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Internal Medicine Interest Group of the Month: University of Pennsylvania

The William Pepper Internal Medicine Society at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine was founded in 1886. Our Society is named for Dr. William Pepper, who as Provost of the University from 1881-1894, enhanced Penn's research capabilities by increasing faculty and class sizes, added more than 40 acres and twenty new buildings to the campus, and was a strong supporter of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Our mission is to enhance the interest in the practice of internal medicine by fostering educational and research opportunities for medical students through interactions with the Department of Medicine.

The backbone of our Society is our yearly internal medicine dinner speaker series. We invite physicians from different specialties and subspecialties, backgrounds, and locations to have open dialogues with medical students. These talks are always well attended and spark great discussions. Recent topics have included Interventionalism, Women in Internal Medicine, and Work-Life Balance. New topics for the 2008-09 year will include Primary Care, Global Health Opportunities in Internal Medicine, and Veterans’ Health.

Last year, the Pepper Society began an exciting partnership with the American College of Physicians Pennsylvania Chapter to introduce more Penn medical students to the opportunities available in internal medicine. In November 2007, a dinner was held at a Philadelphia restaurant where 60 students and more than 15 internal medicine physicians from all over the Philadelphia area were able to meet and talk about training, career planning, and life as an internal medicine doctor. We followed up this groundbreaking event with a spring happy hour, offering more opportunities to mingle with practicing internists. We look forward to working with Charles Cutler, MD, FACP, the ACP Southeastern Pennsylvania Region Governor, and John Derrickson, the ACP Pennsylvania Chapter Executive Director, to plan more successful events this coming year.

This year, the Pepper Society is becoming involved with several new and exciting projects, including a partnership with the United Church of Christ Volunteer Clinic in West Philadelphia, to improve the patient services offered and enhance the teaching and mentoring of medical students. We will hold the first annual Internal Medicine Specialty Fair in Spring 2009 to introduce first and second year medical students to the various internal medicine specialties and subspecialties. Finally, in April 2009, we will sponsor a “Preparation for Internal Medicine Internship,” with the goal of teaching, reviewing, and practicing procedures in the simulation lab that are commonly done during internal medicine residency.

Our co-presidents are Rebecca Adler, MS4; Amy Imawaye, MS4; and Greg Peterfreund, MS2. Our faculty advisor, Jennifer Kogan, MD, FACP, and our group coordinator, Ann Marie Hunt, are instrumental in helping us plan successful events. We look forward to an exciting new academic year!

Rebecca Adler
Co-President, William Pepper Internal Medicine Society
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Class of 2009
Email: adlers@mail.med.upenn.edu

Back to October 2008 Issue of IMpact

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