Category: Applause

Marisa Birkmeier and colleagues made two presentations at the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Annual Conference earlier this month in Anaheim, California. The presentations were titled, “Pediatric Clinical Instructor Toolkit: What every clinical instructor can use to build a foundation of teaching and learning for clinical education” and “Describing Excellence in Pediatric Physical Therapy Education.” Birkmeier also successfully renewed her specialist certification as an advanced practitioner in pediatric PT practice as recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists of the American Physical Therapy Association. Birkmeier is with HHFR.

Three faculty members from PA Studies made presentations at the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) 2019 Education Forum held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Susan LeLacheur presented, “Genomics and Precision Medicine - More than Skin Deep.” Tamara Ritsema gave two presentations: “Barriers/Facilitators to Integration of British PAs into Hospital Services” and “A Novel Method to Identify Aberrant Patient Logging.” Karen Wright and LeLacheur presented “Reevaluating Student Evaluations.” LeLacheur is professor, Ritsema is assistant professor, and Wright is assistant dean of student life and academic support, director of the PA Program, and assistant professor in PA Studies.

Congratulations to Howard Straker and Reamer Bushardt for new positions with the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). Straker received a ceremonial gavel at the PAEA 2019 Education Forum Business Meeting earlier this month. He will begin his term as PAEA president in January 2020. Bushardt won election as a director-at-large. His three-year term also starts in January. Lisa Alexander was recognized at the meeting for her leadership and service as immediate past president of PAEA. Straker is assistant professor in PA Studies, director of the PA/MPH Joint Degree Program, and assistant professor of Prevention and Community Health in the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Alexander is professor in PA Studies. PAEA is the only national organization representing PA educational programs. Founded in 1972, PAEA’s mission is leadership, innovation, and excellence in PA education.

Marcia Firmani and co-authors published an article titled, "Colony-stimulating factor-1- and interleukin-34-derived macrophages differ in their susceptibility to Mycobacterium marinum," in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in September. Firmani, Francisco Rentas, Rebecca Jones, Kevin Rhee and a colleague presented a poster titled, "Protein Retention Levels of Fresh Frozen Plasma and Cryoprecipitate Derived from Pathogen Reduced Fresh Whole Blood," at the American Association for Blood Banking (AABB) conference earlier this month. Firmani is chair of BLS, Rentas is an adjunct associate professor in BLS, and Jones and Rhee are recent graduates of the MSHS in Immunohematology Program in BLS.

Kevin O’Connor joined with Reamer Bushardt to lead plenaries and immersive educational sessions for an interdisciplinary conference of primary care professionals, including physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists. The team led sessions on the latest diagnostic approaches, evidence-based treatment, and strategies for population health management in pulmonary medicine, infectious diseases, endocrine disorders, and aging. O’Connor led a lively workshop on managing office emergencies. Bushardt led the group through developing models of care for patients receiving opioid therapy for chronic, nonmalignant pain, which included a 10-step system that addressed: when to initiate or continue opioids for chronic pain; appropriate selection, dosage, duration, monitoring, and discontinuation; assessing risk and addressing opioid-related harm; and best practices for clinical documentation to ensure compliance with state and federal regulatory authorities. O’Connor is senior medical advisor in HS, associate professor of medicine, and director of executive medicine for GW MFA.

Reamer Bushardt and several faculty members attended the Association of Schools of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) conference earlier this month in Charleston, S.C. Bushardt presented two research posters. From the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy at T.C. Williams High School team, he presented “Innovative Public-Private Partnership to Advance Diversity in Health Professions Education and Practice,” first authored by Catherine Golden, associate dean for academic affairs in HS. From the GW HCOP team, he also presented “Academic Success Factors among Health Professions Students from Economically or Educationally Disadvantaged Backgrounds.” Cliff Cymrot presented a poster titled, "An Innovative Summer Program Aimed to Encourage Interest in Health Care with Emphasis in Laboratory Medicine." Yuliya Dobrydneva, Rohini Ganjoo, and Lisa Schwartz made a presentation titled, "Predictors of performance on Medical College Admission test for post baccalaureate pre-medical students: Analysis of educational metrics." Cymrot and Dobrydneva are both assistant professors, Ganjoo is assistant professor and Schwartz is an associate professor, all with BLS. ASAHP is a not-for-profit national professional association for administrators, educators, and others who are concerned with critical issues affecting health professions education. More than 100 academic institutions and four professional associations comprise ASAHP membership, and GW has joined as a new member this year.

The new Kudos program started by the HS Staff Culture and Morale Committee is off and running. The following staff members received one or more certificates of appreciation in August and September: Nurcan Basar, Allison Cannon, Kelly Carr, Linda Cotton, Desmond Edwards, Emma Levine, Alison McGuire, Whitney Milhouse, Miriam Okine Davies, Nahoemi Pablo, Heather Richards, Carmen Session, Janessa Silcox, Melanie Trask, Marsha White, Ernestine Yarborough, and Maggie Zhu. To recognize a staff member for exceptional work, you can submit this form. Basar is clinical placement coordinator and Cannon is lab manager, both with BLS; Carr is program manager with CRL, Cotton is senior instructional technologist with IMPACT, Edwards is program coordinator for records and registration in HS Administration, Levine is academic department administrator with BLS, McGuire is instructional technologist with IMPACT, Milhouse is manager of enrollment and advising services with CRL, Okine Davies is assistant director of admissions and enrollment with HHFR, Pablo is a data analyst in HS Administration, Richards is clinical education specialist with HHFR, Session is assistant director of admissions and enrollment services in HS Administration, Silcox is senior assistant director of admissions and student services in HS Administration, Trask is director of academic programs with CRL, White is program administrator with HHFR, Yarborough is academic department administrator with CRL, and Zhu is a data analyst in HS Administration.

Maranda Ward was selected by the Leadership Center for Excellence to participate in a special pilot program called the DMV Diversity and Inclusion Fellows Institute. She will participate in a series of five-leadership development workshops and graduate as a fellow involved in future classes and programming. Ward was also selected as a scholar for the 2019 Health Equity Leadership Institute (uwheli.com) hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and the University of Maryland School of Public Health. In addition, Ward was selected to participate in the 2019 cohort for the Course Design Institute hosted by GW's University Teaching and Learning Center. Ward is an assistant professor in CRL.

Andy Garrett did his part for the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing celebration on the National Mall in July. Garrett, associate professor and program director for Emergency Health Services in CRL, worked as a field physician at the event with the GW Emergency Medicine Department’s Event Team. Since February, Garrett has worked withthe multi-disciplinary team of providers at major events in the area. Besides the Apollo 11 anniversary event, he’s worked the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Rock and Roll Marathon. Garrett also works with the District's Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and is a federal medical officer with the Maryland-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), which provides support to communities impacted by disasters through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Starting this fall, Garrett will work periodically as an urgent care physician for Children's National Medical Center in the Emergency Department at United Medical Center in D.C. Garrett holds a secondary appointment in Emergency Medicine at GW.