Archived News and Events - 2009
Stroke Symposium Presents Guidelines, Emergent Treatments
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
Brain and Spine Institute and
UT Graduate School of Medicine
Present
Second Annual Stroke Symposium:
Continuum of Care: Impacting Management, Improving Outcomes
October 22, 2009
7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
UT Conference Center, Knoxville
The Second Annual Stroke Symposium, Continuum of Care: Impacting Management, Improving Outcomes, October 22, 2009, UT Conference Center, will present information for healthcare professionals practicing in emergency medicine, family medicine and internal medicine, as well as pharmacists, advanced care nurses, staff nurses, therapists and other professionals who work to prevent and treat stroke. Presented by the University of Tennessee Medical Center Brain and Spine Institute and UT Graduate School of Medicine, the symposium will offer seven CME credits through AMA, AAPA, ACPE and TPTA as well as CEUs.
Stroke is the third leading cause of mortality in Tennessee, yet stroke patients’ care differs across the state. The Tennessee Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Plan outlines objectives to prevent stroke, improve access to care and emergent treatment, and ensure that all Tennesseans diagnosed with stroke receive aggressive treatment to prevent mortality and associated complications or disabilities.
The Second Annual Stroke Symposium will provide education to improve the healthcare provider’s knowledge of these guidelines, which is critical to improving outcomes for these patients. Participants will learn about evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of stroke; interventional management of cerebral aneurysms; strategies for primary and secondary prevention of stroke; post-stroke rehabilitation priorities and innovations; evaluation and triage of patient problems; and drug therapies for stroke patients.
Information will be presented by experts in the field, including Todd Crocco, MD, Chair and Fellowship Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, West Virginia University; James Groce, III, PharmD, CACP, Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Campbell University School of Pharmacy, North Carolina; and Corley Roberts, MHS, Director, Quality Improvement Initiatives, American Heart Association, Tennessee.
This CME symposium is directed by John Beuerlein, MD, Medical Director of Knoxville Inpatient Physicians and University of Tennessee Medical Center Primary Stroke Program. Register by October 16, 2009, at www.tennessee.edu/cme/Stroke2009. For more information, contact Communications and Outreach at 305-9190 or CME@utmck.edu.
Posted: June 30, 2009
Family Medicine Adds AOA Accreditation
Family Medicine has earned accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association for six of its 24 resident positions. These accredited positions will be available to two new residents each year. This will allow Family Medicine to provide residents the training they need to become board-certified practitioners of osteopathic medicine, including training in osteopathic manipulation treatment. Doctors of osteopathic medicine use conventional methods of diagnosis and treatment but are also trained in manipulation and work toward disease and injury prevention. The Family Medicine program has been training physicians with both medical (MD) and osteopathic (DO) degrees since 1974. For more information, contact Amy Keenum, PharmD, DO, at 305-9352.
Posted: June 30, 2009
UT Professor Lorraine Wallace Named Fulbright Scholar
Lorraine Wallace, PhD, Education/Research Director, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and conduct research at Moldova State University College of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chisinau, Moldova, located between Romania and the Ukraine. She will participate in the program August 2009-January 2010.
Wallace will teach undergraduate and graduate students subjects including Writing for Publication in English, Epidemiology and Health-related Statistics. She will also help the university develop curriculum for its newly established School of Public Health and assist in establishing a national health-related tracking system.
Wallace is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program this year.
“The medical system in Moldova is very different from ours in the U.S.,” said Wallace. “I’m looking forward to teaching and learning from these students and learning more about worldwide healthcare, which I’m certain I will be able to apply to improve my everyday work.”
The Fulbright program, America’s flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since its founding in 1946, the program has provided more than 286,000 people the opportunity to observe political, economic, educational and cultural institutions, to exchange ideas and to embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants. The program operates in more than 155 countries.
Recipients of the Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievements, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 12 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner University Health System Inc., form the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.
Posted: June 30, 2009
Surgery Presents and Wins at ACOS
Physicians in Surgery attended and presented at the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons meeting at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Pikeville, Tenn.
Mike Tummers, MD, Resident, won the Tennessee Chapter Committee on Trauma Basic Science Competition for his presentation, "Linear Relationship of Force to Injury in a Blunt Aortic Injury Model." He will present at the Regional Competition in November. Co-authors included Daniel Alterman, MD, Justin Baba, PhD, Michael Ericson, PhD, Gary Alley, PhD, and Brian Daley, MD.
LaMar Mack, MD, Resident, won second place in the Adkins/Morgan Resident Paper Competition for his paper titled, "Initiation of a Vascular Surgical Carotid Artery Stenting Program." Scott Stevens, MD, co-authored.
Click here for a list of all presentations made at the Tennessee Chapter of ACOS meeting.
Posted: June 29, 2009
Bradshaw Secures Second in Poster Competition
Jonathan Bradshaw, DDS, Resident, Dentistry, placed second for his poster, "Amelogenesis Imperfecta: Using Snap on Smile to Enhance Facial Esthetics of an Adolescent Male," at the 21st Annual Meeting on Special Care Dentistry in Baltimore, Md. O. Lee Wilson, DMD, Associate Professor and Program Director, Dentistry, and Murray Marks, PhD, Associate Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/Division of General Dentistry and Pathology, advised and contributed.
Posted: June 29, 2009
Goldman Honored for Dedication
Mitchell Goldman, MD, Chair, Professor, Surgery, was honored last month by the Kidney Foundation of East Tennessee for his dedication to the treatment of kidney disease and organ transplantation. The inaugural Henry H. Dent, Jr. Founder's Award was presented to Goldman on May 15 during the foundation's spring gala. For more than 30 years, Goldman trained at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at Harvard Medical School under Dr. Joseph Murray, the Nobel Prize winner in the field of transplant surgery. In 1985, Goldman performed the first kidney transplant at UT Memorial Hospital and Research Center (predecessor to University of Tennessee Medical Center). He has been at the UT Graduate School of Medicine for 24 years.
Posted: June 26, 2009
FBI Trains with Marks
 Samantha Evans, MD, (left) digs with a fellow classmate to unearth the remains in a clandestine grave. |
Murray Marks, PhD, Associate Professor in Pathology, Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, led the 10th Annual Human Remains Recovery School at the UT Forensic Anthropology Center, commonly referred to as the "Body Farm," May 11-15. Forty-five Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that lead the Evidence Response Teams participated in the week-long class to learn discovery and excavation techniques for clandestine graves. The course included sessions on forensic archaeology, anthropology, entomology and dentistry.
Pathology residents Ashley Zezulak, MD, and Samantha Evans, MD, also participated in the course. In addition to Dr. Marks, faculty included his former students and international scholars from Germany, Australia, Canada and Italy.
The UT Forensic Anthropology Center is the only place in the country with this type of hands-on training. To date, the Human Remains Recovery School has trained 450 FBI agents from across the country.
Posted: June 26, 2009
UT Physicians First in State to Perform Tumor Ablation Using Microwave
Two physicians at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine were the first in Tennessee to perform procedures to ablate liver tumors using microwave ablation technology.
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Keith Gray, M.D. |
Keith D. Gray, M.D., Assistant Professor, Surgery, and Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, recently performed open hepatic (liver) microwave ablation, and J. Mark McKinney, M.D., Chair, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, performed percutaneous hepatic microwave ablation.
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J. Mark McKinney, M.D. |
Microwave (MW) ablation, a relatively new hepatic ablation technique in the U.S., uses probe-directed microwave energy to ablate tumors. MW ablation uses targeted microwave energy to agitate water molecules in cells causing high frictional heat—up to 150 degrees Celsius, thus killing the cells in the tumor. In short, the technology kills the cancerous cells by boiling them.
“In surgery, this technique offers the advantages of killing tumors situated close to blood vessels and ablating larger tumors,” said Gray. He emphasizes that MW ablation does not replace surgical resection, but the procedure can be used as an adjunct to surgery and with patients who are not good surgical candidates.
MW ablation also can be performed as a minimally invasive procedure. In the percutaneous procedure, McKinney used a needle as the probe and imaging technology for guidance. “Percutaneous microwave ablation is ideal for patients with few, small cancerous lesions and who are not candidates for surgery,” said McKinney. Patients who have been treated with percutaneous MW ablation have minimal recovery time.
Hepatic MW ablation expands the options available for patients with primary and metastatic liver tumors. It can be used for palliative (disease control) or for curative (removal of tumors) treatment. Currently the procedure is used for treating tumors in solid organs including kidney and liver, and use in other organs is being investigated.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 12 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner University Health System Inc., form the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.
Posted: June 25, 2009
Physicians Receive FLS Certification
Faculty and resident physicians successfully completed the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) exam, offered for the first time at the UT Graduate School of Medicine in the Medical Simulation Center. FLS certification is a new requirement for the American Board of Surgery for general surgery residents graduating in 2010 and thereafter.
Completing the exam were
UT Graduate School of Medicine Faculty:
Brian Daley, MD, Professor, Division of Trauma/Critical Care, and Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency Program
H. Sperry Nelson, MD, Professor and Chief, Division of General Surgery
James Lewis, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology
General Surgery Residents:
Dustin Smith, MD
Cynthia Talley, MD
John Milligan, MD
Sabina Siddiqui, MD
Christy Lawson, MD
Fernando Aycinena, MD
OB/GYN Resident:
Kelli Luttrell, DO
"FLS simulates laparoscopic skills needed in the operating room and alleviates anxiety of learning these skill sets in the operating theater. FLS is a critical tool for early learning and helps build the confidence of surgeons at all levels," said Dr. Lewis.
FLS is designed to teach the physiology, fundamental knowledge and technical skills required in basic laparoscopic surgery. The cognitive section of the two-part proctored exam assesses the understanding and application of the basic fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery, emphasizing clinical judgment and intra-operative decision making. The manual skills section intends to reflect the hand-eye coordination and psychomotor skills unique to laparoscopic surgical maneuvers. FLS permits learning and practice in a completely safe environment, taking the learning out of the operating room and into the lab, minimizing patient risk.
Posted: June 24, 2009
Sim Center Receives New Aorta
The UT Graduate School of Medicine Medical Simulation Center opened its doors to new learners and received a unique payoff.
After a year of preparation, Medical Simulation Center staff received an arm, leg and an aorta developed by seniors in the UT Knoxville (UTK) Biomedical Engineering Department, who are part of a program called the Capstone Experience. This two-semester course gives students experience in solving real-world engineering problems.
Last year, Simulation Center staff met with sponsors from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the UTK engineering department to present a list of anatomical models that would benefit Graduate School of Medicine physicians in training. These needs included an open abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery model, a venous and arterial injection model, and a blood vessel suturing model. The models would need to be anatomically correct and functional, including veins and arteries with "blood" pumping through them and proper tissue characteristics. Most importantly, the models needed to be inexpensive and reusable.
Half of the students participating in the Capstone Experience, with help from ORNL, chose to work with the Simulation Center to develop the requested models as part of their final projects. The teams were successful in their efforts to create realistic, inexpensive, maintainable models and materials that will enhance physician training in the Simulation Center.
After a successful inaugural year, the Simulation Center plans to continue its new partnership with ORNL and the engineering department. Staff hope to create a multi-disciplinary graduate certificate program in Medical Simulation. For more information regarding this program, contact Melinda Klar at 305-9227.
Posted: June 22, 2009
Cox Named TSA President-Elect
W. Eric Cox, MD, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, was selected as president-elect for the Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists. He will also serve as the American Society of Anesthesiologists delegate.
Posted: June 22, 2009
Dougherty Hoods Dr. Licata
John Dougherty, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine, hooded Charles A. Licata, who received his doctorate of philosophy in Comparative & Experimental Medicine.
Dr. Licata's thesis dissertation was entitled "Psychometric Development of an Instrument for the Diagnosis and Assessment of Anosagnosia in Alzheimer's Disease."
Photo submitted by Shannon K. Campbell.
Posted: June 17, 2009
Neff Retires after 17-Year Tenure
John Neff, MD, Program Director of the Pathology Residency Training Program and past Chair of Pathology from 1992–2002, will retire June 30. Pathology, the Graduate School of Medicine and University of Tennessee Medical Center have all benefitted greatly from his energy, enthusiasm and leadership over the past 17 years.
Lisa Duncan, MD, the current Associate Program Director, will assume the duties and title of Program Director upon Dr. Neff's retirement.
Posted: June 17, 2009
Welcome Board of Visitors
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UT Graduate School of Medicine Board of Visitors (from left): Doug Kennedy; Eddie Jessup; Bruce Hartmann; Anne McKinney; Sam Anderson; Dr. Joe Johnson; Dale Keasling; Deborah Diddle; Mackenzie Hay, MD; Joe Rainey, DDS; David Moon; Mike Edwards; Frank Rothermel; and Leonard Hines, MD. Not pictured: Bert Bertelkamp, Jr.; Randal Dabbs, MD |
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine has formed a Board of Visitors whose mission is to advise the Dean and to assist the Dean in strategic planning, the development and implementation of short- and long-term goals, community outreach and service, and the garnering of financial support for education, research and clinical care. The members of the Board of Visitors were selected based on their expertise, interests in medical education and research, and ability to help the Graduate School of Medicine accomplish its mission.
The initial meeting of the Board of Visitors was held June 3 under the direction of the Chairman, Dr. Joe Johnson, President Emeritus, University of Tennessee. The inaugural Board of Visitors are
| Dr. Joe Johnson, Chair | Mike Edwards | Doug Kennedy |
| Sam Anderson | Bruce Hartmann | Anne McKinney |
| Bert Bertelkamp, Jr. | Leonard Hines, MD | David Moon |
| Randal Dabbs, MD | Eddie Jessup | Joe Rainey, DDS |
| Deborah Diddle | Dale Keasling | Frank Rothermel |
Posted: June 16, 2009
Headshots to Be Taken July 1
Faculty and staff are invited to update their headshots July 1 from 8:00-9:30 a.m. or 10:00-11:00 a.m. Headshots will be taken in the Graduate Medical and Dental Education Conference Room, third floor, UT Graduate School of Medicine. Photographs will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants should wear dark, solid colors and white medical lab coat, if available. For more information, contact Communications and Outreach at 305-9190.
Posted: June 16, 2009
Sick Leave Bank Open Enrollment
UT Graduate School of Medicine employees have the opportunity to enroll in the University Health System, Inc. Sick Leave Bank during open enrollment now through June 30. To see if you meet eligibility requirements and for more information regarding participation, visit University of Tennessee Medical Center's employee intranet site, Insite. To enroll, complete the "Sick Leave Bank Enrollment Request, Hospital Leased" form, and submit it to UHS Human Resources, Box 36, no later than June 30.
Current bank members do not need to re-enroll, and they will not be assessed additional hours during the 2009 enrollment period.
After June 30, the next opportunity to join the Sick Leave Bank will be Spring 2010. For more information, contact Betty Gissel or Linda Wheeler.
Posted: June 16, 2009
The Scope E-Newsletter June 2009
Meet the inaugural University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Board of Visitors in the June issue of The Scope, and learn about the high honors received by our faculty.
Posted: June 15, 2009
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine
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