GCSOM Journal - Winter 2020

Journal Winter 2020

The

For alumni, community and friends of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

For alumni, community and friends of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

What happens when better health is built on primary care?

Inside Geisinger’s plans for healthier communities

Alumni feature

‘I love everything about medicine’ Dr. Alex Chop shares her passion for the specialty that allows a doctor to do it all (almost)

Alex Chop, MD, loves everything about medicine. nature has again asserted itself. “Med/peds leaves As a medical student and a member of the Geisinger the door open for fellowships, and one of my favorite Commonwealth School of Medicine Class of 2018, rotations was in the ICU. I loved the complexity and she was afraid that was her problem. She discovered intensity,” she says, adding that she also feels drawn it during her third-year rotations. “I loved to immunology and rheumatology. treating adults. I loved treating children.

Her training will allow her to I couldn’t see myself committing to just pursue fellowships in any of these one age group,” she says. Although subspecialties for adults, children or she was interested in primary care, she both when she completes the four enjoyed being in the hospital as much years of the med/peds program. as in the outpatient setting. Instead of Feeling once more conflicted by her third year narrowing her choices, “loving everything,” Alex sought Alex was finding joy in everything — advice from a Geisinger mentor, and couldn’t decide. “I was fortunate, Associate Program Director Michaelyn however, to have a med/peds T. Notz, DO. “She helped me through (medicine/pediatrics)-trained doctor as some personal reflection,” Alex said. a preceptor in my third year. I didn’t Alex Chop, MD ’18 “I began to realize that a combined even know such a specialty existed. I Specialty: Medicine-Pediatrics critical care program is not short and learned a lot about med-peds from him it’s not common. And although I love and decided it was a fantastic choice the pace and the problem-solving for me because of its flexibility and range of possibilities,” in the ICU, I don’t think I could count on having that she says. energy level forever. I know I am drawn to a primary Alex says a med/peds residency is the only program that can produce a doctor who is both fully a pediatrician and fully an internist. The training takes place everywhere from the ICU to an outpatient clinic. “When I was introduced to the concept, my mentor described it to me as a way to create my own lifestyle... I could choose to be strictly outpatient, strictly inpatient, kids, adults or a blend of all of them.” A rotation in med-peds at Geisinger in her fourth year convinced her that she’d found the right path. “I honestly loved it,” she said. “I fell in love with the people and the program.”

With five residents per class, Geisinger’s med/peds residency is one of the larger programs Alex researched.

Still, she says, it’s small enough to provide highly personalized attention from her attendings — something that has become important now that Alex’s enthusiastic

care way of practicing. It’s where you have the best relationships with patients. But I also want the indepth knowledge of a specialist. Right now I’m leaning more towards immunology or combined adult and pediatric rheumatology, where you can still have great relationships with patients.”

Alex has until her third year of residency to decide on a fellowship — or if she will pursue one. In the meantime, she is happy to help raise awareness about med/peds, a specialty many medical students aren’t familiar with.

“Med/peds is a small community, which is probably why many students have never heard of it. But it’s the one area of medicine where you can have both continuity of care throughout life and the opportunity to dig deeper with all ages,” she says. “You can see the good, the bad, everything from birth to end of life. That’s what makes it so rewarding.”

Drs. Thomas Davis (far left) and Dr. Robert Lowe, standing next to Dr. Alex Chop, crouching, left, with GCSOM’s med/peds interest group.

A message from the president and dean

The Journal A publication by the Department of Marketing and Communications:

Ten years ago, noted physician and author Abraham Verghese, MD, described an alarming trend among the residents he was training. He noted that trainees were allowing technology to replace the physical exam and the virtual patient represented by an electronic health record (EHR) was threatening to replace the real person in the bed. In short, Dr. Verghese feared technology was erecting a barrier between doctor and patient. As he noted about the phenomenon he called the iPatient, “Pedagogically, what is tragic about tending to the iPatient is that it can’t begin to compare with the joy, excitement, intellectual pleasure, pride, disappointment, and lessons in humility that trainees might experience by learning from the real patient’s body examined at the bedside.”

Dr. Verghese was describing a dilemma that has grown to become a struggle for the soul of medicine – especially primary care. As clinicians, we want to experience the unique and sacred bond between doctor and patient that occurs in the exam room, but find that bond increasingly frayed by technology. I can guarantee that not one of our students decided to pursue medicine because he or she was excited by the thought of an EHR. Yet studies show that physicians “spend approximately half of their clinic time on clerical and administrative tasks, including processing electronic messages delivered via EHR system–based inboxes.” The disconnect between the idealism that drives people to endure the rigors of medical training and the monotony of the waiting administrative work is a major source of physician burnout. No one disputes the positive good that comes from technology, but devices need to serve clinicians, not dictate to them.

Here at Geisinger our solution has been to transform primary care completely. A comprehensive primary care redesign has put the clinician back at the center of patient care, with more time for one-on-one contact with people and a drastically reduced administrative burden. Primary care physicians report they find more joy and meaning in their work — and patients are delighted to be their doctor’s only focus in the exam room.

Our students have now been invited to learn in this truly humanized environment and, better yet, incentives are in place to persuade them to join their teachers as colleagues once they become practicing physicians. Just a few months ago, we announced the Geisinger Primary Care Scholars Program to provide debt-free medical school and a living stipend to medical students who commit to working in primary care at the health system after completing their training. Our curricular renewal will also emphasize primary care. You can meet the first Primary Care Scholars in these pages, as well as learn more about the ways in which Geisinger has transformed the practice of primary care in its clinics.

Venard Scott Koerwer, EdD Vice President for Strategy & Planning Vice Dean for Graduate Education Professor of Organizational Systems & Innovation Elizabeth Zygmunt Director of Media and Public Relations Heather M. Davis, MFA Director of Marketing and Communications Board of Directors Robert Dietz, PE, Chair Virginia McGregor, Vice Chair Pedro J. Greer Jr., MD V. Chris Holcombe, PE David H. Ledbetter, PhD, FACMG David B. Nash, MD, MBA Deborah E. Powell, MD Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD Steven J. Scheinman, MD Geisinger Health Foundation Nancy Lawton-Kluck Chief Philanthropy Officer Robin Endicott, CFRE Vice President, Philanthropy Jane Kanyock, MBA, CFRE Director of Major Gifts Chris Boland Director of Alumni Relations Dorothy Williams Administrative Assistant

The incessant technological demands of the EHR and its inbox helped create the iPatient. Taming those demands and educating the next generation of primary care providers in an environment where the doctor/patient relationship is fully restored will end its reign.

Steven J. Scheinman, MD President and Dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Geisinger Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer

On the cover: What happens when better health is built on primary care?

Read more on page 3

THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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What happens when better health is built on primary care?

Inside Geisinger’s plans for healthier communties In 2017, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Richard

Levin, MD, offered a blunt observation about the current state of healthcare: “Doctors enter the profession to help and care for humans,” he said. “They do not sign up to be scribes or billing agents.” His statement struck at the heart of what plagues modern medicine, and particularly primary care — namely, inefficiencies and bureaucratic barriers that frustrate both doctor and patient and make good healthcare anything but easy.

Three years ago, a team at Geisinger led by J. Edward Hartle, MD, chief medical officer, began the process of restoring the bond between primary care doctor and patient that should be at the heart of good health.

According to Dr. Hartle, the process, called “primary care redesign,” had two simple goals: to make primary care a joy to practice for doctors and to ramp up the level of care patients received in primary care settings. For patients, ramped-up care means more intermediate care services – like IV infusions – and behavioral health services available right in the clinic. For physicians, primary care redesign removed the constant electronic distraction – “excessive administrative burden on the physician” – that negatively affects provider well-being.

Today, Geisinger’s transformed clinics are frustrationfree zones staffed by interdisciplinary teams that make primary care easier for patients and more rewarding for doctors. For example, patients long annoyed and deterred by having “homework” like getting lab work or a prescription handed to them after a visit can now get all of these services and more in one visit.

Everyone has more time with their doctor and senior citizens even get things like social activity and a gym at special Geisinger “65 Forward” health centers. And the physician “inbox” that once pestered clinicians with its constant electronic chatter is now a responsibility shared among team members.

“When I think about when I started 22 years ago, it was mostly up to the physician to get everything done for the

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patient,” said Kim Kovalick, DO, a primary care physician at Geisinger Kingston Clinic. “Prior to redesign, it was a physician seeing multiple patients every 15 minutes. It was hard to get through the day. Now, we have such a care team surrounding patients. From the moment I walk in the door, I have a biller embedded right in my office and my nurses who will order immunizations, blood work and preventive screenings such as mammograms and bone densities. I go in the room and there’s a lot already done for me. We are taking more time for patients with complicated medical conditions and bringing the team members in for things like scheduling if somebody has mental health needs. If patients are complex in the sense that they have congestive heart failure or diabetes, we have case managers who can do that education. It definitely decreases the burnout.”

The supportive environment and more measured pace of primary care at Geisinger is important to clinical learning for Geisinger Commonwealth medical students. Steven Picozzo, a member of the Class of 2022, is particularly inspired.

“Thanks to my second-year LCE (longitudinal clinical experience) at Geisinger Tunkhannock, I can see the value of forming long-term relationships with patients,” he said. “I’ve been so impressed with primary care since starting my LCE. Everybody at the clinic is happy, they enjoy working together, and it seems like they are having a good time taking care of the patients in their community. It’s very appealing to me.”

For Geisinger doctors, primary care redesign means the paperwork threatening to drown them is now triaged and handled in part by nurses, case managers and other members of the interdisciplinary team. The effect this has on physician happiness cannot be overstated. The inbox, coupled with the demands of the electronic health record (EHR), has the power to erect a barrier between doctor and patient and routinely ranks among the chief contributors to physician burnout. Per JAMA: Physicians spend approximately half of their clinic time on clerical and administrative tasks, including processing electronic messages delivered via EHR system–based inboxes. Such inboxes function similarly to email but deliver messages to clinicians, such as test results, messages from staff and other clinicians, medication refill requests, direct messages from patients via patient portals, and additional computer-generated messages. Management of the EHR inbox can add a substantial amount of time to physicians’ work lives. Primary care physicians spend between 49 and 85 minutes per day managing their inbox. Some inbox messages are irrelevant to the recipient and can reduce their ability to quickly identify important and timely information.

The unique, primary-care-focused programs in which Geisinger Commonwealth students are immersed, thanks to primary care redesign: •

Fresh Food Farmacy®, which offers prescriptions for no-cost nutritious food to food-insecure patients with diabetes, with the goal of keeping their disease under control.

•

Geisinger 65 Forward, primary care clinics tailored to meet the unique needs of those age 65+. Patients get longer appointments, social activities, wellness classes and VIP-level, personalized care.

•

Geisinger at Home™, Geisnger’s at-home care program that delivers care where Geisinger Gold members with complex,

difficult-to-manage health conditions need it most: right where they live. Through this service, a team of doctors, nurses, dietitians, social workers and other medical professionals help keep patients healthier and better connected to care by delivering it right to their doorstep.

•

MyCode® Community Health Initiative, a precision medicine project that analyzes the DNA of patient-participants who sign up. Through this project, Geisinger primary care doctors and researchers are already improving healthcare by finding ways to diagnose medical conditions earlier, even before symptoms appear — and also to help find new treatments or medications to manage these diseases.

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First Geisinger Primary Care Program Scholars named Tuition relief and a stipend help medical students learn unique approaches that put primary care at center of patient-first medicine Primary care plays a central role at Geisinger and nowhere is its fundamental position more evident than in a new program at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Students accepted to the Geisinger Primary Care Scholars Program receive a monthly stipend and pay no tuition or fees in exchange for an obligation to work in a primary care area (family medicine, internal medicine or medicine-pediatrics) at Geisinger after residency.

In January, Geisinger Commonwealth announced the first cohort of students accepted to the program.

Besides the tuition relief and stipend, the scholars will also receive mentorship and training in Geisinger’s newly redesigned practices where primary care is emphasized as the most important place doctor-patient relationships are built.

Through the curricular renewal process currently being overseen by Dr. William Jeffries, vice dean for medical education, the curriculum being develeoped will emphasize primary care.

Steven J. Scheinman, MD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s president and dean and Geisinger executive vice president, said, “All Geisinger Primary Care Scholars have demonstrated a strong commitment to primary care. A common theme among these students is a deep desire to be a lifelong positive force in the lives of their patients and the broader community. In this way, they are the perfect embodiment of Geisinger’s vision for primary care and its power to promote wellness by building close doctor-patient bonds.”

The announcement marks the first Geisinger Primary Care Scholars program awards distribution to qualified medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth. The students were chosen through a competitive application process, with preference given to those who expressed a desire to care for the communities Geisinger serves.

Selection criteria include commitment to primary care, demonstrated financial need, academic merit, diversity and predictors of whether the applicant is likely to stay in the region Geisinger serves. Up to 40 awards will be made annually, said Dr. Scheinman.

To learn more about the Geisinger Primary Care Scholars Program, visit geisinger.edu/PrimaryCareScholars.

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Geisinger Primary Care Scholars recipients Sajal Datta MD Class of 2022 Hometown: State College Undergraduate: Brown University Although Sajal Datta’s father is a hospitalist at Mt. Nittany Medical Center, he didn’t push his son toward medicine. So Sajal initially studied applied math at Brown. “I was interested in using math to model biological systems,” he said. “But I realized I wanted to form bonds and build trusting relationships. Internal medicine offers these opportunities.”

Scott Delenick MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Pottsville Undergraduate: Penn State Scott Delenick taught high school chemistry, biology and astronomy while spending his summers at Cape May as a lifeguard. His life changed when his summer job suddenly required him to get EMT certification. “When I worked as an EMT and we’d wheel the patient toward a waiting doctor, I thought, ‘I’d like to be that guy,’” Scott said.

Joseph Hagedorn MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Rochester, MN Undergraduate: Swarthmore College Joseph Hagedorn spent four years working as a management consultant in Philadelphia after graduating from Swarthmore College with degrees in chemistry and Spanish. His job at Archetype Solutions Group involved understanding the impact of systems and structures on healthcare. “I could trace a line from my work to the health and well-being of people, but I wanted more direct impact,” he said.

Christopher Kropiewnicki MD Class of 2022 Hometown: Nanticoke Undergraduate: Wilkes University; GCSOM MBS Christopher Kropiewnicki was in Lawrence, Kansas, pursuing a PhD in computational biology when he got the sinking feeling that he was chasing the wrong dream. “The program was very heavy on math and physics,” he said. “But I missed the human dimension. I began to reflect on the way all of my interests seemed to center on medicine and internal medicine’s close relationships and rapport.”

Steven Picozzo MD Class of 2022 Hometown: Moscow Undergraduate: University of Scranton Steven Picozzo’s original career intent was to become a physician assistant, but he soon decided he wanted more. He transferred schools, changed majors and hasn’t looked back. “I’ve been so impressed with primary care since starting my LCE. Everybody at the Tunkhannock clinic is happy, they enjoy working together, and it seems like they are having a good time taking care of the patients in their community.”

Kara Romanowski MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Swoyersville Undergraduate: The University of Scranton Kara Romanowski helped launch a science program for fourth-grade students in Scranton.

Today, she mentors pre-med undergrads through Geisinger Commonwealth’s Pre-medical Mentoring and Advising Program. “I knew I liked kids and I enjoy acting as a mentor, but I didn’t really know how that would all work in a medical specialty until Dr. Thomas Davis and (GCSOM alumna) Dr. Alex Chop came to GCSOM to talk about med/peds. I feel very strongly about it now,” she said.

Thomas Timmerman MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Newtown Undergraduate: Duquesne University As a student at Duquesne, Tom Timmerman volunteered with the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery, driving cancer patients to their appointments. He found fulfillment in developing relationships and knew he wanted to practice medicine grounded in these trusting connections. So, when he had a chance to work in Dr. Thomas Davis’ Comprehensive Care Clinic, he knew med/peds offered everything he desires in a future career.

Alison Varano MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Mount Carmel Undergraduate: Bucknell University; GCSOM MBS As a student at Bucknell, Alison Varano knew she wanted to study medicine, but it was as a captain of her championship-winning track and field team that she discovered how she wants to practice it.

“We had an 80-person team and everyone had a part to play. You compete individually, but you win as a team. I think that spirit is the same with team-based care.”

Calum Wallace MD Class of 2023 Hometown: Stewartstown Undergraduate: Virginia Military Institute, GCSOM MBS As a child, Calum Wallace had asthma and severe eczema, which kept him from vigorous physical activity. As his asthma improved, Calum decided to make up for lost time by challenging himself. He applied to the highly selective military college VMI because he loved its ethos of “going beyond your limits and then some. Because I was sick as a child, physicians were my first mentors. And VMI taught me a love of service. Not just military – any kind of service.”

Read about Primary Care Scholar Tiffany Garcia on the back cover.

THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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U=U

Regional dean recognized for changing the conversation on HIV When Donald Yarros came home to Lackawanna County from Texas to be near his ill mother, he was ready for a change. He was discouraged and distressed and worst of all, his health was suffering. His Type 1 diabetes was not well controlled. He was struggling with methamphetamine addiction and depression. But his biggest health challenge was a secret he was keeping even from his family: He was being treated for HIV. In the course of caring for his mother, Don built a warm rapport with her family doctor. That relationship encouraged him to at last disclose his secret. In return, he got a phone number that he now says saved his life.

“It’s simple things — like not being repeatedly asked to disclose the details of their diagnosis. Being welcoming, kind and non-judgmental is a powerful way to connect with patients”

“My mother’s doctor gave me the number for The Wright Center’s Ryan White Clinic,” he says. “It literally saved my life. My diabetes is under control and I’m one year sober from meth.” He credits his transformation to the care he received from the clinic’s medical director, Shubhra Shetty, MD, and certified registered nurse practitioner Sister Ruth Neely, RSM. Dr. Shetty is also a regional dean and professor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

“In Texas, medicines were dispensed to me. I was a number. I got my pills and went on my way,” Don says. “With Dr. Shetty and Sister Ruth, I became a person again. The care is completely different. They put me at the center of everything. I could see Dr. Shetty just for my HIV care, but I’ve actually gotten rid of all my other doctors. I see Dr. Shetty for everything.”

Don is among the 86 percent of Dr. Shetty’s patients who have achieved an undetectable viral load. That means patients like Don are “U = U,” or “undetectable equals untransmittable.” Such patients not only feel good, they can’t infect anyone. U = U represents a significant change in HIV treatment, turning from a focus on disease management to eradication of the virus.

“U = U is an amazing thing,” Dr. Shetty says. “At our clinic, we got to this point with a genuine team-based approach to care. We have Sister Ruth, of course — she can convince anyone to take their meds — but also mental

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Dr. Shetty and student, Yoseph Aldras work with a patient.

health counselors, nutritionists, case managers, peer counselors. We are concerned with more than the medical appointment. We care about our patients’ housing, transportation and insurance. Everything is under one roof. If patients have to wait to see me, they can get other things done in the meantime. The work of our clinic is like a ballet — beautiful and choreographed. ” Fourth-year medical student Yoseph Aldras says the team approach and clinic operation is impressive, but what keeps patients coming back and sticking to their regimens transcends that. That’s why he, like so many of his classmates, chose to complete Geisinger Commonwealth’s required Interdisciplinary Education rotation at the clinic specifically to learn from Dr. Shetty. Yoseph says it taught him how to make patients feel like human beings, not a diagnosis. “It’s simple things, like not being repeatedly asked to disclose the details of their diagnosis. Being welcoming, kind and nonjudgmental is a powerful way to connect with patients,” he says.

Dr. Shetty herself describes her outlook in characteristically unsentimental terms, “My patients are in need and they get good care. That’s my goal — to provide the kind of care I want for myself,” she said. Don chooses other words to describe the clinic’s person-centered approach. He says that stepping into the clinic is like “entering a room full of love.”

Shubhra Shetty, MD, medical director of The Wright Center for Community Health Ryan White Infectious Disease Clinic in Scranton and regional associate dean and a professor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, was invited to take part in an “Ending HIV Roundtable” hosted by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Wright Center’s Sister Ruth Neeley, CRNP, was also invited. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar convened the meeting in Washington, D.C., to learn about innovative approaches to the care and treatment of HIV-positive patients in non-metropolitan areas. Dr. Shetty and Sister Ruth shared their experiences and insights in achieving an undetectable viral load in 86 percent of the patients they see at the clinic.

Dr. Shubhra Shetty was recognized as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania by Gov. Tom Wolf and Jeanne H. Schmedlen, president, Distinguished Daughters of PA

Dr. Shubhra Shetty (left) and Sister Ruth Neely, CRNP, (center) discuss how their team achieved an undetectable viral load in 86 percent of the patients they see at The Wright Center for Community Health Ryan White Infectious Disease Clinic in Scranton with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar (wearing blue tie).

THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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Hacking Health winners

Event sponsored by: Accenture and VisiQuate.

Three Geisinger Commonwealth students were on the first-place team, along with Geisinger orthopaedic surgeon Edward DelSole, MD.

First place

“What drew me to join the hackathon was its premise,” said MBS student SooYoung VanDeMark. “I worked as a scribe — my whole job was to document — so I know firsthand how the EHR contributes to physician burnout.” SooYoung, who also owned her own graphic design firm before pursuing medicine, lent her talents to the group’s PowerPoint presentation — delivered Shark-Tank–style to a team of judges.

Edward DelSole, MD, Geisinger orthopaedic surgery SooYoung VanDeMark, GCSOM MBS team advisor Sarah Samis, vice president of care delivery and payment transformation at Geisinger Julia Schroer, GCSOM MD student Anthony Morada, GCSOM MD student

Think about that: While in the exam room, more than one-third of your doctor’s attention is trained on something other than you.

Her team’s final product was Abby, a customizable machine learning tool that listens as a doctor speaks and fills in the EHR as the visit unfolds.

Technical expertise came from third-year medical student Anthony Morada, who has an interest in machine learning and past experience as a clinical research data specialist at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. “I knew our solution had to keep things simple. We couldn’t have too many variables, like those involved in making a diagnosis or offering treatment. Rather, our product should get rid of note writing by understanding doctors’ speech and updating a record in response. So if the physician asks, ‘Have your medicines changed?’ the machine would complete the part of the EHR that asks about medication review,” Anthony said. “Our goal was to preserve the patient’s relationship to the doctor. The machine is in the background.”

Second place Trent Filter, GCSOM MBS student John Coulter, GCSOM MD student Yajun Lu, Lewisburg, PA H. Shanker Rao, Danville, PA Susannah Kisvarday, MD, Lewisburg, PA Anthony Comfort, Windsor, CA

First-year medical student Julia Schroer is also an MBA. The team used her business acumen to determine things like ROIC and how much their “ask” should be. “I helped make our project sustainable, feasible and attractive to the judges,” she said. “I wanted to do Hacking Health because I worked as an EMT and a nurse aide, so I know the EHR and its burden.”

Dr. DelSole made the winning pitch to the judges, weaving in observations from his own practice. Afterward, Julia said, “It was fun to work with a diverse team and to find myself — three months into medical school — working with an orthopaedic surgeon. We all looked at things through a different lens.”

The top proposal was awarded a cash prize of $5,000, while the top two runner-up teams received smaller cash prizes and the opportunity to meet with some of Geisinger’s Steele Institute for Health Innovation leadership.

The Steele Institute is dedicated to forging solutions that improve health, the patient experience, care delivery and affordability. The top three teams will have the opportunity for a potential initial investment to develop their solution, then later pitch for a second investment.

Third place – All GCSOM students: Brian Fang Malie Collins Stephanie Miller

Khalid Hossain Makeda Warde

THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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Overcoming barriers

The Arc provides exposure to patients with disabilities Like most medical students, Ashanti Littlejohn is used to interacting with and examining standardized patients.

Such encounters are the norm in all American medical schools. Recently, however, she and every second-year student at Geisinger Commonwealth had the opportunity to work with a patient population that some of her peers at other institutions won’t meet until residency. In September, The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that provides public education for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), brought 20 of its clients to the school to act as standardized patients.

Medical student Ashanti Littlejohn interacts with standardized patient Chris Pate as preceptor James Caggiano, MD, looks on.

no immediate supervision. The experience helped me get over my discomfort and put the patient at ease.”

During the experience, Ashanti met Chris Pate. He loves jewelry and is prone to repetitive movements when he gets excited — and he gets excited a lot. Patients with autism also sometimes have difficulty reading social cues.

Throughout the exam, performed under the watchful eye of preceptor James Caggiano, MD, Ashanti maintained a calm, reassuring manner. She introduced herself and complimented Chris on his many rings. “I see you have some bling there,” she said. Chris smiled and flapped

The unease Ashanti might have initially experienced, if not confronted and addressed, can create negative attitudes about people with disabilities. This is a cause for concern since studies have shown that misunderstandings about people with disabilities can have detrimental implications for their care. In fact, the Commonwealth Fund notes, “Americans living with disabilities receive less preventive care, have a higher incidence of chronic conditions and visit the hospital and emergency department more often — leading to much higher healthcare spending than for adults in the general chance to population.”

While the students were grateful for the build their skills, the visitors from The Arc were happy to have a chance to be advocates for their community.

“I like to teach the students,” Chris said. “I liked everyone and I was glad they practiced on me.”

his hands. Before reaching for his wrist to take his pulse, Ashanti explained what she was about to do and asked Chris if it was OK. Then, following one of Dr. Caggiano’s suggestions, she placed a hand on Chris’s shoulder as she took his pulse. The gesture was warm and encouraging and Chris sat quietly as she counted.

Afterward, Ashanti said, “To be completely transparent, Chris’s movements can be unnerving. But I’m glad I had a chance to meet with Chris and learn to build rapport with patients like him now, when Dr. Caggiano is there with me, rather than later when I might be a resident going in with

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Thanks to a National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine grant and The Arc, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students are learning early how to connect with patients with disabilities and make sure their care isn’t compromised. “The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania applauds the forward-thinking approach of the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in advocating for medical school students to gain a greater understanding of working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as they pursue their career paths,” said Patrick T. Quinn, director of program operations for The Arc of NEPA. “The standardized patient experience was of great mutual benefit for the students and the individuals with I/DD who participated.”

Sowing seeds of good health In community garden, kids connect to plants, insects and soil that produce their food As a Peace Corps volunteer, Angelica De Freitas spent two years living and working in Hualcan, a rural community in the Peruvian Andes. “The work I did focused on chronic malnutrition and anemia in children, conditions that result from low-protein and low-iron diets,” she said.

“My job included encouraging moms to incorporate easily grown, nutrient-rich crops into their child’s diet instead of relying primarily on potatoes.”

Angelica said she found watering, harvesting and working the land with her host family surprisingly fulfilling.

“There’s a measurable reward from your work,” she said, observing that it’s almost magical to plant a seed and watch it grow into food. “It really makes you think more carefully about where your food comes from,” she said.

So as a second-year medical student and president of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Community Garden Club, she decided to share that magic with students at Northeast Intermediate School, an urban Scranton middle school “adopted” by the School of Medicine’s Center of Excellence.* Angelica and fellow Garden Club leaders Rebecca Welsh, Jessica DeAngelis, Meredith Hanrahan and Tyler Hoppman created a curriculum for children that

encourages healthy eating by connecting food to its source: Geisinger Commonwealth’s community garden, just across the street from Northeast Intermediate.

Bringing community members, especially the children, into the garden was important to club members. “This is a community garden,” Jessica DeAngelis said. “We wanted to see people and activity in it.”

Club members planted squash, peppers, carrots, onions and beans in addition to milkweed (to attract super pollinators like monarch butterflies) and marigolds (a natural pest repellent), then let water, compost and sunshine do the rest. In September, the garden was ready for harvesting.

“It was so much fun to see how enthusiastic the students were,” Rebecca Welsh said. “They loved being outside and in the dirt. It wasn’t a normal school day for them, plus it was rewarding to see that they appreciated where food comes from and the hard work it takes to grow it. I think it makes them have more respect for the earth and for their own health.”

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Campus news

From left: Norman Bristol Colon, chairman and organizer of the Pennsylvania Latino Convention; Ida Castro, JD; and Serena Escobar-Haskins, daughter of author and PA Department of Health policymaker Lillian Escobar-Haskins.

Ida Castro receives first-ever Lillian Escobar-Haskins Latino Legacy and Leadership Award Ida Castro, JD, vice president for community engagement and chief diversity officer at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, received the Lillian Escobar-Haskins Latino Legacy and Leadership Award. This prestigious honor was awarded to her at the Pennsylvania Latino Convention, where she served as keynote speaker.

Dr. Castro’s address at the conference focused on Latinos’ present and future contributions to Pennsylvania.

She was introduced by Wilton Curiel, a Dominican-born Geisinger physician assistant, who also works with Geisinger Commonwealth’s out-of-school enrichment program, REACH-HEI. Wilton shared his personal journey as a Latino in the United States and why he became a physician assistant.

At the conference, Dr. Castro was honored with the first-ever Lillian Escobar-Haskins Latino Legacy 12

and Leadership Award. It is given to a person who exemplifies dedication to improve the status of Latinos in Pennsylvania.

In presenting the award, the Serena Escobar-Haskins, daughter of Lillian Escobar-Haskins, said of Ida, “Your remarkable body of work and commitment to social justice is a legacy. Our Latino communities have been served brilliantly by you. You have advocated for our interests at all levels from local to national. It is an honor well deserved.”

Geisinger served as a platinum sponsor of the Pennsylvania Latino Convention, which was held in Bethlehem. The surrounding area of Bethlehem — including Easton, Allentown, Lancaster, Lebanon, York, Harrisburg and Gettysburg — boasts more than 50 percent of Pennsylvania’s total Latino population.

Four honored at 11th annual Black Ties for White Coats gala

From left: Steven J. Scheinman, MD, Geisinger Commonwealth president and dean; Jason Dinko, MD, Founders Award honoree; Gerald Tracy, MD, Community Award honoree; Edith Mitchell, MD, FACP, FCPP, Well-being Award honoree; Noble C. “Bud” Quandel, Innovation Award honoree; and Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, Geisinger president and CEO.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine held its 11th annual Black Ties for White Coats gala on Oct. 19 at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono. Each year, Geisinger Commonwealth honors prominent members of the community and friends of the school who embody important aspects of the School of Medicine’s founding principles: community, well-being and innovation. For the first time, the school bestowed its Founders Award to recognize Geisinger Commonwealth alumni who have fulfilled the mission of the school by returning to Geisinger’s region to practice.

The first recipient of the Founders Award was Jason Dinko, MD, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Class of 2014. Dr. Dinko practices family medicine at Geisinger Woodbine Lane in Danville, where he also serves as a preceptor, training School of Medicine thirdand fourth-year medical students.

This year’s community honoree was Gerald P. Tracy, MD. Dr. Tracy retired from a noteworthy career as a cardiologist and was a founder of Geisinger Commonwealth. As a historian, he curated a display of local medical historical medical artifacts. He was instrumental in forming the Medical Alumni Council at The University of Scranton, which created a network of doctors who could mentor pre-med students. For his efforts in founding the School of Medicine, he was the 2017 recipient of the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Distinguished Service Award, first given in 1956 to Jonas E. Salk, MD. Since then, the society has recognized just

26 Pennsylvania physicians and 2 non-physicians.

The well-being honoree was Edith P. Mitchell, MD, FACP, FCPP. Dr. Mitchell first felt called to serve as a child growing up in rural Tennessee, where the healthcare disparities she witnessed at the time — African-American people received care in segregated hospitals — inspired her to become a doctor. To help pay her tuition, Dr. Mitchell served in the Missouri National Guard and achieved the rank of brigadier general — the first female physician to reach that rank. Today, she uses her platform as an oncologist and researcher at Sidney Kimmel/ Thomas Jefferson University to address health disparities and expand access to new cancer treatment options.

She is one of 28 experts to serve on the National Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel. Dr. Mitchell serves on Geisinger Commonwealth’s Community Advisory Board.

The innovation awardee was Noble C. “Bud” Quandel, whose career emulates his namesake — a forwardthinking great-grandfather who founded a small building materials firm in Minersville in 1882. Today, Mr. Quandel operates from sprawling headquarters in Harrisburg whose name is ubiquitous at building sites throughout the Mid Atlantic — including Geisinger Commonwealth’s own Medical Sciences Building and Geisinger St. Luke’s new hospital in Orwigsburg. From his start producing quicklime for local building projects, Mr. Quandel branched out into producing concrete and providing his own construction services.

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Campus news

White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2023

Dr. F. Dennis Dawgert delivered The Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture Two Marine Corps veterans, a VISTA volunteer; a rescue ranger; 30 students with graduate degrees; 20 students who are the first member of their family to go to college; and other accomplished future doctors received the first symbol of their new profession as Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine held its 11th annual White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2023 on Aug. 2.

The Class of 2023’s 115 future doctors participated in a ceremony, held in common with virtually every other medical school in the nation, designed to welcome new medical students into the profession. Students recited an oath acknowledging their responsibilities as future physicians and their obligations to future patients. Then they were cloaked with the white coat — the mantle of the medical profession. White coats were provided by The Stanley J. Dudrick, MD, and Alan G. Goldstein Endowed Fund.

F. Dennis Dawgert, MD, presented the Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture, named in honor of the well-respected physician and educator from Luzerne County.

A reception followed in the lobby of the School of Medicine’s Medical Sciences Building in Scranton.

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25,000 meals packaged for Scranton School District families Master of Biomedical Sciences students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Keystone College, Marywood University, Lackawanna College, The University of Scranton and the University of the Sciences spent the day at Geisinger Commonwealth on Sept. 5 creating a living case study centered on how food insecurity impacts community. Then they packaged 25,000 meals to be distributed to families in the Scranton School District. Qualifying families in the Scranton schools sign up for the program, then on Fridays enrolled students are given enough meals to feed the entire family for the weekend. School officials said last year’s 10,000 meals effort kept the families fed from September to February.

At the schools targeted, a staggering 100 percent of enrolled children qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, increasing the likelihood that their families struggle with food insecurity — a serious obstacle to learning, as well as a social determinant of health that is well within communities’ power to change.

Visit geisinger.edu/CollegesBuildingCommunity for more information.

Turkey Trot Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students hosted the 10th annual Turkey Trot 5K/10K run in downtown Scranton on Nov. 3.

The event also featured a Tiny Trot with crafts, games, face painting and relay races for children up to age 13. All proceeds went to Friends of the Poor. The 2019 Turkey Trot raised more than $18,000 for the charitable organization. Student leaders say 278 runners competed.

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Campus news

Changing the landscape of addiction and treatment Petros Petros Levounis, Levounis, MD, MD, delivered delivered a a talk talk exploring exploring new new discoveries in the understanding and discoveries in the understanding and treatment treatment of of addiction addiction on on Oct. Oct. 8 8 at at Geisinger Geisinger Commonwealth Commonwealth School School of The presentation, “The New“The Neurobiology of Medicine.

Medicine (GCSOM).

The presentation, New of Addiction,” is eighth installment in Geisinger Neurobiology ofthe Addiction,” is the eighth installment Commonwealth’s Preventive Medicine Lecture Series, in GCSOM’s Preventive Medicine Lecture series, established established in in 2016.

2016. The The lectures lectures are are free free and and open open to to the the public. public.

been been expanded expanded to to include include newer newer concepts concepts such such as as motivational circuitry and anti-reward pathways. motivational circuitry and anti-reward pathways. These These discoveries discoveries are are changing changing the the landscape landscape of of addiction addiction and and its treatment.”

Motivational circuitry includes its treatment.” Motivational circuitry includes the the role role experiences experiences play play in in interacting interacting with with the the brain’s brain’s reward reward system, while the anti-reward pathways system, while the anti-reward pathways refer refer to to areas areas of of the the brain brain that that produce produce powerful powerful negative negative emotions emotions that that drive drive a a person person to to avoid avoid certain certain behaviors. behaviors.

Sneha Sneha Vaddadi, Vaddadi, MD MD Class Class of of 2022, 2022, president president of of the the school’s Preventive Medicine Club, introduced school’s Preventive Medicine Club, introduced Dr. Dr. Levounis.

Levounis. During During the the lecture, lecture, Dr. Dr. Levounis Levounis explored explored the traditional understanding of addiction the traditional understanding of addiction and and how how new new discoveries discoveries about about the the brain brain are are challenging challenging some long-held assumptions about about treatment.

“From“From a some long-held assumptions treatment a neurobiological neurobiological perspective, perspective, addiction addiction can can be be seen seen as as the the hijacking hijacking of of the the pleasure-reward pleasure-reward pathways pathways of of the the brain with a concomitant weakening of its executive brain with a concomitant weakening of its executive function,” function,” he he said. said. “In “In 2019, 2019, the the fundamental fundamental model model has has

Dr. Dr. Levounis Levouinis isis professor professor and and chair chair of of the the Department Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, School, as well as chief of service at University Newark, as well as chief of service, UniversityHospital Hospital,inNewark, N.J. Previously, Dr. Levounis was Columbia University’s New Jersey. Previously, Dr. Levounis was Columbia director of the Addiction Institute of New Yorkof from 2002 University’s director of the Addiction Institute New to 2013.

He is an expert in the field of addiction and has York from 2002 to 2013. He is an expert in the field of published 13 books, including13the self-help paperback addiction and has published books, including the Sober Siblings: How “Sober to HelpSiblings: Your Alcoholic or self-help paperback How toBrother Help Your Sister—and Not Lose Yourself.

Alcoholic Brother or Sister—and Not Lose Yourself.”

Seen from left are Jean Hayes, RN, Preventive Medicine Advisory Board; Saul Rigau, DO, Preventive Medicine Advisory Board; Robert Naismith, PhD, Preventive Medicine Lecture Series founder and Advisory Board member; speaker Petros Levounis, MD; Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD, presindet and CEO of The Wright Center and former advisory board member; Olapeju Simoyan, MD, associate medical director, Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center; Mira Upadhyaya, MD; Jumee Barooah, MD, The Wright Center; and Patricia Martz, MD.

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Partnership agreement signed with University of the Sciences Partnership will support the creation of six new online degree programs.

University of the Sciences and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in September announced that they have signed a partnership agreement which will support the joint development and outreach of new online educational degree and certificate programs.

The agreement creates six new programs for USciences Online, a new venture from University of the Sciences, to bring their proven formula for the education of leaders in healthcare and science to students no matter where they live. These programs, offered completely online, will include master’s-level degrees and graduate certificates in genomics, health administration and health informatics.

The programs created in partnership with Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine will supplement additional online degree programs created by USciences Online, including a graduate certificate in data science. All of the programs became available to qualified students to begin coursework in January. The programs will offer multiple start dates each year providing flexibility for students. Applications are open now.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with such a renowned partner to develop programs that take advantage of Geisinger system strengths in the areas of informatics, health administration and genomics,” said Steven J. Scheinman, MD, president and dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and executive vice president for Geisinger. “We look forward to working with University of the Sciences to offer premier programs in in-demand niche fields within the health sciences.”

“This partnership with Geisinger builds on the strengths of both of our institutions and provides expanded expertise and offerings to our students,” said Paul Katz, MD, USciences president. “We are delighted to build this relationship with a strong regional presence in the healthcare industry such as Geisinger, and believe it will provide greater opportunities for all of our students.”

To learn more or apply, visit onlinedegrees.usciences.edu.

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Campus news

RAS and IDEA Awards On Oct. 29, Geisinger Commonwealth’s Office of Research and Scholarship and the Research and Scholarship Committee of the Department of Medical Education honored several faculty members who received 2019–2020 Improvement and Development of Education Awards (IDEA) and Research: Advancement and Scholarship (RAS) grants.

Those honored were: Improvement and Development of Education Awards IDEAs support faculty research projects that foster innovation and improvement in teaching, learning, pedagogical methods, educational technology and educational scholarship. These grants are intended to facilitate experimental, faculty-initiated innovations to improve teaching, faculty development, the efficiency and quality of medical education, application of new technology or other innovative ideas that will improve the educational environment in the MD curriculum. IDEAs are granted on a competitive basis to promote educational scholarship and faculty collaboration.

1. Utilizing an ePortfolio to Promote and Assess Medical Student Professional Identity Formation Principal investigator (PI): Michelle Schmude, EdD Co-PIs: Tanja Adonizio, MD, and John Coulter, MD1

2. Effect of a Student-Centered Learning Space on Engagement in Active Learning and Academic Performance PI: Youngjin Cho, PhD Co-PIs: John Szarek, PhD, and Gabi Waite, PhD

Research:

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Advancement and Scholarship RAS grants support faculty-initiated research projects that foster advancement of biomedical, population, epidemiological or other quality improvement projects with a focus on training medical students and/or promoting faculty and student scholarship at Geisinger Commonwealth. These grants are intended to provide resources that allow faculty to seek advancement in their respective fields through scholarly achievements such as publications and national presentations with the goal of capitalizing on project potential to gain future external funding. Successful proposed projects should result in a tangible deliverable such as a publication, manuscript, model, national presentation or submission for external funding. Ideally, RAS grants will support projects that will create an environment for Geisinger Commonwealth students to engage in faculty-driven scholarly research.

3. Pharmacoepidemiology of Controlled Substances PI: Brian Piper, PhD Co-PIs: Kenneth McCall, PharmD, Stephanie Nichols, PharmD, and Corey Davis, PharmD

4. Heart Rate Variability as a Biomarker for Student, Faculty and Staff Well-being – A Feasibility Study PI: Gabi Waite, PhD Co-PIs: David Averill, PhD, and Tanja Adonizio, MD

5. FMRP and Neuropathic Pain PI: Ying-Ju Sung, PhD

Student leaders attend Latino Medical Student Association Policy Summit Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) recently participated in the association’s Policy Summit held in October in Washington, D.C. Fourth-year student Yoseph Aldras, who served as president of Geisinger Commonwealth’s LMSA chapter in his second year, served as the conference cochair of LMSA’s national Policy Committee. In that position, he helped plan the summit, developed promotional materials, worked with invited speakers and reviewed policy resolutions drafted by attendees at the three-day event.

The Geisinger Commonwealth delegation visited congressional leaders including U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (New York.); U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (Connecticut); and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida).

The goal of the summit was to provide students with tools to become involved in health policy processes

to address and improve health disparities facing the Latino community. In addition to visiting the offices of congressional leaders, LMSA members participated in seminars at the headquarters of the Association of American Medical Colleges and learned about policy issues specifically impacting the Latino community, especially in regard to health disparities. On the final day of the summit, the students held a House of Delegates meeting during which they were encouraged to submit draft resolutions to be reviewed for placement on the official platform of the student group.

LMSA chapters are based at medical schools throughout the nation and are meant to unite and empower medical students through service, mentorship and education to advocate for the health of the Latino community. Secondyear medical students Tiffany Garcia and Angelica De Freitas are co-presidents of Geisinger Commonwealth’s chapter.

From left: Rick Hiciano, a first-year medical student; Yoseph Aldras, a fourth-year medical student and conference cochair for LMSA’s National Policy Committee; Tiffany Garcia, a second-year medical student and co-president of Geisinger Commonwealth’s LMSA chapter; John Piserchio, a second-year medical student; Erik Gamarra, a second-year medical student

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Campus news

The 2019–20 Pre-medical Mentoring and Advising Program (PMAP) gathers with some PMAP “mentees-turned-medical student mentors.” Seen from left, top row, are Raymond Stemrich, former mentee and current medical student mentor; Michael Siegel, first-year medical student and member of the PMAP board; Kara Romanowski, board member and mentee turned mentor; Adam Sunday, former mentee and current medical student mentor; and John Boyle, former mentee and current medical student mentor. All are members of Geisinger Commonwealth’s MD Class of 2023. Bottom row, left to right, are Zoya Rahman, former mentee and current medical student mentor; Susannah Pitt, first-year medical student and member of the PMAP board; Edward Mezian, PMAP secretary; Zoë Landau, PMAP president; Alyssa Muchisky, PMAP founder; Andrea Nale, PMAP vice president; Randy Lesh, PMAP treasurer; and Ana Rahman, former mentee and current medical student mentor.

Gaining acceptance: Mentors ease med school application process for undergrads As a first-year medical student, Alyssa Muchisky, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s MD Class of 2021, was surprised to learn her classmates had such a wide range of pre-medical experiences. Alyssa’s own experience at The University of Scranton demonstrated that excellent pre-medical advising can make a daunting process at least manageable. Knowing others missed out on such support inspired her to found a new club at Geisinger Commonwealth: the Pre-medical Mentoring and Advising Program (PMAP). Her classmates Connor Magura, Jeremy Tokash and Brian Entler helped to found the club and served on its inaugural board.

Because Alyssa has moved onto her busy third year, PMAP is now in the hands of second-year students Zoë Landau, president, and Andrea Nale, vice president, who have built upon Alyssa’s initial plans.

Geisinger Commonwealth students respond enthusiastically to PMAP’s call for mentors and find that mentees have a range of questions. Interviews and applications come up so frequently that PMAP student leaders have developed daylong Saturday workshops devoted to each topic. “During the interview workshop, we hold mock interviews, including growing use of the multiple mini interview,” Zoë said. “We even have our mentees work with standardized patients.” The application workshop covers the components of the American Medical College Application Service common application, as well as the timeline for applying. “We also talk about secondary applications and costs,” said Andrea.

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For club leaders, the most exciting thing about the program is seeing former mentees as current classmates at Geisinger Commonwealth — there are seven. Today, PMAP boasts 218 School of Medicine mentors and 272 pre-medical mentees from Juniata College, The University of Scranton, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Wilkes and Temple. The club was voted Organization of the Year for the 2018–2019 academic year by Geisinger Commonwealth students.

Dr. Martin named emeritus professor The Academy of Clinical Educators (ACE) at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine honored Thomas Martin, MD, at its recent fall symposium. Dr. Martin was recognized for his appointment as emeritus professor at Geisinger Commonwealth.

The honor was bestowed to celebrate Dr. Martin’s distinguished career which, in addition to serving as the school’s long-time assistant chair of pediatric education, includes his integral role in the development and founding of the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. From left: Dr. Martin; Eric Blomain, MD, ACE president; and Tim Welby, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and ACE member.

Pre-Medical Clinical Experiences Program launched Five area college students are gaining clinical exposure and an inside look at medical school, thanks to a new program at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. The Abigail Geisinger Pre-Medical Clinical Experiences Program was designed to improve talented local students’ chances of acceptance to medical school and of remaining in the region to care for their neighbors. From left: Mahad Muhammad of Mountain Top; Geisinger surgeon Erin Miller, DO; program founder Michelle Schmude, EdD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s associate dean for Admissions, Enrollment Management & Financial Aid and associate professor; Christina Carachilo of Carbondale; Parita Ray of Scranton; Kate Musto of Pittston; Michael Kovalick of Dallas; and program founder Joseph Bannon, MD, a Geisinger surgeon and clinical faculty member at Geisinger Commonwealth.

Borham to speak at symposium Kristina Borham of Oxford, a fourth-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, has been invited to share her experiences building awareness of human trafficking among medical students at the 2020 Medical Symposium on Human Trafficking, to be held in February in Richmond, Virginia.

2020 Early residency matches Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is pleased to announce that six of its fourth-year medical students have successfully matched into residency programs.

The military branch matches include: • Kristina Borham, who matched into an OB/GYN residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center • Michael Frein, who matched into Emergency Medicine at Wright Patterson Air Force Base/Wright State University • Matthew Weirich, who matched into Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University

Virginia Commonwealth University, a major supporter of the symposium, extended the invitation as symposium planners because they were interested in learning about her journey from awareness to activism.

Kristina will tell symposium attendees how she came to develop and teach a curriculum about recognizing and safely responding to victims of human trafficking designed for medical students. She will also host a brainstorming session on curriculum development for medical students.

Ophthalmology also holds an early residency match, the San Francisco Match for Ophthalmology. Three Geisinger Commonwealth students matched: • Karl Andersen, who matched at University of Texas, Southwestern-Dallas • Evan Frigoletto, who matched at West Virginia University Eye Institute • Ashlyn Reiser, who matched at Larkin Community Hospital, Florida Most of our MD 2020 class will learn the locations of their residency programs at noon on Friday, March 20, but several matches occur before the national residency event.

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Campus news

Thiel appointed chair The American Medical Association (AMA) announced that Vanessa Thiel, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s MD Class of 2021, was appointed chair of AMA’s Committee on Bioethics and Humanities in the Medical Student Section.

Vanessa is a member of the first cohort of Geisinger Commonwealth students to be accepted to Jefferson College of Population Health’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program. This unique partnership provides Geisinger Commonwealth medical students with scholarships that cover the cost of tuition to pursue an MPH during a year off between their third and fourth years of medical school. As a future doctor interested in shaping health policy, Vanessa said pursuing the MPH and serving in a leadership position at AMA will give her excellent experiences in understanding the fundamentals of our healthcare system and the policy issues impacting it.

The Medical Student Section helps shape AMA policy by advocating for issues that impact medical students, physicians and patients. Each year, the section’s Governing Council appoints AMA medical student members to serve on its 13 standing committees. These

committees support the Governing Council in a number of ways, and responsibilities vary across the committees.

The Committee on Bioethics and Humanities engages the larger AMA and Medical Student Section communities in critical and current topics on medical ethics and humanities. The committee promotes awareness of ethical and humanistic topics by facilitating discussions and highlighting experiences that affect the well-being of patients and physicians. It also raises student awareness of opportunities the AMA Ethics Standards Group offers.

James L. Madara, MD, AMA’s executive vice president and CEO, wrote in a congratulatory letter, “This is a great honor for Vanessa, as well as for Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.”

Serving as chair, Vanessa will oversee the committee’s key annual projects, including interim and annual AMA conference programming to educate Medical Student Section and physician members on various ethical and humanistic topics; resolution review, which involves providing feedback on resolutions proposed about topics related to ethics and humanities; regular Medical Student Section member education, such as monthly Facebook page posts, internal topic discussions in committee group chats, and journal clubs; and publishing reports relating to topics of bioethics and humanities as assigned by the Medical Student Section Governing Council.

Mackarey receives scholarship Amelia Mackarey of Clarks Summit, a fourth-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, has received an Alliance Medical Education Scholarship (AMES) from the Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance. The scholarship was awarded to her at the Pennsylvania Medical Society House of Delegates Meeting in Hershey on Oct. 26.

The AMES program supports medical students who demonstrate integrity and an admirable vision for the future of medicine in Pennsylvania. In addition to Amelia,

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four other medical students from institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also received the scholarship. Amelia said she plans to pursue a pediatrics residency and will return to northeastern Pennsylvania to live and practice.

The AMES Fund was established in 2000 to financially assist deserving medical students enrolled in an accredited Pennsylvania allopathic or osteopathic medical school. The fund, administered by the Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, is supported by the Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance, composed of volunteers who raise money to ensure healthy communities and preserve the doctorpatient relationship.

Research recognized

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) notified four medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine that their research, “Identifying and Increasing Palliative Care Consults in the Medical ICU,” has been accepted for poster presentation CAPC’s national seminar, which will take place in November in Atlanta.

palliative care consult. Overall, palliative care consults increased by 131% over the course of the study, leading the researchers to conclude that educating medical residents about palliative care consulting and notifying them about palliative-care–eligible patients increased the number of eligible patients receiving a palliative care consult.

The students invited to present are Daniel Scheese, Warren Acker, Gina Baiamonte and Laura Grezzo. They worked with Sukriti Kamboj, MD, from the Guthrie Clinic on the quality improvement project the poster describes.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care is a national organization dedicated to increasing the availability of quality healthcare for people living with a serious illness.

As the nation’s leading resource in its field, CAPC provides healthcare professionals and organizations with the training, tools and technical assistance needed to meet this need.

The study addressed disparities in identifying appropriate patients for palliative care during their hospitalization.

As part of the project, medical resident physicians were educated on the inclusion criteria for palliative care, as well as the protocols for a palliative care consult. Patients eligible for palliative care were identified and a notification was sent to the appropriate residents to consider a

CAPC is funded through organizational membership, foundation support and private philanthropy. It is part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Seen from left are Sharon Bednarz, GCSOM Department of Student Affairs; Alyssa Black, MD Class of 2022; Monica Joglekar, MD Class of 2022; Maggie McAndrew, MD Class of 2022; and Janki Patel, MD Class of 2022.

Giving tree Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s student organization, Pediatric Outreach Group for Students, spearheaded an effort to make sure children in Head Start programs and foster care will have gifts to open this holiday season. The students sponsored a Holiday Giving Tree that collected donations for Dunmore Head Start and Lackawanna Foster Care for Children and Youth.

More than 140 children received gifts thanks to the effort.

“I think Giving Tree is a wonderful opportunity for students to bring joy to the community,” said Monica Joglekar, MD Class of 2022 and group historian. “Life is full of instability and financial strain for many people. Not only does this put pressure on hardworking parents who are doing their best to provide, it can impact the sweetness of childhood.

Every child deserves warm clothes and toys. Giving Tree is an opportunity for students to create a special moment in a difficult period of life — for kids to just be kids.”

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Class notes

Berkman

Acosta and Monroe

James Ackerman, MD ’14, graduated from UPMC Mercy’s general surgery residency program and will continue his training with a minimally invasive esophageal and thoracic surgery fellowship at UPMC from 2019 to 2020, followed by a cardiothoracic surgery residency at UPMC from 2020 to 2022.

Karla Acosta, MD ’18, and Kelvin Monroe, MD ’18, were married in a ceremony on Oct. 5 held in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. Several Geisinger Commonwealth alumni attended.

Jonathan Berkman, MD ’16, matched to a fellowship in hematology-oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, where he completed his internal medicine residency in 2019. Dr. Berkman is also an assistant professor of medicine and academic hospitalist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, caring for inpatient hematology-oncology patients.

Elizabeth Helwig, MD ’17, married Corey Seasock in Pottsville in September. Jessica Williams, MD ’17, accompanied Liz as bridesmaid and several other Geisinger Commonwealth alumni attended. The couple lives in Charleston, S.C., where Liz has been completing a general psychiatry residency program and will begin a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship in July 2020.

Anna Konstas, MD ’18, received the Sayre Family Medicine Residency Program’s Kindness Counts Award, which is presented to a Sayre Family Medicine Residency employee or resident who displays a consistently positive attitude towards staff, patients and peers in the workplace and demonstrates teamwork by going above and beyond. Recipients of the Sayre Family Medicine Alumni, to share your good news, visit geisinger.edu/AlumniUpdate 24

Helwig

Residency Program’s Kindness Counts Award are nominated by their peers and chosen by a committee. The nominations submitted on Anna’s behalf stated that she “consistently creates a positive mood,” frequently volunteers and mentors, and “prioritizes effectively while having a can-do attitude with a good sense of humor.”

Peter J. Patitsas, MD ’17, is finishing his third year of training at Geisinger Medical Center in the field of emergency medicine. He competed and was a finalist in the national American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)’s annual “Drop the Mic” competition. The competition offers eligible presenters 10 minutes to teach any emergencymedicine–related topic to a national audience of the speaker’s peers and an expert panel of Education Committee members. Eligible presenters include any ACEP member, from senior-year residents (third year of PGY1–3 programs and fourth year of PGY1–4 programs) to retirement, board-eligible or boardcertified emergency physician who has never spoken at a national ACEP meeting.

Linda Sanders, MD ’13, had the opportunity to serve as medical staff for a six-day ultramarathon in Albania. She will also compete in the Global Limits Ultramarathon in May in Bhutan, which covers more than 124 miles with some stretches reaching altitudes of more than 1 mile. In addition, her winter mountaineering CME trip in Ouray, Colo., was approved by the Wilderness Medical Society. The proposal included plans to ice climb and hut-to-hut “backcountry skin,” off-trail adventure skiing between periods of rest in huts. Skiers periodically use “skins” to allow uphill travel. Throughout the adventure, Dr. Sanders will teach avalanche rescue and wilderness medicine.

Patitsas

Washington

Sean J. Wallace, MD ’14, MBS ’10, will graduate from residency in plastic & reconstructive surgery in June from Lehigh Valley Health Network.

After graduation, he will complete a fellowship in the highly competitive field of microvascular reconstructive surgery at Louisiana State University in New Orleans from 2020 to 2021.

On Nov. 24, Whitney Washington, MBS ’17, became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first established by African-American college women. The organization was founded on five basic tenets: To cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, to promote unity and friendship among college women, to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature, to maintain a progressive interest in college life, and to be of “Service to All Mankind.”

In Memoriam

Carole Cook Wright, wife of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine founder Bob Wright, MD, and a great advocate for education in northeast Pennsylvania, died Jan. 13 after a six-year struggle with cancer.

As warm and enthusiastic supporters of our school and our students, the Wrights established the Sarah Wright Annual Memorial Scholarship an endowed scholarship at Geisinger Commonwealth in memory of their daughter. Carole Wright could always be counted on to support events important to the life of our school, particularly the Black Ties for White Coats gala.

The Wrights

In their nearly 50 years of marriage, the Wrights created an incredible legacy of service — especially in support of education — in their beloved NEPA. In addition to her support for our school, Carole was instrumental in founding and supporting The Scranton Temple Residency Program, now The Wright Center, as well as the Nativity Miguel School in Scranton. She served for 20 years on the board of Scranton State School for the Deaf and for 15 years on the board of Catholic Social Services. Carole’s selflessness was also apparent through her many years of volunteering at The Friendship House for children in need and serving on the board of the United Way.

THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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ePortfolio Project presented nationally 2019 AAMC National General Meeting Drs. Adonizio and Schmude collaborated with students Alexa Bolock, MD ’21; Jessica Baylor, MD ’22; Kristina Borham, MD ’20; and Alice Matthai, MD ’23, regarding the pilot program and presented a poster entitled “Utilizing ePortfolio to Track and Promote Professional Identity Formation.”

Association of American College and University’s Annual Meeting Drs. Adonizio and Schmude will present ePortfolio in January 2020 in a session entitled “Cultivating Faculty and Student Development Programs to support a Longitudinal ePortfolio Using Design Thinking.”

2020 AAMC Group on Student Affairs, Careers in Medicine and Organization of Student Representatives Professional Development Conference Drs. Adonizio, Schmude and Ellis submitted a session “Reflective Essays and R2C2 Feedback to Promote Professional Identity Formation in Medical Students” poster, which was accepted.

Professionalism is the missing piece: Inspired by its possibilities, chief resident becomes part of ePortfolio project As chief resident of Geisinger’s Kistler Family Medicine Residency program, Stephanie Ellis, MD, is responsible not only for her patients’ health and well-being but also for creating a positive learning environment for her fellow residents. So when she heard that professor Tanja Adonizio, MD, from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine was giving a talk on professional identity formation, she was intrigued.

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Residency news

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has identified professionalism as a core competency that must be demonstrated by doctors in training. Besides improving patient care, professionalism’s emphasis on self-reflection is a proven way to prevent physician burnout.

“Before I heard Dr. Adonizio’s talk, I never heard of professional identity formation.

It fascinated me,” says Dr. Ellis. “As medical students and then as residents, it’s ingrained in us to be externally focused. All our evaluations come from doctors we are trying to impress or from test scores. So we’re too wrapped up in what other people think. I felt that Dr. Adonizio showed me a piece that was missing: What are my values? What is my idea of being a good doctor? How do I handle the stress that occurs when there’s dissonance between that idea and reality? You need reflection to track your own journey.”

Dr. Ellis was so impressed, she volunteered to help Dr. Adonizio and assistant professor Michelle Schmude, EdD, associate dean for Admissions, Enrollment Management and Financial Aid, in conducting research with the first cohort of Geisinger Commonwealth medical students to use ePortfolio. Introduced to the MD Class of 2021, ePortfolio digitally collects students’ reflections and provides tools to develop self-directed learning. It also logs periodic assessments of each student from faculty, peers and advisors. And its purpose is to track a student’s growth in the area of professionalism.

“What are my values? What is my idea of being a good doctor? How do I handle the stress that occurs when there’s dissonance between that idea and reality? You need reflection to track your own journey.”

Dr. Ellis’s role is to work with the pilot group of medical students, now in their third year. She is collecting and analyzing the data and will hold focus groups to learn about the students’ professional identity journeys and how ePortfolio has assisted.

In 2020, Dr. Ellis will travel with Drs. Adonizio and Schmude to Harvard to present the research at the Harvard Macy Institute scholars program for academic leaders in healthcare in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Holiday Friends Education at Geisinger’s House Staff Association, Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development teams continued their decade-long tradition of brightening the holidays for children in need through a program called Holiday Friends. As they have done for more than 10 years, Holiday Friends “adopted” children from Danville Elementary School whose families needed a little extra holiday help. This year, 23 residencies, fellowships, and departments contributed to buy gifts for 41 children. Leadership thanked their teams for working together “to make these children’s wishes come true” and expressed hope that the giving tradition will continue well into the future.

Education colleagues gather with the hundreds of gifts Danville-area children will open on Christmas morning thanks to Holiday Friends. Front row, from left: Hope Vaughn, Taylor Whitenight and Robin Bardo. Second row, from left: Andrea Whitman, Barbara Greco, Moreen Sellers and Kristi Shirk. Last row, from left: Stacey Fenstermacher, Petra James, Katie Klinger, Donna Whalen and Megan Longenberger.

Save the date!

April 14

Eighth Annual NEPA Trans Health Conference: A Lackawanna Rainbow Alliance Event Hosted By Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Visit http://www.nepatranshealth.com/ for more information

April 22

Preventive Medicine Lecture Series with Christa Lese Martin, PhD, FACMG

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton

May 3

June 15

12th Annual GCSOM Golf Classic Glenmaura National, Moosic

Oct. 6

Preventive Medicine Lecture Series with Michael Gregor, MD Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton

Nov. 7

12th Annual Black Ties For White Coats Gala

Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono

Commencement

F.M. Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre THE JOURNAL / WINTER 2020

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Donor spotlight

‘You can lie down or keep going’ Professor and donor makes a gift of his experience Among his experiences as a Marine, a Lutheran pastor and a college professor, Michael Martin, PhD, isn’t sure which was most formative. He’s learned from everything he’s faced in life, including an almost lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease. In fact, he cites both military and seminary as character builders that led to his triumph over the chronic disease.

In turn, the strength and humility gained from the struggle make him a better teacher and mentor for the undergraduate students he teaches today at Bloomsburg University.

Dr. Martin said his severe Crohn’s disease, which cost him the entirety of his large intestine, obliges him “to think about bathrooms and schedules” almost constantly. Despite the need for careful plans, Dr. Martin said he won’t allow a “4-inch wafer and a 10inch pouch” to dictate the quality of his life.

He was 42 when he got his permanent ileostomy and, while he praises the quality of his medical care and acknowledges the absolute need for the surgery, Dr. Martin said no one prepared him for what life would be like when his “insides were all on the outside.” He added, “No one tells you about the consequences of a long trip, an unexpected traffic

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jam, intimacy.” Without a large intestine to absorb water, dehydration is an ever-present threat. Coping with these new realities was something he had to figure out for himself. For 22 years, Dr. Martin has chosen to live, to learn new languages, to travel, to build a career. “I decided it was not going to mean ‘You must have a sad life,’ because no, I don’t,” he said. “The Marines taught me that you have a choice: You can lie down or you can keep going.”

As an English professor, he uses this message of personal agency and empowerment to motivate his Bloomsburg students. Now, at the invitation of the Geisinger doctors who care for him today, Dr. Martin also delivers a master class in empathy to Geisinger Commonwealth medical students. And he’s bestowed a planned gift to benefit those same students in years to come. “I want to teach them to be honest with their patients about what will happen,” he said. “I love the ileostomy because I am alive every day, but I also hate it every day. I want students to understand that and to help patients learn how to live with situations like mine so their circumstances don’t become slow, embarrassing death sentences.”

In Memoriam With sorrow, the Geisinger Commonwealth community marked the passing of our beloved friend and colleague, Stanley Dudrick, MD. While saddened by our loss, we also stand in awe of Dr. Dudrick’s tremendous achievements.

He was lauded as a “surgical hero” by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for his gift to medicine: total parenteral nutrition (TPN), listed by the ACS as among the handful of essential advancements that make surgery possible. And unlike the other revolutionary breakthroughs, the development of TPN was largely the work of one man: Dr. Dudrick, who devoted his life to nurturing and sustaining others. We are honored that he chose to be a member of our faculty and of this school’s community.

with cancer, burns, gastrointestinal disease, abdominal surgery and other conditions in every corner of the world. For example, nearly every bone marrow transplant unit today has patients receiving TPN because of their inability to maintain a minimal acceptable nutritional status through the gastrointestinal track.

Despite his towering achievements, Dr. Dudrick was humble. Geisinger Commonwealth President and Dean Steven Scheinman, MD, relates the story of meeting him in person for the first time: “He introduced himself simply as ‘Stan Dudrick,’ prompting me to ask incredulously, ‘The Stan Dudrick?’ It wasn’t in Stan’s DNA to be arrogant or self-important.”

To the medical community, Dr. Dudrick was a giant. For our school, he was a distinguished and inspiring teacher and mentor. He took great joy in helping to cultivate the next generation of leaders-to-be; in Dr. Souba’s words, it was Dr. Dudrick’s nature to be “curious rather than dogmatic, inquisitive rather than judgmental, empowering rather than patronizing and to remain approachable rather than come across as a know-it-all.” Those qualities made Dr. Dudrick simultaneously beloved and revered.

A former dean of medicine at Dartmouth, Wiley ‘Chip’ Souba, MD, described Dr. Dudrick well when he wrote: “Dr. Dudrick has made the world a little better, touching the lives of thousands of people . . . In a self-effacing way, he has helped each of us understand that leadership is a risky business. People will push back against the leader’s agendas, but Dr. Dudrick has always handled adversity with grace and dignity, choosing to take the high road at every turn.” Another colleague recalled that Dr. Dudrick inevitably insisted that his co-authors be listed first on jointly published papers.

How profound is TPN? It revolutionized the management of critically ill infants and the practice of pediatric surgery, especially in neonates with catastrophic congenital anomalies. It is well known among pediatric surgeons that more than one-third of these often-premature infants were not able to survive curative operations before the introduction of TPN support. Since 1970, after 40 years of TPN, the Neonatology Society reported in 2011 that about 10 million premature infants had survived due to TPN support. It has also saved the lives of countless adults

Nourishing patients parenterally was a dream that for more than a century had baffled physicians. Dr. Dudrick reflected on the painful memory of patients for whom “the surgery was a success but they died of malnutrition in the hospital” in the days before parenteral nutrition was possible. Total parenteral nutrition is now a commonplace therapeutic modality, often taken for granted, which only serves to underscore its success.

Our immediate school community and medicine in general have suffered a great loss. But to have had the honor of knowing and working with Dr. Dudrick was a gift for which we will forever be grateful.

525 Pine St., Scranton, PA 18509 geisinger.edu/GCSOM

Primed for primary care Tiffany Garcia, MD Class of 2022

Hometown: Reading Undergraduate: Franklin and Marshall College, GCSOM MBS Tiffany Garcia’s family first emigrated to New York City from Colombia, later relocating to Reading. There, Tiffany observed some of the inequities in medicine. Because they knew little English, her parents — especially her mother — struggled to navigate the healthcare system. Availability of bilingual services was limited in Reading, especially compared to New York.

An undergraduate medical service trip to Honduras was pivotal for her.

“I found that I loved helping the people, but I didn’t like the feeling that we were helicoptering in and would soon be gone. I wanted more. The experience solidified my desire to study medicine, and the type of physician I want to be,” she said. “I am drawn to primary care because it’s the center point for patients. The primary

care doctor guides patients and knows everything about them.”

Her ideas about the centrality of primary care have been reinforced by her longitudinal clinical experience at Geisinger Kistler Clinic in Wilkes-Barre. “The teambased care and the wide range of services available to the patients excites me. I can see myself being part of that,” she said.

Tiffany Garcia, John Wroblewski and Alfred Hamilton collaborate with faculty member Brian Piper, PhD.

To make a donation or for more information, contact the Development Office at 570-271-6461 or visit geisinger.edu/GCSOMdonate.

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

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