UTMB Releases Online Campus Carry Information

For further information, please see http://www.utmb.edu/campus-carry/

Rip Currents More Dangerous than Sharks in Galveston

Yes, the danger of drowning in Galveston due to our local rip currents is much more dangerous than a shark attack, according to researchers at Texas A&M University in Galveston (TAMUG). Galveston Daily News reporter John Wayne Ferguson’s article was front page news in the Galveston Daily News (Texas A&M study: Rip currents are more dangerous than sharks, Thursday, March 10, 2016, pages A1, A4 ).
Rip tides are often encountered when near Galveston’s jetties, so please be careful when enjoying the Gulf!

Alex Holliday, MD Publishes in New England Journal of Medicine

Congratulations to Dr. Alex Holliday, a UTMB SOM graduate and recent UTMB internal medicine house staff. Dr. Holliday's electronic publication, "Tinea Versicolor" that was published in the journal's March 10, 2016 issue in the "Images in Clinical Medicine" section, and is available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm1501201
Dr. Holliday is currently a PGY2 dermatology resident at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia.

UTMB Presents 5 Posters, 2 Gross and Microscopic Symposium presentations, and a presentation in the Dermatology Teachers Exchange at the 2016 Annual American Academy of Dermatology Conference.

UTMB was once again well-represented by its medical students, residents and faculty at the 2016 annual American Academy of Dermatology Conference in Washington D.C. this past weekend. Authors of the UTMB presentations were:

Posters: 
- Can Valproic Acid Cause Dress? (Kristyna Gleghorn, Chinelo Ikpeama, Elizabeth Schepp, Brent Kelly)
- A Case of Pediatric Keratosis Lichenoides Chrnica (Adrian Subrt, Rebecca Philips, Megan Neill, Brent Kelly, Sharon Raimer)
- Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Invasion Through Ear Cartilage. (Julie Boisen, Brent Kelly, C. Helen Malone, Richard Wagner)
- Nodular Fasciitis Complicating A Staged Surgical Excision of Dermatfibrosarcoma Protuberans. (C. Helen Malone, Brandon Goodwin, Brent Kelly, Vincente Resto, Richard F Wagner)
- Sclerodermoid Changes and Dystrophic Calcification: A Unique Presentation of Porphyria Cutanea Tarda. (Erica Grilletta, Conner Chad, Lindsey Hunter-Ellul, Alison Lowe)

Gross and Microscopic Symposium
- A Case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (Kristyna Gleghorn, Janice Wilson, Young McMahan, Sharon Raimer)
- Necrolytic Acral Erythema: A Case Report of Extensive Disease and Rapid Improvement with Elemental Zinc Supplementation. (Julie Amthor Croley, Amber Gill, Samantha Robare-Stout, Brent Kelly)

Dermatology Teachers Exchange
- Mohs Reconstruction Surgical Educational Activity. (Julie Amthor Croley, Helen Malone, Brandon Goodwin, Eric Cole, Linda Phillips, Richard Wagner)

UTMB MS3, Kristyna Gleghorn, and MS4, Julie Croley, return from the Annual AAD Conference

The Annual American Academy of Dermatology Conference was held in Washington D.C. this past weekend (March 4-8).  UTMB MS3 Kristyna Gleghorn and MS4 Julie Croley received funding from the UTMB Student Government Association to attend. Both Julie and Kristyna were selected by a competitive process to present their research at the Gross and Microscopic Symposium. Kristyna presented a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy at the Gross and Microscopic Symposium and a poster entitled "Can Valproic Acid Cause DRESS?". Julie Croley presented "Necrolytic Acral Erythema: A Case Report of Extensive Disease and Rapid Improvement with Elemental Zinc Supplementation" at the Gross and Microscopic Symposium and also participated in Dermatology Teachers Exchange where she presented her research on Mohs Surgical Reconstruction Education. Kristyna and Julie will present what they learned at the conference during the next UTMB DIG meeting (date TBD). 

Thank you to the UTMB Student Government Association for funding this wonderful learning experience for Kristyna, Julie, and the UTMB DIG!

Please email Kristyna Gleghorn (klglegho@utmb.edu) or Julie Croley (jaamthor@utmb.edu) with any inquiries on the topic or conference.

Kristyna Gleghorn (UTMB MSIII) and Julie Croley (UTMB MSIV) at the AAD podium after their Gross & Microscopic presentations. 

Kristyna Gleghorn (MSIII) at the podium discussing a case report of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. 

Julie Croley (MS4) at the podium discussing her reserach on Mohs Surgical Reconstruction Education. 

Stay Shady Volunteering

DIG will be hosting Stay Shady, an educational program which consists of giving a short presentation about Sun safety at local elementary and middle schools followed by making UV bracelets with the kids! Please help out and sign up for this fun activity!

Upcoming Presentations:
Tuesday, 3/8 at 2:30pm at Satori Elementary School
Friday, 3/11 at 8:30am and 10:45am at Crenshaw elementary

Sign up via
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a9zNP60xQA4VN6qqItv0Jme7LOddstNeXoYHqnmzPIU/edit?usp=sharing

Dr. Brandon Goodwin Joins UTMB Dermatology Faculty

Congratulations to Dr. Brandon Goodwin for his decision to join the UTMB dermatology faculty upon completion of his dermatopathology fellowship at UTMB in June 2016. Dr. Goodwin graduated from South Alabama School of Medicine (Mobile) and completed his PGY1 internal medicine year at Tulane (New Orleans) before coming to UTMB for dermatology residency. His innovative dermatology resident scholarly project explored the best way to teach dermatology residents about skin grafts and skin flaps, and his work was presented at the Dermatology Teachers Exchange Group and later published in a peer-reviewed journal. The UTMB DIG welcomes the newest UTMB dermatology faculty member. His addition to our faculty will bring the faculty total up to 9 dermatologists, in addition to UTMB’s 12 dermatology residents, 2 dermatopathology fellows, and 1 Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellow in July 2016.

St. Vincent’s Student Clinic Annual Benefit Concert 2016

St. Vincent’s student-run free clinic will be hosting their annual benefit concert this Thursday, Mar 3^rd at the 1894 Grand Opera House (2020 Postoffice St, Galveston, TX). Shows open at 7pm.

Tickets for purchase starts at $10 per person. See link below for more info:

http://www.stvsc.org/index.php/concert/

Good luck in the NRMP Dermatology Match!

Last week dermatology residency programs and applicants submitted their confidential final rank order lists to the NRMP. Now all wait for match day on Friday, March 18, 2016.  Six UTMB MS4s are hoping to match into dermatology residency positions next month. Our UTMB dermatology residency program hopes to fill all 4 available positions offered through the match. Good luck everyone from the UTMB DIG!

Dr. Vail C. Reese Headlines April Spring 2016 Texas Dermatological Society Meeting in Houston

UTMB medical students are encouraged to attend the annual spring Texas Dermatological Society Meeting in Houston at the Omni Hotel. Registration for medical students is free!  Excellent resident and faculty speakers on multiple interesting dermatology topics are scheduled to lecture starting on Friday afternoon, April 15^th at 1 pm. Educational activities continue the next day at 8 am. On Saturday afternoon, April 16, 2016 at 1 pm Dr. Reese will lecture on “Dermatology in the Cinema.” Dr. Wagner’s dermatology film class students are very familiar with Dr. Reese’s vast academic contributions to dermatology film study through is famous website, skinema.com (a great resource for medical students who want to learn more about skin diseases depicted in movies). Please welcome Dr. Reese to Houston and let him know what you have learned from his website! To register for this meeting, please contact Ms. Sylvia Hall (Registration Coordinator for the Texas Dermatological Society),  sylvia.hall@texmed.org

Volunteer to Present Stay Shady at Crenshaw Elementary

DIG has two Stay Shady presentations scheduled for next week: The first is at Satori Elementary School K-2nd grade on Tuesday, March 8th at 2:30 pm. The second is at Crenshaw Elementary 3rd-5th grade on Friday, March 11th at 8:30 am and 10:45 am. 

Please sign up using the google doc below and let us know when you are available to help out! Just as a refresher, the Stay Shady program consists of giving a short presentation (about 10-15mins) about Sun safety followed by helping the kids make UV color changing bracelets with beads! Please sign up to help out with this fun activity!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a9zNP60xQA4VN6qqItv0Jme7LOddstNeXoYHqnmzPIU/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you and feel free to contact us with any questions!

Tim Allen MSII tirallen2@utmb.edu
Tara Akunna MSII taakunna@utmb.edu

Gold Honor Humanism Society Residency Mentorship Meeting

Gold Honor Humanism Society (GHHS) is hosting a residency mentorship meeting on March 9th from 5-7 pm in Jamail. MSIIIs will have the opportunity to talk with current MSIVs matching into their specialty of choice for advice on away rotations, applications, and interviews. Current dermatology applicants will be attending this meeting to help future applicants. Please follow the link below to sign up:  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LNlX_GWjdeKbWkOc7sOVtWVkFfsmfLyySYyw0_LAmo0/viewform?c=0&w=1

UTMB Dedicates New Hospital

Last week UTMB held a dedication ceremony for our newest hospital, Jennie Sealy Hospital (Ackerman T. New hospital capstone of Ike recovery: UTMB Galveston dedicates facility designed to withstand anything Gulf ‘can throw at it,’ Houston Chronicle, Saturday, February 27, 2016, pages B1, B3). It cost $438 million to build this 310 bed facility. The new hospital has 12 floors and is elevated 25 feet above sea level. Jennie Sealy Hospital will begin admitting patients in March 2016.

Where is the Galveston Trolley?

Pre-Ike island visitors and Galveston residents recall the Galveston trolley. There are plans to return it to Galveston, but the date remains indeterminate (Ferguson JW, Year after OK, Galveston’s trolley still year away, Volume 173, Number 321, Saturday February 27, 2016, pages A1, A4). We are hopeful that everything will be running by next summer.

Three Year US Medical Schools and Residency Implications for Dermatology

The concept of offering MD degrees to US medical students after 3 years of study is becoming popular again. Historically this was previously attempted in the 1970s, but concerns about graduate performance led to its demise. The motivation for its re-emergence is largely the same—more graduates to address a perceived future physician shortage and less debt for medical students (Grossman RI, Abramson SB. Needed: A Three-Year Medical Degree. Wall Street Jounal, page A11, February 18, 2016). Drs. Grossman and Abramson describe their experience with a 3 year medical school curriculum at one of our nation’s top medical school, New York University (NYU). When NYU initiated their 3 year program in 2013, accepted students had to know what type of residency they wanted so they could spend the first 6 weeks of medical school with that department. They were “pre-accepted” for residency at NYU into that specialty as long as they performed well academically in medical school. How “pre-acceptance” into residency programs during the first year of medical school will evolve will be of interest, especially for competitive specialties such as dermatology. At UTMB first year medical students already arrive on campus knowing that they want to specialize in dermatology. Is it possible that in the future all of the dermatology residency positions will be pre-matched for 3 year medical school graduates who had high MCAT scores?

Educating UTMB House Staff About Depression and Suicide

Physicians are not immune from depression and suicide. Help is readily available! The UTMB Graduate Medical Education will conduct a mandatory lecture, “Depression, Suicide and Physicians” on Monday, February 29^th or Tuesday, March 1^st. All UTMB  house staff are required to attend.

Annual Dermatology ITE this Week

The UTMB DIG wishes all of our UTMB dermatology residents good luck on their dermatology ITE on Thursday, February 18th. We know that you have been preparing for this test all year, and it will be great to have it done!

Fame

2016 Mardi Gras celebrants were treated to a rare Texas public performance by the 1990s rock band Zaemon in Galveston on January 30th. Guitarist Dr. Brent Kelly (photo) leads the festivities. We hope to see them back performing in Galveston soon!

UTMB MS3 Awarded Summer 2016 AAD Diversity Mentorship Scholarship

The UTMB DIG congratulates UTMB MS3 Jorge Roman for his recent award of a Diversity Mentorship Scholarship from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Jorge plans to use this award to study dermatology at UT Southwestern this summer in Dallas. Dr. Richard Wagner, our Dermatology Interest Group faculty advisor, sponsored Jorge’s scholarship application for this award.

Baylor Medical School Off Probation

According to the February 14, 2016 edition of the Houston Chronicle, Baylor Medical School has been taken off probation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education after 19 months for multiple administrative deficiencies. The entire article by reporter Todd Ackerman is a worthwhile read for medical educators, since Baylor is considered one of the elite medical schools in Texas (Baylor medical school freed from probation: President says changes made in last 19 months made the university better. Pages B1 and B2).

Post-Dermatology Residency Interview Communication: What Should Programs Tell the Applicant?

Communications with applicants after residency interviews was addressed in the timely February issue of Journal of Graduate Medical Education (Grimm, LJ, Avery CS, Maxfield CM. Residency postinterview communications: more  harm than Good? Volume 8, Number 1, pages 7-9, 2016). According to these Duke physicians, applicants may misinterpret communications from programs where they interviewed and then be disappointed when they do not match at that program. The “simplest solution” according to the authors is to “…ban all communications.” Alternative solutions involve complex rules that may be difficult for residency programs to monitor and implement without error. Since about 46% of surveyed program directors agree with a total communication ban postinterview, applicants should not be concerned if they don’t receive a response to their postinterview “thank you” communication that indicates their desire to join the program.

Uber Discontinues Service in Galveston

A dispute between Uber and Galveston’s new regulations requiring Uber drivers to be fingerprinted, vehicle charges and caps has led Uber to withdraw its services from Galveston, as reported by Houston Chronicle Reporter Dug Begley (Uber pulls its operations out of Galveston: Ride service objects to regulations that are tailored for taxicab service, Houston Chronicle, Friday, February 5, 2016, page B4).

Only One Invitee to UTMB Dermatology Residency Interviews Canceled This Year

UTMB usually invites about 30 outside applicants to interview for 4 available residency positions each year. Over the past few years, about 6 invitees typically cancel their interview. However, this year only one out-of-state invitee canceled. This observed change in the number of interview cancellations may indicate increased interest in the UTMB dermatology residency program. Dermatology residency positions at UTMB appear to have become more competitive compared to previous years!

DIGA Winter Newsletter Special Feature: Advice to Dermatology Applicants- A Q&A with the Chairman and Associate Program Director at Thomas Jefferson University

The Dermatology Interest Group Association (DIGA) recently published it's Winter Newsletter featuring an interview with Dr. Uitto and Dr. Keller, the chairman and associate program director at Thomas Jefferson University. This interview contains valuable information to future applicants. They encouraged medical students to build rapport with their university's dermatology program early and participate in quality research projects to show sustained interest. AOA, away rotations, interviews, and ways to stand out as an applicant were also discussed.  Interestingly, Dr. Uitto was previously not a proponent of away rotations but has changed his mind and strongly encourages applicants to do dermatology clinical rotations at other institutions during their fourth year to demonstrate true commitment and initiative.  

Interview link: http://us12.campaign-archive2.com/?u=87e06011a087bf7c3fc72dfff&id=08793559a6

Dermatology Night at St. Vincent’s Clinic on Feb 4th, 2016

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

When: Thursday, Feb 4th, 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/

Scribe Added to UTMB Dermatology Clinic in 2016

A dermatology scribe is now present in the Bay Colony UTMB faculty dermatology clinics to aid faculty and residents in their clinic visit documentation. The UTMB scribe program is currently on a trial basis to see if it will be effective for improving clinic workflow and patient care.

US Medical Educators Seek Reform

Authors K.M. Aagaard and M. Abaza recently wrote about their perceptions of the 4^th year of medical school in US (Becoming a physician: the residency application process—burdens and consequences, NEJM 373:303-305, 2016). Surprisingly, they seem to think that since 66% of MS4s taking away rotations do not match into that particular away program, it may not be a worthwhile matching strategy. Do they really think that 34% of the matching students would have really matched at that particular away rotation residency program without an audition interview? Unfortunately, they do not present statistics about these particular students that match at their own school after doing one or more away rotations. Conventional wisdom in the highly competitive world of dermatology matching is that an applicants’ best match chances are at their home program and at the away programs where they auditioned. Nothing in this article contradicts this observation. 

UTMB’s First Mohs Fellow Announced

The UTMB Department of dermatology has selected UTMB PGY4 dermatology resident Dr. Helen Malone as the first UTMB Micrographic Surgery (Mohs) and Dermatologic Oncology fellow. She will begin the one year Mohs fellowship at UTMB in July 2016, immediately following completion of dermatology residency.  Dr. Malone is currently a chief resident in the UTMB Department of Dermatology.  She began dermatology residency training at UTMB in 2013 after completing a general surgery internship year and three years of plastic surgery training at Southern Illinois University.  During her dermatology residency at UTMB, she has been actively involved in dermatology research, especially as it relates to Mohs reconstruction and dermatologic oncology.   Recent projects include three peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, a comprehensive review paper on applications of deepithelialized flaps and grafts in dermatologic surgery, a Mohs surgical education project designed to train UTMB dermatology and plastic surgery residents about the use of skin flaps, and a some case reports about unusual aspects of skin cancers treated at UTMB on the Mohs service.  The UTMB DIG extends its congratulations to Dr. Malone. We are eager to learn from you when we rotate on the Mohs service.

Do You Want to Present Your Dermatology Research at the Texas Dermatological Society 2016 Spring Meeting?

The annual spring meeting of the Texas Dermatological Society will be held in Houston at the Omni Hotel on April 15th and 16th. Many UTMB medical students have historically presented dermatology research as posters at this meeting. If you have been working on dermatology research, please contact the faculty or resident you have been working with about presenting a poster. Several of our DIG members have presented at this meeting before, and they are happy to share what they have learned about the process. The meeting is well-attended by many Texas dermatology chairs, program directors and other dermatology faculty, so there is a good opportunity for professional networking. Many attendees will view the posters and give you an opportunity to find out about their residency programs and away rotations with them. The deadline for this meeting is March 11, 2016.

UTMB Dermatology Approved for Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship (Mohs) for July 2016

Congratulations to the UTMB Department of Dermatology for receiving approval for a 1 year fellowship in Micrographic Surgery (Mohs) and Dermatologic Oncology from the ACGME Dermatology Residency Committee this week. If institutional funding is approved, UTMB’s first Mohs fellow will commence training in July 2016. Dr. Richard Wagner is the first UTMB Mohs fellowship director, and Dr. David Raimer will join him in providing supervision to the UTMB Mohs fellow. 

The UTMB Mohs fellowship was designed to create an exceptional educational environment for the fellow using multidisciplinary and interdepartmental strengths at UTMB, and it will expose the fellow to academic Mohs at UTMB in Galveston with Dr. Wagner and private practice Mohs with Dr. Raimer in Webster, Texas. 

Dr. Wagner completed dermatology residency at the combined Boston/Tufts University program and took his Mohs fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He also had Mohs training as a dermatology resident under Dr. Frederic Mohs in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Wagner has been performing Mohs surgery at UTMB since 1988 and has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles in the medical literature during his dermatology career, many in the areas of skin cancer and medical education. He is a tenured Professor at UTMB and the holder of the Edgar B. Smith Professorship in Dermatology. 

Dr. Raimer graduated from UTMB’s School of Medicine and completed dermatology residency at UTMB under Dr. Wagner and the other UTMB dermatology faculty. Following dermatology residency, Dr. Raimer completed a Mohs fellowship at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Zika Diagnosed in Texas

Zika, a mosquito-borne viral disease that presents with rash, joint pain, and muscle aches was diagnosed recently in a Houston-area patient. This virus has also been linked to microcephaly in Brazil. Although this disease has usually been restricted to visitors to endemic regions, since the two known mosquito vectors ( Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) are present on the Texas gulf coast area, it is possible that Zika could establish itself in Texas. Additional information about Zika is available from http://www.wsj.com/articles/houston-area-woman-diagnosed-with-mosquito-borne-zika-virus-1452628952

Keep this Date

UTMB Dermatology faculty, residents and medical students are very familiar with the funk rock band Zaemon that features UTMB Associate Professor of Dermatology and Dermatopathology Director, Dr. Brent Kelly. Zaemon recently performed in Baton Rouge at the Varsity Theatre last month. The band will play in Galveston this month as part of the 2016 Mardi Gras festivities on January 30 at 4:15 pm on the Budweiser Stage (2300 Strand). Tickets are available at http://www.mardigrasgalveston.com/tickets.asp See you there!

Dermatology Night at St. Vincent’s Clinic on January 7th, 2016

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, Jan 7th, 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/

When “Candor” Replaces “Nice” at Work

Reporter Rachel Feintzeig highlights an emerging business trend (When ‘Nice’ is a Four-Letter Word, WSJ, December 31, 2015, Pages D1, D3). Encouragement of workplace candor by coworkers decentralizes traditional workplace feedback from the boss, and is a management concept that may be adopted to address “…stalled projects, low performers, resentment that festers…” in the work environment. 

A related concept is “mokitas”. Mokitas, as applied to the work environment, is something that everyone at work knows but does not verbalize. According to Feintzeig, some workplaces schedule “mokita amnesty days” where these issues are freely discussed. Some mokita applications are about improving employee punctuality, teamwork, and productivity. Employees unable to improve performance following group feedback may be terminated or leave.

UTMB Adds MBA Option to MD Degree

In 2016 UTMB begins to offer the opportunity to add an MBA degree from the University of Houston Clear Lake campus to our medical students. The additional 54 credit hour MBA degree will typically require an additional year of full time graduate study between the MS3 and MS4 year. GMAT requirement is waived in lieu of MCAT score. Many US medical schools are currently offering  dual degree tracks, including MD/PhD, MD/MS, MD/JD and MD/MBA. Of all the dual degrees available, US dermatology residency programs appear to preferentially match with MD/PhD applicants. Additional information about this new program is available at http://www.utmb.edu/newsroom/article10770.aspx

1095 Days of Dermatology Residency

Dr. Cherise Mizrahi-Levi has provided interested readers with a personal insight about her experiences in dermatology residency (Resident journal—a graduate’s perspective on the full residency experience, Directions in Residency, Winter 2015, pages 1, 3, 7). She advises first year dermatology residents to be humble, open-minded, and self-aware in order to best benefit from dermatology residency training.

2015 UTMB Dermatology Mock Mock Boards!

Thanks to Dr. Cris Berlingeri who again organized a dermatology practice ITE examination (the official “mock” board examination)for the UTMB dermatology residents. There were 121 questions this year and included 21 dermatopathology images for identification. Also included were new procedural dermatology questions. This optional practice test is designed to familiarize UTMB dermatology residents with annual ITE and board certification examination format, and serves to identify subject areas were more study may be needed. Last year was the first time Dr. Berlingeri offered this type of practice examination to UTMB dermatology residents, and that year our dermatology residents scored in the 90^th percentile on the official American Board of Dermatology Certification Examination. Dr. Berlingeri is currently Assistant Professor of Dermatology at UTMB.

DIG Interviews Dr. Ashley Sturgeon of Texas Tech HSC on Medical Volunteerism

At the recent Texas Dermatology Society meeting in Lubbock TX (Oct 2015), Dr. Ashley Sturgeon presented on “International and Domestic Volunteer Experiences and Ethical Dilemmas.” Dr. Sturgeon is an assistant professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX. She is a board certified dermatologist with interests in Mohs micrographic surgery, cosmetics, general dermatology, and medical volunteerism. Her most recent endeavor is a dermatology-related medical mission trip to Nicaragua. UTMB DIG members were able to inquire Dr. Sturgeon more on her volunteer experiences in an email interview. 

DIG: Can you describe to us your medical mission to Nicaragua? 
Dr. Sturgeon: Our medical mission is based in Jinotega, several hours on a bus from the capital city of Managua. It is in a beautiful mountainous rainforest, fed by the economy from coffee production. We often travel during the day to rural communities that are hugely underserved, particularly from the medicine standpoint. 8-10 providers are able to see around 2000 patients per week. Many people in these rural communities never leave their hometown. There is no consistent follow up for these patients, unless they are able to travel to the “home base” in Jinotega, where there is a year-round clinic with a local doctor that serves 900 patients a month with a budget of $1200 a month for medications. I treated patients with a huge range of medical conditions from rare dermatologic diseases to heart murmurs to bizarre malignancies. 

DIG: Can you share with us a memorable moment during your trip? 
Dr. Sturgeon: I remember one patient I saw, a young mother who was visibly cushingoid from years of oral steroids for severe asthma. She came in huffing and puffing, barely able to breathe, and probably in adrenal crisis. She had taken at least 40mg of prednisone per day since she was a child and the local clinic had no more. We were able to give her extra prednisone to have in reserve for when this happened – even a layperson knows it’s dangerous to stop oral corticosteroids abruptly. She was so ill that, if in the United States, I would have intubated her: not an option in rural Nicaragua. 

DIG: How has the medical mission impacted you? 
Dr. Sturgeon: Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in the world, with a history riddled with civil wars and economic collapse. Most people there live on less than a dollar or two a day. Despite this, the people of Nicaragua are amazingly resilient. They are a smiling, happy people with a culture of hard work and survivalism. I went to make a difference for the people there; I know they did more for me than I did for them. I am a better doctor and a better human being because of my trips. The experience of helping those who have nowhere else to turn to is incredibly moving.

Meeting Recap from 12/01/2016

1.    Special welcome to visiting student (Allison Pye from UTHSCSA) for attending our meeting today.

2.     Fall Bake Sale results- Thanks to our volunteers (Paige Hoyer, Michaela Sljivich, Lauren Williams, Tim Allen, Julie Croley, Dung Mac, Tara Akunna, David Parker III, and Kristyna Gleghorn) for helping out with this event.  We received $129 in sales and donations.

3.     TDS Meeting Spring 2016 (April 14-16, The Omni Hotel Houston, TX)-

a)    keep an eye out for the registration for this event, http://texasdermatology.org/tds-meetings/annual-meetings/

b)   for students interested into helping a project with resident for presentation at the meeting, email dhmac@utmb.edu

4.      Camp Discovery for Summer 2016-

a)    this is a wonderful opportunity to volunteer for a dermatology related camp

b)   https://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/for-kids/camp-discovery/about-camp-discovery

c)    usually a 1 week volunteering event in the summer months

5.    Derm Night at St. Vincents-

a)    Next one is on 12/03 (occurs first Thursday of every month)

b)   http://www.stvsc.org/index.php/students/

6.     Stay Shady- dates in Spring 2016 (TBA on blog).

7.     Melanoma Walk 2016- to help with this event (date in March or April) email  Neil and Julie (both) at ndjackso@utmb.edu and jaamthor@utmb.edu

8.     Resident’s workshop (practice suturing, biopsy, and injection skills)- will be organized by Kristyna. To help with event , email klglegho@utmb.edu

9.    2016 Galveston County Science Fair Judging-

a)    Will be held on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. 

b)   The fair is sponsored jointly by Galveston College (GC), Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) and The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and will be held this year at Galveston College.  

c)    7th-12th grade students from across the county will be presenting the top projects from their respective schools.

d)   To help judging, complete the judging form: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1X_P-TTWEkiTV9NSFA1RW81YU0/view?usp=sharing

e)    Email judging form to Dr. Recinos (arecinos@utmb.edu)

10. Honors Thesis project- Email Neil if you have any questions regarding how to start an Honors Thesis project at ndjackso@utmb.edu.

UTMB Dermatology Sends Residency Interview Invitations

UTMB has invited 30 outside (non-UTMB) applicants through ERAS for dermatology residency interviews from 428 applications received. Included in this group are all 7 outside applicants who rotated through the UTMB dermatology clinics during the current academic year. 15 offers to interview were made to Texas medical students attending 6 different Texas medical schools. Other invited applicants were from 11 medical schools outside of Texas in 8 other states. The mean Step 1 score for outside applicants was 251 and ranged from 230 to 263. 23 were elected to AOA at their medical schools. Interviews for outside applicants will be conducted on February 4th and 5th next year. There are 4 advanced dermatology positions (PGY2) positions offered by UTMB in the 2016 NRMP Match. UTMB also has invited 6 UTMB MS4s and 2 UTMB SOM graduates to interview this month.