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Last week, the MD Class of 2026 was busy in the Simulation Center at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus as they finished u…

The medical school recently welcomed Jared Kilpatrick, MD, MEHP, as the newest faculty member in the departments of…

WMED SPOTLIGHT

DONOR SPOTLIGHT
We formally recognize Mr. William D. Johnston and Mrs. Ronda E. Stryker alongside Mr. William U. Parfet and Mrs. Barbara A. Parfet for their leadership in co-chairing the medical school’s tenth anniversary gala WMed Live: A First Decade Celebration. Their leadership played an instrumental role in honoring Dean Emeritus Hal B. Jenson for his decade of leadership as the founding dean of Kalamazoo’s premier medical school and in welcoming our new dean, Dr. Paula Termuhlen. We appreciate their ongoing enthusiasm to celebrate the achievements of the medical school and our future Clinicians, Leaders, Educators, Advocates, and Researchers of tomorrow. Bill and Ronda have been tireless in their advocacy to encourage members of our regional community to support medical education diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Bill and Barbara have shown generous support for the mission of the medical school, the development of the medical school’s physical facilities, and encouraging philanthropy through the WMed Philanthropy Advisory Council, the Dean’s Circle Leadership Giving Society, and the planned giving programs of the medical school. We proudly recognize these two couples for their bold leadership, inspiring vision, and generous financial support to advance the mission of WMed and its place in the field of global medical education.
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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
The results of this year’s Faculty-to-Faculty Awards have been announced. The award recipients, who were named in May, included Tim Bauler, PhD, Keith Kenter, MD, Mark Loehrke, MD, and Kathryn Redinger, MD. The Faculty-to-Faculty Awards, which are handed out by the medical school’s Office of Faculty Affairs, recognize faculty who were nominated by their peers for significant professional achievements, as well as contributions and service to WMed and the wider community. Mark Loehrke, MD Dr. Loehrke, who retired in January as chair of the Department of Medicine and associate program director of the Internal Medicine residency program, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who is nearing retirement and has amassed significant achievements and contributions to the medical school. In his letter nominating Dr. Loehrke for the Lifetime Achievement Award, Dilip Patel, MD, chair of the medical school’s Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, said Dr. Loehrke’s distinguished career as a clinician educator spanned more than 30 years and had a “lifelong impact” on the lives of hundreds of learners and colleagues. “Dr. Loehrke has been a fierce advocate at all levels and at all venues for the education, training, and well-being of medical students and residents,” Dr. Patel said. “All of us who have known Mark unequivocally would attest to his positive attitude, ability to guide and comfort in times of distress, rising to the occasion when needed, a genuine sense of caring, kindness, compassion, and all the qualities that exemplify our medical profession at the highest level.” Meanwhile, Dr. Kenter, who is associate dean for Clinical Affairs and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, received the Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has provided significant service to WMed, the community, and the medical community at the local, regional, national, and international levels. Keith Kenter, MD Dr. Kenter was nominated for the award by Adil Akkouch, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Program in Medical Engineering, and Karen Bovid, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. In his nomination letter, Dr. Akkouch said he has witnessed first-hand Dr. Kenter’s “devotion to the values of WMed and his volition to build a successful department and research program here at WMed.” Dr. Akkouch also noted the numerous leadership roles Dr. Kenter has at the medical school, including serving currently as the interim program director for the Orthopaedic Surgery residency program, as well as his work in the Kalamazoo community. “He always encourages me and supports me to get involved in many WMed activities and services, which will help me to grow personally and professionally,” Dr. Akkouch said. Meanwhile, Dr. Bovid lauded Dr. Kenter as the embodiment of “service to WMed, the community and the medical community.” “He has worked tirelessly in his role as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs to guide WMed through the pandemic, keeping the health and safety of our patients, students, residents, fellows, and all who work here in mind,” Dr. Bovid said. “He is thoughtful in approaching complex problems and excels in creative ‘out of the box’ thinking to propose excellence in patient care, teaching, and research.” Tim Bauler, PhD Dr. Bauler, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Dr. Redinger, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, each received the Faculty of the Year Award. The award recognizes a faculty member whose work exemplifies the mission and values of WMed. In their letter to nominate Dr. Bauler, M3 Deep Patel, David Riddle, PhD, chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Maria Sheakley, associate dean for Student Affairs and associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, noted Dr. Bauler’s drive for excellence as a medical educator and colleague. “His curiosity, sense of humor, dependability, and strive for excellence quickly catapulted him to ‘favorite’ status with students and colleagues alike,” Dr. Sheakley said. “As a colleague, I have observed Dr. Bauler bring energy and enthusiasm to everything he does, including his many teaching events across the curriculum, where he is consistently among the highest rated faculty at WMed, and a recipient of the student-nominated Outstanding Basic Science Educator award in 2018. In service and leadership roles, Dr. Bauler’s combined innovation and efficiency create a perfect balance for success.” Kathryn Redinger, MD David Overton, MD, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, nominated Dr. Redinger for the Faculty of the Year Award. Dr. Overton said Dr. Redinger has excelled in every role she has ever taken on at WMed, more recently as clerkship director for the fourth-year Advanced Emergency Medicine Clerkship and as a clinical scholar advisor and clinical skills facilitator. “However, her leadership in response to the educational turmoil presented by COVID has been the most noteworthy,” Dr. Overton said. “Overnight, she single-handedly developed an outstanding multi-media virtual clerkship curriculum, and delivered it entirely by herself over many months. Not only was her virtual clerkship extremely highly regarded by our students, it was educationally successful, resulting in outstanding NBME shelf exam scores. Her curriculum served as the model for other virtual WMed clerkships to emulate. It has been nationally recognized, being featured on AAMC’s iCollaborative Site, and is in press at the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. It was also prominently featured as an invited national presentation at the Academic Assembly of the Council of Residency Directors of Emergency Medicine.”
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RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT
The medical school will welcome its newest cohort of resident physicians to Kalamazoo and Battle Creek this summer following a successful Match Day that saw WMed’s 10 programs fill every available training slot. The Main Residency Match process begins in the fall for applicants usually in the final year of medical school, when they apply to residency programs at which they would like to train. The results, announced on Friday, March 18, were part of the 2022 Main Residency Match, which was the largest on record, according to the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). This year's Match was made up of 47,675 registered applicants – 1,025 fewer than in 2021 – and 39,205 positions, which was 1,099 more than last year. Additionally, the number of available first-year (PGY-1) positions rose to 36,277, an increase of 1,083 from last year. Match Day 2022 Results “Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and a virtual interview season, we at WMed are very pleased with the results of the Match,” said David Overton, MD, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education. “We are delighted to welcome these new residents and fellows to the Kalamazoo medical community.” The new group of 75 resident physicians includes six residents who are participating in MI Docs, a program from the state of Michigan which expands residency training positions in select specialties. MI Docs residents go on to practice in underserved areas of Michigan in exchange for loan repayment. The newest MI Docs residents coming to WMed will join our Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry residency programs. In addition to Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, the medical school has residency training programs in Emergency Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Orthopaedic Surgery, as well as fellowships in Emergency Medical Services, Forensic Pathology, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Simulation, and Sports Medicine. The new residents will begin their training in July. The medical school will also welcome new fellows to all of its fellowship programs. The group of new resident physicians includes four students from WMed’s Class of 2022. The students were part of a class that saw 98 percent of its students enter into a residency program in specialties ranging from General Surgery and Internal Medicine to Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics. Match Day is a time-honored event held at medical schools across the country. It represents a pinnacle moment for graduating medical students as the course of their medical careers is determined and they learn where they will spend the next three or more years for residency training. Residents practice medicine in a clinical setting under the supervision of fully licensed physicians. The Main Residency Match process begins in the fall for applicants usually in the final year of medical school, when they apply to residency programs at which they would like to train. Program directors review applications and conduct candidate interviews in the fall and early winter. From mid-January to late February, applicants submit to NRMP their rank order lists of preferred programs, and program directors rank applicants in order of preference for training. The NRMP uses a computerized mathematical algorithm to match applicants with programs using the preferences expressed on their rank lists. About the NRMP: The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1952 at the request of medical students to provide an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors. In addition to the annual Main Residency Match®, the NRMP conducts Fellowship Matches for more than 60 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service® (SMS®).
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SIMULATION CENTER SPOTLIGHT
In early August, while working with first-year Emergency Medicine residents in the Simulation Center at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, Dr. Emily Rozin used a short break in her teaching to learn something new of her own – how to perform an advanced intubation technique known as the ice axe method. In early August, Dr. John Hoyle, left, and Dr. Emily Rozin, practiced the ice axe intubation technique in the WMed Simulation Center. “We had some down time and he said, ‘Do you want to learn something cool?’” said Dr. Rozin, referring to Dr. John Hoyle, the medical school’s assistant dean for Simulation. “So, he used that opportunity to share this advanced technique with me.” The interaction that day was a spur-of-the-moment training session as Dr. Hoyle demonstrated the ice axe method and Dr. Rozin observed. Then, she got the chance to hone her skills at the face-to-face intubation technique several times. Side-by-side photos capturing the impromptu training were shared that day on the WMed EM Residency & EMS Fellowship Facebook page. As it turned out, her time that day with Dr. Hoyle equipped Dr. Rozin, a co-chief resident in the Emergency Medicine residency program at WMed, with a new skill she would use less than 24 hours later to save a patient’s life. That next day, Dr. Rozin was working a shift with West Michigan AirCare when she responded to a call in the region for a patient with severe facial injuries. She was part of a team that boarded an AirCare helicopter and flew to a rendezvous point where they met up with EMTs and began treating the patient in the back of an ambulance. “It was by far one of the worst potential airways that I’ve ever encountered,” Dr. Rozin said. “I won’t be surprised If it ends up being one of the worst I see in my career. It’s not something you see very often.” Additionally, Dr. Rozin said the limited space in the ambulance proved challenging as she and the flight nurse, Chris Mullen, assisting her assessed the patient. As it turned out, Mullen had spotted the photos on the EM Facebook page of Dr. Rozin practicing the ice axe technique. Mullen hadn’t used the technique since his time in the military but he believed Dr. Rozin could put the method to use to help the patient. After they laid the patient down, Dr. Rozin knew they only had so much time to secure the patient’s airway. The flight nurse sat at the head of the stretcher and Dr. Rozin straddled the patient’s chest, doing her best not to put her weight on the patient. “We both had a fantastic view from above to secure the patient’s airway,” Dr. Rozin recalled. “With most airways, you have time and other backup things you can do if you don’t get it the first time. In this case, because of the way the injuries had occurred, that was not an option. It was a lot of pressure but I did exactly what Dr. Hoyle taught me, and it was helpful that the flight nurse was familiar with the technique and trusted me, and we were able to work together as a team and do what was best for the patient.” Dr. Rozin said she has no doubt that using the ice axe method that day saved the patient’s life. “The teaching in ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) is airway, breathing, circulation,” Dr. Rozin said. “Airway is the most important thing and you use that for every trauma that comes into the emergency department. The patient’s airway was at such high risk of deteriorating that it was so important to secure it. It was one of those things where having the experience we had and knowing what could go wrong, we didn’t have a choice. Once we had committed to getting that airway, if we couldn’t have gotten it for any reason, the patient would have died.” Dr. Rozin said that after the AirCare helicopter landed at a local Level 1 trauma center, she texted Dr. Hoyle to let him know how she had used the ice axe method to help the patient in need. “We do a lot of stuff in the simulation lab and many of those things I’ve ended up doing in real life in the field,” Dr. Rozin said. “I’m incredibly appreciative for the training. That was one of the things I looked for when I interviewed at Emergency Medicine residency programs. Some places would say they used their simulation labs once or twice a year but here at WMed, we use the Simulation Center monthly in addition to tons of other trainings we take part in.” For Dr. Hoyle, who was named the new assistant dean for Simulation at WMed in July, Dr. Rozin’s story serves as a real-life, tangible example of why the types of trainings that take place in the WMed Simulation Center are so important for residents, medical students, and faculty. “The whole idea behind simulation is giving trainees – whether they’re students, residents, or faculty – the opportunity to deal with rare cases and procedures, as well as common cases and procedures, in a safe environment where they can practice repeatedly,” Dr. Hoyle said. “It helps your confidence and when you’re thrown into a real-life situation, you say, ‘I’ve done this.’” Dr. Hoyle said he was overwhelmed with joy and pride after he received the text message from Dr. Rozin in early August and then, later, as he got the chance to debrief with her over the phone. “I was really proud of her,” Dr. Hoyle said. “There’s definitely an extreme sense of pride in what they were able to accomplish for that patient. I really was floored after getting the text and then hearing the story from her and how well the technique worked.”
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
After she graduated from Wheaton College in 2002 with an English degree, Christine Maisano spent more than a decade working as a science writer, a career that led to her launching her own business and gaining extensive knowledge of the latest advances in biomedical research. Christine Maisano Later, after she moved to Colorado with her husband and son, she continued her work as a writer, became certified as a medical assistant, and worked at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango where she got the opportunity to provide care in several specialty clinics. “I spent a good portion of my time in the family medicine clinic and it felt like the right fit,” Maisano said recently. “I liked the physicians and the way they approached patient care and really thinking about everything.” As she navigated her career path, Maisano said the thought of applying for medical school was always on her radar but she struggled to figure out the logistics of that kind of move to pursue a career as a doctor. By 2019, though, she and her family took the leap and made the trek from Colorado to Kalamazoo where Maisano began her studies at WMed as a member of the MD Class of 2023. Since her arrival at the medical school a little less than three years ago, Maisano’s passion for family medicine has not waned and that commitment led to her recently being named the 2022 Outstanding Medical Student in Michigan by the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP). The award recognizes student members of the MAFP for academic excellence, leadership, service, and dedication to pursuing a career as a family physician. This summer, Maisano will be recognized at the MAFP conference and expo on Mackinac Island. “The overarching feeling I have is I feel very honored and one of the things that has the most meaning to me is that the award came about because of a nomination from the faculty at WMed,” Maisano said. “I like to think of myself as someone who has a commitment to family medicine and it is gratifying to know that was recognized by faculty.” Peter Ziemkowski, MD, an associate professor emeritus in the Department of Family and Community Medicine who retired from WMed in April, nominated Maisano for the MAFP honor. Dr. Ziemkowski said he interviewed Maisano when she was an applicant to WMed and he recalled how her life story and non-traditional path to medical school, as well as her interest in family medicine, really stood out to him. It was during that process, he said, that he realized Maisano was an experienced scientific writer and that he had relied on many of her writings for years during his time as a physician. “It was hard to fit in all of her accomplishments,” Dr. Ziemkowski said of Maisano’s nomination that he submitted to the MAFP. “She is a really remarkable person and she has been a rock for her class and she has been one of their anchors, and to me that’s really very important.” Maisano said she loves family medicine because of the strong relationships that physicians in the specialty are able to forge with patients throughout those patients’ lives. During her time as a medical assistant in Durango, she said she had the opportunity to work alongside three doctors who had been in practice for 30 or more years and were now seeing the grandchildren of patients whose babies they had delivered years before. “I just think those relationships are really important,” Maisano said. “Family medicine physicians can occupy that space as a trusted resource for their patients and communities.” As she prepares for her final year at WMed, Maisano said her time at the medical school has served to remind her that she made the right decision in 2019 to begin the pursuit of a career in medicine. “I really enjoy taking care of patients and for me that has always been the most rewarding part, and that continues,” she said. “I love clinical medicine, I love working with people, I love longitudinal care, and I think one of my greatest passions in family medicine is supporting patients to prevent disease and live their healthiest lives.” As she celebrates her recent honor from the MAFP, Maisano said the award and her time at WMed would not have been possible without her husband and son. “Medical school can be hard, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am without their support and encouragement,” Maisano said.”
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