July 2011

My Kind of Medicine: Real Lives of Practicing Internists: Whitney Jackson, MD (ACP Associate Member)

Dr. Whitney Jackson's journey to her residency in internal medicine at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital began in Canada. She was born in the providence of Manitoba and moved to New Jersey at the age of three.

Internal Medicine Interest Group of the Month: Keck School of Medicine of USC

This year the theme of the Internal Medicine Interest Group (IMIG) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has been collaboration. Forging new ties with our campus Primary Care Community Medicine Student Coalition (PCCMSC) and the Southern California ACP Chapter Council of Student Members has provided us with many fresh ideas and the manpower to put them into action.

Ask the Program Director: Your Osteopathic Questions Answered

How can an osteopathic medical student increase their chances of getting into an allopathic program?

Winning Abstracts from the 2011 Medical Student Abstract Competition: A Matter of Life and Breath: A Rare Case of Pulmonary Hypertension

A 40-year-old African American female presented to the emergency department with complaints of worsening chronic dyspnea over the previous week. Her past medical history was significant for dermatomyositis and PH diagnosed with echocardiogram, which demonstrated right ventricular systolic pressures of 40 mmHg.

Advocacy Update: Applications being accepted for 2012 ACP Health Policy Internship Program

This Internship represents a unique opportunity for one Associate and one Medical Student Member to develop legislative knowledge and advocacy skills by working directly with the College's Washington, D.C., staff and participating in ACP's annual Leadership Day.

Subspecialty Careers: Rheumatology

From the Greek word rheuma, "that which flows as a river or stream." In ancient medical writings, "rheuma" was used to describe any thin discharge from a body surface or orifice. This term was eventually applied to an infection of the joints, presumably because an effusion of the joint space marks the various forms of arthritis.

In the Clinic: Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease affecting approximately 0.5% of the population. Rheumatoid arthritis is more common in women and may occur at any age, with peak incidence at ages 50 to 60 years. The most prominent feature is symmetrical joint swelling of the feet, hands, and knees, although any joint (and some internal organs) may be affected.

More

In the Clinic is a monthly feature in Annals of Internal Medicine that focuses on practical management of patients with common clinical conditions. It offers evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions about screening, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and patient education and provides physicians with tools to improve the quality of care. Many internal medicine clerkship directors recommend this series of articles for students on the internal medicine ambulatory rotation.

Highlighted Articles from ACP Internist®

Tread lightly: Discussing obesity difficult for internists
Physicians are ill-equipped to dicuss obesity with their patients, a problem created by a lack of training in medical school, no clear guidelines on what screening should consist of, and a lack of confidence that patients would act on such counseling. But done properly, such discussions help twice as many patients lose weight.

Promoting literacy to increase adherence
Roughly 80 million Americans navigate health care's complexities with limited health literacy skills. Learn easy steps that help patients understand what they need to do, without formal literacy screening or potentially embarrassing questions.

Highlighted Articles from ACP Hospitalist®

Reducing unnecessary testing
Physicians urged to consider "what's needed" instead of "what's possible"

Life at Grady: No Sleep Till Brooklyn
The date was February 1st, 1994-my first day in the medical ICU at NYU/Bellevue Hospital. Normally I would've been a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed intern, ready to get cracking. The problem, however, was that I was tired, like really tired. The night before I'd been on call finishing my month on the medical wards and rolled into bed at 3 a.m. Dragging myself in, I was hoping to suck it up, push through the day and start fresh tomorrow.