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News Briefs for Faculty of CMSRU
| March/April 2014
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 Kara S. Aplin, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Clinical Decision Unit at Cooper, along with Division of Hospital Medicine colleagues Susan Coutinho McAllister, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Eric Kupersmith, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Jean-Sebastien Rachoin, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, co-authored a paper which was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in March, 2014. The paper, "Caring for Patients in a Hospitalist-Run Clinical Decision Unit is Associated with Decreased Length of Stay Without Increasing Revisit Rates," looked at the impact of a hospitalist-run geographic CDU on length of stay for observation patients. Secondary objectives included examining the impact on 30-day emergency department or hospital revisit rates. Click HERE to read. |
 The region's leading diabetes advocacy group, JDRF, recently awarded Ernest Post, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at CMSRU and Head, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at Children's Regional Hospital at  Cooper, and Marc Laufgraben, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Medicine and Head, Division of Adult Endocrinology, Cooper University Health Care, their Distinguished Service Awards for 2014. The awards honor outstanding contributions to patients and families, as well as a spirit of service and support in the fight against Type 1 diabetes in the region. Click HERE to read the full story. |
 The March issue of Reader's Digest features an account of how a medical team at Cooper, lead by Michael Rosenbloom, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Co-Director of the Cooper Heart Institute and Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Cooper, saved a man's life following an unusual accident on a construction site. Click HERE to read the full story. |
 Saifuddin T. Mama, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Head of the Section of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and Robotics at Cooper, was recently featured in front-page article in the Courier Post for his medical mission work in Rwanda and other developing countries. Also mentioned in the article were Karolynn T. Echols, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; David J. Fish, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Division Head of Critical Care Anesthesia; E. Sheldon Siegel, DPM, podiatrist  with the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute; and Rachael Atkinson, RN, a nurse anesthetist. James K. Aikins Jr., Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of Research for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, who established the nonprofit International Healthcare Volunteers in 2001 to support medical missions, was also highlighted. Click HERE to read the full article. Dr. Mama also recently gave a roundtable at The American Urogynecologic Society National Meeting entitled "How to Operate 'in a Hut'. Preparing for a Global Health Elective." |
 Richard Selznick, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Cooper Learning Center, was interviewed by MetroKids for a comprehensive feature about dyslexia. Dr. Selznick, author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child and School Struggles: A Guide To Your Shut-Down Learner's Success, is an expert on learning disabilities in children. Click HERE to read the article.
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John McGeehan, MD, Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, was interviewed for an article in AAMC Reporter, the association's monthly flagship news publication. He commented on CMSRU's holistic review process for medical school admissions. Click HERE to read the full article.
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Andres J. Pumariega, MD, Professor and Chair/Chief of the Department of Psychiatry, recently provided the keynote lecture during a conference on media coverage of immigrant and refugee mental health at the WHYY studios in Philadelphia, put on by the DART Center of Columbia University School of Journalism and the Scattergood Foundation. Click HERE to see a video of Dr. Pumariega's address.
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We Want Your News!
I f you have news related to your position at CMSRU that you would like to share with your fellow clinical and basic science faculty members, please submit it to coopermednews@rowan.edu
and someone from our marketing team will contact you.
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CMSRU Completes LCME Provisional Accreditation Visit
In mid-March, three LCME site surveyors evaluated all facets of CMSRU's medical education program as we underwent our Provisional Accreditation Site Visit. This critical event lasted four days and involved dozens of clinical and biomedical science faculty, students and staff.
"I'm happy to report that during the exit interview, the site visitors were very complimentary of our school in all regards," said Annette Reboli, MD, CMSRU Vice Dean. "They viewed our educational program as innovative, student-centered and exemplary; they recognized our large, well-qualified faculty and the close collaboration between Cooper and Rowan; and they praised our educational resources, including our high-tech medical education building that was specifically designed to support the school's innovative educational program."
The site visitors will now prepare a draft survey report that is linked to specific standards. This report will then be submitted to the LCME for review and comment. The LCME will review the report at their June Meeting and make its determination about accreditation.
"Thank you to all who participated in this important event," added Dr. Reboli.
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Students Present First Annual Excellence in Teaching Award
 In March, CMSRU's first and second year students launched another new tradition at our fledgling medical school - the CMSRU Excellence in Teaching Award. This honor will be bestowed annually to a faculty member who embodies the CMSRU ideals of mentorship, professionalism, and life-long learning. The inaugural recipient of this award was Bill Kocher, MD, Chair of Biomedical Sciences at CMSRU. Click HERE to read more.
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Camden Scholars' Forum, formerly Research Week, kicks off 4/21
Cooper's annual Research Week, held each spring at Cooper for the past 15 years, has been revamped to accommodate a broader definition of scholarly work to reflect current standards for continuing success in the fields of research and performance improvement. Renamed the Annual Camden Scholars' Forum, the biggest changes involve the inclusion of the new Performance Improvement category as well as oral presentations.
"Starting this year, in addition to our usual display of posters, the category winners will give short oral presentations and field questions," explains Harry Mazurek, PhD, Associate Dean for Research at CMSRU. "The organizing committee feels this model more closely resembles national conferences. Participation in the Camden Scholars' Forum provides valuable experience to our students, residents, and fellows. "
The new poster category, Performance Improvement, highlights the many valuable Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance, and Patient Safety projects being conducted across the health system. As in prior years, other categories include Clinical, Basic, Case Study, Medical Student, Allied Health and Nursing Research.
More than 90 abstracts for posters were submitted in February to participate in the Scholars' Forum, and participants are busy finalizing their posters for display. Posters will be on display from Monday, April 21 at 8 a.m. through Wednesday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Cooper's 10th Floor Pavilion, room 1014.
The event will conclude with The Winner's Forum, where the top three posters in each category will be announced and the 1st place winners will provide short oral presentations of their work. This event will be held Thursday, May 8 from Noon to 1 p.m. in the CMSRU Auditorium; a luncheon reception will immediately follow in the Learning Commons.
We look forward to your participation and your help in making the First Annual Camden Scholars' Forum a great success.
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Focus on Faculty: Michael O'Leary, PhD
Michael E. O'Leary, PhD, joined CMSRU in August of 2013 as Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences. He is actively engaged in many facets of the school's educational, research and service missions. He teaches the physiology related sections of CMSRU's M1 Fundamentals course which includes classroom lectures and laboratory instruction. He also serves as co-director for M2 cardiovascular/pulmonary course and contributes lectures on renal, skeletal muscle and neuronal physiology. Dr. O'Leary is a facilitator for an Active Learning Group where he guides M1 students through the basic science and clinical curriculum.
He earned his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he received the Distinguished Dissertation Award. After completing fellowships at the University of Maryland and University of Pennsylvania medical schools he joined the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University in the department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology where he worked for the past 20 years before joining CMSRU.
Dr. O'Leary's research focuses on the neurophysiology and molecular biology of sensory neurons, particularly those involved in the sensation of pain. The goal of these studies is to understand the role of injured sensory neurons in chronic and neuropathic pain. He has authored numerous articles on this topic and has been an invited lecturer at universities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
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CMSRU/CUH Psychiatry Residents Defend Their Championship Title
The Philadelphia Psychiatric Society Colloquium of Scholars (COS) 2014 recently held its 5th Annual Mind Games, where eight residency programs from the tri-state area, including University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Jefferson, Einstein, Drexel, Penn State Hershey and Cooper, competed in a Jeopardy format competition. Categories included "Pills" (Psychopharmacology), "Talk" (Psychotherapy), "Stages" (Developmental Stages), History of Psychiatry, and Others/Miscellaneous. The Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Mind Games team and Champions for a SECOND year in a row were Mason Chang, MD (PGY 4), Amanda Gorecki, MD (PGY 3) and Laura Hesselink, DO (PGY 3).
 Their coach and Mind Games mentor was Basant Pradhan, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. The COS also held its annual Residents poster contest. This year Chris Winfrey, MD (PGY 2) won first place out of over 30 submissions. Cooper Psychiatry residents submitted eight posters this year. Congratulations to the CMSRU/Cooper Psychiatry team!
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CMSRU Students Earn National Leadership Posts
Joshua Weinstock and Gita Byraiah, second year students at CMSRU, were recently elected to national leadership positions for two prestigious medical student organizations.
Mr. Weinstock was named to the board of The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), which represents nearly 40,000 physicians-in-training from throughout the United States. Ms. Byraiah was appointed American Association of Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) liaison to the Group on Women in Medicine and Science.
Click HERE to read the full story.
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First Ever Simulation Society Event a Huge Success
 Dozens of CMSRU students turned out for the first ever Simulation Event, hosted by the Student Simulation Society. Second-year medical student Rebecca Lee, president of the Student Simulation Society, worked with student presidents of the different specialty interest groups, their faculty advisors, and the Sim Center team to organize the event.
The faculty included eight attending physicians, two nurse educators and three resident physicians, all of whom helped teach more than 30 students who rotated through the stations. There were six different simulation stations: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Surgery, and Internal Medicine/Cardiology Exam.
"The students all remarked that this was a terrific session and look forward to additional simulation events in the future," said Amanda Burden, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Simulation Program director. "On behalf of our students, I thank all of the faculty, residents and nurses who participated."
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| About Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
CMSRU is committed to providing humanistic education in the art and science of medicine within a scientific and scholarly community in which inclusivity, excellence in patient care, innovative teaching, research and service to our community are valued.
Core values include a commitment to diversity, personal mentorship, professionalism, collaboration and mutual respect, civic responsibility, patient advocacy and lifelong learning.
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University401 S. Broadway
Camden, New Jersey 08103
856-361-2800
www.rowan.edu/coopermed
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