June 2011

My Kind of Medicine: Real Lives of Practicing Internists: Barry J. Wu, MD, FACP

Growing up, Dr. Barry J. Wu was first inspired to become a physician by looking at the plaques in his eye doctor's office. Dr. William C. Caccamise was involved in several medical missions and the various plaques on his office walls inspired Dr. Wu's future decision to pursue medicine. They also inspired him to participate in medical mission trips. Dr. Caccamise showed that being a doctor was a not a job but a calling to educate and serve others. Dr. Wu's decision to follow his doctor's dedication to serve others has led him on many adventures across the globe, including medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Panama.

Internal Medicine Interest Group Update: 2011-2012 Sponsorship Program Form Available!

Sign-up your Internal Medicine Interest Group to participate in ACP's IMIG Sponsorship Program by August 1, 2011 and your club will receive $200 for IMIG club activities!

Ask the Program Director: Call for Questions!

Curious to find out what Program Directors are thinking?

Winning Abstracts from the 2011 Medical Student Abstract Competition: Pacemaker Extrusion from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: An Unusual Presentation from an Unlikely Culprit

We present a 51-year-old African American male with a past medical history significant for complicated diabetes mellitus, ischemic cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction of 35%, a surgically repaired ventricular septal defect, and pacemaker dependence due to complete atrioventricular block.

Advocacy Update: If you don't speak for Internal Medicine, who will?

ACP's continued success on Capitol Hill greatly depends upon year-round grassroots support from the College's more than 7,000 Key Contacts. Key Contacts e-mail, call and meet with their members of Congress on issues of importance to medical students, internists and their patients, and report the results back to ACP.

To enroll as a Key Contact, ACP members are not required to have existing relationships with their members of Congress. ACP gives them the tools necessary to develop and maintain relationships. The program is open to all membership categories.

Subspecialty Careers: Critical Care Medicine

The care of critically ill patients raises many complicated ethical and social issues, and the intensivist must be competent in areas such as end-of-life decisions, advance directives, estimating prognosis, and counseling of patients and their families.

In the Clinic: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Between 10% and 20% of COPD in the United States is estimated to be caused by occupational or other exposure to chemical vapors, irritants, and fumes. However, a recent review suggested that the percentage of patients with COPD who never smoked is 25% in the United States and may vary worldwide between about 15% (Japan) and 48% (South Africa), with higher rates in women (5).

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®

Evaluating 'weekend warrior' knee injuries
Knee injuries are a common complaint attended to in the primary care setting. Many diagnostic tests can be performed in under a minute, sparing unneeded referrals to orthopedists.

Experts offer advice on oral drugs, insulin for diabetes
Any type 2 diabetic is eventually going to need oral medications, and some on oral medications may eventually progress to needing insulin. The regimens are complex and vary from patient to patient. Learn how to individually tailor such decisions.

Highlighted Articles from ACP Hospitalist®

No halfway measures: Partial DNRs cause problems for physicians, patients
Partial DNRs may be attractive to patients, but they may cause more problems than they solve.

For new hospitalists, the right job means the right mix
Practice size, service time and vacation are top considerations.

Test Yourself: MKSAP quiz on dermatology
These cases and commentary, which address dermatology, are excerpted from ACP's Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP15).