Congratulations

Memo
To: Faculty and Residents in the Department of Medicine

From: Mark A. Levine, M.D.
Associate Chairman for Education and
Residency Program Director
Department of Medicine


I am delighted to announce that the following second year residents have been selected to the position of Chief Medical Resident for the 2010-2011 academic year:

Zechariah Gardner
Mia Hockett

Both of these outstanding residents completed their medical training here at the University of Vermont. Please join me in offering congratulations and best wishes to them.

ROMA-Resident of the Month Award

Resident of the Month: For ownership and going above and beyond expectations

Fred Rydz, MD, FROMA:

–He went home post call, kept his pager on, and when a family member called him to discuss code status and goals of care for their elderly relative he talked with them and then CAME BACK IN to talk with the patient again and tidy up loose ends.
–He then came to Board review

Award given: Organic Cafeteria Vouchers for hormone free edibles worth 20 USD. AKA stimulus package.

note: FROMAGE = Fellow of the Resident of the Month Award

Congrats Fred.

Dont forget to nominate residents for next month

MH

NEJM

UVM Medicine is not all about green mountains and maple syrup. The April 9th 2009 New England Journal of Medicine printed an original article titled, "Efficacy of Esomeprazole for Treatment of Poorly Controlled Asthma". This research and article was by The American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers. UVM's Northern New England Consortium (previously known as Vermont Lung Center at the Universith of Vermont) is proud to be one of the Clinical Research Centers.

Our very own attendings - Drs. Charlie Irvin, Anne Dixon and David Kaminsky - are the co principal investigaters for UVM.  They are one of many academicians amongst our green mountains.  If you have any questions after reading the article, I'm sure they would love to answer them. Just give them a call or talk to them when you see them walking the floors.

Match Day

Paula Borah (pictured above) danced a jig and welcomed in our new interns. It was close enough to Paddy's Day, where she downed some water of life and read out the list. Unfortunately, she called every male Joseph and every female Mary. Either way, here is the real list:

Welcome incoming interns:

Anish Amin, U of Dundee, United Kingdom. home of Sir James Black (Nobel prize in Medicine), seated in the "City of Discovery"
Anne Bantle, U of Minnesota , home of the Golden Gophers
Jason Brazelton, U of South Alabama, home of the Jaguars
Dan Collins, U of Utah, home of the Utes
Scott Davis, U of Vermont, home of the Catamounts
Alison Fitzgerald, U of Vermont, home of the Catamounts
Emily Glick, U of Vermont, home of the Catamounts
Carl Henderson, UMDNJ, home of ?? - perhaps strip malls or the Camden Riversharks (you'll have to clarify this when you get here Carl)
Laura McGevna, U of Vermont, home of the Catamounts
Brian Monroe, U of Illinois, not home of Chief Illiniwek
Elizabeth Nimmich, U of South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks
Mitchell Nimmich, U of South Carolina, who's motto is "Learning humanizes"
Glencora Pontee, Ben Gurion U, home of...David Ben Gurion (Israel's 1st prime minister)
William Prabhu, SUNY Upstate, home of the motto "Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched"
Mathew Prall, U of Utah, home of the Utes
Nathan Rosenberg, U of Vermont, home of the Catamounts
Jadwiga Stanek, Jagiellonski U, home of Copernicus
Kirk Wangensteen, U of Minnesota, home of the Golden Gopher

Some remain Catamounts, others become Catamounts, "What's Missing?"

Now we're "all one" (shameless references to Fletcher Allen's newest advertising campaigns)

Paula can't wait to meet you.

Return of the Peros

Jim Peros, UVM IM resident alum - class of 2007, surprised us with an impromtu visit. It was nice to see a familiar face and someone who helped shape this middle manager's residency education.

He is currently working as a hospitalist at the:

Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center. Click to see his Jim's KP homepage and a description of his hospital.

Jim describes a large part of his community to be an immigrant Filipino population.

His fav procedure is the thoracentesis.

His schedule consists of 10 to 12 weeks blocks, in which he works an average of 40 hours per week / 10-12 weeks. This includes:

• 6 weeks of inpatient rounding/discharging


• 2 weeks of solely admitting inpatients


• 4 weekends are worked during the 10-12 week block


• 1 week of working nights - where he triages in the ER (ICU vs general wards), crosscovers inpatients


• 2 weeks off

When asked how he felt about the "real world" after residency, he reported feeling:

"Well prepared and comfortable to deal with any crazy situation...I've encountered a lot of crazy situations"

Hope you're well Jim.

You down with ACP?

Oct 24th was our local Vermont Chapter American College of Physicians meeting (ACP) in Stowe, VT at the Von Trapp Family Lodge (yes they're real - click the link to determine if Maria looks like Julie Andrews). The hills were alive with the sound of poster and oral presentations. There were a total of 8 accepted Resident Poster Clinical Vignettes, 2 Resident Oral Presentations, and 3 Medical Student Posters. Our hard working residents were given time off their respective services to flex their academic prowess. Congratulations to our two winners (pictured below) :

Resident Poster winner: Nathaniel Price (Can I get a 3-peat?)

Resident Oral Presentation winner: Mia Hockett

Resident Participants: Chad Mitchell, Phil Skidd, Nate Thompson, Nick Lim, Alison Jaquith, Emily Anderson, Ellie Mueller, Natalie Sinclair

Nathaniel and Mia will be representing UVM at the National ACP meeting in Philadelphia at the end of the year. However, one could argue, that everyone was a winner: they all witnessed Attending /Assistant Program Director Mark Pasanen sporting a tie and sports coat for the first time in their known residency career ( he is also pictured above introspecting on the "Rock of Maria"in the background of foliage).

(Mia giving a thumbs up and Nathaniel giving the "why are you taking my picture again" pose)

Gina had the glasses before Palin

One of our wonderful Clerkship / Residency Coordinator Gina Sears recently sported the "Sara Palin look". When asked why she was celebrating Halloween early, she responded with "I can't see Russia from my office, but I can see students and residents rushin' to get to meetings". As she helps us stay coordinated, she states

"I had this look before Palin even thought about being Mayor..I think it should
be called Gina Sears look..."

Gina is one of the people, along with Paula Borah and Dottie Shelc that keep our residency running and residents happy. She always ends her emails with a happy face. Next time you rush past her office, slow down and say hello. Whatever you do, dont call it the Sara Palin look. (Note that all quotes were not actually made by Gina, though she approves). Also, FYI, Gina is holding a grass roots campaign. Click Here

Salmonella Sleuth

Former resident (2007 graduate) Elizabeth Russo is working at the CDC. She was featured in a USA Today article about the CDC's work in the recent salmonella outbreak. Various varieties of hot peppers were implicated in the national outbreak.

Procedure Mavens

[Scene]: F473, 0745 - Morning Report
Nate Thompson and Nick Kuhn stroll in s/p Night ICU and Cards Call. They appear frantic, calm and giddy at the same time

Nate Thompson: "I'm Robin"

Nick Kuhn: "No...I'm Robin, you clearly are not the Boy wonder and could not pull off the tights, ergo... I'm Robin"

Cindy Dion: [talking out loud to herself] "Shouldn't one of them want to be Batman?"

Nate Thompson: "Robin is really operator dependant....Vanc/Zosyn"

The MICU and CCU are undergoing the onslaught of the Kuhn and Thompson show - two peas in a pod who are happy to resuscitate you, starting with any sort of line. Note them casually throwing the international sign for "A-line" in the picture above not caring about the consequences. They drive-by through the unit, heads cocked to the right, with their jam -"What is Love" by Haddaway - knockin. (Click on the link if you want background music)

Their ears tingle over their stuttering laughter when they sense someones grandma is hypotensive. They stop writing orders and pounce on that MAP of 40.

"Their Line-dar is quite amazing..really" says MICU nurse Mario.

"I'm bout to pop a Sub-Cla' in that young jeezy" says the Dartmouth Grad while he applies chlorhexidine with appropriate sterile technique. The bro from Colorado belows out a "Yayo!" when he sees the flash.

Post CXR check, Kuhn pretends to be interviewed by a reporter from a respectable periodical, and sputters, "I know the charge nurse sweats my ACLS skills, but I don't want to be a role model". Meanwhile Nate has forgotten that he was supposed to be playing Connie Chung (from the 80's - not present day). He quickly returns to reality and says "Maury Po Po has got nothin on you"

It's nice seeing such enthusiasm in the unit. Please note that when the lights came on at 0630 in M4, both respectable residents are seen writing "4 amps of Calcium gluconate", apologizing to Merrill about looking into his eyes when addressing his Intensive Nursing requests...They then check on their sick patients and do the "walk of shame" to F473 for free coffee, planning for the next drive by..."Baby don't hurt me...".

Brad McAdams had a farm....E.I, E.I, O?

Brad Adams- Full-time third year resident & life-time home-on-the ranger complies with the 80 hour work week rule at the hospital while satisfying the hospital's voracious appetite for free range stuff. Brad can supply anyone who's fiending for fresh farm eggs and fresh poultry. His customers state that the yolks are easier to cook with and brighter (meaning more nutrients according to Rachel Ray). Brad also has supplied fellow residents and FAHC employees with fantastic thanksgiving turkey. Some of Brad's eggs are green shelled, which are from his Araucana chickens ( also known as a South American Rumpless Chicken) which is the same kind of bird that Martha Stewart raises. With the combo of his Green Eggs and Martha Stewart's love of ham, some would call Brad the perfect combination of Dr. Seuss and Martha. Other "one with the Earth" stuff Brad does is Bee keep. If you have any questions on parallels between Residents and Drone bees, Brad is your man. If he wasn't busy enough, our resident farmer is soon to become a Heme/Onc fellow and the unofficial FAHC PETA representative. He is also working on fighting Salmonella with chemo. When you ask Brad anything, his answer usually is "Cant Chemo cure that?" If you want good eggs, ask Brad...unless you're vegan....then don't call Brad...

Morning Report Sign in List

As a middle manager monkey, I mean extraordinaire...I have the important job of recording who attends our educational conference into an excel spreadsheet. Recently, to my delight, everyone signed in with their "wrestling name" (i.e.: what they would be called when they become a professional wrestler). Below, verbatim, are the "wrestling names" from the Morning Report sign in sheet. In reality, one witty resident created these great nicknames, probably during a really interesting debate of "Should we check a D-Dimer?".

Curt "The Dream" Weaver, Cindy "Lou who" Dion, Alison "Jakey" Jaquith, Zech-attack Gardner, Plank the Tank, Nathaniel "Giggles" Price, Capt'n Mitchell, Sarah "the Panther" Panzer, Tristan "the fire" Blackburn, Matt Coates AKA "El Diablo", Nat - Cat - Sinclair, Mean Dean Chapman, Kuhn Dawg, Nate "Scrub" Thompson, Lady Sadie Mills, Princess Ellie.

David Babbott Internal Medicine Resident Library AKA "ResiLounge" Gets a face lift

David Babbott, Professor of Medicine, served as Director of the Office of Education of the Department of Medicine (1975-1992). Our Resident Library/Lounge was named in honor of his career, accomplishment, and dedication to medical eduation in 1993. Since that time, the lounge has experienced many changes - some good and some bad - but has always been the epicenter for the I. M. Resident community. Recently, the lounge experience a much needed overhall after years of good use and good spills. New paint, fridge, shelving (holding many books written by UVM attendings), and donated couches (Sahir Patel MD and Mike Kelley MD). Special thanks to Aaron Fay, facilities manager who helped coordinate the endeavor.

R2's Retreat...

Earlier this week the new second years got the day off hospital work and had a forced opportunity to bond at their annual retreat at the Inn at Essex. They lamented about their R1 year and were forced to eat pastries, lunch and more baked goods (surprisingly not prepared by Suzanne). Note the picture of Matt, Dean and Tristan completely engaged in their pamphlets detailing their "How do we synergize and survive this arctic crash D&D style?" Unfortunately this picture was not posed - its actually real. Other topics bridged were Dr. Ramundo's workshop on feedback/evaluation. After explaining to Mooney of County Limerick that "feedback" was not a farming term, the group left no comments and rated the talk "average" which really means "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" because the group is so awesome at baseline. Keep on truckin R2 year. Hope the day was at least mildly entertaining.

FAHC lunch BBQ

Zech Gardner piles on barbequed meat onto his plate post Cards overnight call. He anticipates an extra ordinary post prandial slumber where he will dream about running codes and waltzing with the ICU nurses.
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Resident library gets refurbished, kinda

So the facilities folks are working away on the lounge. Planned jobs are re-painting, re carpeting, adding shelving...If you see the folks working on it, pass along a "hey....how you doing?" in the least creepy way possible (that means you Thompson)...Planned refurb done by end of week.

R2 D2

Shep 4 aka "3rd world ICU"

R2 Tristan Blackburn is having "great fun" on Day 2 on Heme Onc. As she nervously laughs and fidgets with her HISPROD discharge summary she stated that she could not understand why anyone would'nt want to be a new R2.

"Why be an intern when you can have your patient load and responsibility double?"

Tristan already loves being here longer and feeling like she has to make all the decisions on patients that she may or may not have seen.

"I feel more loved, you know?" as she casually took a fake drag from her MRSA filled Non-DrugRep BIC pen..."I mean look behind me...in the 30 seconds of talking to you, there are 4 nurses waiting to see me. They look nervous...It must be because they think I'm famous and want my autograph...I'm just so blessed to be here and so happy I gave up my American Idol try out for this."

Tristan is quite the generous resident and plans on sharing her joy and educational experiences with Sukit "So Sweet" Ringwala - new R1.

"Soon he'll [Sukit] be as happy as I am...I'm just so glad we can experience this together".

(This article is now approved by Tristan)

Pierre moves to M5

P Zizzy, our frenchy resident grad now new Cards fellow forgot his old lab coat in the lounge. Note his trusty stethescope, "Gizelle", also left behind...I guess cardiologists don't need them anymore. Here at Fletcher Allen, we can cath you.
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Last Wards Day: 3rd years say holla....

Above, Nadia Bambace, Jaina Clough and Maruf Haider left the wards in all their glory for the last time as residents. They leave in their wake memories of C.diff, alternating temperatures, and phone calls asking about patients on non teaching services.... Nadia gives the thumbs up, but secretly wanted to give another gesture...(note: message not approved by Nadia Bambace). Congratulations to the 3rd year class, now officially graduated: Nadia Bambace, Jaina Clough, Paul Crainich, Shine Gentler, David Gruenberg, Maruf Haider, Nate Madsen, Jenny Martino, Suzanne Schermerhorn and last but not least Pierre Znojkiewicz....

Twins?

Attending Mark Pasanen and Resident Nathaniel Price exchange fashion advice. They look happy, but when they separated each remarked, "can you believe he wore that tonight?"Don't they look excited to be working all night?

This picture was brought to you by Nick "you cant away my freedom" Lim

Moving on

Paul "smooth as silk" Slavik rides himself into the sunset. We'll miss his ties and lamentations on d dimers. His ability to tell it how it is (some have compared him to Dr.Dre or Gordon Lightfoot) and manage effectively will be left behind as he enters the lavish lazy pimp'd out lifestyle as an internal med attending/Hospitalist here at FAHC. He looks fwd to talking to the other side of the lake and accepting multiple class 4 transfers as he telephones his orders in while accepting ortho admissions... Good luck. Oye oye:the chief has left the building. This mesage was sponsored by novartis.... Just kidding.....the interweb is free folks... Ride or die Paul...
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