No Images? Click here January 2017 RoboDoc: Can technology improve a child's experience in the emergency room?Department members Mithra Sivakumar, Samina Ali and Manasi Rajagopal are using a robot to help ease the stress of the emergency room for kids. (l-r) Maybe you've seen someone dance the robot to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling." It's unlikely, however, that you've seen an actual robot do it. That robot is MEDi, now at the Stollery Children's Hospital to lift distressed kids' spirits. Its voice is calming, it'll call you by name and it's charismatic, for a robot. MEDi is here because Samina Ali, a pediatric emergency physician and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, wanted to determine if MEDi's technology could ease children's pain and distress in the emergency room. Faculty invited to CaRMS interview lunches: Jan 29 - Feb 1General Pediatrics Program Director Mark Belletrutti talks to interviewees at the CaRMS meet-and-greet lunch in 2017. The annual CaRMS interviews for the general pediatrics and pediatric neurology programs will take place between Monday, January 29 and Thursday, February 1, 2018. Navigating a career through pediatricsJillian Byrne is embarking on a career after completing her PhD with supervisor Geoff Ball. Now director of clinical research in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Jill (Avis) Byrne, ’16 PhD, is a clinical researcher with expertise in childhood obesity prevention. As an alumna from the Department of Pediatrics, most people assume she’s a pediatrician. But Byrne is not a medical doctor. “I’ve always been interested in children and health, that’s why the researchers at U of A really stood out to me,” said Byrne, who credits the department for encouraging students with diverse backgrounds to enter the graduate program. “It’s quite wonderful because you get this multi-disciplinary lens to research and not just one that is a purely
medical approach.” Save the date: Pediatrics Research Day May 16Attendees peruse the research posters at Pediatric Research Day 2017. The fifth annual Pediatric Research Day will take place Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Registration will be open soon - watch your email for more information, including abstract submission deadlines. Wednesday, May 16, 2018 Department member quoted in expert CNN Health articleAn extensive article posted to CNN.com last month focuses on the difficulties facing the 'in-betweeners': teen and young adult cancer patients. It's an age group that is often overlooked in many aspects, although it is a special group with special needs. They have different cancers than young children and older adults, the lack of clinical trials leaves a knowledge gap, and there's not enough focus on long-term effects of treatment and quality of life. Pediatrics members win $100,000 from Grand Challenges CanadaIsrael Amirav (pictured in lab coat) enjoys meeting with children in the course of his global health research. Israel Amirav and Michael Hawkes, of the divisions of Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases respectively, have won $100,000 from Grand Challenges Canada for creating an innovative diagnostic tool. The device, called a Multimometer, looks as simple as a thermometer and has the potential to save the lives of children in developing countries, where precise diagnostic tools are scarce and respiratory infections the lives of hundreds of thousands of children a year. Read about how this simple tool can make an impact on global health. Competency-based Medical Education is the way of the futureHow do you measure a resident’s medical skills? Just ask yourself if you would trust them to take care of your loved ones. This thought has become the motivation to boost an educational change towards competency-based medical education (CBME) in medical schools all across Canada, which is driven forward at the University of Alberta under the motto “every resident, a physician for my family.” Find out how the University is approaching CBME in the coming year. Share your #StolleryBackyard storyAvery, above, loves art classes and riding horses. But she might never have had the change tollow her passion were it not for the Stollery. Learn more about Avery's #StolleryBackyard story by clicking the photo. The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation is proud to introduce In My Backyard, a campaign that’s educating Albertans on the many ways Stollery care positively impacts your community. Over the next 12-18 months, you will meet Stollery kids from communities throughout northern Alberta who are back in their backyards because of the specialized care only the Stollery provides. Kids like Avery (watch Avery’s video). If you or someone you know has a #StolleryBackyard story, the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation wants to hear it — share it today! Your “In My Backyard” stories have the ability to impact another person’s life. To share your Stollery story,
Worklife ResourcesThe University of Alberta is a great place to work, with access to many programs, services and resources for faculty and staff. Please visit Human Resource Services Learning and Development for more information or the Learning Shop Calendar for upcoming courses and workshops.
For human resources service in the Department of Pediatrics, please contact Kevin Meleskie at 780.248.5413.
Submit your story to the PulsePediatric Pulse is an internal publication for faculty, staff and learners in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. It is published the first Tuesday of every month by department communications staff. The deadline to submit to the February newsletter is January 26, 2018. |