The Virtual Sixth Player on Rounds

This month's spotlight features Patrick Cocks, internal medicine program director and associate director for GME. Patrick is among the outstanding clinician-educators in the department. On ward rounds, his vast knowledge brings depth to both patient care and team learning. However, such encyclopedic knowledge is uncommon among us. Often on patient care rounds, important questions are left unanswered, relegated to the waste-bin of "why don’t you look it up and let us know tomorrow." Meaningful follow-up rarely happens, and when it does, an opportunity for contextual learning and—more importantly—the potential impact on immediate clinical decision-making for the patient, are lost.

Which leads me to advocate for the integration of real-time bedside learning using the iPad on rounds. Used judiciously, carried by a designated member of the team, the iPad can be called upon as needed to address unanswered questions that relate to disease mechanisms or treatment. In some ways, the iPad becomes the rounding counterpart to the Sixth Man in the NBA and the Sixth Woman in the WNBA, for which awards are given each year. Such awards recognize a basketball player who is not a starter, but who is sent from the bench to ignite the team. The presence of a good sixth man is a sign of team excellence and depth. I would suggest that the iPad can become the Sixth Player for ward teams.

Continue reading Dr. Abramson's message

Spotlight on Patrick Cocks, MD

In this Spotlight video, we talk with Patrick Cocks, MD, director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, about the unique residency tracks, the broad-based exposure to different patient populations, the remarkable camaraderie, and the new training procedures that allow house staff to "hit the ground running" on day one.

News From Our Divisions & Programs

• A celebration commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to André Cournand, Dickinson Richards and Werner Forssmann
• The Annual Promotions and Appointments Recognition Reception
• PrMEIR's new Merrin and Martinsen fellows, Drs. Nina Blachman and Verity Schaye
• The launch of the United Arab Emirates Healthy Future Study, led by Medicine's Ann Marie Schmidt, Ravichandran Ramasamy, and Scott Sherman, among others at NYUSOM
• And much more... Explore the PDF for additional news.

NYU Langone Selected as Part of AHA’s Strategically Focused Obesity Research Network

The American Heart Association recently announced that NYU Langone Medical Center has been named one of four centers that will comprise the AHA’s sixth Strategically Focused Research Network, with a focus on obesity research. The NYU AHA Obesity Network, called IGNITION (InvestiGating Novel obesIty soluTIONs), will be led by principal investigator Ann Marie Schmidt, Iven Young Professor of Medicine and Director of the Diabetes Research Center.

Featured Publications

• High-Risk Medications in Hospitalized Elderly Adults: Are We Making It Easy to Do the Wrong Thing?
• A 70-Year-Old Man With Worsening Dyspnea After an Ankle Fracture
• Impact of Sex and Contact-to-Device Time on Clinical Outcomes in Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction-Findings From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry.

View the PDF for blurbs about this research and for additional featured publications.

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