Greetings from the Chairman
A Message from the Assistant Program Director
Over the past several years, we have seen a renewed focus on rising health care costs in the United States. Numerous articles have been written exploring the problem with some proposing various solutions. One thing that seems to be agreed upon is the importance of health care waste prevention. In other words, we should avoid spending money on testing and services that do not improve the health of our patients. The UAB Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program is leading this effort with the development of a high value care curriculum. In addition to several noon conferences exploring the drivers behind high health care costs in the US and the impact on our patients, the residents are participating in several activities to help them deliver high value care. The residents are reviewing the hospital bills of patients that they provided care for to become familiar with the charges for various tests and procedures and to identify low value services. They are reviewing the average pharmacy prices for medications to learn to utilize the best medication with the lowest cost for their patients. We have also had some fun with this topic by doing a Price Is Right competition.
An Interview with an Alumnus: Michael Saag, M.D.
If you know anything about HIV, the 1917 Clinic, or the importance of HIV research at UAB, there is probably a good chance that you know the name of Dr. Michael Saag. For those of you who have ever been on his service there is another thing you know: It’s important for him to know who you are, and for you to know him! Dr. Saag is a wonderful teacher, ID physician, and world-renowned researcher, contributing as one of the top funded NIH investigators at UAB. But maybe not so well known is that he is an amateur barber, cinematographer, father of three, and now a published author. Recently released was Dr. Saag’s personal manifesto entitled “Positive: One Doctor’s Encounters with Death, Life and the US Healthcare System.”
Meet the Residents : Juanita Heersink , M.D.
Juanita Heersink has called Alabama home for the majority of her life. After moving around the country for her father's military career, Juanita and her family settled in Montgomery. She found her way to Birmingham as an undergraduate at UAB where she earned a degree in Engineering and met her husband, Bayne, a graduate of UAB's School of Dentistry.After graduation, Juanita lived and studied Spanish in Granada, Spain for 4 months before returning to Birmingham, where she, worked at a local non-profit organization and got involved in the burgeoning food access scene. She considered pursuing careers in social work and public health, but ultimately decided to channel her desire to help others into a career in medicine. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine and then joined the UAB Internal Medicine residency program.
Program Updates
The UAB Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program would like to extend a warm welcome to the class of 2014-2015 Internal Medicine interns – and what a fantastic class it promises to be! Demographically, professionally, and culturally diverse, the 36 new matches hail from medical schools in 17 different states and 2 countries. Almost half of the class is represented by women. The program couldn’t be happier, with beaming faculty and residents eager to greet the new recruits this July.
A Message from the Chief Medical Residents
We have each learned valuable skills that will continue to impact our future practices. Collectively, our favorite aspects of the year have been spending 16 weeks attending on inpatient wards at both the VA and the Tinsley Harrison service at UAB. We were granted the opportunity to each spend time with our Chairman of Medicine, Dr. Seth Landefeld throughout the year. With this opportunity, we were able to develop a leadership curriculum and gain valuable insight into the workings of a university hospital.
Meet the Editorial Board and Strategic Support Team
Sam McElwee, M.D. (2010-2014), Co Editor-in-ChiefSamuel McElwee hails from Gadsden, Alabama and is the first physician in his family. He attended the University of Alabama and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in chemistry. He went on to receive his medical doctorate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine and subsequently joined the Internal Medicine residency program in June of 2010. He is serving as a Chief Resident for the 2013-2014 academic year and will be staying at UAB for his cardiology fellowship.
Amanda Clark, M.D. (2010-2014), Co Editor-in-ChiefAmanda Vick was born and raised in Mississippi. She attended Mississippi State University where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Microbiology. She earned her medical doctorate from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and moved to Birmingham for Internal Medicine Residency. She is serving as a Chief Medical Resident for the 2013-2014 academic year and will be continuing her career in academic internal medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.