October 2012
- ACP Abstract Competition
- Medical Student Perspectives: Bedside Manner
- My Kind of Medicine: Cynthia D. Smith, MD, FACP
- IMIG Update: October Report & IMIG of the Month
- Advocacy Update: Apply for the Health Policy Internship by October 29
- Feature: ACP EVP & CEO Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP participates in National Primary Care Week Campaign
- Winning Abstracts: Connexin 40 Remodeling In Purkinje Cardiomyocytes Post-myocardial Infarction
- Subspecialty Careers: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
- In the Clinic: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
- Virtual Dx - Interpretive Challenges from ACP
- Highlights from ACP Internist® & ACP Hospitalist®
- Poll: How do you plan to make the most of your winter break?
ACP Abstract Competition
ACP will be holding a National Abstracts Competition as part of Internal Medicine 2013. The meeting will take place April 11 - 13, 2013, in San Francisco, California. Abstracts are divided into four categories, Basic Research, Clinical Research, Quality Improvement-Patient Safety, and Clinical Vignette. ACP Medical Student members are encouraged to submit. A first author may submit two abstracts to the Clinical Vignette category, and one abstract to each of the Research categories.
The submission deadline for the national competitions will be December 3, 2012. Learn more and submit your abstract.
Medical Student Perspectives: Bedside Manner
A recent conference on the topic of hospital and patient safety addressed the theory that medical students are often the most vigilant because they know the least in a room full of residents and attendings. I identified with this, because the desire to absorb as much information as possible in any patient interaction is a common theme among medical students. This was further embodied by a recent patient interaction that I had.
MoreMy Kind of Medicine: Real Lives of Practicing Internists: Cynthia D. Smith, MD, FACP
Dr. Cynthia D. Smith jokes that she was born to be an internist. Dr. Smith's parents were both in the medical field; her father was an internist and her mother was an intensive care unit nurse. Growing up, she recalls spending time in the hospital while her father completed his rounds on weekends. She believed that she grew up so immersed in the medical world, that she hesitated before choosing medicine because of the exposure that she had growing up. Dr. Smith decided to spend her summers in college working in a variety of different fields to explore career options, other than medicine, including publishing, politics, and research all before finally deciding that medicine was in fact the right career for her. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Chinese History from Yale University and her M.D. from Colombia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, NY.
MoreIMIG Update: October Report & IMIG of the Month
See how your medical school's IMIG club compares to other schools. Check out the October IMIG Participation Chart.
Internal Medicine Interest Group of the Month: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School
Club Med, the Internal Medicine Interest Group at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School, is one of the most popular noncredit electives offered to first- and second-year medical students. The elective consists of a lecture series, as well as RTM (Residents Teaching Medical Students) sessions.
MoreAdvocacy Update: Apply for the Health Policy Internship by October 29
Applications are now being accepted for 2013 ACP Health Policy Internship Program. The internship will be in Washington DC and last for 4 weeks starting April 29, 2013. The deadline for applications is October 29.
MoreFeature: ACP EVP & CEO Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP participates in National Primary Care Week Campaign
Primary Care Progress (PCP), in partnership with the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) hosted National Primary Care Week (NPCW) October 8-12, 2012. Primary Care Progress is a growing network of primary health care clinicians, trainees, and students engaging their local primary health care communities to promote primary care and transform care delivery and training. NPCW 2012 "Primary Care: The Future of Health Care" focused on voicing the value of primary care in the U.S. health system.
MoreWinning Abstracts from the 2012 Medical Student Abstract Competition: Connexin 40 Remodeling In Purkinje Cardiomyocytes Post-myocardial Infarction
Purkinje cardiomyocytes are specialized cardiomyoctes that connect to working cardiomyocytes to facilitate contraction of the heart muscle. Connexin 40 (Cx40) is the predominant connexin found in gap junctions of Purkinje cardiomyocytes; however, Cx43 and Cx45 are predominant in working cardiomyocytes. In working cardiomyocytes following myocardial infarction (MI), Cx43 remodeling occurs, which is indicated by lateralization of Cx43 and ensuing arrhythmias. We hypothesize that in murine Purkinje cardiomyocytes, MI will cause disorganization of Cx40 expression at gap junctions.
MoreSubspecialty Careers: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology is a branch of Cardiology that manages complex cardiac arrhythmias with the use of implantable pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators, and also applies other interventional techniques and treatments.
MoreIn the Clinic: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
An aneurysm is a failure of the arterial wall that results in a balloon-like dilatation of a segment of the artery. Aortic aneurysms constitute the 14th leading cause of death in the United States and the 10th leading cause of death in older men, who are the principal victims (1). Diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is important because the natural history is that of continued enlargement with potentially catastrophic consequences. Because the condition may be entirely asymptomatic, and when symptoms are present, they may be nonspecific, the internist is often the first to evaluate the patient. Thus, understanding the disease, optimal diagnostic methods, and management are crucial for primary care practitioners.
In the Clinic is a monthly feature in Annals of Internal Medicine that focuses on practical management of patients with common clinical conditions. It offers evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions about screening, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and patient education and provides physicians with tools to improve the quality of care. Many internal medicine clerkship directors recommend this series of articles for students on the internal medicine ambulatory rotation.
Highlights from ACP Internist® & ACP Hospitalist®
A physician tried to self-diagnose his symptoms of a feeling of suffocation and a change in gait. Experts review the cognitive biases that made the doctor overlook the right diagnosis.
Although white coat hypertension is chalked up to general anxiety, it may be the medical setting, and specifically the physician, that acts as the trigger.
An internal medicine resident reflects on his recent graduation, a cross-country move and the new responsibilities he now carries.