Dr. Winston Liaw and I had the wonderful privilege of traveling to Santa Ana, a rural village in Southeastern Honduras from April 15th through April 23rd with 10 of our first-year medical students, two members of our staff, and Dr. Bob Parkerson, a physician faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine. There, we worked with a local team including a physician, dentist, nursing personnel, administrator, and translators in providing primary medical care to 180 patients in a resource-poor setting. Our medical students were actively involved in examining the patients, developing a differential diagnosis, and a treatment plan for each patient we saw in clinic. We also made two house calls, one of which involved a 1.2 mile hike in the mountains to reach the patient’s home. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the opportunity to work together as a team providing compassionate medical care with the goal of improving the health of the patients we were honored to serve. We were all reminded of the purpose that attracted us to the medical profession, and experienced great joy in caring for these grateful patients. We hope to offer several opportunities each year for our medical students, both first year and upperclassmen, to enjoy learning about global health in this setting that has significant health care needs.
- Steve Spann
Our fourth rise value, Equity, is based on being just, impartial and fair. In the workplace, equity involves empowering employees to be their optimal self, and treating everyone in the organization fairly. Different from equality which means providing the same to all, equity acknowledges that everyone comes from a different starting point in life and to be equitable means making adjustments to these differences.
How have you witnessed our RISE values expressed in the course of your day-to-day work? To share a values story in a future edition of The Pulse, please email uhcomcom@central.uh.edu.
Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program 2023-2024. Congratulations to Hannah Adams, Angelique Basquine, Anika Felix, Amber Hurd and Isabella Martingano for being selected for the Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program for 2023-2024! The mentored experiential learning and leadership development program is designed to increase our student’s skills and commitment to more effectively address the health needs of underserved people. We are so proud of you, Coogs!
Sylvia Omozee, M2, participated in the Off Script: Stories from the Heart of Medicine storytelling event at The Health Museum on April 6th. Last fall at the Blaffer Art Museum, two of our students participated in the same event on the heels of the Innovations in Arts and Health conference. What a great platform to allow our students to share their stories!
Kimberly Pilkinton (Atkins), M.D., M.P.H., FACOG was selected by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) District XI (Texas) to attend a national congressional leadership conference. In D.C., she discussed allowing pregnant and lactating patients to be a part of studies for more effective and safer treatments and advocated for a sustainable plan for Medicare. What inspiring work!
Dr. Ben King attended a meeting of the US Environmental Protection Agency, as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the final human health assessment of Hexavalent Chromium. Hexavalent chromium is a very dangerous heavy metal which is produced as a byproduct of several industrial processes and was famously the focus of the movie “Erin Brokovic” (2000) which describes the investigation and litigation of a severe instance of hexavalent chromium contamination in Hinkley, California. As an epidemiologist, Dr. King provided comment and testimony on the quality of the science in the report.
Dr. Starks and Dr. Pilkinton joined some of our medical students in Austin with the Texas Medical Association advocating for health care needs for Texans.
We continue to grow our dynamic team of consummate professionals. Let us welcome the newest members to join our college:
The Fertitta Family College of Medicine Staff Council is proud to present the next speaker of the Professional Development Lunch and Learn series.
Mynika Collins is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 7 years of experience in various settings including university counseling centers, school districts, psychiatric hospitals, substance use treatment facilities, and private practice. She has experience providing individual, group, and family counseling. Mynika’s talk will discuss helping students in distress, communication, and resource sharing.
When working with clients, Mynika uses a holistic and person-centered approach to treat the whole person and ensures that what is done in therapy is personalized, collaborative, and unique to each client. She strives to create spaces that are safe, supportive, and culturally inclusive. Mynika enjoys reading, writing, and traveling in her free time.
College staff planning to attend are asked to RSVP for food planning and dietary accomodations.
Our very own MS1s Cecilia Pham and Guillermo Saldaña and Chair of Clinical Sciences, Brian Reed, M.D. came together to raise awareness on health disparities plaguing our communities while giving Mayor Sylvester Turner from City of Houston and others free health screenings.
Dr. Claudine Johnson, Clinical Associate Professor, and Mirla Lopez, Program Director for Healthy Connections, discussed The Household Centered Care Program at the Honors College. The program focuses on serving Third Ward and East End residents through house calls to identify social needs and connect residents to community resources.
The event was held at our medical school with attendees from around the world. Participants were involved in insightful conversations and presentations with global health leaders on topics such as tech and innovation, psychosocial issues, global surgery, and more.
Kathleen presented a poster at The Shine Academy and The University of Texas's Innovations in Health Science Education annual conference, the theme of which was "Diversity, Collaboration, And Opportunities In Current Health Science Education." Her poster, titled "Transgender Representation in Medical Education: Developing Standardized Patient Scenarios with the Local Transgender Community" received the special recognition award for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Huyen was nominated for UH Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year! Her nomination include the following compliments: “Huyen is an exceptional student employee whose contributions have had a lasting impact on our department and the university as a whole. Her hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence makes her a deserving candidate for this recognition.” Congratulations on this amazing nomination!
UH Health Family Care Center welcomes Dr. Mohamed Zebda, our newest dedicated pediatrician! Call 832-UHCARES to schedule an appointment for your child today.
Dr. Zulfiqar also joined the UH Health Family Care Center in February 2023. Dr. Zulfiqar is a family medicine physician specializing in geriatric and palliative medicine and is accepting new patients!
Do you have something you’d like to share college wide? Email uhcomcom@central.uh.edu with details for consideration in next month’s edition of The Pulse.
