Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s Graduation & Promotion festivities! We are all very proud of our EM Residency Program graduates from the Class of 2014...

2014 Residency Program Graduates
Mel Bailey, MD - Washington Adventist Hospital
Shane Kappler, MD - Cambridge Hospital, Boston
Tariq Khan, MD - EM Consultants, Dallas/Fort Worth
Curtis Knight, MD - Riverside Comm Hospital, Southern California
Richard Kwong, MD - DeKalb Medical Center, Atlanta
Joseph Pate, MD - Ultrasound Fellowship, MedStar WHC
Mark Pittman, MD - MedStar Harbor Hospital
Matt Wilson, MD - MedStar Washington Hospital Center

And, hearty congratulations are also in order for our 2013-2014 Faculty & Resident Award winners...

Faculty Award Recipients
Faculty of the Year:  Sangeeta Wood, MD
Clinical Teacher of the Year:  Rahul Bhat, MD
Mentor of the Year:  Julie Vieth, MD
Speaker of the Year:  Joelle Borhart, MD
New Faculty of the Year:  Julie Vieth, MD
Off-service Faculty of the Year:  Allen Roberts, MD (MGUH MICU)

Resident Award Recipients
Clinical Excellence Award:  Mel Bailey, MD
Excellence in Education:  Mark Pittman, MD
Excellence in Scholarship:  Matt Wilson, MD

Emergency Medicine Sports Medicine Fellow
On January 8, 2014, the NRMP released the results of the MedStar’s Emergency Medicine/Sports Medicine match. MedStar’s Emergency Medicine/Sports Medicine Fellow for 2014-2015 will be Dr. Ahmer Khan.

Dr. Khan completed his undergraduate degree at Baylor University and attended medical school at the University of Nevada. He is currently a chief resident at UT Southwestern/Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX. His sports medicine experience includes working with both University of Texas-Dallas and with the Dallas Mavericks.

Dr. Kwong - 2014 Airway Lab

Clinical Pearls – Febrile Returned Traveler, May 8th, 2014
Janet Smereck MD

1) Always consider malaria, even if the patient used chemoprophylaxis
2) Review the travel itinerary using the CDC website (www.CDC.gov) for the most up- to- date data on location-specific outbreaks, endemic illnesses, and current treatment guidelines

Question: A negative malaria smear from a febrile returned traveler:
A) Does not exclude malaria
B) May be due to timing of sample, during fever, due to hemolysis of infected erythrocytes
C) May be due to hepatic or placental sequestration (in the case of the pregnant patient)
D) All of the above

References
1. Kotylar S, Rice B. Fever in the Returning Traveler  Emerg Med Clin N Am 2013; 927-44
2. Wattal C, Goel N. Infectious Disease Emergencies in returning travelers, special reference to malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya. [Med Clin N Am 2012; 1225-1255]
3. Harvey K, Esposito D. et al  Surveillance for travel-related disease, United States  [MMWR 2013; 62: 1-23]
4. Smereck J  Malaria in pregnancy: update on emergency management. [JEM 2011; 40: 393-6]

Pearls from Mesenteric Ischemia Lecture, May 13th, 2014
Autumn Graham, MD
- Physicians need to maintain a high clinical suspicion for mesenteric ischemia.  While 
biomarkers and CT can augment or detract from the probability of disease, they represent late
findings and are not diagnostic.

[TO VIEW CHART CLICK HERE]

Cudnik MT, Darbha S, Jones J, Macedo J, Stockton SW, Hiestand BC. The diagnosis of mesenteric
ischemia – a systematic review and meta- analysis. Acad Emerg Med. 2013 Nov;20(11):1087-
100

Pearls from Early Diag and Mgmt of Acute Upper Airway Obstruction Lecture, June 12th, 2014
Ziad Deeb, MD
1. Recognize the early signs of upper airway compromise, and determine the most likely site of the narrowed airway.
2. Choose the best and safest single imaging technique to demonstrate the pathologic site without risking turning an evolving process into a “code surgical airway”.
3. Decide the right time and method to secure the patient’s compromised airway.

Pearls from EM Case Conference, June 26th, 2014
David Carlberg, MD
- QTc> 500 indicates a 2 to 3 fold increase risk of torsades
- In the right clinical circumstance - can pace a bradycardic pt with long QT to prevent torsades
(pace to rate of 70)
- Always consider equipment failure as a cause of unexpected results

Summer Residency Retreat
Will be at the Bolger Center in Potomac, Md again this year on July 14th and 15th (Monday & Tuesday) - please contact Nancy for additional details.  Essential items:  think climbing, think swimming, think active!

Grand Rounds Speakers
The Grand Rounds schedule for academic year is nearly complete. Upcoming Grand Rounds dates and speakers are listed below.  

-- July 10 - Ray Lucas MD, Former Program Director at GW
-- August 7 - Charles Read, MD **Special HIV Lecture** - "AIDS in the ICU - 1980-2010 - A birth of a disease, A response of culture, A growth of a physician"
-- August 14 - Jacob Ufberg MD, Program Director at Temple

Joint Regial Meeting - WEDNESDAY
-- September 17 - Greater Chesapeake Joint Regional Grand Rounds in Baltimore - along with Hopkins, Maryland, GW & York

Alumni Day 2014
-- October 2 - MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Drs. Joelle Borhart & Genese Lamare will be presenting!