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In this Issue:
- Letter from the Governor
- Advocacy
- 2021 ACP Virtual Washington Day
- New ACP Fellows
- 23rd Annual ACP California Virtual Live Internal Medicine Review and Update Course
- ACP Student Internist Award
Michael E. Lazarus, MBBCh, FACP, ACP Governor
Letter from the Governor
What an exciting summer we have to look forward to in Southern California!
June 15th was D-Day for us as the State finally moved to the long-awaited relaxed masking and social distancing requirements in many venues. We can now officially look forward to unmasked vaccinated visitors at Disneyland, a full house at Dodger Stadium, and going out for dinner at restaurants back at capacity. Just fifteen months ago, we were early adopters of a global state shutdown that proved very successful in limiting the initial impact of COVID-19 in California. Now with over 70% of adults in California having received at least one vaccine dose there is great optimism.
A reality check for most of us though is that in our daily hospital and outpatient practice we will still be masking and physically distancing for both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, employees and visitors. There is trepidation about the new COVID-19 variants, particularly the Delta variant that has ravaged the Indian subcontinent and appears to be spreading around the world. In some ways the Delta variant is a more potent version than other COVID-19 variants, making it more easily transmissible and more of a concern. Some reports in the United Kingdom suggest it is 60% more infectious than other variants with higher rates of hospitalizations1.
Another concern is that the COVID-19 vaccines seem to be less effective against the Delta variant, especially after just a single dose. Therefore, with the new opening up of California we, as a medical community should be cautiously optimistic but still be keeping a close eye on developments and the impact of the new variants over the summer. ACP as always will have updated information and guidance on these new variants to keep us informed2.
In the coming months, we are also looking forward to our annual Southern California ACP Scientific meeting. ACP Region II is hosting our annual scientific meeting in Palm Springs on the campus of Eisenhower Medical Center on Saturday, October 9 this year. The event will consist of a hybrid of both in person and remote sessions depending on preference. We will have a Doctor's Dilemma® competition, Medical Student, Resident and Early Career Faculty Poster presentations and the usual full academic program for both trainees and full ACP members. Please save the date and keep an eye out for the full details in the coming weeks.
On behalf of the ACP Southern California Region I Governor's Council, Directors, and Staff, we wish you all a safe and restful summer and look forward to your ongoing participation and support as we emerge from the pandemic.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Lazarus, MBBCh, FACP
Governor, ACP Southern California Region I
References:
1Delta Variant: What is happening with transmission, hospital admissions, and restrictions?
2COVID-19: Information for Internists
Advocacy
This year's ACP Sacramento Leadership took place virtually March 8-12, 2021. ACP S. California Region I was well represented with a great mix of members, residents, and medical student participants. Our delegation was able to meet with numerous California legislators over the course of the week. We look forward to hopefully attending in person next year!
Drs. Mark Noah, Chester Choi, Paul Speckart and medical student Edison Xu meeting with Michael Amster from the Office of California State Assemblymember Ed Chau.
Drs. Mark Noah, Rasha Ahmed, Prathyusha Dasari, Michael Ulrich meeting with Elissa Ouchida from the Office of California Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.
Drs. Michael Lazarus, Lovelee Brown, Emily Siegel & Neha Chiruvolu meeting with Jessica Golly from the Office of California Senator Connie Leyva.
Drs. Chester Choi, Soma Wali and medical student Edison Xu meeting with Nicki Taylor from the Office of California Senator Melissa Melendez.
2021 ACP Virtual Washington Day
This year's ACP Washington Leadership Day took place virtually on May 25-26. California's delegation was able to meet with legislative staff from both California senators, and 38 congressional members. Thank you to all ACP California Region 1 members that took time out from their busy schedules to represent our Chapter.
California delegation meeting with California legislators via Zoom.
New ACP Fellows
We are happy to announce that the following people have been advanced to ACP Fellowship in our region within the last 6 months:
Russell G. Buhr, MD, PhD, FACP
Laura Frischer Ryan, MD, FACP
Shikha Mishra, MD, FACP
Priya Jayachandran, MD, FACP
Jacob K, Quinton, MD,FACP
Faysal G. Saab, MD, FACP
Soham Shah, MD, FACP
Michael Yang, MD, FACP
23rd Annual ACP California Virtual Live Internal Medicine Review and Update Course
July 24-25, 2021
Registration is Open for the 23rd Annual ACP California IM Review and Update Course!
Why Attend This Course?
- 23-Year Track Record for this successful, popular course that earned the acclaimed National ACP John Tooker Evergreen Award.
- Live Interactive Learning guided by expert faculty who will help update your knowledge and prepare you for your exam.
- Comprehensive, Yet Concise, 20 hours Curriculum utilizing Reviews-Update and Practice Questions (RU-PQS) format.
- Real-time Polling to instantly gauge your learning against other attendees.
- Online Access to program material and recorded sessions for up to three months after the course.
- Up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™, and MOC points.
- Virtual One-Weekend Course that you can attend from the comfort of your home or office with minimal disruption to your schedule.
You can view the program brochure/agenda and register for the course on our Chapter website.
For more information, please contact our course coordinator, Natalie Kaczur, at socalregion3@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Course Directors:
Maher Roman, MD, MACP
Alpesh Amin, MD, MACP
Ramdas Pai, MD, FACP
Sherif Khalil, MD, FACP
ACP Student Internist Award
Each year the ACP honors a medical student from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Keck School of Medicine and Western University with an award as the top student going into Internal Medicine residency training.
This year's winners include Emmanuel Aguilar-Posada, MD, MD from UCLA, Alec David Borsook, MD from USC, and Steven James Patrick, DO from Western University. Congratulations to all three graduates!
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Western University of Health Sciences
Keck School of Medicine @ USC
David Geffen School of Medicine @ UCLA