UTMB GME Requires Departmental Financial Supplement for Residents Exceeding Initial Residency Funding Determination

The UTMB GME Office has started requiring departments on campus to partially fund residents that exceed their initial residency funding. Determination of initial residency funding is usually determined on match day. If a dermatology applicant matches into a preliminary medicine year and does not obtain a dermatology position at the same time, initial residency funding is  automatically set at 3 years (the time required to complete internal medicine residency). It cannot be reset. If this applicant re-applies to dermatology in the PGY1 year and matches, at UTMB the dermatology department is required to fund $8000 during the PGY4 year of dermatology residency. Since many departments across the nation do not have extra funds available to support the additional year of resident funding, this financial limitation may well result in far fewer dermatology re-applicants obtaining dermatology residency positions even after completing non-ACGME clinical dermatology fellowships. Two ways to avoid this funding issue are for dermatology applicants to initially match into a transitional PGY1 year (it will not start the clock for initial residency funding determination) or to match into a specialty with more than three years of initial residency funding that will also count toward the required PGY1 year for dermatology (such as general surgery). Philanthropic organizations could potentially come to the aid of dermatology departments and fund departments that want to train residents who will run out of their initial residency funding during dermatology residency or those who have already completed a residency in another specialty (most commonly, internal medicine).

What are Dermatology Applicants Looking for in a Residency Program?

A new study from Wake Forest sheds light on this important question [Guffey D, Feldman SR, Huang WW. What are the most important factors that determine the overall quality of dermatology residency training: A resident Survey. DOJ 21 (10) http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0j11p97g]. Dermatology residents responded that quality of clinical training (71.4%), happiness of current residents (12.2%), and camaraderie of current residents (8.2%) were the three most important factors. However, more respondents considered factors such as happiness of current residents (16.3%), camaraderie of current residents (14.3%), and perceived fit during an away rotation (8.2%) as being least important factors. Surprisingly, some of the other least important factors included number of NIH funded investigators (2%), number of full-time faculty who sit on editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals (2%), and proximity to family (4%).

Dermatology Night at St. Vincent’s Clinic on November 5th, 2015

Join UTMB Dermatology residents and faculty for the upcoming dermatology night at St. Vincent’s Clinic. Please see the calendar link below to reserve your volunteering spot: 


When: Thursday, Nov 5th, 5:30-9PM (volunteers should arrive at 5:15)

Where: St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550
Volunteer link: http://www.stvsc.org/index.php/students/

UTMB DIG Annual Bake Sale on Nov 4, 2015

DIG will be hosting our Annual Bake Sale. Money raised from this sale will go towards educational projects such as Stay Shady for grade school students to learn about skin cancer and procedural workshops for medical students to practice their suture and injection skills.

Date: Nov 4 (Wed), 2015
Location: Joe’s Café (Jamail Student Center)
Time: 11am-2pm

Would you like to donate baked goods or volunteer at the bake sale? Please sign up via the link below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mcun3Ror_wdWzzvwPFDEL70afOaMXepnx9G177TOSNo/edit?usp=sharing

UTMB Researchers Develop 2 Hour Diagnostic Test for Chikungunya

Congratulations to UTMB researchers, who have developed a new diagnostic test for Chikunguna that only takes two hours! For additional information about this breakthrough, please see http://www.utmb.edu/newsroom/article10719.aspx

UTMB Presentations at 2015 Fall Texas Dermatological Society Annual Meeting in Lubbock, Texas

UTMB medical students, current and former dermatology residents, former dermatopathology fellow, and dermatology faculty actively participated at the recent Texas Dermatological Society meeting held on October 23rd and 24th, 2015. Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Philips (UTMB PGY4 dermatology resident) and her faculty supervisor Dr. Cris Berlingeri-Raimos for having the best poster at this meeting! Dr. Philips will remain at UTMB during the 2016-2017 academic year for the dermatopathology fellowship, along with another current UTMB PGY4 dermatology resident, Dr. Janice Wilson.

Podium

Julie Ann Croley (UTMB MS4), Kyralessa Ramirez: Cutis marmorata telangiectasia congenita: a case report of a persistent lesion and long-term management.

Posters 

Julie Croley (UTMB MS4), Amber Gill, Katherine Tinkey (UTMB MS4), Zach Jones, Lindsey Hunter-Ellul, Brent Kelly: Evaluation of Inpatient Dermatologic Consultations: A 3-Year Retrospective Review at a Texas Tertiary Care Center. 

KL Gleghorn (UTMB MS3), JM Wilson, WE Tausend, MG Wilkerson: Striking black nail discoloration in a patient with onychomycosis. 

Dung Mac (UTMB MS4), Chinelo Ikpeama, Michael Wilkerson, Luan Truong: The diagnosis of Alport syndrome from a punch biopsy of the skin. 

Rebecca Philips, Leila Langston, Tanya Trynosky, Alma C. Berlingeri-Ramos: Primary cutaneous adnexal carcinoma versus metastatic carcinoma of unknown primary: A diagnostic challenge. 

Julie Croley (MS4) at the podium discussing a case report on cutis marmorata telangiectasia congenita. 

Katherine Tinkey (MS4, left) and Julie Croley (MS4, right) presenting their poster titled “Evaluation of inpatient dermatologic consultations: A 3-year retrospective review at a Texas tertiary care center.”

Dung Mac (MS4) presenting his poster titled “The diagnosis of Alport syndrome from a punch biopsy of the skin.”

Congratulations to Dr. Cris Berlingeri!

Dr. Cris Berlingeri has been accepted as a new member of UTMB's Academy of Master Teachers. She has excelled in medical student and dermatology resident education, especially in the area of dermatopathology teaching and teaching dermatology residents how to teach medical students. She joins the UTMB Department of Dermatology's other Academy of Master Teachers faculty, Dr. Brent Kelly.

Walk to Cure Psoriasis a Success

The UTMB DIG recently participated in the National Psoriasis Foundation's "Walk to Cure Psoriasis" on October 10, 2015. We raised $125.00 as the UTMB DIG team. There was over 230 participants this year and a total of $21,531 was raised to support research and education about psoriasis. Thank you for your donations and support! 

2015 Welch Conference on Chemical Research

The Welch Foundation will be hosting its 2015 Conference on Chemical Research in Houston on Oct 26-27. The conference is titled “Next Generation Medicine”, and includes an all-star cast of speakers presenting their latest discoveries in biomedical science. Topics will cover genome sequencing, mapping the brain, new signaling pathways, molecular pathogenesis of common diseases, and modern approaches to drug therapy.  This highly informative event is open to all and there is no registration fee.  See below for the registration link:

http://www.welch1.org/chemical-conference/registration-form

“Likability” Key Factor in Getting Hired

According to Kimberly Thompson, a columnist (“Career Rescue”) for the Houston Chronicle ("Likability factor can win the interview," October 14, 2015, p. 6), some job candidates are not liked by their interviewers. “Unlikability” usually translates into no job offer.  Unliked applicants may come across as too focused on their past achievements and goals. Thompson also noted that nonverbal communication plays a role in likability. Applicant facial expressions and posture may help to create a poor first impression.  Thompson advises that likability begins with self-awareness. Self-awareness may be hard to achieve, but practice interviews and candid feedback may help applicants develop more insight about their interactions with others. Often the employer's priority interest is hiring a qualified applicant who “…is easy to get along with and who works well with others.”

UTMB Internal Dermatology Residency Applicants Interview Date

The UTMB Department of Dermatology will offer optional interviews for all UTMB MS4s applying to dermatology residency on Friday morning, December 4, 2015. In the past, most UTMB internal applicants have taken advantage of this opportunity to formally interview at their home program. UTMB dermatology residents often offer internal applicants feedback and offer interviewing tips following this process that may be valuable at upcoming outside interviews.

UTMB Department of Dermatology Welcomes Nurse Practitioner

Ms. Stephanie Kemmerling, BSN, MSN, FNP-C has recently been hired by the UTMB Department of Dermatology as a Clinical Specialist. She sees dermatology patients at the UTMB Bay Colony Clinic. Ms. Kemmerling received her nursing education at Lamar University (BSN 2006) and UTHSC (MSN 2010) and previously provided care for dermatology patients in Austin, Texas at a private dermatology practice.

2015 American Board of Dermatology Certification Test Results for UTMB Dermatology

All 4 UTMB dermatology residents who completed training in 2015 passed the American Board of Dermatology (ABD) Certification Examination (“Boards”) on their first attempt. According to ABD analysis of UTMB’s test results, our dermatology residency program scored in the 90^th percentile overall compared to 121 other programs. Only 1.2% of first time test takers failed the certification exam in 2015.

Tips on Presenting at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology

The chance of acceptance for presentation by the AAD at its annual meeting for medical students and others depends on the format selected for submission. Over 90% of posters submitted are accepted for electronic presentation (and publication in the abstract book). However, only about 50% of case reports submitted to the Gross and Microscopic Symposium are accepted.

Dermatology Residents Panel Recap

DIG hosted a Dermatology Residents Panel on Sept 30, 2015. We received valuable advices and insights from several of the UTMB dermatology residents (Drs. Phillips, Wilson, Schepp, Pierson and Tausend) regarding dermatology residency preparation and interview. DIG would like to thank the UTMB dermatology residents for meeting with us. For a recap of this meeting, please see link below:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1X_P-TTWEkiWnZDNEdWUGlzajg/view?usp=sharing

Event Reminder: Walk to Cure Psoriasis on Oct 10th, 2015

The UTMB DIG will be participating in the National Psoriasis Foundation’s “Walk to Cure Psoriasis” on October 10, 2015 in Houston, TX! We’ve set a team fundraising goal of $250.00 and would greatly appreciate it if YOU helped us reach our goal by joining our team and walking with us or by donating to our team! In order to support our efforts, follow these steps:

1. Go to: http://npf.donordrive.com/team/utmbdig15
2. Click “Join Our Team” to join the UTMB DIG group and walk with us!
3. Click “Support Us” to donate and select or enter a donation amount to make your donation to the UTMB DIG group.

Here are the details of the walk:
Where: Discovery Green Park, 1500 McKinney, Houston, Texas 77010
When: Saturday, October 10, 2015
Check-In: 8:00AM
Walk Begins: 9:00AM
Distance: 1K and 5K walks

Please contact UTMB DIG member Ngoc Mui (uqmui@utmb.edu) or Katherine Tinkey (kttinkey@utmb.edu) for questions and/or concerns regarding the walk!

DIG Volunteers at League City Fair

On Sept 26^th, DIG members volunteered at the Hometown Heroes Park Community Health Fair in League City, TX. We offered education on sun protection and melanoma awareness. Numerous questions regarding sunscreen, SPF, and other aspects of sun protection were answered at the fair. We also provided generous samples of sunscreen (courtesy of Dr. Tausend) and skin moisturizers for the fair participants. Thanks to DIG members for your hard work and to Dr. Robert S. Tausend for the sunscreens!

DIG Volunteers: (Left to Right) Paige Hoyer (MS2), Julie Croley (MS4), Tara Akunna (MS2), Ngoc Mui (MS4), and Dung Mac (MS4)