Feature
Where's My Patient?
(from the April 6, 2022, ACP Hospitalist)
In hospital care, efficiency is an essential goal. Real-time location services (RTLS) is a tool to monitor the location of objects and people and improve efficiency, using technologies such as radiofrequency or Bluetooth. The infrastructure to enable this technology consists of transmitters stationed throughout a hospital and devices attached to each person or piece of equipment. Users are then able to see the real-time location of the objects and individuals.
I.M. Internal Medicine
Spotlight: Christopher Sankey, MD, FACP, SFHM
Read more about what a typical day is like for Dr. Sankey as a hospitalist at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Council of Student Members (CSM) Spotlight
Fitting the Pieces
As medical students, we spend 1.5 to 2 years learning the many ways in which our bodies work—and the many ways in which they can malfunction or even stop working. We spend hours putting together pieces of the puzzle known as the human body. We spend many more hours learning the myriad manifestations of physiology gone wrong.
Medical Student Perspective
What Is it Like to Be a Medical Student From a Disadvantaged Background? A Letter to an Incoming Medical Student
When my family immigrated to the United States from Nepal in 2011, we had no place to live, no support system, and no experience with the American educational system. We were starting from scratch. I knew that I wanted to be a physician, but I didn't know where to start.
Advocacy Update
ACP Leadership Day Returns to the Capitol
(from the June 3, 2022 ACP Advocate)
Nearly 370 American College of Physicians members converged on Washington, D.C., in person and virtually in May for the ACP annual Leadership Day advocacy event. They held hundreds of meetings with Congressional representatives and staff members, all with an eye toward using the power of the federal government to promote change for the better.
Read the full article in ACP Advocate.
The ACP Advocate is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that provides ACP members with news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care.
ACP Health Advocacy Interns Spotlight
Embracing Health Policy in Residency and 10 Tips for Applying for ACP Health Policy Internship Program
Sometimes we are so focused on trying to figure out what is wrong with a patient that we forget to ask why they became sick. At other times, we focus on patient care and forget about the barriers in the health care system that affect our own practice of medicine—barriers that we know to contribute to physician burnout and dissatisfaction with the medical field.
Analyzing Annals
Association Between Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Decline in Function, Cognition, and Mental Health After Critical Illness Among Older Adults. A Cohort Study; Health Equity and Critical Care Survivorship: Where Do We Go From Here?
This study analyzed data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study to evaluate the association between dual eligibility status for Medicare and Medicaid and decline in function, cognition, and mental health after an intensive care unit hospitalization and concluded that socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with worse outcomes after critical illness.
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.
Winning Abstracts
Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Heart Failure Clinic for Unfunded Patients
Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospitalization, costing $108 billion globally with $30 billion spent in the US alone [1]. Much of this burden is due to HF's high rate of readmission, with 30-day Medicare readmission rates of 24%, and 1-year readmission rates exceeding 60% [2]. Furthermore, socio-environmental factors such as unemployment, poor follow-up, and lack of professional support often represent a greater risk for both readmission and survival than medical factors [3].
Want to have your abstract featured here? ACP holds a National Abstracts Competition as part of the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting every year. Find out more at ACP Online.
Subspecialty and Combined Training Careers
Hematology
Hematology is the subspecialty of internal medicine that focuses on the care of patients with disorders of the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic systems.
See all the career pathways open to internal medicine doctors and explore a “day-in-the-life” of an IM specialist/subspecialist at the bottom of our “Medical Student Career Path” page.
Care of the Patient After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Weight loss surgery, also known as metabolic and bariatric surgery, is an effective weight loss treatment that is associated with anatomic and physiologic changes that may include decreased absorption of micronutrients and alterations in gut–brain hormonal regulation that affect many aspects of health.
Get Involved
Check Out ACP Webinars and Podcasts
ACP offers educational webinars for ACP members on a variety of topics relevant to internal medicine and beyond. Register for a live webinar to ask questions and share ideas or access an archived session from a range of clinical and nonclinical topics.
If podcasts are your preferred channel to keep current and entertained, check out what ACP has to offer. Whether you're a history buff, want to learn more about advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine, or just want to stay current in the field of internal medicine, we've got a podcast for you.
IMIG Event Inspiration
Student Activity Fairs and Welcome (Back) Meetings
As the new academic year is about to begin, now is the time for your Internal Medicine Interest Group to start planning for your school's student activity fair. It's a great (and easy) way to get first-year medical students interested in the field of IM. If you've been accepted into the ACP Internal Medicine Interest Group Sponsorship Program, you'll be receiving swag and information to give away at the event.
You may also want to start thinking about holding a “Welcome (Back) Meeting” for students new to the club or those returning to school to keep students engaged and help plan events. Use the IMIG Resource Guide to support your efforts throughout the year.
Chapter Chatter
ACP Rhode Island Foodie Scavenger Hunt
Amid surging COVID cases last winter, the ACP Rhode Island Chapter Early Career Physician group didn’t feel comfortable meeting in-person and were even less enthusiastic about meeting virtually. Instead, they created a foodie scavenger hunt of Rhode Island. Read more.
The membership of ACP is divided into 85 chapters and regions, each uniquely tailored to the needs and interests of its members. See what events are coming up in your local chapter.
“Quiz Me!” Question
Test your medical knowledge each month with questions from The Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program® (MKSAP).
A 46-year-old man is evaluated during a routine physical examination. His medical history is significant for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and depression. Medications are hydrochlorothiazide, atorvastatin, and escitalopram.
The Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program® (MKSAP) has been the “go-to” resource for board prep and lifelong learning since 1967. Learn more.
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