 2006. She joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1990 and has served as a senior docent and as section chief and fellowship director for hematology and oncology. She has also been vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Medicine and served as the associate director of the Internal Medicine Residency program.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha, Moormeier completed her residency training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and did fellowship training in hematology and oncology at the University of Chicago Medicine Medical Center.

She has held numerous committee positions and offices at the School of Medicine and Truman Medical Centers, having served as a member of the board of directors for the University Physicians Associates and as chair of the UPA finance committee.

Denise Davis returns to SOM as Marjorie Sirridge, M.D., Outstanding Women in Medicine Lecturer

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Denise Davis, M.D., '81, (left) stands with her daughter and Stuart Munro, M.D., chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, after she delivered the Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D., Outstanding Women in Medicine Lectureship on Sept. 19 at the School of Medicine.
Denise Davis, M.D., ’81, (left) stands with her daughter, Aviva, and Stuart Munro, M.D., chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, after she delivered the Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D., Outstanding Women in Medicine Lectureship on Sept. 19 at the School of Medicine.

Denise Davis, M.D., ’81, has spent the past year looking at women physicians’ lives from a unique perspective: the vantage point of their daughters. Davis presented the 2013 Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D., Outstanding Women in Medicine Lectureship on Sept. 19 at the School of Medicine to UMKC faculty, staff and students, as well as other members of the community, about “Pride and Presence: Narratives of Women Physicians and their Daughters.

She has been working on the study, which explores the relationships and feelings between mother physicians and their daughters, for a year after being inspired by her invitation to deliver the lecture and her relationship with her own daughter.

“This lecture on the narratives of women physicians and their daughters was inspired by some of the paradoxes my daughter said she observed in me,” Davis said. “She said when she heard me on the phone with patients I displayed patience … she also tells me that sometimes in communicating with her, I come off as demanding and short-tempered. And yet, not only is my daughter surviving, she’s thriving. This peaked my curiosity.”

Davis, an internist, is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, a member of the core faculty for the Center of Excellence in Primary Care, San Francisco VA Medical Center and a member of the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare. At UCSF, she currently serves as an attending for residents, nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner fellows in ambulatory care.

Along with medical student remediation, Davis is involved in faculty development workshops and teaches topics that range from basic communication skills, including improving doctor-patient communication, obtaining informed consent, working with angry patients and negotiating cultural differences in clinical relationships, to giving effective feedback to learners and coaching learners through remediation. Davis has received the Kaiser Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work with students at UCSF School of Medicine.

She consistently received awards as one of “America’s Top Doctors” and has received many Patients’ Choice Awards during her 20 years in a successful private practice. Consumer Checkbooks rated her as one of the finest physicians in the East Bay and the J magazine readers twice voted her as one of two favorite primary care physicians in the Bay Area.

Communication is a pillar on which her career has been based. Davis has been involved with the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare for 10 years. Through education, research and training, the organization helps caregivers improve the health care setting. Her love of communication led to her interviewing the sample of women physicians and their daughters for the study she presented at the Marjorie Sirridge Lecture.

“Even if this lecture had been cancelled [for any reason], it would have been worth it to me to pursue this journey of listening to other women and their daughters talk about their experiences, their strengths, their joys,” she said. “And some of the women said this interview process has led them to talk more with their daughters about the meaning of their work.”

Davis said she plans to continue interviewing and see what themes continue to emerge. “It would be great to speak with a more diverse group of women and single mothers,” she said. “I also do a lot of work with residents and would like to learn more about young women, what their thoughts are on becoming mothers and what they think would be supportive for them.”

Mary Sirridge, Ph.D., daughter of Marjorie and William Sirridge, M.D., welcomed Davis on behalf of her mother and her other family members.

“My mother has watched Dr. Davis’ career since she graduated over 30 years ago from UMKC with great fondness and great interest,” she said. “Like my mother, Dr. Davis has moved back and forth between being a skilled and caring physician to being someone who’s very involved in passing the baton to the next people in line.”

Davis mentioned her gratefulness for the mentorship she received from Marjorie Sirridge and what it meant to her to come back to the School as the Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D., lecturer.

“It connects me with her nurturing of me and how that made a difference and continues to make a difference in my life, not only as a physician, but also as a mother and as a person.”

Leader in emergency medicine delivers McNabney Lectureship

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Peter Rosen, M.D.
Peter Rosen, M.D.

Peter Rosen, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.E.P., F.A.A.E.M., a senior lecturer on medicine at Harvard School of Medicine and attending emergency physician at Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center took a look back at the evolution of emergency medicine at the UMKC School of Medicine’s W. Kendall McNabney Endowed Lectureship on May 3.

Rosen discussed his career, which began as a general surgeon only to change specialties after suffering two early age heart attacks. He has since become one of the foremost leaders in developing emergency medicine as a specialty.

He has served in numerous leadership positions with the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Board of Emergency Medicine and has received many awards for his role in expanding the emergency medicine as a specialty.

Rosen played a significant role in developing the emergency medicine residency program at Denver Health Medical Center.

A graduate of Washington University School of Medicine, he completed an internship at Chicago Hospitals and Clinics and a residency in emergency medicine at Highland County Hospital in Calif. He has since served as editor in chief of the Journal of Emergency Medicine and other publications and authored many books and articles on emergency medicine.

Rosen currently serves as a visiting professor of medicine at University of Arizona.

This year’s McNabney Lectureship took place as part of the School of Medicine Emergency Medicine Residency program’s 40th anniversary celebration.

Dr. Bernhardt appointed permanent chair of orthopaedic surgery

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Dr. Mark Bernhardt
Dr. Mark Bernhardt

Mark Bernhardt, M.D., interim chairperson of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery since July of 2012, will become the permanent department chair effective June 1, 2013, the School of Medicine and Truman Medical Centers announced.

A member of the Dickson-Diveley Midwest Orthopaedic Clinic since 1990, Bernhardt joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1994 as a clinical associate professor and has served as a clinical professor since 2000.

As department chair, Bernhardt will be ultimately responsible for the School of Medicine’s five-year orthopaedic surgery residency program. Residents receive training through rotations at the area’s leading orthopaedic facilities including Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill, Truman Medical Center Lakewood, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City and the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and completed his residency training in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita/St. Francis Regional Medical Center and Affiliated Hospitals. He completed a fellowship in spine surgery at the Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Hospital.

Bernhardt has been a member of the Board of Directors of St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City since 2007, has served as president of the St. Luke’s medical staff, had membership positions on numerous committees at St. Luke’s, and been a member of the UMKC School of Medicine’s selection council and orthopaedic department research and publication committee.

He has also served as director of the Spine and Deformity Clinic at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, and as associate team physician and spine consultant for the Kansas City Royals professional baseball team, assistant team physician for the Kansas City Blades professional hockey team, and associate team physician for the Kansas City Explorers professional tennis team.

Alumnus presents Dodge Lectureship on its 35th Anniversary

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Michael D. Jensen, M.D., ’79, discusses obesity and the behavior of fatty acids during the 2012 Mark Dodge Lectureship on Dec. 6 at the School of Medicine.

Students, residents, faculty and staff learned about one of the most common and talked about problems in the country today – obesity – and the science behind it during the 35th annual Dr. Mark Dodge Lectureship on Dec. 6 at the School of Medicine.

Michael D. Jensen, M.D., ’79, delivered the lecture after being introduced by Dodge’s daughter, Martha. His talk, titled “How Does Dysfunctional Adipose Tissue Cause the Metabolic Complications of Obesity?” focused on the effects of obesity and the behaviors of fatty acids.

Jensen, who was named a Mayo Distinguished Investigator in 2012, is a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism and Nutrition at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He is also director of the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Medicine Obesity Treatment Research Program and a professor of medicine. After graduating from the UMKC SOM, Jensen completed residencies in internal medicine at Saint Luke’s Hospital and the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and was a W. L. Stevenson Fellow in Clinical Nutrition at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine.

His research includes looking at the effects of upper verses lower body fat and the effect each has on one’s health, visceral health being the most detrimental. “When things start going wrong with fat, things go wrong with all the other tissues,” he said.

Jensen shared his experiences with patients and through research to illustrate the importance of education about obesity.

“Those of us who are normal weight are carrying around roughly three months worth of groceries in our fat, and most of us can regulate that so precisely that we maintain perfect metabolic health,” he said. “But when you start gaining fat in your upper body, you may have six months to a year’s worth of groceries stored in your fat cells and these are getting out at the wrong time.”

IPE Panel focuses on disciplines working together to provide best patient care

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The internal UMKC health sciences panel consisted of (from left to right) Susan Kimble, D.P., P.N. D.P., R.N., A.N.P.-B.C., Pam Overman, Ed.D., Stefanie Ellison, M.D., Jennifer Santee, Pharm.D., and Jolene Lynn, Ph.D(c), R.N.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists collaborate to treat a patient. Doesn’t it make sense for collaboration to be part of their education as well?

That’s the idea behind interprofessional education (IPE), an emerging priority in the education of health care professionals.

“In the workplace, the students we train become part of a medical care team. It makes sense that for the best patient-centered care, health professional students need to begin that training while in School,” said Dean Betty Drees, M.D. “This workshop brings together national experts and internal collaborators, helping the Schools move forward with more IPE collaboration.”

On Tuesday Nov. 27, national leaders in health professional education gathered at the Hospital Hill Campus to discuss progress, challenges and advances in the process of weaving IPE into the fabric of educating future doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists. External panelists included the following:

  • Carol Aschenbrener, M.D., chief medical education officer, Association of American Medical Colleges
  • Lucinda Maine, Ph.D., R.Ph., executive vice president and CEO, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
  • Jane Kirschling, D.N.S., R.N., F.A.A.N., president, American Association of Colleges of Nursing
  • Melissa J. Robinson, M.B.A., (Patient Advocate), president, Black Health Care Coalition
  • Leo Rouse, D.D.S., dean, Howard University College of Dentistry
The external included (from left to right) Melissa J. Robinson, M.B.A., Leo Rouse, D.D.S., Lucinda Maine, Ph.D., R.Ph., Jane Kirschling, D.N.S., R.N., F.A.A.N., and Carol Aschenbrener, M.D.

The panel agreed that bringing health professional schools together to learn has many dimensions, but four critical components: leadership support, managing change, establishing and maintaining trust, and being honest.

“Change happens at the speed of trust,” was the quote by Gary Gunderson that Maine used in describing how quickly IPE is implemented.

However, it was patient advocate, Robinson, who captured the benefit of IPE. “It puts the patient at the center,” she said. “It helps the medical team listen to patients, and keeps the patient first.”

The program also included an internal panel discussion among faculty members from all four UMKC health science schools to discuss how IPE may be implemented here. The panelists included the following:

  • Stefanie Ellison, M.D., associate dean of curriculum, School of Medicine
  • Jolene Lynn, Ph.D(c), R.N., clinical associate professor and BSN program director, School of Nursing
  • Susan J. Kimble, D.P., R.N., A.N.P.-B.C., clinical associate Professor and MSN and DNP program director, UMKC School of Nursing.
  • Pam Overman, Ed.D., professor and associate dean for academic affairs, School of Dentistry.
  • Jennifer Santee, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor, Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administrations, School of Pharmacy.

This panel reported on the collaboration toward IPE experiences at UMKC. They have been meeting quarterly for the past year and attended the IPEC Institute last year where core competencies for interprofessional education were discussed.

“Through our discussions we found some core competencies we had in common. We have looked at what type of experiences we need to formalize in curriculum,” Ellison said. “We believe we need to focus on both extracurricular events and required curriculum for this to be effective,”

The internal panel also acknowledged this was a large task. In order to make progress, they plan to start small with things the schools were already doing, expand those and persist so they could begin implementing IPE experiences at UMKC.

University of Iowa physician delivers annual Goodson Lecture

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Mark Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., professor and director of graduate medical education at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, delivered the 2012 William Goodson Lectureship on Nov. 9 at the UMKC School of Medicine.

Patients deserve the best from their physicians. That means pursing the mastery of good doctoring as a 21st Century physician, said Mark Wilson, M.D., professor and director of graduate medical education at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Wilson spoke to physicians and residents at the 26th annual William Goodson Lectureship on Nov. 9 at the UMKC School of Medicine.

Wilson is a general internist who launched a cross-departmental initiative in chief resident leadership development at the University of Iowa. He also implemented a certificate program in educational leadership for program directors.

Wilson said he believes there are things in the current medical education environment that are impairing the aspirations of resident physicians.

“Many of the messages they get are focused just on competency and not on mastering the pursuit (of excellence) and not on an excitement about pursuing that mastery,” Wilson said.

Wilson serves as chair of the AAMC’s Group on Resident Affairs and is part of the advisory committee to the GME Leadership Development Program. He said that graduate medical education program should have clear educational plans for training resident physicians and that if programs conduct graduate education in the same way as undergraduate medical education, “we’re not allowing the residents the thrill of discovering what they’re passionate about pursuing because we’re giving them prepackaged information.”

Wilson discussed factors that influence a person to pursue a mastery of their profession such as an inner drive and passion for the task at hand. It’s also important, he said, to spend time with true masters of their craft and to have exposure to role models, coaches and mentors.

Mastery requires that knowledge be laced with keen observation and communication skills as well as a curiosity and fascination with the human condition, Wilson said.

Many things, he said, must take place for one to be productive and successful in health care. That includes teamwork and encouragement along the way.

“It’s important that learners know that it is possible to master their pursuit,” Wilson said.

Saint Luke’s, SOM accredited to offer advanced heart failure, cardiac transplant fellowship

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Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, in affiliation with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, has received accreditation in advanced heart failure/transplant cardiology by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The accreditation puts the Heart Institute in an elite group of just 24 out of 180 cardiology training programs across the country accredited to offer advanced medical training in heart failure and transplant to its cardiology fellows. It is the only accredited program of its kind in the region.

The initial accreditation is effective through July 2015. The hospital can now begin accepting applications from cardiologists who have completed three years of fellowship training at an ACGME approved program. Trainees in the 12-month program will learn to manage heart failure patients by determining whether they would be best served through medications, a heart transplant, or implantation of a mechanical ventricular assist device, using established and leading-edge treatment options.

The program is important to the community because it builds on Saint Luke’s national reputation in heart failure and cardiac transplantation, according to Anthony Magalski, M.D., medical director of the heart failure program at Saint Luke’s. “With the added prestige of this accreditation, we expect to recruit from among the best and brightest in the country for this opportunity. This will not only improve the quality of cardiology care, but will give us the opportunity to retain these future leaders in Kansas City, enhancing the quality of heart failure care for our entire region.”

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. It is one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions for people age 65 and over, but isn’t limited to seniors.

Saint Luke’s heart failure and transplant program works in concert with cardiothoracic surgeons, who operate the only adult heart transplant program in the Kansas City area, receiving referrals from cardiologists across the region. Heart failure specialists assess patients and determine whether they would be best served by medications, a heart transplant, or implantation of a mechanical ventricular assist device. The heart failure physicians and heart surgeons co-manage patients following surgery.

The program includes full-time research nurses; early-stage heart failure management; a cardiopulmonary exercise lab dedicated to evaluation of patient therapy, exercise tolerance and diet modification; and ongoing education on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of heart failure to health care providers and the community. Saint Luke’s offers the region’s only team of physicians who have attained board certification in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology from the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Care is provided at Saint Luke’s Hospital’s Wornall Road campus near the Country Club Plaza and other Saint Luke’s hospitals in the region.

Radiology faculty members receive RSNA education award

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Melissa Rosado de Christenson, M.D., F.A.C.R., (left) professor of radiology and chief of thoracic imaging at Saint Luke’s Hospital, and Jorge Vidal, M.D., UMKC radiology residency alumnus and clinical assistant professor

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) honored Melissa Rosado de Christenson, M.D., F.A.C.R., professor of radiology and chief of thoracic imaging at Saint Luke’s Hospital, and Jorge Vidal, M.D., UMKC radiology residency alumnus and volunteer clinical assistant professor, as 2012 Honored Educator Award recipients. Vidal is also an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico.

The annual RSNA Honored Education Award, which began in 2011, recognizes RSNA members who have delivered highest quality education in their field. Rosado de Christenson and Vidal were two of only 44 recipients from across the country for the 2012 award.

To be eligible for the award, RSNA members may participate in qualifying educational activities, such as the following:

  • Serving as faculty at one or more of RSNA’s educational meetings
  • Authoring an education exhibit, Quality Storyboard and/or Cases of the Day track for the RSNA Annual Meeting
  • Authoring educational articles in RSNA premier journals, Radiology and RadioGraphics
  • Authoring online education materials, including online modules or original SAMs, and/or creating CME questions in support of repurposed for online SAMs
  • Donating a refresher course and writing CME questions for online learning

Candidates must also participate in at least two educational categories, and may not earn credit for more than two activities in any given category. Based on the number of qualifying activities completed, the most eligible RSNA members are presented with the Honored Educator award in recognition of their contributions.