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WMED SPOTLIGHT

SIMULATION CENTER SPOTLIGHT
A five-day old child with a ductal-dependent heart lesion in need of urgent intervention by doctors. A patient who attempted suicide by ingesting a toxic substance. A child with a tumor that is causing refractory seizures. Those were just a few of the simulated scenarios resident physicians from across the state of Michigan faced on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, as they took part in the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association of Michigan SimWars Competition in the WMed Simulation Center. A team of emergency medicine residents from Trinity Health Muskegon – Angelic Dye, MD; Bernadette Dazzo, DO; Justin Staley, DO, and Ryan Brandt, DO – took home the first-place plaque at this year's SimWars Competition. A total of 10 teams, including one team from WMed, participated in SimWars this year. The annual event features several simulated exercises to test residents’ skills and abilities in high-pressure, emergency situations. “Even for teams that didn’t win, we found out today that the experience has been really good for them and they enjoyed it,” said John Hoyle, MD, the medical school’s assistant dean for Simulation, who led and organized this year’s competition. “This competition gives them the experience of doing cases, a lot of which they’ve never seen before.” This year marked the first time in the competition’s 12-year history that WMed has hosted SimWars. The medical school sent a team of residents to compete in SimWars for the first time in 2021, which was the last time the event was held prior to this year’s gathering. In 2021, the team from WMed won the competition. The top two teams in the SimWars Competition participated in a final simulated case involving a pregnant woman who was the victim of domestic violence and suffered a placental abruption. This year, a team of emergency medicine residents from Trinity Health Muskegon – Angelic Dye, MD; Bernadette Dazzo, DO; Justin Staley, DO, and Ryan Brandt, DO – took home the first-place plaque. A team of residents from Central Michigan University – Ana Camagay, MD; Rebecca Dimanche, MD; Andrew Namespetra, MD, and Andrew Simon, DO – finished in second place. The competition began with each team taking part in five 12-minute scenarios. Following that initial round, the top two teams moved on to a final simulated case involving a pregnant woman who was the victim of domestic violence and suffered a placental abruption. During the scenario, the residents were faced with trying to deliver the woman’s baby while also attempting to revive the woman after she went into cardiac arrest. “I think we can all agree that this day simulates some of our worst fears as ER doctors and this is the best way to train for it because we are really acting out what it would look like to take care of these patients – patients that are really rare but that you don’t have a chance of taking care of unless you’ve at least tried to take a crack at it before,” said Josh Recknagel, MD, who was part of the team of residents from WMed who took part in this year’s SimWars competition. The team from WMed, which included Eric Hovda, DO; Nahal Massoudi, DO; Zachary Paquin, MD, and Josh Recknagel, MD, finished in the top five at this year’s SimWars competition. “They do an excellent job of making this as true to life as they can,” Dr. Recknagel added. The team from WMed, which also included Eric Hovda, DO, Nahal Massoudi, DO, and Zachary Paquin, MD, finished in the top five at this year’s SimWars competition. Even though the team from WMed did not repeat as winners this year, the doctors said they still drew a lot of value from the experience. “Especially with this many residents involved, it was great to talk about cases afterwards, to go over them afterwards, and it allows us to share that decision-making,” Dr. Paquin said. “A lot of these cases don’t have one right answer. There are certain things you have to do but the way you do them is very important too.” “This is definitely something you can learn a lot from without winning,” Dr. Recknagel added.
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
When she made the decision to come to WMed in 2022, second-year student Mara Miller said she was drawn to the medical school because of the emphasis placed on health equity and global health. In March, that focus of “understanding our place in the larger world” as future physicians took on a whole new meaning for Miller and four of her classmates as they accompanied Priscilla Woodhams, MD, to India where they took part in a one-week global health elective. Priscilla Woodhams, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at WMed, accompanied five students to India for a one-week global health elective in March. “It was really awesome and eye-opening to see what health care is like in India, and to have those real-world opportunities available to help those that we cared for,” Miller said. During their time in the country, Miller and Dr. Woodhams, along with M2s Drew Frase, Adrianne Holland, and Kayla (Keckler) Grooters, and M3 Carolyn Cooper, visited the villages of Dokur and Kotakadra in rural Telangana, South India. Under the guidance of Dr. Woodhams, they focused on treating and preventing iron-deficiency anemia in children and implementing the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Helping Babies Breathe training program. The two initiatives taken on by Dr. Woodhams and the students were done in collaboration with – and at the request of – the Institute for Rural Health Studies (IRHS), an organization that provides preventive healthcare services to poor communities in Telangana. “This really is an opportunity to work on health equity in an area of the world that really needs that,” said Dr. Woodhams, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at WMed. “Students get the opportunity to see what it’s like working in a low-resource area. It is so different from what they experience here in the United States and, for me, the experience makes me stay on my toes with my clinical skills and thinking creatively.” The trip to India in March was a return of sorts for Dr. Woodhams, who last visited Telangana in 2019 with a group of students that included Pooja Avula and Brinda Ryali. Avula and Ryali, who graduated from WMed in 2020, worked with Dr. Woodhams and the IRHS to launch the global health elective for first- and second-year students to help improve women’s health in India. The work in India held special importance for Avula and Ryali as they both have family in Hyderabad, India, and Avula lived there with her grandparents until she was six years old. Ryali also lived in India for more than four years and attended middle school and high school there, and visits the country regularly with her family. During their time in the country, Dr. Woodhams and the five WMed students visited the villages of Dokur and Kotakadra in rural Telangana, South India. Following the visit in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented return trips to India for the global health elective in 2020, 2021, and 2022. “It was really wonderful to be able to go back because these are people in these villages that we’ve been thinking about throughout the pandemic,” Dr. Woodhams said of the trip in March. “Pooja and Brinda wanted to create this elective for students and it made me really happy to see their dream for the medical school come true,” Dr. Woodhams said. As part of their efforts during the most recent trip to India, Dr. Woodhams and the students took test kits to check the hemoglobin levels of students at schools in the two villages. They also brought with them 100 Lucky Shakti leaves, a simple cooking tool that adds iron to foods and drinks. The group spent time at four different schools taking vitals and conducting well-child exams for about 50 children per school. They also got the chance to examine and treat different skin rashes, as well as fungal and parasitic infections, pneumonia, and kidney stones. Cooper recalled one of the more serious cases the group saw was a young student whose leg had become seriously infected from a cut he suffered on his foot from stepping on a piece of glass. Cooper said by the time Dr. Woodhams examined the young boy he was septic and had to be taken by ambulance to a local hospital. “I was really humbled to see how health care works in other settings,” Cooper said. “We have so many resources here and there we had to improvise.” Holland, who completed her undergraduate studies in Canada and lived for a short time in New Zealand and Italy, said she was drawn to the opportunity to travel to India with the hope of gaining an appreciation for the lack of access people face in other parts of the world and how that impacts their well-being. Once there, she said she enjoyed the opportunity she and her classmates had to work with local paramedics and community health workers. “It was an amazing opportunity and I think that working as future doctors involves us really understanding a diverse range of people and communities and this trip really challenges your understanding of different cultures and your knowledge of health and wellness,” Holland said. Frase said the trip to India reminded him of the importance of being flexible and adaptable in his work as a future physician. He said the clinical experience the students gained is also invaluable as they prepare for rotations in their third and fourth years of medical school. Pooja Avula and Brinda Ryali, who graduated from WMed in 2020, worked with Dr. Woodhams and the IRHS to launch the global health elective for first- and second-year students to help improve women’s health in India. “The No. 1 thing was the clinical experience,” Frase said. “We saw more than 150 children on the trip and as M1s, most of our clinical experience is coming from standardized patients. Having actual interactions with patients in the clinic was really energizing along with getting to see medicine in a different way.” In addition to their work to treat iron-deficiency anemia, Dr. Woodhams said she was extremely proud of the effort led by Grooters to implement the AAP’s Helping Babies Breathe training program. In a presentation the group gave during Grand Rounds for the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine on August 18, Grooters said the program aims to create a network of culturally competent and skilled birth attendants while providing protocols for evaluating and correcting birth asphyxia. Grooters said Helping Babies Breathe techniques can reduce infant mortality by as much as 47 percent and the implementation of the program provides a pathway for future trainings in India. Dr. Woodhams said Grooters not only taught the community health workers in India the Helping Babies Breathe techniques, but also provided instruction that will allow those workers to train their colleagues. “It was just magical,” Dr. Woodhams said. Looking ahead, Dr. Woodhams said she plans to make a return trip to India with students in 2024 with a continued focus on iron-deficiency anemia, as well as a health camp for adults. She said she is also hopeful that faculty and residents from the medical school’s Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residency programs will take part. “We can’t speak enough about how amazing it is going to the schools and working with the children,” during Grand Rounds on August 18. “It’s a really rewarding thing, it’s just remarkable.”
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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
Three WMed alumni who have gone through the ranks as students, residents, and fellows have returned to the medical school as faculty members, ready to teach the next generation of physicians. Stephanie Van Alsten, MD Stephanie Van Alsten, MD, Nicole Garton, MD and Neil Hughes, MD became faculty members in July in the departments of Emergency Medicine, Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine and Internal Medicine, respectively. Dr. Van Alsten earned her medical degree from WMed in 2019. She went on to complete a residency in emergency medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine, and then returned to WMed to complete a fellowship in emergency medical services. In July, she became an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Van Alsten, a Portage native, said she appreciates the variety of environments Kalamazoo offers, from urban areas to farmland, which lends itself to a wide range of medical cases. Dr. Van Alsten worked for five years as an emergency medical technician before going to medical school. She said she continued to feel drawn to that area of medicine, and she knew WMed’s EMS program was robust. Dr. Van Alsten said her residency in West Virginia provided her with invaluable experiences in managing critically ill patients, particularly those affected by chronic respiratory diseases and poverty-related ailments. While she acknowledges the excellent training she received in the academic environment of WVU, she ultimately felt a stronger pull toward the WMed community. The strength of the EMS community, the number of faculty members and the mentors available in Kalamazoo compelled her to return to WMed. Among the highlights in her Emergency Medicine Services fellowship, she points to trips in August 2022 and May 2023 to Yellowstone National Park, where she worked directly with Yellowstone EMS, a complex, high performing system that includes both basic and advanced life support National Park Service personnel. She will return this August as a faculty member. Deciding to teach the next generation of physicians, Dr. Van Alsten said, gives her the motivation to improve and completely understand the material she teaches. “It’s very rewarding to see the growth that takes place in the students and residents as they gain in knowledge and confidence in what they’re doing,” Dr. Van Alsten said. “It’s just very important.” Nicole Garton, MD For Dr. Nicole Garton, her path to becoming a faculty member at WMed was paved with a love for teaching and a sense of community that has flourished within the institution. As a student at WMed, she was captivated by the warm and supportive environment that Kalamazoo offered. The close-knit community within the medical school played a significant role in her decision to remain in the area after marrying her husband. Dr. Garton earned her medical degree from WMed in 2020. She went directly into residency at WMed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided its own set of challenges. “Despite the social distancing and the mask wearing, I feel like we all got to know each other really well even though it was harder to do so,” Dr. Garton said of the beginning of her residency. “WMed leadership made sure that there were ways for us to do that safely, whether that was gathering over video or in smaller groups in person while masking. That was a big piece of getting started. Similar to medical school, everybody's really willing to and trying to help you out, make sure if there's anything you need, they do their best to accommodate you.” As a resident, Dr. Garton said, the decision to build her career at WMed was cemented by the medical school's commitment to mental health support, early education resources, and specialized programs like eating disorder treatment. Her involvement in the Leadership, Education, and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program allowed her to gain insights into caring for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Her experience as a resident in the eating disorder clinic has given her the experience she needed to see patients there. In July, Dr. Garton became an assistant professor in the medical school’s Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. She said mentoring medical students and residents reinforces her own understanding of the medical concepts she teaches. "I feel like it's important and helps me learn as well as remember some of the things that may have not come to mind for a while," she said. Neil Hughes, MD Neil Hughes, MD, became an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine in July after finishing a fellowship in Simulation at the medical school. Dr. Hughes earned his medical degree from WMed in 2019. He went on to complete a residency in Internal Medicine at WMed and then became the medical school’s first-ever Simulation fellow. The decision to pursue the fellowship brought Dr. Hughes full circle. He started working in the Simulation Center in 2012 shortly after graduating from Western Michigan University and was part of laying the foundation for what the 24,000-square-foot facility has become today. During his fellowship, Dr. Hughes designed a simulation curriculum for Internal Medicine. Now, as a faculty member, Dr. Hughes is part of WMed's Department of Medicine, sharing his expertise with residents and fellows. “I like to joke with people that clinical care is good but teaching is great and it’s my passion,” Dr. Hughes said. “I got to learn a lot of things about curriculum development and simulation design and even some of the business aspects of simulation during my fellowship.” Dr. Hughes emphasized the immense support and camaraderie within the WMed community, making it an exceptional place for faculty and learners alike to thrive. For him, WMed is not just an alma mater, but a place that nurtures growth and fosters personal connections. "My wife lives in Texas while she finishes her pediatrics residency and we are doing the long-distance thing, which is challenging,” Dr. Hughes said. “WMed leaders have worked with me to come up with a schedule where I can work clinically while also teaching and having the opportunity to visit my wife.” But, he said, he is passionate about being a faculty member and teaching. “I found the most rewarding thing was actually teaching and taking care of patients because it expands my reach,” Dr. Hughes said. “If I have one patient in front of me, I have one patient in front of me. But if I’m teaching, then all of a sudden the students that I’m teaching go off and each sees a patient, so it extends my reach and my impact.”
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RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT
A residency track that combines functional medicine with traditional medical care is gaining steam in Battle Creek. The medical school’s first cohort of residents recently finished the Functional Medicine residency track, additional training for family medicine physicians that combines functional medicine with allopathic treatment. Ramona Wallace, DO The track is led by Ramona Wallace, DO, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and a family medicine physician who sees patients at Grace Health in Battle Creek. Dr. Wallace brought the idea to WMed when she joined as a faculty member in 2019 and the idea was supported by Holli Neiman-Hart, MD, program director of WMed’s Family Medicine Residency Program in Battle Creek. The first cohort started the residency track in 2020 and are preparing for or have taken the exam to earn the certification. Physicians must log 200 clinic hours, complete a case study and pass the exam. Upon passing their exams, they will receive a certification in functional medicine on top of meeting the requirements for a residency in family medicine. The latest cohort started their residency track in July 2023. “Functional medicine looks at lifestyle, root causes of disease and is a comprehensive approach to treating patients,” Dr. Wallace said. “It’s a deep dive into the systems biology,” Dr. Wallace said. Nationally, the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) has seen increased demand from academic institutions to train and certify their faculty and to offer functional medicine education earlier in student and resident training programs. The curriculum used in functional medicine is evidence-based and helps medical learners to implement lifestyle and personalized medicine. “We are thrilled to be able to offer this valuable care to the people of our community,” said Daniel Stulberg, MD, chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “We are also excited by the interest in our residents to learn these skills, become proficient and take this type of care out into their future practices to serve even more people.” Dr. Wallace has been invited to give talks at several organizations across the nation about the residency track, and she hosts monthly functional workshops for physicians at the medical school. “Nationally, we have received attention because we’re finding the residents who go through the functional medicine track are able to deliver high-quality care,” Dr. Wallace said. “They’re able to meet the patient where they’re at and use another tool set. They have a greater understanding of the underlying ideology of chronic disease and illnesses.” Dr. Wallace holds a functional medicine clinic at Grace Health for patients who want to address the concerns they have in conjunction with allopathic ways of treatment. “It works synergistically to help patients understand and fill in some of the gaps in their health they haven’t been able to address,” Dr. Wallace said.
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LATEST NEWS & EVENTS

State of the Medical School Update 2023

State of the Medical School update highlights exciting developments at WMed

Nicholas Chiorazzi, MD

WMed to welcome Nicholas Chiorazzi, MD, in December for Seminars in Investigative Medicine

WMed 6th Annual Health Equity Summit

Medical school welcomes more than 150 people for the 6th Annual WMed Health Equity Summit

Thanksgiving Day

All WMed campuses closed

Day After Thanksgiving

All WMed campuses closed

Christmas Eve (Observed)

All WMed campuses close at noon

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