Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program Newsletter - Spring 2022

Spring 2022

Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update Expressions of the joys of general internal medicine celebrated on Jan. 15 Using funding from the Society for General Internal Medicine’s #ProudtobeGIM program, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine hosted a “Celebration of Expression” that took place virtually on Jan. 15. The celebration included a panel discussion with general internal medicine physicians Carol Myers, DO, and Greg Burke, MD, and a discussion about Geisinger’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, led by Geisinger physician Aliasgar Chittalia, MD, who has been recognized for his work surrounding diversity and inclusion in the field of medicine. Physicians and students were also encouraged to submit artwork with a Proud to be GIM theme.

Mirza

Spatz

Burke

Thompson

The #ProudtobeGIM program encourages medical students and residents to choose internal medicine. The winning proposal was submitted as a collaboration of graduate and undergraduate medical education by Wasique Mirza, MD, Christin Spatz, MD, Michelle Thompson, MD, and Geisinger Northeast Internal Medicine residents including Belinda Sibanda, MD, Steven Suastegui, MD, and Queeneth Uwandu, MD. According to Dr. Spatz, assistant professor of medicine and director of clinical advising, “The Celebration of Expression provided an opportunity to showcase the importance of primary care, specifically general internal medicine, to the overall health of patients and communities. We were able to educate students and trainees about what the field has to offer and the unique programs Geisinger has developed to support primary care physicians and their patients.”

Dr. Mirza, associate professor of medicine and clerkship director for Geisinger Commonwealth’s North Campus, is also the internal medicine residency program director at Geisinger Wyoming Valley. He said the idea for the celebration was developed by his residents. “Our residency program is very focused on primary care,” he said. “We hope to show medical students and internal medicine residents what’s special about general internal medicine, especially the strong, rewarding patient relationships that develop.

Our patients think of us as a big part of their lives because we’ve been there through good times and bad. It’s particularly gratifying when you start to see generations — patients bringing children and grandchildren to you because they trust your judgment.”

Correction: In the previous edition of the Abigail Geisinger Scholars newsletter, Dr. Vicki Sapp was referred to as "former" advisor of the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Chapter of the Student National Medical Association. Dr. Sapp remains chapter advisor.

Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update | Spring 2022

Medical student attendees see GIM as offering ‘freedom,’ ‘variety’ The podcast intrigued Mr. Barry and made him interested in attending the celebration. “I really enjoyed the program,” he said. “It reinforced the idea that there’s freedom to take IM and do what you want with it. The message from panelists was find your passion and that IM is a great way to do that. It can take you in many directions.”

Barry

His classmate, Carly Deter, also a member of the MD Class of 2024, agreed. “I felt the purpose of the program was to get people to feel comfortable with the breadth and depth of IM and keep our options open. I hadn’t had much exposure to IM. I thought it was cool to learn more about it and the differences between IM and family medicine. I was impressed, and I am going into my third-year rotations with an open mind.”

Deter

Student attendees at the Celebration of Expression say the event opened their eyes to the breadth and depth of internal medicine and the essential role it plays in healthcare.

Abigail Geisinger Scholar Connor Barry, a member of the MD Class of 2024, said when he entered medical school, he was leaning toward emergency medicine. “After my first year, I took a year off,” he said. “In that time, I listened to a lot of podcasts. One in particular was The Curbsiders. It’s all about internal medicine (IM), featuring two IM docs who encourage a wider view of IM. They say an IM doctor’s role in delivery of care can be as active as you want — you don’t have to pass everything off to a specialist. For example, you can manage high blood pressure and diabetes.”

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Mr. Barry said the day helped cement a decision he had tentatively made to pursue general internal medicine.

“What I heard at the Celebration of Expression confirmed my impressions of the field. I love puzzles. I love to be able to solve complex issues. I don’t want the same thing every day. In IM, you get new things every day and there are always new things to learn, but IM still gives you continuity of care. You can have ability to do as much as you want for your patient. There’s variety and freedom.”

Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update | Spring 2022

Carol Myers, DO, still makes house calls ‘It’s a natural progression of care and continuity’ Dr. Carol Myers served as a panelist at the Celebration of Expression. She shared the following story that illustrates the joy she finds in long-term relationships with patients.

"There are so many stories about patient relationships. There are patients who’ve been with me in the 20 years I’ve been practicing medicine. For some of them, I still do some home visits. I just feel like it’s a natural progression of care and continuity. If they can’t travel, why would I put them through trying to get to the office? I took care of my own mother, and at the end she couldn’t get out, so it’s just a very nice thing for primary care doctors to offer their patients.

I have one patient in her 90s. She lives with her daughter, and she is so excited to see me when I visit. Whenever I see her, she has a whole meal cooked, including desserts. She even packs a bag for me to take home to my husband.

I was so taken aback when she did that for me, but she said she considers me part of her family, and it’s just her token of appreciation."

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At the Celebration of Expression, Aliasgar Chittalia, MD, MHA, a member of the Geisinger Diversity Council, discussed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in residencies and fellowships.

Dr. Chittalia leads the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) initiative at Geisinger. In 2019, he was awarded the Pennsylvania LGBT Leadership Award at the Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Unity Summit in Pittsburgh for his contribution to improving care given to our LGBTQ+ community.

Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update | Spring 2022

Sibanda

Saustegui

Uwandu

House staff organizers agree: Panelists persuasive on general internal medicine When Steven Suastegui, MD, was asked to help plan the Celebration of Expression, COVID seemed to be abating and he was happily planning a large, in-person festival of everything he finds exciting about general internal medicine (GIM). “We wanted to invite prominent GIM docs and showcase what they do, both inside and outside the clinic. There are some GIM docs who even have a band, and we were going to ask them to play and have a mini talent show,” the second-year internal medicine resident said.

patient interactions and the opportunity for longitudinal relationships that you don’t get in any other specialty.

Another overarching theme was that there are not enough primary care doctors. There is a dire need and if a student wants to have the most impact, to know the patient as a person — this field is for you. That came through with all the speakers.”

“The event was very informative, and I loved how it highlighted various aspects of general internal medicine and the growing need for primary care physicians,” said Quweneth Uwandu, MD, a first-year resident, who was also part of the Proud to be GIM organizing committee. “The panelist did a great job sharing their GIM experience over the years, which helped medical students trying to decide what field of medicine they want to pursue understand GIM. It also helped me and my co-residents who are still deciding on what path to take.”

In the end, omicron caused a change in plans, but Dr. Suastegui still believes the event “demonstrated how happy and how fulfilled GIM physicians are.” He found the panel discussion especially enlightening. “The panelists shared heartwarming examples of the unique doctor/patient relationships in GIM. I think students also took away from their presentations how essential GIM is to medicine. That was one of the main themes — that and how to career plan.

Students seemed to want to assess that more.”

Dr. Sibanda said the impact of the Celebration will be measured by how many students and learners are persuaded to choose GIM. She will begin to count with herself. “It’s funny, because I was trying to decide what to do — inpatient, outpatient, fellowship. Then, in planning to run this panel, I did research into the big questions I thought others would have for the panel. Maybe that convinced me. I am going to do GIM. I am already starting to interview, and I will be proud to be GIM because of the long-lasting impact I will have on patients.”

His colleague, fellow PGY-2 Belinda Sibanda, MD, facilitated the panel discussion and was glad to hear that the main themes landed well. “We planned for the panel to highlight the uniqueness of the field of GIM, specifically focusing on primary care, because that’s where the need is. The main audiences were medical students and residents thinking about what to do with their futures.

The common message from the panel was how unique the

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Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update | Spring 2022

Prize-winning Hanami embodies #ProudtobeGIM effort to help patients live healthy, full lives First-year Geisinger internal medicine resident Ria Garg, MD, won a prize at the Celebration of Expression for her painting Hanami.

She explained, “Hanami is a 1,000-year-old Japanese festival celebrating the magnificent blooming season of the cherry blossom trees in spring. It brings people together to enjoy the overwhelming beauty of the trees. These trees not only symbolize renewal, optimism and the spirit of community, but, as the blooming season is tragically short-lived, they also remind us of the fleeting nature of life. Therefore, living a purposeful, healthy and full life, tied to the Buddhist principles of mindfulness and mortality, is what Hanami teaches us.”

She added, “This painting is a humble attempt at capturing the marvelous beauty of a cherry blossom tree, with people painted as figures in black and grey, flocking to take in the spirit of this festival.

General internal medicine reaches out to the community to promote the same principle of living a healthy and full life, and now with our #ProudtobeGIM event, we can bring people together every year just like the cherry blossoms!”

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Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update | Spring 2022

‘Lifting Up Our Community’ artwork garners prize for student Second-year medical student Carly Deter is part of a group of Geisinger Commonwealth students who regularly volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. In November, she had a moving experience at a build site that resulted in deep reflection — and a drawing.

Shortly after the experience, Ms. Deter learned about the Celebration of Expression and that “community” was a theme for the artwork being solicited from students and physicians.

“I enjoy painting,” she said. “I find it stress relieving, and I wanted to showcase what we were doing as Habitat volunteers. It aligned so well with the community theme.”

“My drawing depicts our Habitat for Humanity group,” she said. “It was the first day Habitat allowed volunteers onto the build site and there was just a foundation, nothing else.

The Habitat people were very grateful we brought so many volunteers — we had 10 — because they needed a lot of help with the walls. It was really, really cool to lift the walls and see the site go from a flat foundation to a three-dimensional structure. I felt it was a metaphor for lifting up people in community who need our help.”

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities.

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