INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWS Fall 2020
Vol. 2, No. 3
FACU LT Y MEM B E R H I G H L I G H T:
DR. AVISH NAGPAL
Dr. Avish Nagpal is the medical director of
Sanford committees. Dr. Nagpal was named Sanford Fargo 2020
Sanford Health Fargo’s infection prevention
Physician of the year.
and control team, a clinical investigator with Sanford Research, subspecialty education director with the Sanford Division of Infectious Disease, and clinical associate professor with UND SMHS Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Nagpal completed medical school in India and residency at UND, and completed his fellowship in infectious disease at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn. He serves as chair of the Sanford Infection Prevention and Control Committee, vice chair of the Sanford Clinical
Dr. Nagpal is currently helping lead Sanford’s pandemic response efforts in Fargo, working with leaders, hospital staff, physicians, and local media to aide in COVID-19 education. He was involved in Sanford’s “COVID-19 Preparedness, Planning and Management,” initiative and has given two lectures on the topic for the North Dakota Medical Association Weekly Webinar. Dr. Nagpal has also appeared on KVRR local news, Valley News Live, Prairie Pulse, and various radio stations and news publications to discuss the current COVID situation in Fargo and North Dakota.
Decision and Support Committee, and is a member of three other
CLINIC IAN Q & A :
DR. SUNIL KARTHAM Please describe your current clinical practice.
I perceive clinical practice and academics to
I have been serving as a Hospitalist at Altru Health System for the past
be intertwined.
13 years. I see patients who are very sick when they are first admitted What do you like most about teaching?
to the hospital, and by the time they are going home they are back on
There is no better gift than the gift of
their feet, happy and with a smile. This is what makes my practice
knowledge. Teaching a single clinical pearl
really enjoyable.
can save thousands of lives down the road. How long have you been with UNDSMHS?
Teaching is also a learning process for me,
13 Years.
students have interesting questions that make me read more.
Do you serve on any UND committees?
What can you advise other physicians who are considering
I was on a physician committee in the past, but none now.
becoming more involved in teaching? It’s a great pleasure and very satisfying to teach students and help
How do you balance clinical practice and an academic career? Students learn a lot by observing how we practice medicine. I try to set a good example. I teach students as we round on the patients, which gives them an opportunity to learn something in real time.
them progress in their medical career. It’s rewarding to see them grow into good physicians. I would highly recommend this pathway to anyone considering it.
UNI VER SIT Y O F N O RT H D A K O TA
HEALTH EQUITY INITIATIVE The community we serve at the University of North Dakota has a
formal committee and designing a curriculum for residents that aims
diverse set of experiences and needs. As healthcare providers, we
to provide skills that can be utilized in clinical practice. For more
carry an enormous amount of privilege and responsibility to create a
information on our efforts, contact us at
culture that recognizes the diversity in these experiences and works
ciciley.littlewolf@sanfordhealth.org
to foster healthcare equity. With this goal in mind, we are excited to announce a new initiative spearheaded by residents to address racial, intersectional, and structural disparities for our patients, employees, and the community at large. Our next steps include establishing a
Ciciley Littlewolf, MD Stephanie Melquist, MD MPH Jessie Bjella, MD
HARVAR D MED I C A L S C H O O L :
GLOBAL CLINICAL SCHOLARS RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM (GCSRT) In September, Dr. Devendranath Mannuru
methods. The program uses a blended learning model that
completed the one-year Global Clinical
incorporates online tools, in-person seminars, and dynamic
Scholars
Program
workshops. The curriculum is focused on enhancing abilities at every
(GCSRT) through Harvard Medical School.
Research
stage of the research process, from writing grant proposals and
Designed
launching new projects to analyzing data and presenting results. The
for
Training
clinicians
and
clinician-
scientists in both the United States and
final workshop and certificate ceremony was conducted in Boston.
abroad, the GCSRT program provides advanced training in health care research and
NORT H D AKO TA
ACP/SHM POSTER COMPETITION On Oct. 15, 2020, the North Dakota chapter of the American College of Physicians and the North Dakota chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine held their annual poster competition via Zoom. There were 14 ACP research posters judged by Drs. Kimberly Hammer and Supha Arthurs; seven ACP clinical vignette posters by residents judged by Drs. Siddharth Singhal and Laura Nichols; 16 ACP clinical vignette posters by medical students judged by Drs. Misty Anderson and Paul Mariani; and 14 posters for the SHM competition judged by Drs. Amit Kaushal and Gopikrishna Paladugu.
“Reactive arthritis: An unusual presentation of acute Clostridium difficile” by Anna Reinholz won the ACP clinical vignette by medical
The winners of the ACP research competition were Connor Schweitzer and Austin Hewitt with “Assessing the relationship of ambulatory antibiotic prescribing patterns among upper respiratory tract infections, 2017-2018.” Alexandra Hopkins was runner-up with “Suicide-related over-the-counter analgesic exposures reported to United States Poison Control Centers, 2000-2018.” Emmanuel Fohle was the winner of the ACP clinical vignette by residents competition
students competition; “Porphyria cutanea tarda: A rare presentation of hemochromatosis” by Michael Storandt was runner-up. Stephanie Melquist won the SHM poster competition with “Don’t forget the drugs! A case of severe mycophenolate mofetil induced colitis with hemorrhage requiring hemicolectomy,” with Suchita Kotnala and Anuj Mogla as runners-up with “Uncommon DKA presentation: low on sugars, but high on acids.”
with “A rare case of spontaneous splenic rupture in cat-bite induced tularemia,” and the category runner-up was Spencer Campbell with
Thank-you to the judges and all those who participated in the
“Diabetes insipidus, a rare complication of sarcoidosis.” The poster
competitions. Congratulations to the winners!
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS Congratulations to the following IM faculty and students who have recently published articles:
• Matta A, Nagabandi AK, Bande D. A Short Case Report on Ruptured Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm. Cureus. 2020 Sep; 12(9): e10263.
• Allen JW. How to Prepare for a Simulation Session (Instructor and Learner). In: Carstens PK, Paulman P, Paulman A, Stanton M, Monaghan BM, Dekker D. Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Mobile Medical Simulation Switzerland: Springer, Cham; 2020:235-252. M, Thambi-Pillai T, Kurniali P, Mazurczak M, Gitau MM, Blanchard MJ. Implementation of a standardized approach to borderline resectable pancreatic cancer in a multisite community oncology program. Surg Open Sci. 2020 Oct; 2(4):25-31.
Linacre Q. 2020 Nov; 87(4):407-424. • Melquist S, Estepp K, Aleksandrovich Y, Lee A, Beiseker A,
Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma Presented With Clinically Stage IV Nose
Throat
J.
hepatic failure: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Oct 23; 99(43): e22818. • Petry NJ, Montgomery AD, Hammer KD, Lo TS. Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening upon inpatient hospital admission: Is there concordance between nasal
• Bonnerup S, Gitau M, Shafique K. A Rare Case of Sinonasal Ear
a Country Divided: Catholic Social Teaching as a Path to Unity.
Hamedani FS, Bassett J. COVID-19 presenting as fulminant
• Bleeker JS, Sumey CJ, Powell SF, Steen PD, Keppen MD, Lohr
Disease.
• McGovern TW, Flood AT, Carson PJ. COVID-19 Policy-Making in
2020
Oct;
doi:10.1177/0145561320955125. • Granger DL, Rosado-Santos H, Lo TS, Florell SR, Shimwella RA. Functional impairment of skin appendages due to peripheral nerve involvement by Mycobacterium leprae. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Oct; 7(10):ofaa419. • Greenmyer JR, Stacy JM, Sahmoun AE, Beal JR, Diri E. DAS28‐CRP Cutoffs for High Disease Activity and Remission Are
swab results and samples taken from skin and soft tissue? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2020 Nov; 41(11):1298-1301. • Spagnolia A, Beal JR, Sahmoun AE. Differences in Clinical Management and Outcomes of American Indian and White Women Diagnosed With Endometriosis. J Fam Reprod Health. 2020 Oct; 14(2):74-80. • Sridharan GK, Vegunta R, Rokkam VR, Aravamudan VM, Vegunta R, Khan SR, Ponnada S, Boregowda U, Prudhvi K, Chamarthi G, Mohan BP. Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients. Am J Ther. 2020 Nov; 27(6):e599-610.
Lower Than DAS28‐ESR in Rheumatoid Arthritis. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2020 Sep; 2(9):507-511. • Guduru M, Bendi VS, Bebawy MS, Bande D, Matta A. Posterior Fossa Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy Secondary to Rituximab. Cureus. 2020 Oct; 12(10):e10888. • Hostetter J, Schwarz N, Klug M, Wynne J, Basson MD. Primary care visits increase utilization of evidence-based preventative health measures. BMC Fam Pract. 2020; 21(1):151.
IMPORTANT DATES 2020 • December 5-8 – ASHO Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
• Li X, Sigworth EA, Wu AH, Behrens J, Etemad SA, Nagpal S, Go RS, Wuichet K, Chen EJ, Rubinstein SM, Fernandes HD. Seven
2021
decades of chemotherapy clinical trials: a pan-cancer social
• March 20-23 – ENDO 2021 Conference, San Diego, CA
network analysis. Sci Rep. 2020 Oct; 10:17536.
• March 20-21 – ACC 70th Annual Scientific Session & Expo, Atlanta, GA • April 11-14 – AAIM Academic Internal Medicine Week,
RE S E A R C H A N D S C H O L A R LY
ACTIVITIES
If you are interested in getting involved in research, or have research ideas but do not know where to start, feel free to
Charlotte, SC • April 21-24 – 2021 SGIM Annual Meeting, Boston, MA • April 29-May 1 – ACR Internal Medicine Meeting 2021, Orlando, FL • May 4-7 – SHM Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV • May 14-19 – ATS International Conference, San Diego, CA • June 4-8 – ASCO 2021 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
contact Mikki Eken at mikki.eken@UND.edu. If you have published research or presented a poster or oral presentation, please inform Mikki Eken.
*Dates are subject to change.
Non Profit Org US Postage Paid
Department of Internal Medicine 1919 N Elm St Fargo, ND 58102 Phone: 701.293.4156 med.UND.edu/internal-medicine
QUARTERLY NEWS
Grand Forks ND
Permit #10
I NST I T UTI ONAL REVI EW BOARD
announced the winners of the annual awards at the virtual
REMINDER
meeting held on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. Three of these awards
If you are the primary investigator of the research team, UND IRB
went to physicians within the Internal Medicine department.
approval is mandatory, in addition to your hospital’s or clinic’s
• American College of Physicians North Dakota Chapter
◆
Dr. Neville Alberto received the Laureate Award. The
IRB approval. For questions, please contact: Michelle Bowles at
Laureate Award honors those who have demonstrated
michelle.bowles@UND.edu or by calling 701.777.4079.
a lasting commitment to medical care, education or research, and in service to their Chapter and the American College of Physicians. ◆
Dr. Laura Nichols received the Woman Physician of the Year Award. This award honors a woman physician with an outstanding and distinguished career in areas of patient care, medical education, and/or research.
◆
Dr. Julie Blehm has been awarded with ACP Mastership. A Mastership is awarded because of “integrity, positions of honor, impact in practice or in medical research, or other attainments in science or the art of medicine.”
Congratulations, everyone!