Important Organization Links

American Academy of Family Physicians
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians

American Board of Family Medicine
American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians

Texas Medical Association
Texas Osteopathic Medical Association
Texas Academy of Family Physicians

Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

AOA on YouTube
AOA on MySpace

Single dose of honey effective for cough in kids

I take care of a lot of kids. With the recent withdrawal of so many children's cough/cold meds, I was happy to see this "old fashioned" remedy determined useful. And it's cheap.

From InfoPOEMS...

Clinical Question:
Is honey effective for cough suppression in children?

Bottom Line:
A single dose of honey is effective at decreasing cough severity and sleep disruption in children with cough due to uncomplicated upper respiratory infections. Please remember that honey should never be given to infants because of the risk of botulism. (LOE = 2b)

Reference:
Paul IM, Beiler J, McMonagle A, Shaffer ML, Duda L, Berlin CM Jr. Effect of honey, dextromethorphan, and no treatment on nocturnal cough and sleep quality for coughing children and their parents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161(12):1140-1146.

Study Design:
Randomized controlled trial (double-blinded)
Funding:
Industry
Setting:
Outpatient (any)
Allocation:
Uncertain

Synopsis:
Children aged 2 years to 18 years with cough attributed to upper respiratory infections of less than 7 days' duration were randomly assigned to receive honey (n = 35), specially compounded honey-flavored/honey-scented dextromethorphan (n = 33), or no treatment (n = 37). The honey and dextromethorphan were administered 30 minutes before bedtime. The honey was dosed by age: children aged 2 years to 5 years received 8.5 mg (1/2 teaspoon), 6- to 11-year-olds received 17 mg (1 teaspoon), and 12- to 18-year-olds received 34 mg (2 teaspoons). Only children whose coughs were moderately disruptive were eligible to participate. The researchers used multiple exclusions to limit this to viral respiratory infections. The authors main justification for using a no treatment arm instead of a placebo group was that in a previous study they found dextromethorphan to be equivalent to placebo. Although the no treatment group obviously knew what they were getting, the other 2 groups were unaware of their treatment. The parents of the children provided ratings of cough severity, effect on sleep, and so forth at baseline and the next day. Only 81% of the children enrolled completed the study. Every treatment group improved by the second night, even those receiving no treatment. Children in the 2 treatment groups had slightly greater reductions in cough frequency than untreated children. Children receiving honey had slightly greater improvements in cough severity and in sleep disruption. Five parents reported hyperactivity, nervousness, and insomnia in children treated with honey compared with 2 parents of those treated with dextromethorphan, and 0 of those receiving no treatment.

Launch of new AAFP brand

I hate it when things change for no good reason. You know... a certain common term has become offensive or there is some other "politically correct" reason for changing the name of something. The thing itself hasn't changed but the name must change...?

This IS NOT one of those times. I was already getting the above mentioned attitude in full gear when I heard AAFP was changing the logo. I was pretty happy with who we are and what we look like. But the truth is, the Future of Family Medicine project pretty clearly outlines that America doesn't understand who we are really, or what we do. I like the new logo and I'm on board. I like the message. Check it out at this link. And there is a good promo video too, you'll find the link on the promo page.

What do you think?

resident research grant awards

I would like to congratulate Drs. Jerome Alonso and Adriana Gomez for successfully obtaining American Academy of Family Physicians awards for their research projects!

Alonso - "A Retrospective Cohort Study Evaluating the Relationship between Uncontrolled Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Intensity of Hypoglycemic Therapy among Type 2 Diabetics." Dr Ripsin - Mentor

Gomez - "Relationship between depression and Glycemic control and its correlation with medication adherence in patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2: a cohort study in a primary care setting." Dr. Cass - Mentor

Dr. Youens on the cover!!

http://www.texas-ec.org/texascooppower/

This month's Texas Co-op Power magazine has a very nice article on rural family medicine, highlighting Dr. Youens' practice in Weimar, TX. This is, of course, the site of our Rural Training Track! The RTT and some of the residents are mentioned in the article.

2007 ITE Top Scores

I am pleased to announce the top ITE scores for our program on the 2007 ITE:

PGY1 - Lorena Salvatori
PGY2 - Tran Quan & Donna Simmons
PGY3 - Rainer Effenhauser

You will each be formally recognized at the 2008 UTMB FMR Graduation ceremony.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the 2007 ITE scores. Several of the residents distinguished themselves with impressive increases in their scores over last year. Everyone has worked really hard in their academic studies this year and I think we are seeing that rewarded with good scores. Keep up the good work!

back, catching up!

I am home from spending a month in Russia, adopting my two newest daughters. We are all adjusting and I'm looking forward to being back to work in the very near future.

Lots has happened while I've been away.

Recruiting season is getting wrapped up. We have our final two interviews scheduled for tomorrow and we're looking forward to that. Our official Rank Meeting will be held next week, at which we will construct our final Rank list. We're also looking forward to that!

We have a very interesting situation developing with our graduating class of 2008... it looks like five of them will be going on to fellowship training, and that is definitely a record for us! The two who have gotten word recently and not been previously announced are: Javier Rios - Sports Medicine and Jose San Martin - Obstetrics. Congratulations!! Edited to add: I don't find where I previously announced David Schnaiderman's fellowship... so here goes - David will also be staying on here at UTMB for his Geriatrics fellowship!

Also, I recently learned that one of our Chiefs - Carlos Montiel - will join one of our former graduates - Alex Brzezny - in practice in Washington state after graduation. I'm happy for everyone concerned!

photos from Scientific Assembly

David Schnaiderman, MD

Jerome Alonso, MD

And last but not least, Chicago deep-dish pizza and beverages to celebrate! I'm so proud of these guys.

0708 UTMB Family Medicine Residents

cool stuff

We have more students. Now what?

Medical schools are expanding in hopes of meeting the future demand for physicians. But will the U.S. government step up residency funding? See full article here.

Generation Y

I'm working on a presentation for a conference in February. It's turned out to be a really neat topic. The topic is "Generation Y and the Culture of Entitlement". I was invited to present this topic (exactly why ME, I'm not sure, but someone had to do it because it's been highly requested) I wasn't too excited because I really didn't know anything about it except that it's starting to come up a lot when PDs get together.

But it has turned out to be fascinating. One of the most interesting pieces is the concept of "digital natives" (GenY, iGen, Millennials, whichever name you favor) and "digital immigrants" (those of us who did not grow up with a computer). Thought processing and learning are SO different in the two groups. And guess what? The Millennials (most of you?!) think we're pretty boring. I'm still wondering how to bridge this generation gap... it's not easy to change the way you process information. Not to mention that I do not have the computer skills GenY does! It's a case of the younger you are, the more you know.

So I've been researching wikis and (dread!) MySpace and others. Fortunately, I already knew about Flickr, iTunes/iPods and blogs. I was a little familiar with MySpace because I know a few people who have them, but I've never been crazy about the concept myself. I like my blog. The wikis still have me at a loss. And they seem to be the most directly education-related.

So now I'm curious... what do you think about all the Web 2.0 tools? Medical education and GME will be a decade behind the high schools and colleges, maybe I'll be retired by then, but it sure is interesting to me.

And another question... are Thursday afternoon lecture times headed out the door? Should we just be having Web 2.0 assignments instead? I think Thursday afternoon is as much about the camaraderie as anything. Tell me your thoughts...

interview season underway

My goodness, it's been a long time since I posted. It's been busy around here!

Jerome, David and I have been to the AAFP Scientific Assembly since my last post. I enjoyed seeing Jerome and David present their research posters and they did a great job. I'm waiting for David to email me photos and then I will post them too. That is one amazing conference. I'd never attended before, but this year I was awarded fellow status so took the opportunity to go.

Interview season is underway. We're into our second week already. So far, so good.

We continue to actively screen applications, although it looks like the largest group is probably already submitted and has been screened.

It's hard to believe we're already into Block 5. Residents are working hard and for the most part things seem to be going well. Our new Pedi Inpatient rotation and OB rotations are looking good; a few growing pains but that is to be expected with all new rotations. Residents are having good experiences and that's the important thing.

R3s are getting their plans in place for next year... you've seen posts about fellowships accepted, and we have one still interviewing for Sports Medicine. Others are interviewing for jobs and we're getting out letters of recommendation for them. The interns are settled in, finding their way around here and feeling more comfortable.

We're looking for a few good faculty members... Residency will be hiring at least two in the coming year. We're actively seeking at least one of them to be a D.O. to help me with our new program. Still waiting to hear on the PGY2-3 part of our AOA program, but word should be available soon.

Dr. Nash receives honorary degree

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Lisa R. Nash, DO, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555-1123. 409.747.8593

Date: Oct. 8, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Physician Receives Honorary Degree
From the American Academy of Family Physicians

CHICAGO – Lisa R. Nash, DO, a family physician in Galveston, TX has achieved the Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the national medical association representing nearly 94,000 family physicians, residents and medical students. The degree was conferred on more than 250 family physicians during a convocation on Saturday, October 6, in conjunction with the AAFP’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Established in 1971, the AAFP Degree of Fellow recognizes family physicians who
have distinguished themselves through service to family medicine and ongoing professional development. This year’s fellowship class brings the total number of AAFP Fellows to more than 29,000 nationwide. AAFP Fellowship entitles the physician to use the honorary designation, “Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians,” or “F.A.A.F.P.”

Criteria for receiving the AAFP Degree of Fellow consist of a minimum of six years of membership in the organization, extensive continuing medical education, participation in public service programs outside medical practice, conducting original research and serving as a teacher in family medicine.

The AAFP was the first national medical specialty organization to require its members to complete a minimum of 150 hours of accredited continuing medical education every three years. It is the only medical specialty society devoted solely to primary care.

###

About the American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents nearly 94,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 215 million office visits each year – nearly 48 million more than to the next medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide the majority of care for America’s underserved and rural populations.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to
treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit www.aafp.org.

hello from Manuel

Here is a photo hello from Manuel. He says all is going well and he plans to sit for the boards in December.

Dr. O'Donell has a birthday!

Dr. O'Donell celebrated a major birthday milestone last week, with cheers and ongoing well wishes from her Family Medicine family. A good time was had by all!!

Residents: Donna Simmons, Rene Melendez, Jerome Alonso

What exactly is Jerome up to?!

Chairman Dr. Barbara Thompson, birthday girl Dr. O'Donell, and former resident / now faculty member Dr. Hanan Hussein.

congrats to Jerome!

Dr. Jerome Alonso has recently accepted a Sleep Medicine fellowship at Stanford for 2008-09. Congratulations to Jerome... we're proud of you!

Gerardo has a fellowship

Congratulations to Dr. Garcia-Gallegos! He was recently offered a Geriatrics fellowship position here at UTMB, which he has accepted for 2008-09. Gerardo came here with the dream of continuing into a Geri fellowship, and we are all so happy for him. Good work Gerardo!

emails from applicants

Now that we are nearing the opening of ERAS, I am receiving once again too many emails per day from applicants requesting information about our program. I am not able to respond individually to the large of numbers of requests. Instead, I will refer you to the information posted here and here.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the emails I receive are from applicants who obviously have made no effort to review the available information on this blog and our website and I simply cannot sort through them all on a daily basis to identify the residents with individual concerns that require a personal approach.

Please review our basic information via the links above. Only if this does not answer your questions and you have a specific question, concern or situation that requires a personal response, then you may contact our recruiter, Mr. Louis Johnston who will help you.

We will NOT be able to provide anyone with specific USMLE score cutoffs or any additional information regarding our selection criteria as it varies slightly from year to year. Our basic requirements are posted in the links noted above. If you meet them, please apply through ERAS.

We are happy to respond to questions and individual needs, however we ask that you show us the respect of first reviewing our posted program and application information.

Best wishes for the upcoming interview season.

Salary increases effective September 1!!

I am very pleased to pass on the good news of the following raises to house staff annual salaries as noted:

PGY-1: $41,550
PGY-2: $42,925
PGY-3: $44,526

Not that I'm old or anything, BUT... this is almost double what I was paid as a resident way back when! It came out to (average) $2.83 per hour during my intern year...