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In this Issue:
- Governor's Welcome
- Save the Date:
- Congratulations to our new Fellows (FACP)!
- College News:
- Clinical Corner:
CDR Mark P Tschanz, DO, FACP, ACP Governor
Governor's Welcome
Welcome to the Winter 2021 Newsletter! I hope this letter finds you well and vaccinated! We have moved from 2020 into 2021 with more deployments, packed hospitals and ICUs, and endless questions about vaccines. It is tremendously exciting to be part of the vaccine roll-out, and I have enjoyed being challenged by my patients with ever more technical questions about the vaccine efficacy and mechanisms.
In the lifecycle of Navy Internal Medicine, this is also an exciting time with the GMESB results fresh off the printer and the detailing process in full swing. Discussions abound about the creation of new operational IM billets, the new “operational medical officer” (OMO), and plans for straight-through residency training.
All of this change has me thinking about education. How can the Navy Internist be prepared for the future (operation, MTF, leadership, etc)? It comes down to education, continuing education, and practice. Hopefully the Navy Chapter can help!
The National ACP meeting will be virtual this spring. While we will miss seeing everyone at this great meeting, it does provide the opportunity for many who could not travel (yes – I am thinking of you in Guam!) to attend the meeting. If you have never been to an IM meeting before – now is the time to see what it is all about! World-class faculty speaking on the latest science and practice recommendations. Tons of CME and MOC for those of you eyeing re-certification. All of the content will be available online if you are registered, so you can watch on your own timeline.
I expect the Tri-Service meeting will also be virtual this year in September. While I cannot wait to return to an in-person meeting, it seems foolhardy to plan to gather all military Internists in a ballroom in 7 short months. This meeting will again be directed at the military Internist – to ensure we all maintain the skills we need to complete our challenging and every changing missions.
Please reach out to me if you have ideas of how the Navy Chapter of the ACP can meet your needs!
Very Respectfully,
Mark
CDR Mark P. Tschanz DO, MACM, FACP
Governor, Navy Chapter, American College of Physicians.
Save the Date:
2021 Tri-service ACP Scientific Meeting: Expected to be virtual
September 8-10, 2021
Pre-courses on September 7, 2021
If you are interested in participating in the planning of the meeting, please email me now! With a virtual meeting, you can participate from anywhere!
Call for awards and abstracts will be forthcoming (April 2021), so start collecting cases now! Medical students, residents, fellows, and Early Career Physicians (ECPs) – please make note of the timeline. Navy Chapter had fewer submissions from fellows and ECPs, and fewer QI and research publications. Time to start planning now!
Congratulations to our new Fellows (FACP)!
Laura Barrett MD, FACP
Debra Buckland Coffey MD, FACP
Brett Chamberlin MD, FACP
Ashley Fang DO, FACP
Amy Frankston MD, FACP
Benjamin Kurth MD, FACP
Alison Lane MD, FACP
Thomas Mellor DO, FACP
Hyun Park MD, PhD, FACP
Michael Powers MD, FACP
Interested in Fellowship (FACP)?
Please check out the ACP webpage for more information about fellowship. Fellowship in the College is an honor. Being an FACP® is a distinction earned from colleagues who recognize your accomplishments and achievements over and above the practice of medicine. The most important considerations for ACP Fellowship are excellence and contributions made to both medicine and to the broader community in which the internist lives and practices.
The basic requirements to apply for fellowship are board certification, licensure, clinical practice for 3 years out of residency, and being a dues paying member for the previous 3 years. In addition, additional requirements include other professional activities – teaching, community service, leadership, scholarship, etc. Please contact me if you have any questions about how to achieve fellowship after reviewing the link above.
College News:
Webinar: Career Narrative Storytelling Panel Discussion
Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. ET
Learn from the journeys and wisdom of Doris Browne, MD, MPH; Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM, FASN, FACP; and Ryan D. Mire, MD, FACP; as they share the story of their careers; professional challenges and triumphs; and pivotal moments that shaped their careers.
Webinar: Understanding and Recognizing Microaggressions
Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. ET
In this free 1-hour webinar, Aarati Didwania, MD, MSCI, FACP, reviews how microaggressions manifest in the health care environment, explores the outcomes associated with the experience of microaggressions, and explores techniques to minimize the occurrence of microaggressions and minimize the effects of repeated exposure.
Leadership Opportunity: Women's Wellness through Equity and Leadership (WEL) Project: Call for Applications for ACP Cohort Participants
**QUICK DEADLINE** Very exciting opportunity!
The Women's Wellness through Equity and Leadership project (WEL) is a collaborative effort between 10 leading US medical associations. ACP is currently recruiting the next WEL cohort and are seeking a diverse group of early- to mid-career women physicians who will engage in networking, mentorship, and training around leadership, equity, and wellness. WEL is funded by The Physicians Foundation and will foster the development of the next wave of women physician leaders to build a healthier, more equitable work experience.
This WEL cohort will include members from the 10 WEL partner organizations: the ACP, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Medical Women's Association (AMWA), American Psychiatric Association (APA), National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), and National Medical Association (NMA).
This is a competitive process, as each of the 10 organizations is recruiting five candidates for participation. The information below is to assist with applying for one of the five ACP WEL cohort positions. ACP is seeking a diverse group of candidates with strong potential who are willing to commit to the project activities.
ACP is seeking candidates who:
- Have an interest in training and professional growth around wellness, equity, and/or leadership
- Can commit to an 18-month curriculum including:
- Virtual kick-off meeting April 15-16, 2021
- Three additional 2-day virtual meetings
- Monthly webinars
- Mentoring, networking, and evaluation activities
ACP is viewing diversity in the broadest sense, including but not limited to personal characteristics (e.g., age, racial/ethnic diversity, parenting status, military status) and workplace characteristics (e.g., primary care pediatricians/subspecialists, practitioners/academics, work located in urban/rural settings).
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this second iteration of WEL will be 100% virtual.
This is a remarkable opportunity to work with early- and mid-career women physicians from 10 organizations across medicine. Some of the inaugural WEL cohort members are featured here.
To apply to be part of the ACP WEL cohort, please complete the application. Please note that all applicants must be ACP members within the first 20 years of practice.
ACP cohort applications are due February 23, 2021.
Leadership Opportunity: Call for Fall 2021 BOG Resolutions:
Do you ever wonder how the College decides where to focus policy and advocacy efforts? This is through a resolutions process from the Members, through the Governors, to the Board of Governors and then the Board of Regents. What is a resolution? A resolution is a proposal that asks the ACP to take a position and/or an action. Any ACP member can submit a resolution to his or her ACP Governor for consideration by the local chapter council.
If you think ACP can or should be working to advocate or create policy in a certain area, you can ask that this happen! Please call or email me for more information, and we can talk through your thoughts. Many recent ACP policy statements have been the end result of resolutions, and it is a way YOU can have an impact on the practice of medicine!
For the next cycle, March 26th is the deadline for members to submit resolutions to me, for consideration at the Fall 2021 BOG meeting.
Please reach out to me if you have any interest or ideas. ACP is your professional organization, and this is how you can shape the direction of the organization.
Associate Opportunity:
On May 14 - 15, 2021, ACP will be holding a virtual event for ACP Medical Student and Resident/Fellow Members titled, ACP Future IM Meeting.
ACP is looking for participants to speak at a Story Slam on the theme: lessons learned from the pandemic as a trainee.
Medical students and residents/fellows must be ACP members, but they do not need to be registered or be “present” during the story slam on May 15. Applicants need only submit their information and a URL to their 5-minute story. If selected, the stories will be edited together with the other chosen submissions for the hour-long story slam.
If you have not attended the Story Slam at past meetings, you have missed out! This is a great opportunity for our resident and medical student members who have been in the thick of the pandemic response for the past year to share their stories.
Deadline to apply is Friday, March 19, 2021. Let me know if you have any trouble submitting!
Clinical Corner:
What has been published recently that your residents know before you???
Mostly COVID-related this newsletter. With vaccine roll-out, new therapeutics, and COVID patients filling our wards, I recommend you check out these resources.
Obesity:
Wilding J, et al. “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity.” Published online at nejm.org on February 10, 2021. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183?query=featured_home
This article will certainly stimulate a ton of discussion, and I expect will change practice for some physicians. It is a double-blind trial with 1961 adults with BMI of 30 or greater without diabetes randomized to receive semaglutide or placebo. The change in body weight from baseline to week 68 was −15.3 kg in the semaglutide group as compared with −2.6 kg in the placebo group (estimated treatment difference, −12.7 kg; 95% CI, −13.7 to −11.7). Wow! Big numbers – both in the number of study participants and the weight loss. Don't forget to include life-style modifications too, as this was included in the study!
Vaccines:
Connors M, Graham BS, Lane HC, Fauci AS. “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines: Much Accomplished, Much to Learn.” Published online at Annals.org on January 21, 2021. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-0111
This is a great place to start to understand the vaccines. It provides a summary of the vaccines available, and details some of the challenges we have ahead as we work to vaccinate the population. You might recognize the senior author…
For those who prefer podcasts, I recommend Annals On Call:
December 15, 2020: Annals On Call - A Primer on COVID-19 Vaccines
January 19, 2021: Annals On Call - Vaccine Hesitancy: Choosing Our Battles
Or check-out this podcast y CAPT (ret) John Kelso from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. It has a ton of basic information that you may recommend for your patients, as well as more technical information as well as some common questions. Well worth your listen!
Treatment:
Beigel JH, et al. Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 - Final Report. N Engl J Med. 2020 Nov 5;383(19):1813-1826. https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2007764?articleTools=true
The remdesivir trial was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November, if you missed it. It demonstrated a shorter time to recovery in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to placebo. Hopefully you have reviewed the article if this is in your practice!