It is hard to believe that we are half way through 2020 and the rising Covid-19 case rates nationally confirm that we are all in this for the long game. That said, it was great to see the new interns arrive last week and the newly minted third year medical students working with us in the primary care offices this week. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how my older frail patients would feel about having an extra person in the room during their visit, but the ones I asked all were comfortable with consenting and enjoyed their opportunity to help educate and shape the next generation of doctors.
The research side of our division continues to thrive with 8 new research proposals submitted in June alone. We need to thank and congratulate Diana Castellanos, our pre-award specialist, and our whole fund management team for making this possible. Also, please join me in congratulating Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa on his first R01, “The Impact of Surgeon Factors and Education/Training on Disparities in Surgical Care,” from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This is a major milestone and accomplishment very early in what we hope will be a long and illustrious career at UCLA in GIMHSR! I also want to take this opportunity to welcome all of our truly exceptional new fellows described below who will be joining us on July 1.
Please stay safe and remember to stay connected with your colleagues.
Happy 4th of July!
Carol
GIM Events & Seminars
Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
Wednesday, July 1st, 8:30-9:30 am
"Race, Racism and Health"
Keith Norris, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research
Executive Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
UCLA Department of Medicine
Christina Harris, MD
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research
Associate Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
UCLA Department of Medicine
Teresa Seeman, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics
Associate Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
UCLA Department of Medicine
Nearly 700 attendees joined live via Zoom this morning! For those of you that missed it, it will be archived shortly online at DOMTV. The direct link will be circulated to the Division once available.
GIM Quarterly Meeting: July 20
Please mark your calendar for this important meeting.
Monday, July 20th at 12 Noon| Via Zoom - Link to be sent shortly
How the Academic Senate and the Faculty Executive Committee represent all GIM/HSR faculty on important issues: Distribution of Clinical Income to Departments, Admissions, and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in DGSOM.
Michael Lazarus, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine, Chief, Section of Hospital Medicine; Chair-elect, Faculty Executive Committee
Welcome New CMO, Dr. Ashley Busuttil
After a national search, Dr. Ashley Busuttil, HS Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine (Hospitalist Section) was appointed Chief Medical Officer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, effective July 1, 2020.
Dr. Busuttil completed the Society of Hospital Medicine Academic Hospitalist Academy and received fellowship training in health care administration through the California Health Care Foundation Fellowship in Health Care Leadership. She was President of the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine and holds a “Fellow in Hospital Medicine” designation, which is awarded to hospital medicine practitioners who have demonstrated significant contributions to their field.
In 2014, Dr. Busuttil was appointed Medical Director of Clinical Operations for UCLA Health and has since worked in all aspects of patient flow through the UCLA Health System. She was then appointed the Executive Medical Director of Medicine Services, a role that oversees clinical operations for inpatient medical services, and fosters collaborative, interdepartmental relationships and policies. She oversaw the inpatient surge planning for the COVID 19 pandemic response. She has a record of accomplishment in leading numerous initiatives through the health system in readmission reduction, patient safety and patient experience.
An active clinician, she will bring her experience and expertise to her new role, which is defined as leading the development of systems optimizing the delivery of high-value patient-centered care.
Congratulations, Ashley!
Welcome New Scholars & Fellows
2020-22 National Clinician Scholars Cohort
2020-21 Inaugural Kennamer Extensivist Fellow
Peter Young, MD, joins us from Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital where he completed his MD and residency in Internal Medicine. As our first Extensivist clinical fellow, he will train in caring for medically and socially complex patients across the care spectrum. He will have year-long immersion experiences in a variety of UCLA and non-UCLA clinics, along with didactics in medical knowledge, interdisciplinary medicine, and compassion, social and behavioral health, among other domains.
2020-21 LGBTQ Healthcare Fellow
Felipe Saavedra Cea, MD, our 2nd LGBTQ Healthcare Fellow, comes to the program directly from Family Medicine residency here at UCLA. He received his MD at University of Chile Santiago, where he was raised and first practiced medicine. Dr. Cea will have a year-long longitudinal experience in a variety of UCLA practices, specialties and sub-specialties, working toward his goal to improve the lives and health of the underserved, particularly LGBTQ and Spanish speaking communities.
Dr. Naghshineh Elected to DMPG Board
At the recent Department of Medicine Professional Group Executive Board election, Sheila Naghshineh, MD, was elected to fill the open position on the Board as a representative of the DOM Non-VA section.
She will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, 2020.
GIM Takes on COVID-19
The UC-COVID Study, from a team led by HSR collaborator, Dr. Russell Buhr of Pulmonary and Critical Care, and GIM's Dr. Lauren Wisk, has launched their web-based survey. It aims to capture from the public how they feel health systems and hospitals should allocate resources, as well as how the policy should be communicated to patients and the public. Collecting a diversity of viewpoints and values from different communities survey is a key objective of the survey which is available in multiple languages. A news bulletin describing the initiative is online here. GIM's Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, along with UCLA National Clinician Scholars, Drs. Carlos Oronce and Christopher Scannell, withHarvard School of Public Health Professor Dr. Ichiro Kawachi published a research letter in Journal of General Internal Medicine, "States with the highest income inequality also experienced a larger number of COVID-19 deaths." The article was picked up for a UCLA Health Newsroom press release and is making the rounds of media outlets.
SGIM20 On-Demand Sessions Now Open
Catch up on your CME/MOC hours and polish skills through SGIM20 On-Demand.
NCSP fellows Drs. Alicia Morehead-Gee, Jake Quinton, Carlos Oronce, Hafifa Shabaik and GIM Faculty Dr. Sae Takada take a stand for racial justice and equity in healthcare. ACP Online featured the national movement, spotlighting UCLA, on their website.