Stay Shady! at Trinity Episcopal School

Last Wednesday, January 26th, UTMB DIG's Community Outreach Co-Chair, Michaela Marek (MS4), presented Stay Shady! at Trinity Episcopal School in Galveston. She taught over 40 Kindergarten and 1st grade students about the importance of sun safety.

The UTMB DIG would like to thank Trinity Episcopal for hosting us and for being such a wonderful audience!

Reminder: DIG Bake Sale Tomorrow!

Don't forget! The UTMB DIG is having a bake sale tomorrow (January 31st) and Tuesday (February 1st) in Joe's Cafeteria (Jamail Student Center located next to Old Red), from 11 AM to 1 PM!

Proceeds go to the UTMB DIG, whose goal is to help raise funds for melanoma research and promote sun protection awareness.

Contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu) or Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) for more information.

We hope to see you there!

Rebecca Philips (MS3) Selected to be the 2011-2012 DIGA Sun Protection Project Co-Chair

Congratulations to UTMB DIG's Vice President, Rebecca Philips (MS3), who was recently selected to be the 2011-2012 Dermatology Interest Group Association's (DIGA) Sun Protection Project Co-Chair!

The purpose of DIGA’s Sun Protection Committee is to promote public awareness regarding the importance of sun protection in an effort to decrease the incidence of skin cancer. They provide resources and ideas to set up events and/or programs focused on increasing sun protective behaviors in both children and adults.

For more information about this organization, click on the following link: DIGA


UTMB DIG Officers who have participated in DIGA include:
Alison Wiesenthal, M.D. (Former UTMB Austin DIG President) - DIGA Community Service Director (2009-2010)
Lindsey Hunter (UTMB DIG Galveston President) - DIGA Allied Health Outreach Co-Chair (2010-2011)

UTMB Dermatology Receives “ePrescribing” Lecture

UTMB’s dermatology faculty and residents were instructed on how to use the new ePrescribing system that UTMB will launch next month.

As a part of its Meaningful Use initiative, UTMB will begin rolling out ePrescribing (eRx) to all ambulatory clinics currently using Epic in February 2011. The target audience for this initiative is clinic providers and nurses.

ePrescribing is defined as generating and transmitting permissible prescriptions electronically. This meaningful use core objective states that 40% of all prescriptions written by a provider are to be transmitted electronically. Controlled substances are excluded from this rule. Training will be held at various locations on and off campus beginning January 18th. For those unable to attend a training session in person, eLearning modules will be available by role. There will also be web meeting capabilities setup. Support and clinic Super users will be available in the clinics during the go-live phase.

Volunteers Still Needed for "Stay Shady!"

Interested in participating in the next "Stay Shady!" presentation? It's not too late to sign up!

Where: Trinity Episcopal School
When: 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 26th

Please contact Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) as soon as possible if you are interested.

Dermatology Summer Research Opportunities for UTMB First Year Medical Students

UTMB's School of Medicine/Office of Student Affairs will again be sponsoring an 8 week dermatology research elective (Medical Student Summer Research Program) for UTMB first year medical students from May 2nd to June 24th. Participating students receive academic credit toward graduation for their research and a stipend. Interested students should contact dermatology faculty with similar research interests with their project idea. In the past, many dermatology projects that were started under the MSSRP have been presented at dermatology meetings and published. Dr. Lisa Cain (extension 2-1212) or Driana Urbina (extension 2-6063) may be contacted for additional information. This is a very good opportunity for MS1s to get dermatology exposure early.

Dermatology Times Headlines Difficulty of Obtaining Dermatology Residency

Senior Staff Correspondent for the Dermatology Times, John Jesitus, highlighted the shortage of dermatology residency positions relative to high medical student demand on the front page of the January 2011 issue of Dermatology Times. The article focused on lack of funding sources for the creation of new dermatology residency positions. According to the article, it costs between $225,000 and $300,000 to fund a dermatology resident (salary, benefits and secretarial/staff support) for the required 3 year program. If more funding sources could be found, more dermatology residency positions could be offered.

Cold Front Coming Through!

Wind chill expected to be mid 20s by late tonight and tomorrow morning in Galveston!

Bake Sale!

The UTMB DIG is having a bake sale! Proceeds go to the UTMB DIG, whose goal is to help raise funds for melanoma research and promote sun protection awareness.

Location: Joe's Cafeteria (Jamail Student Center)
Date: Monday, January 31st & Tuesday, February 1st
Time: 11 am -1 pm

Interested in donating baked goods? Contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu) or Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu).

We hope to see you there!

2011 Walk To Cure Psoriasis - Houston

The UTMB DIG is participating in the 2011 Walk to Cure Psoriasis, and we hope you'll join us in making a difference for those affected by psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis!

When: April 10, 2011
Where: Discovery Green - 1500 McKinney Street, Houston, Texas
Registration: Begins at 8:00 AM; Walk begins at 9:00 AM
Registration fee: Registration is free! All ages welcome!
Additional Information: You can participate in either the 1K (.62 mi) or 5K (3.1 mi) Walk
Purpose: To spread awareness about psoriasis, while raising money for psoriasis education, advocacy and research. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.

It's easy to sign up! 
1) Click on the following link: Walk to Cure Psoriasis
2) Click on "Join an Existing Team." (on the right)
3) Under "Team name," enter our group name, UTMB DIG, then click "Search for a team". (at the bottom)
4) Click on "Join" to become a part of our Walking Team!

If you are interested in participating in this event, please contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu) or Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu).

We hope to see you there!

For further information about this event, contact the Houston Walk Coordinator at (877) 825-WALK (9255) or walk@psoriasis.org.

Dermatopathology Fellows Return from Hunting Trip

Dr. John Cangelosi (Dermatopathology fellow, right) and Dr. Ryan Matherne (Dermatopathology fellow and Dermatology faculty, left) recently made a hunting trip to Zapata, TX. While there, Dr. Cangelosi harvested a cull cowhorn spike buck that weighed 120lbs. Dr. Matherne harvested a mature doe and a feral hog in the same hunt. Both physicians were raised in environments that respected and appreciated wildlife, the outdoors, and the responsible management of game. They are both planning to practice in areas that will afford them the ability to continue enjoying this lifestyle.

Volunteer at the next “Stay Shady!” presentation!

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers for our next “Stay Shady!” presentation. We will be teaching students about sun protection and the harmful effects of sun exposure. It is always a lot of fun!

Where: Trinity Episcopal School
When: 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 26th

Please contact Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) if you are interested.

AAD's Medical Student Diversity Scholarship Program Deadline is January 31, 2011

UTMB MS3 and MS4 medical students have been competitively selected in the past with this program that awards students $1500 to study dermatology on the UTMB campus or at another location for one month. For additional information please go to: http://www.aad.org/education/students/students.html.

Why are Step 1 Scores So Important to Dermatology Residency Programs?

An original article in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (Fening K, Vander Horst AV, Zirwas M. Correlation of USMLE Step 1 scores with performance on dermatology in-training examinations. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011;64:102-106) indirectly addresses this issue. The authors concluded that USMLE Step 1 scores were “…moderately, significantly correlated…” with the annual in-service dermatology test administered by the American Board of Dermatology. Statistically, the USMLE Step 1 score accounted about 26% of the in-service examination score variability. Of course, the other 74% of exam variability was due to other factors (“…quality of instruction, type of curriculum and motivational factors…resident work hours, family responsibilities, or personal problems…”), but 26% is still huge. The authors pointed out that the limitation of their study was a small sample size, with only 5 dermatology residency programs surveyed (86 residents with Step 1 scores ranging from 177 to 266).

Some dermatology programs may worry about accepting applicants who may not ultimately pass their board certification examination following completion of residency, because board certification examination failure reflects poorly on the training institution and may raise accreditation issues by the ACGME. These authors noted that a previous Step 1 failure will make it difficult to get dermatology interviews (2008 NRMP data cited). They also noted that only about 7% of applicants with a Step 1 Score of 220 or lower matched into a dermatology residency (2009 NRMP data).

UTMB PGY4 Dermatology Resident Accepts Procedural Fellowship

Congratulations to Dr. David Raimer, a current PGY4 UTMB dermatology resident, who has accepted a one year fellowship in Procedural Dermatology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (fellowship director, Conway Huang)! Dr. Raimer completed his undergraduate studies at Tulane University and medical school at The University of Texas Medical Branch. In previous years, and prior to the creation of ACGME Procedural Dermatology Fellowship, several other UTMB dermatology residents completed non-ACGME American College of Mohs Surgery fellowships, including Drs. Scott Dinehart (at Duke under fellowship director Sheldon Pollack, MD), Susan Dozier (at Washintgon University under fellowship director George Hruza, MD) and Mary Christian (at UCLA under fellowship director Ron Moy, MD).

Annual 2011 Dermatopathology Board Review Course Dates Announced

Dr. Brent Kelly will host UTMB’s Annual Dermatopathology Review on May 21 and 22, 2011 on the UTMB campus. Course registration materials will be available soon. All of the UTMB dermatology residents are regular participants, and they have found it to be excellent preparation for the annual practice boards and the real thing following graduation. Be sure to register early to reserve your spot!

PGY4 UTMB Dermatology Resident Receives Presidential Award

Dr. John Stephens was recently awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2010 from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. He received a certificate and a letter from The White House that was signed by President Obama.

Become a National DIGA Officer for 2011-2012

The national Dermatology Interest Group Association (DIGA) is now accepting officer applications for 2011-2012. A PDF form of the application and officer descriptions can be found under the announcements section on the DIGA "About" page: http://derminterest.org/.

The application process will be open until midnight (MST) on January 15, 2011. Notifications will be sent out on January 22, 2012. Positions are available for all MS years. Term commitment is one year (February 2011 to February 2012).

Available DIGA positions include: Vice President, Webmaster, Treasurer, Secretary, Community Service Director, National Dermatology Residency Interview Database Director, Regional Directors, and various Committee Chairs.

UTMB DIG members have enjoyed serving as DIGA officers for several years. Alison Wiesenthal (UTMB DIG Co-President 2009-2010) served as the 2009-2010 DIGA Community Service Director and the 2008-2009 Sun Protection Project Committee Chair. Lindsey Hunter (current UTMB DIG Co-President) is the 2010-2011 Allied Health Outreach Committee Chair.

Contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu) with any questions.

Good Luck!

UTMB Dermatology Resident Publishes Article About Contact Dermatitis to Silver

Dr. Ashley Group, a current UTMB PGY3 dermatology resident (and former UTMB DIG Co-President and DIG blog Co-Editor), is the first author on a clinical report about contact dermatitis to silver in the December 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, WOUNDS (“Contact Dermatitis With a Highlight on Silver: A Review”). Her coauthor was Dr. Alfred Lea from the UTMB Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division. The entire article can be read at http://www.woundsresearch.com/content/contact-dermatitis-highlight-silver-review.

St. Vincent's Free Health Clinic - UTMB Reaches Out to the Community

St. Vincent's House offers a student-run free health clinic serving the Galveston uninsured and underserved population. St. Vincent's is an important part of the UTMB community, providing free health services to the public, while teaching medical, PA, and nursing students how to manage common health issues, including hypertension and diabetes.

In response to the community's growing needs, specialty clinics have been instituted over the past several years. St. Vincent's currently schedules Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Gynecology, Neurology, and Dermatology clinics. UTMB Dermatology residents and faculty can be found volunteering here the first Tuesday of every month, where they aid medical students in providing free skin cancer screenings, biopsies, excisions, and routine dermatologic care. UTMB Dermatology volunteers include, Dr. Sharon Raimer, Dr. Brent Kelly, Dr. Erica Kelly, Dr. Alma Berlingeri-Ramos, Dr. Bernard Gibson, Dr. Michael Wilkerson, and Dr. Ashley Group (PGY-3 resident).

The student volunteer-based clinic operates on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. St. Vincent's House is located at 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550. UTMB students interested in volunteering can find additional information located in the daily UTMB Student News and Notes e-mails.

For more information about St. Vincent's, please visit their website at: http://www.stvhope.org/free_clinic.htm.

UTMB Medical Student, Resident and Faculty Co-author Publication

Former UTMB medical student and medical resident Dr. Tatiana Sousa, current MS4 Lindsey Hunter, PGY4 dermatology resident Dr. Matt Petitt and dermatology faculty Dr. M. Wilkerson have coauthored a clinical report entitled, “Localized cutaneous reaction to intramuscular vitamin K in a patient with acute fatty liver of pregnancy” in the December 2010 issue of Dermatology Online Journal 16 (12):16. The letter is available at: http://dermatology.cdlib.org/1612/5_letters/16_10-00305/wilkerson.html. Dr. Sousa is currently a PGY2 dermatology resident at Case School of Medicine Dermatology Residency Program at the MetroHealth Medical Center Campus in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Jennifer Vickers Publishes Seinfeld Research

Dr. Jennifer Vickers, UTMB SOM Class of 2009, has published an original research paper entitled, “Television Depictions about Dermatology and Skin Diseases in Seinfeld” in the December 2010 issue of Dermatology Online Journal (DOJ), a peer-reviewed journal that is indexed in PubMed. This research was initiated as her Dermatology Research Honors Program that was awarded Magna Cum Laude research graduation honors. Dr. Vickers was also the recipient of the Dermatology Department’s Annual Film Class Award in 2009. She is currently a PGY2 dermatology resident at New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Her co-authors on this research were Mr. Tatsuo Uchida (UTMB Office of Biostatistics) and Dr. Richard Wagner (UTMB Dermatology). The entire article can be read at: http://dermatology.cdlib.org/1612/1_commentary/1_10-00322/vickers.html.

DIG 12/8/10 Meeting Recap

We had a great turn out at Wednesday's meeting! The UTMB DIG would like to give a special thanks to Chelsea Altinger, MS II, for her very informative and interactive Powerpoint presentation on her experience at the 2010 Contact Dermatitis meeting held in Dallas, Texas.

DIG members have been actively volunteering in the community, including events such as the 2010 Oceans of Fun Health Fair, teaching cosmetologists about skin cancer and sun protection through the Dermatology Interest Group Association's Allied Health Outreach Program, and the 2010 La Porte Health and Safety Fair.

We discussed upcoming events, including our Miles for Melanoma Walk and the 2011 American Academy of Dermatology meeting that will be held February 4 - 8, 2011 in New Orleans, LA. If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu for additional information.

Want to get involved with the Miles for Melanoma Walk? Contact Auris Huen (aohuen@utmb.edu) or Kehinde Ogunmakin (koogunma@utmb.edu) to find out ways that you can help.

Questions? Comments? Contact us at utmbdig@gmail.com.

DIG Meeting: Wednesday, December 8th!

Please join us Wednesday, December 8th at 5PM in the Dermatology Department conference room (4.112 McCullough Building) for our next DIG meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Kudos Given for Knox Meeting

UTMB residents and fellows received the highest accolades from JAAD editor and Chair of Dermatology at MUSC (Charleston), Dr. Bruce Thiers, as well as from visiting, well known dermatology academics from Houston who attended this meeting on Saturday. UTMB dermatology residents and dermatopathology fellows presented 21 high quality, rare and complex patient presentations with the support of the UTMB faculty. Dr. Thiers gave an excellent lecture that highlighted the most important articles published by the JAAD in recent years. One of the articles he cited was about the safety of local anesthesia that was co-authored by Dr. Nate Davis, one of the UTMB PGY3 dermatology residents. Special thanks to Dr. Mika Yamazaki, one of the PGY4 dermatology chief residents, for her efforts in organizing this valuable academic effort.

2010 Oceans of Fun Health Fair A Big Hit!

The UTMB DIG volunteers had a blast this past Saturday at the 2010 Oceans of Fun Health Fair! It was held at the new UTMB Pediatric Specialty Center at Bay Colony.

Volunteers provided hands-on activities and educational handouts about skin cancer and sun protection for members of the local community. Our new table displays (pictured below, designed by Lindsey Hunter) taught kids and adults about the appearance of melanoma and the dangers of excessive sun exposure. Special thanks to Rebecca Philips (Left), Donnie Warren (Middle), and Chelsea Altinger (Right) for volunteering!

            

By Popular Demand…

Dr. Wagner has just increased enrollment for his Period 13 BSHS Selective DERU-4012 (“Narratives of Skin Diseases”) from 10 to 20 students. Once the earlier student enrollment cap of 10 was reached, additional students contacted him requesting this course. Since DERU-4012 is only given during Period 13, he agreed to double the class size. The course focuses on nonfiction books that are written by authors who have personally been diagnosed with skin cancer, leprosy, vitiligo and psoriasis. Reports are that last year’s class enjoyed the opportunity to read these selections to learn about the impact of various skin diseases. Some waiting list students have already added DERU-4012, so if you are interested, please send your C Form to Ms. Kimberly Cooper ( kjcooper@utmb.edu ) right away.

Volunteers Needed for the 18th Annual John M. Knox Conference Hosted by the UTMB Dermatology Department This Saturday

The UTMB Department of Dermatology is hosting its 18th Annual John M. Knox Conference this Saturday, November 13th at UTMB on the 5th Floor of the UHC Building. Student volunteers are needed to assist in rooming patients starting at 7:45 AM. Patient viewings will end around 9:30 AM, followed by patient discussion, and guest speaker, Dr. Bruce Theirs, the Chair of Dermatology at the University of South Carolina and the Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Interested in volunteering? Contact Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu to sign up.

We hope to see you there!

Heather Fork, MD (UTMB SOM 1991) Starts Health Blog for Physicians

Dr. Fork, a UTMB alum (SOM 1991) and board certified dermatologist, has started a blog entitled, “Doctor’s Crossing” that is focused on physician health issues. For more information about this interesting website, please go to http://www.doctorscrossing.com/.

Cutoff Criteria for Dermatology Applicants

Many applicants to dermatology and other competitive residencies express frustration that cutoff scores for residency programs are difficult to pinpoint. Why is that? One reason is that while Step 1 and 2 scores and AOA membership are currently very important benchmarks for interview selection from a pool of highly qualified applicants, numbers alone do not convey a complete picture of each applicant’s academic achievements. Programs probably don’t want to be prevented from interviewing and ranking applicants who are outstanding in some other way and have excellent potential to contribute to the residency program, even if their Step scores are lower than other applicants or if they were not selected for AOA. That is why it is rare to find programs that are willing to give applicants an absolute cutoff criteria.

Health Fair Volunteers Needed

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers for the following health fairs:

Oceans of Fun
DATE: Saturday, November 13, 2010
TIME: 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
LOCATION: UTMB Pediatric Specialty Center at Bay Colony, 2785 Gulf Freeway South, Suite 200, League City TX

St. Vincent's Wel-Fair
DATE: Saturday, November 13, 2010
TIME: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
LOCATION: 2817 Post Office Street

Please email Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) if you are interested in volunteering.

Texas, We Have A Problem

Sadly, it’s too few doctors. Texas only ranks 42nd in the number of physicians per 100,000 population, according to an editorial on the matter published by the Houston Chronicle today (please see http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7276313.html for additional detail). The Chronicle also points out that Texas is on the low side for postgraduate medical education (residency) positions. In Texas, the ratio of graduating medical students from Texas schools only has a 1:1 ratio to available postgraduate residency positions in Texas. New York and California are doing much better, with ratios of greater than 3:1 and 1.7:1 respectively. The low Texas ratio means that many Texas medical school graduates (45%) leave Texas for postgraduate training opportunities elsewhere, never to return. Since the education of Texas medical students costs over $200,000 per student, this is a huge financial loss to the state each year.

Texas needs to do better in the area of postgraduate medical education by expanding the number of positions it offers. This issue directly impacts the current shortage of dermatologists in Texas. If more Texas medical students were able to find dermatology residency positions in Texas, more would probably stay and practice here.

UTMB Dermatology Attracts Record Number of Dermatology Applicants for 2011 NRMP

338 applicants applied by the November 1st deadline. 105 are AOA members with at least a 230 Step I score. UTMB will offer between 24 and 30 interviews for applicants from outside of UTMB for 3 advanced dermatology positions in the 2011 NRMP.

Period 13 DERU-4012 (“Narratives of Skin Disease”) Remains Popular

For the second year in a row, DERU-4012, a BSHS selective offered only during Period 13, has filled with 10 UTMB MS4 students. Students in this class read books and essays written by authors who have experienced skin cancer, leprosy, vitiligo, and psoriasis, and wrote about the impact of these diseases on their lives.

Dr. Mika Yamazaki Returns from Pediatric Dermatology Elective in Austin

Many are not aware that the UTMB Dermatology Residency Program offers the option of two week elective during the PGY4 year. The elective must be in some aspect of dermatology that is not offered on the UTMB Galveston campus. In addition, upon return to Galveston, the resident must make a presentation to the dermatology department about their elective rotation. There is no additional funding available for transportation or room and board for the elective resident. Dr. Yamazaki recently elected to spend two weeks in Austin under the supervision of Dr. Moise Levy, a well known pediatric dermatologist at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin. UTMB has not had a pediatric hospital since ours closed following Hurricane Ike in 2008. However, UTMB dermatology residents receive lots of clinical exposure to pediatric dermatology through several pediatric dermatology clinics, general dermatology clinics, continuity clinics, and also through the dermatology hospital consultation service.

November 1, 2010 Dermatology Residency Application Deadline for UTMB

ERAS dermatology residency applications for the 2011 NRMP are due on November 1, 2010. Between 24-30 outside applicants who are not UTMB medical students, UTMB housestaff or visiting medical students who have taken UTMB dermatology electives this year will be invited for interviews in Galveston on either February 10th or 11th, 2011 for three advanced PGY2 positions being offered in the NRMP. It is anticipated that invitations to interview will be sent out electronically before January 2011.

Congratulations to Dr. Leslie Scroggins!

Dr. Leslie Scroggins, UTMB PGY-2 Dermatology resident, received third place in the Resident Podium competition at the 2010 Fall Texas Dermatological Society Meeting, held October 22nd-24th in Lubbock, Texas! Dr. Scroggins' presentation, entitled, "A Dermal Piercing Complicated by Mycobacterium Fortuitum," was co-authored by Dr. Brent Kelly and Sara Moghaddam, MSIV at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Ashley Group, MD In Press for Contact Dermatitis Research

Congratulations to UTMB PGY-3 dermatology resident, Dr. Ashley Group. She has recently been notified that her review article, "Contact Dermatitis with a Highlight on Silver: A Review,” has been accepted for publication in the December 2010 issue of WOUNDS, a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary medical journal that focuses on wound care and research. We are all looking forward to reading this article when it comes out!

Lights Out?

A crane accident near the causeway temporarily disrupted campus activities requiring electricity at UTMB this morning. Please see the Galveston Daily News story for additional details: http://galvestondailynews.com/story/186502

Class of 2010 UTMB Dermatology Residents Achieve 97th Percentile on Certification Examination

Congratulations to Drs. Cameron Coury, Julie Fridlington, and Ryan Matherne. Together they achieved the 97th Percentile on the recent certification examination given by the American Board of Dermatology. This academic excellence is especially notable because all three had their dermatology residency training temporarily disrupted following Hurricane Ike’s damage to UTMB in September 2008.