Priscilla Mpasi

The Class of 2014’s Priscilla Mpasi has been elected as national vice-president of the Student National Medical Association. She will serve a one-year term during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The SNMA held the national election for its officers at the annual conference in Louisville, Ky., on March 31. Priscilla was one of three candidates vying for the post of national VP.

“After three long, grueling days of speeches and Q&A sessions, my name was called,” Priscilla said. “I actually won. I am still in shock and I have not had much time to process as I had to come right back to my surgery rotation and focus on being a medical student. I am so excited and honored to represent our institution in this way on the national level.”

The SNMA is the oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. Priscilla has served as president of the VCU School of Medicine’s chapter during the 2011‐2012 school year and as a regional officer with the national organization this year.

Priscilla will work alongside the national president to execute the national agenda in its commemoration year entitled “50 years: Diversifying the Face of Medicine.” As vice-president she will serve as an executive member on the board of directors, directly oversee all the national committee programs and initiatives and attend regional and national conferences to speak out on health disparities and the importance of equality in healthcare access.

Priscilla is the first nationally elected executive officer in SNMA from VCU. In 2003-2004, two faculty members were appointed national committee officers: Sala S. Webb, M.D., assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, and Veronica Ayala-Sims, M.D., assistant professor of infectious diseases.

The Class of 2016’s Abrahm Behnam has married his design skills with medical knowledge to produce 68 illustrations in the recently released text Ultrasound-Guided Chemodenervation and Neurolysis: Reference Manual and DVD Procedure Atlas.

Abrahm Behnam, Class of 2016

Before entering medical school, Abrahm was a biomechanics research engineer at the National Institutes of Health. “I spent off-hours shadowing the medical director of my section during her clinical rounds.”

His director, Katharine Alter, M.D., is a pioneer in using ultrasound to guide chemodenervation procedures. Chemodenervation uses neurotoxins to paralyze a muscle or group of muscles to treat patients with hypertonia, movement disorders and a variety of other conditions. Alter had a medical teaching atlas underway to introduce the procedures for clinicians, and Abrahm offered his help in capturing basic patient photography and videos to illustrate the concepts.

As Abrahm began the project, he learned that three types of images would be featured: clinical, anatomical and ultrasound. All related to one another but demonstrated different perspectives on the procedure. Abrahm suggested it would be helpful to combine the images to highlight the anatomical obstacles involved with deep injections. The authors welcomed his suggestion and devoted a 70-page chapter to his illustrations.

Abrahm’s illustration of an ultrasound-guided injection in the neck is featured on the text’s cover.
Used with permission: Alter, K.A., Hallett, M., Karp, B., & Lungu, C. (2012). Ultrasound-Guided Chemodenervation and Neurolysis: Reference Manual and DVD Procedure Atlas. New York, NY: Demos Medical Publishing, LLC.

“The combined image includes a clinical photograph with anatomical illustrations superimposed specific to the photograph’s perspective and to bony landmarks of the patient’s anatomy,” Abrahm explains. “Each photo-illustration has a series of anatomical illustration layers that can be peeled off layer-by-layer to view deeper anatomy.”

Abrahm’s chapter, Muscle Layers and Injection Points Atlas, provides detailed pictorial reference of eight areas of the body from the side of the face to the lower leg. The illustrations guide clinicians in planning and performing chemodenervation procedures by showing the relationship and orientation of individual muscles and surface anatomy to help identify optimal injection sites. Clinicians can interactively scroll through muscle layers using an accompanying DVD featuring 68 animations that the editors have described as a stunning visual roadmap.

“When planning chemodenervation procedures many practitioners find visualizing complex 3 D musculoskeletal anatomy challenging,” said Alter, who is medical director of the Functional and Applied Biomechanics Section of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the NIH. “Abrahm’s images provide clinicians with a user friendly pictorial reference guide of the relevant musculoskeletal anatomy. It reveals details about the orientation of and overlapping nature of target muscles. In the short time that the text has been in print we have received a lot of positive feedback about this section of the atlas from clinicians.”
As a self-taught graphic designer, Abrahm’s previous experience was limited to creating logos and t-shirts for various clubs and societies. He now hopes to keep his newly discovered skill alive by working on more medical illustration projects.

When two medical students followed their longtime passions for global health to Honduras, they conducted research that will make a difference for local residents. In June 2012, the Class of 2015′s Audrey Le and Jaclyn Arquiette participated in HOMBRE, a medical mission trip organized by first-year students that takes place the summer before their second year.

The Class of 2015′s Audrey Le interviewing a survey participant in La Hicaca, Honduras.

At the local government’s request, both students researched some of the region’s key health issues.

Le chose to study indoor air pollution, and she looked into many potential causes, including fuels used for cooking, home construction and stove placement. She discovered that where families place their stoves can greatly affect their home’s air quality.

“We will be taking Audrey’s results back to the ministry of health and community leaders when we meet with them in January 2013,” said Michael Stevens, M.D., M.P.H., who, along with Gonzalo Bearman, M.D., M.P.H., was one of the students’ primary research mentors. “Her findings have implications for how stoves are positioned within kitchens.”

Arquiette set out to determine if the water filters distributed by HOMBRE are successful in eradicating bacteria and preventing diarrheal illness. Although the water samples Arquiette collected from the filtered sources were not bacteria free, she found limited occurrences of E. coli, a bacteria commonly linked to a host of illnesses. She also determined that the individuals who used filters reported fewer cases of diarrhea. The findings showed that HOMBRE’s water filter program is a success and provided support for a continuation of the program.

The Class of 2015′s Jaclyn Arquiette with a poster detailing her water filter research.

“Throughout this experience, I feel that I have really learned the unparalleled role public health plays in a community’s collective health,” Arquiette said of the experience. “Even the most basic measures, such as providing clean drinking water, play an astronomical role in the quality of one’s health.”

Because of the impact of their work, both students were asked to share their findings at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Le and Arquiette attended the November conference to present their abstracts.

“It was truly inspiring to be part of a gathering of students and academics from all corners of the world who shared a passion similar to my own for global medicine,” Le said. “It was equally interesting to be able to learn about some of the many other ongoing research projects within the field.”

Read more about the school’s ongoing relief work to Honduras.

He could hardly believe it when he got the news. When the call came letting Akeem George know that he was chosen to receive the L.D. Britt Scholarship, George was thrilled and filled with pride.

First-year student Akeem George at the medical school’s White Coat Ceremony

“My ears were ringing over the phone,” said George, a Virginia Beach native and first-year School of Medicine student. “Dr. Britt actually called me to tell me I was chosen. I called my family right after, because they have sacrificed so much to get me here.”

George was selected as the Class of 2016′s recipient of the Britt award, a $10,000 scholarship given to a minority student from Hampton Roads that is renewable for each of the four years of medical school. Many of the past Britt Scholars have been students at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and George is the first student from the MCV Campus to be chosen by the scholarship committee.

Britt told George that he was selected because of his academic success and remarkable commitment to community service. As an undergraduate student at VCU, George was a leader in his service fraternity. He also volunteered at Richmond’s Fan Free Clinic and in his hometown at the Beach Health Clinic. Despite juggling the heavy course load of a first-year medical student, George now spends hours each week mentoring a 12-year-old boy in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond.

The Britt scholarship was particularly meaningful to George because of his respect for L.D. Britt, M.D., the scholarship’s namesake, and the award’s connection to his hometown.

“I am from the Hampton Roads community, and Dr. Britt is a pillar in our community. He is a role model for young men like me,” George said. “I thought it was cool that he is a nationally renowned surgeon and could practice anywhere, but he chose to come back to Hampton Roads and serve the community that supported him.”

George was honored by the scholarship, as well, because he said he views it as Hampton Roads’ investment in his future. It’s an investment he doesn’t take lightly. Inspired by Britt’s example and motivated by his desire to serve, George plans to return to Virginia Beach to practice medicine. He hopes to be a surgeon who makes a difference for generations to come.

“The scholarship will greatly ease the trouble and distraction of growing debt so that I can focus on my studies, my family and my community. It is a generous gift, and I am reminded that it is an investment in my future. I know that it is my role in the future to give back to my community as a physician.”

Kathryn Shaia

A national conference that typically celebrates the research of residents and fellows selected Kathryn Shaia, a third-year medical student, to present her research findings. Shaia was one of only two medical students invited to speak at the University HealthSystem Consortium Annual Conference. She shared results of her study that showed how transitional care programs can reduce hospital readmissions rates by assigning a nurse practitioner to provide in-home services after discharge.

“Because this session targets residents and fellows, Kathryn’s selection is exceptional,” said Alan Dow, M.D., the School of Medicine’s assistant dean of clinical curriculum, who helped Shaia prepare for the conference.

Shaia was mentored by internal medicine professor Peter Boling, M.D., and initially submitted her research for a poster presentation. But, after reviewing her work, conference organizers asked her to give a more detailed 15-minute oral presentation.

From 2002 to 2009, the VCU Medical Center’s internal medicine service readmission rate was 17.3 percent. At the conference, Shaia shared research showing that a hospital transitional care program dropped the 30-day readmission rate to 7.23 percent for the patients who participated.

“We know that far too many patients are readmitted to the hospital within a month of discharge,” Dow said. “Kathryn’s project showed that having a nurse practitioner provide case management and medical services at a patient’s home could reduce the rate of readmissions to the hospital. Her work suggests this intervention could lead to higher quality care at less cost.”

As Shaia continues her journey to becoming a physician, she is looking to find the field of medicine that suits her best. But, she said, the findings from research projects like this will shape her perspective throughout her career.

“Prior to medical school, I received my M.H.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, and I have always been interested in looking at healthcare from a systems perspective in addition to an individual patient perspective,” she said. “I am currently undecided as to what type of medicine I will practice, but I know that I will implement quality improvement initiatives in whatever field I choose.”

The national organization of Alpha Omega Alpha recognized School of Medicine student Kate Pearson’s research on Honduran health care in its recent online publication. Pearson, now a third-year medical student, was awarded the 2011 Alpha Omega Alpha Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship and used the funding to investigate the barriers to providing medical care to different parts of Honduras.

Kate Pearson

Pearson’s research focused on three different Honduran communities. Though they are near each other, one of the communities is suburban, and the other two are rural. All three locations are aided by the Honduras Outreach Medical Brigada Relief Effort (HOMBRE), a yearly medical mission trip organized by first-year School of Medicine students.

After a year of research, Pearson found a heavy burden for the remote communities in trying to access healthcare. Challenges include cost, facility overcrowding, transportation and distance to the clinic. In January 2012, her findings were presented to the local government in Yoro, Honduras.

“I was both excited and nervous to have the findings presented, knowing that it could permanently shape future trip planning,” Pearson said. “I was confident in our findings, though, and felt very empowered that the work has allowed us to tailor the mission to provide care to the most needy communities.”

In addition to sharing the results with the Honduran people, Pearson was first-author on a manuscript of her work published in the International Journal of Family Medicine. She now has completed the research fellowship, but remains focused on finding ways to provide excellent patient care as she pursues her career in medicine.

“The experience has continued to motivate me both in pursuing research and in my medical education. It continues to remind me how valuable a medical education is — and how a small community and a small team of thoughtful health professionals can come together to make powerful change.”

In late August, Pearson was interviewed by the AOA about her fellowship experience. The interview as well as her abstract are online.