What's New
ACP Internal Medicine 2017- Resident Presentations and Awards!
At the national ACP meeting in San Diego our residents were well represented once again this year, including several poster presentations. On top of that, a huge congratulations to Lolita Nidadavolu who was selected as a winner for the Clinical Vignette section!! (ACP IM 2017 Poster Winners)We are also very proud of our residents who were selected from a national pool as finalists for the poster competition:
POSTER FINALISTS - CLINICAL VIGNETTE
Zoe Weiss (PGY1): “Snap, Crackle, Pop: Pneumomediastinum In Two Heavy Marijuana Users”
Meghan Nahass (PGY1) and Alisha Goodrum (PGY3): “A permanently retained guidewire and subsequent management with anticoagulation, 12 years later”
POSTER FINALIST - RESEARCH
Jose Ruiz (PGY1) : “TRIF regulates pathogenic Th17 cell generation that may cause severe inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)”
See details here for more information: ACP Resident Poster Session - IM 2017
Brown Minority Housestaff Association
The Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA) has grown in scope and partnership with the Alpert Medical School Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA). Furthermore, our residents have made significant contributions to Brown University President Paxon’s recent initiative to promote diversity and inclusion. In addition to holding routine meetings, BMHA continues to send representatives to various regional and national programs to promote minority recruitment and representation amongst residents in graduate medical education. Moreover, visiting professors have led presentations on healthcare disparities and provided mentorship on career development. In fact, the BMHA inaugurated the MED Talks series (Medical Education through Diversity Talks) with GME-wide sessions on transgender health, the refugee experience and the Jehovah’s Witness community. These sessions will be expanded in AY 2016-2017 and have been supported by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The organization includes residents and faculty from all Brown residency and fellowship programs. The newly transitioned Executive Board includes Chiazotam Ekekezie (President - PGY-2, IM) and Angela Martinez (Vice-President - PGY-2, Pediatrics). Eric Chow (Director of MED Talks, PGY-4, Med/Peds) continues to direct the MED Talks program and all things web-related! If you are interested in speaking with any of these during your interview/visit to Brown, please let us know in advance and we will gladly arrange an introduction. You can learn more about the BMHA by visiting the website: http://www.brownminorityhousestaffassociation.com.Internal Medicine Residency Wellness Committee
The inaugural meeting of the IM Residency Wellness Committee was held this spring and welcomed new intern members this past July. The group is led by Chief Resident Page Widick and consists of residents from all tracks and PG years. Faculty members from all three participating institutions also serve in an advisory capacity. The group meets regularly with the dual goals of developing a database of useful mental and physical health resources for residents, as well as the creation of events and activities that will promote self-care and combat burnout among our residents.Clinician Educator Track
The 2013-2014 Academic year saw the initiation of the new Clinician-Educator track here at Brown. We now welcome our fourth class beginning July 1, 2016. Associate Program Director Jennifer Jeremiah and General Internal Medicine Faculty Kate Mavrich and Sarita Warrier oversee this track, which is available to residents from all Internal Medicine Programs at Brown (Categorical, General Internal Medicine/Primary Care, and Med/Peds). Residents apply for consideration during their PGY-1 year. Members of the Track participate in faculty development activities to develop teaching skills and experience.Procedure Rotation & Simulation Grant
Under the leadership of Dr. Andrew Levinson from the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, a simulation-based procedure rotation enters its second year in AY 2016-2017. Residents use high fidelity simulation manikins based not only at the Rhode Island Hospital Simulation Center, but also "in situ" simulation utilizing a procedure room (proximally located to patient care areas) in order to be able to practice bedside procedures immediately prior to performing the procedure on actual patients under supervision.Center for Primary Care (CPC) Continuity Clinic Curriculum
The resident primary care continuity clinic has initiated a new interactive ambulatory curriculum, under the direction of Faculty member Mindy Sobota, MD. The curriculum is posted on the new Brown IM Canvas website (see below) and available for review prior to the educational session, employing a “flipped classroom” format. Early experience has been very positive and modules are expanding, with substantial input from residents, in particular members of the Clinician-educator Track.Intern Skills Workshop
The Third Annual Intern Clinical Skills Workshop, led by Drs. Kelly McGarry and Beth Gentilesco, was again highly successful and complements our Intern Procedure Skills Workshop also held during orientation, held at Brown's Medical School campus, a short walk from Rhode Island Hospital, providing a perfect setting for learning, fellowship and fun. The program is designed to introduce interns to important non-technical skills such as sign-out, initiating advance directives discussions and organizing their day. New topics this year included Epic Tips & Tricks and Maintaining Wellness and Balance.New Continuity Clinic Director – Dino Messina, MD, PhD
Dino Messina, MD, PhD joins the Division of General Internal Medicine as our new Director of the Center for Primary Care resident continuity clinic. Dr. Messina brings a wealth of experience in primary care practice and education while on the faculty at Danbury Hospital. Most recently, he was the Internal Medicine Residency Director at the Memorial Hospital Internal Medicine Residency in Pawtucket, RI. He will join our residency leadership team in September and we welcome him with excitement!
Resident Voices
- During my search for a residency program, I was looking for an institution with a strong clinical curriculum to train me to become an independent physician while providing a supportive atmosphere. On the interview trail, something about Brown kept drawing me back to the program, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly why. Now that I am here, I have realized that it was the welcoming feeling of being part of a family.
- My experience at Brown has exceeded my expectations. I am very fortunate to be training in a supportive environment that is intellectually challenging. My experiences at Brown are providing me the skills and tools to reach my career goals. I hope you strongly consider Brown and all the program has to offer!
- The program clearly prioritizes teaching good medicine for the purpose of taking excellent care of patients. The patient population is exceptionally diverse, with opportunities to work with multiple immigrant and refugee populations, yet the community of Providence feels small and close-knit. The area attracts people who want to live in a city, yet still know their neighbors and balance life outside of the hospital.
- What has been confirmed every day since starting this program was my suspicion that I was coming to place deeply concerned with the well-being and growth of its residents. There is a community of support that surrounds each of us every day we come to the hospital. Whether it be the nurses, attendings, or my fellow residents I know I am surrounded by likeminded people whose passion is for caring for others and whose goals are aimed at fostering an environment that best supports that outcome.
- The residents at Brown are some of the most energetic, kind, and knowledgeable people I have ever met. I am constantly impressed by the second and third year residents, who know more than I ever thought imaginable at this point in their careers.
- In choosing a residency program, I also looked for a diversity of experience including opportunities to work abroad. The Moi Program at Brown is a well-established exchange program with a hospital in Kenya where Brown residents can rotate during their research months. Even at home in Providence, residents rotate through three very different hospitals, each with their own unique patient population.
- Residency can be tough. Long hours, difficult patient encounters, all this with seemingly insurmountable feelings of inadequacy. It will be everything you expect and more and every bit the experience that molds us into the physicians we aspire to be. At Brown, among the attendings and the residents, I find the kind of physician I aspire to be - knowledgeable but humble, hardworking and committed to patient care.
- When I found out that I matched at Brown for Internal Medicine, I was thrilled and overjoyed. From the moment I interviewed, I could sense it was a special place full of very special people. I was impressed by the culture of collegiality, community, and collaboration. To date, I have not been disappointed with my experiences.
