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Volume 6 - Number 3
- Summer 2007
We hope
that you'll enjoy these quick highlights from the MCV Campus.
Please forward
this newsletter to friends who might like to learn more
about the
School of Medicine!
 Step
I of the Boards Is Behind Them
Coached by Physiology
Course Director Dr. Linda Costanzo, the second-year
medical students have made it through one of the big
hurdles of their medical education: Step I of the
National Boards. Along the way, they benefited from an
intensive study schedule that featured 60 content
reviews by stellar faculty and personalized study plans.
And through the Annual Fund, they received encouragement
and good wishes that arrived in the form of goodie bags
given out during an 8-hour marathon physiology review.
Read more about how our students
prepare for the intimidating test.
Graduate Student to
Attend International Meeting of Nobel
Laureates
Microbiology and Immunology's Jennifer Patterson
has been appointed by the National Science Foundation to
a U.S. delegation traveling to the 57th Nobel Laureate
Meeting in Germany. Since 1951, Nobel Prize winners in
chemistry, physics and medicine have met with students
from various countries annually to discuss their
research and issues of importance in their fields. Read
more about the meeting at which 20
Nobel laureates will gather with 500 young
scientists from across the globe.
Club Med - Largest of
Its Kind in the US
For students interested in Internal Medicine,
Club Med provides exposure to the specialty as well as
access to role models and mentors from the faculty and
community. With a membership of 472, the student group
represents the largest club in the country. This past
spring, Club Med sponsored a lunchtime panel with
fourth-year students who had matched to Internal
Medicine residencies. Sponsored in part by the Annual
Fund, the lunchtime panel provided a venue for the M4s
to share their perspective on what residencies look for
and what their fellow students could be doing to better
prepare themselves for matching into a great residency.
 Cure for Hepatitis C
"It is rare in the treatment of
life-threatening viral diseases that we can tell
patients they may be cured," said Mitchell Shiffman,
M.D., chief of hepatology and medical director of the
Liver Transplant Program. "In hepatitis C today, we are
able to help some patients achieve an outcome that
effectively enables them to put their disease behind
them." Read more and hear Dr.
Shiffman comment on the study that showed nearly all
patients treated successfully with peginterferon alone,
or in combination with ribavirin, had no detectable
virus up to seven years later.
Rural Hospitals Show Improvement
in Patient Safety Systems
A new study examining patient safety
systems in rural hospitals shows that these hospitals
are making changes to address the problem more rapidly
than urban hospitals. Daniel Longo, Sc.D., director of
research in the Department of Family Medicine, says that
the gap between urban and rural quality measures is
narrowing. Read more about the patient
safety report.
Correlation Between Bile Duct
Obstruction and Ductal Cancer
The Department of Pathology's Alphonse
E. Sirica, Ph.D., recently presented findings that show
a correlation between bile duct obstruction and ductal
cancer. Read more about the
findings that establish a unique preclinical model
that can be used to rapidly test and evaluate novel
molecular treatment strategies.
 Blood Conservation Guidelines Developed for
Cardiac Procedures
A new set of clinical guidelines can help
physicians decrease the need for blood transfusions in
high-risk patients during cardiac operations. "If these
guidelines are adopted by a majority of cardiovascular
centers in the world, we can decrease the amount of
blood transfusions, blood usage and cost and blood
shortages would be less frequent and not occur to such a
degree," said Anesthesiology's Bruce Spiess, M.D. Read
more and hear Dr. Spiess comment on the conservation
guidelines.
Informed Men Less Likely to Choose Prostate
Cancer Screening
"Whether to be screened for prostate cancer is a
difficult decision for patients," said Alex Krist, M.D.,
an assistant professor of family medicine. "Given that
informed patients are less likely to opt for screening,
clinicians clearly need to provide patients information
about the risks and benefits of screening prior to
testing. Ultimately, this will allow each patient's
values to be incorporated into their screening
decision." Read more about the screening
study.
Reunion Weekend
2007 - April 27, Richmond
The last weekend in April saw the MCV
Campus brimming with more than 1300 alumni and friends
who had returned to celebrate Reunion. The weekend's
attendance was the largest turnout since 1999! The
School of Medicine's Classes of 1957 and 1982 celebrated
the 50th and 25th anniversaries of their graduations by
making generous gifts in support of student scholarships
in the medical school. In appreciation of the graduates'
support of current students, Dean Jerry Strauss
announced his intention to match what each Class raises
dollar for dollar -- thereby doubling the gifts' impact.
See pictures from Reunion
Weekend.
Save the date for Reunion Weekend 2008: April
10-13, 2008
Classes ending in '3s and '8s - mark your
calendar! Reacquaint with classmates, revisit campus
buildings, reunite with your medical class. Reunion
Weekend promises to be a great gathering of MCV friends
both old and new. Again this year, the weekend will
kickoff with Friday's day-long CME course designed to
update you on a broad variety of topics.
Planning for Reunion Weekend is underway! If you
would like to volunteer to serve as your class
representative and assist with the planning of your
class event, please contact Lelia Brinegar, Director of
Alumni Affairs for the School of Medicine, at lebrinegar@vcu.edu.
Let Us
Know Who's Gone on to Greatness!
Nominations are now being accepted for
both the Outstanding Medical Alumnus Award and the
Caravati Service Award, which are presented during
Reunion Weekend. The Outstanding Medical Alumnus Award
honors a graduate who is nationally recognized and
acknowledged by leaders in the field of medicine as
having made distinguished contributions to health care.
The Caravati Service Award is presented to an alumnus in
recognition of service to the MCV Alumni Association,
participation in activities of the School of Medicine
and contributions to their local community. Nominations
are particularly encouraged of those classmates
celebrating a reunion in 2008. If you would like
information on the nomination process for either award,
please contact Lelia Brinegar, Director of Alumni
Affairs for the School of Medicine, at lebrinegar@vcu.edu.
All nomination materials must be received by November 1.
Alum Recounts Experiences in Iraq
During his time in Baghdad,
U.S. Army Capt. David Steinbruner, M'01, H'04, was
stationed at the 10th Combat Support
Hospital. Said to be the busiest in Iraq - and with a
reported 94 percent save rate - the hospital and its
staff were featured on CNN's program "Combat Hospital."
In May, Dr. Steinbruner returned to his training ground
to recount some of those experiences during the
Department of Emergency Medicine's grand rounds. Read
more about Dr.
Steinbruner's visit or go to the CNN Web
site to view portions of the television program.
On the Road
The medical
school has stepped up its traveling schedule recently,
with Dr. Jerry Strauss hosting alumni receptions on both
coasts. Over the past several months, receptions have
been held in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Florida, San Francisco
and most recently in Chicago. Drawing up to 50 guests in
a single evening, the events allow the Dean to share his
vision for the medical school. Plans are underway for
future visits in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. See
pictures from San
Francisco and Florida.
CME -
Pediatrics at the Beach
The 29th Annual Pediatric Primary Care
Conference will take place July 20-22 at the Hilton
Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach. Three half-day
sessions include topics in Emergency Medicine, Primary
Care and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. This
CME course is designed for physicians and other
health-care professionals who deliver primary care to
children and adolescents. For more information call
(804) 828-3640 or register
on-line.
CME - Controversies and Updates in the
Management of Prostate Cancer To be held September 29 at the
Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, this course is designed for
physicians and other health-care professionals who
deliver care to patients with prostate cancer. The
conference will cover the latest issues and updates in
the management of prostate cancer in the areas of
surgery, radiation therapy, systematic therapies,
imaging and the economics of prostate cancer. For more
information call (804) 828-3640 or register
on-line.
Charitable IRA Rollovers
A limited-time provision for
charitable contributions from Individual Retirement
Accounts could give you an unprecedented opportunity to
help the medical school. Between now and December 31,
2007, individuals aged 70 ½ and older may transfer up to
$100,000 per year. The charitable distribution counts
toward Minimum Required Distribution requirements and
may be made in addition to any other charitable giving
you may have planned. The provision does include some
limitations, and we recommend you seek the advice of
your tax and/or legal counsel before deciding on a
course of action. If you would like more information
about your options under this unique provision, please
contact Tom Holland, Associate Dean for Development at
(800) 332-8813, (804) 828-3800 or tehollan@vcu.edu.
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Update
Your Contact Info and provide the Alumni and
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Annual
Fund dollars support scholarships and student
interest groups as well as milestone events in the
medical school. You can give
online via the MCV Foundation's secure eGiving page.
Check out the
upcoming CME
offerings from the medical school's Office of
Continuing Physician Professional Development &
Evaluation Studies including conferences in Pediatrics
and Prostate Cancer.
Past issues of SOM eNews are online.
For More Information:
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Foundation
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