February Med School Café - 'An Overview of Minimally Invasive Treatments'

The February Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. Derek Samuels, assistant professor of radiology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and an interventional radiologist with USA Physicians Group.

His lecture, titled “An Overview of Minimally Invasive Treatments,” will take place Feb. 19, 2015, at the USA Faculty Club on USA’s main campus. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation begins at noon.

Today, many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. During the talk, Dr. Samuels will discuss interventional radiology and what it means for patients. Interventional radiology is a medical specialty that uses minimally invasive image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat diseases. Dr. Samuels will include information on these procedures as it relates to the oncology patient, the obstetrics and gynecology patient, and patients with renal failure, among others.

Dr. Samuels earned his medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He completed both his residency in diagnostic radiology and his fellowship in interventional radiology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla.

The Med School Café lecture and lunch are provided free of charge, but reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, call Kim Partridge at (251) 460-7770 or e-mail kepartridge@health.southalabama.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by the USA Physicians Group. Each month, faculty from the USA College of Medicine share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available.


Dr Samuels Med School Cafe Promo from USA Health System on Vimeo.

USA Chapter of Gold Humanism Honor Society to Focus on Compassion

In honor of the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society's (GHHS) Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care on Feb. 13, the University of South Alabama College of Medicine chapter of GHHS will participate in several activities to remind students and employees of the importance of compassion in medicine.

“We are really excited about this year’s Solidarity Day/Week entitled ‘Tell Me More,’” said JaneMarie Freeman, a fourth-year medical student and GHHS member at the USA College of Medicine.

After obtaining consent, GHHS members will spend time learning about hospital patients’ personal lives in order to craft signs for display over their beds.

“We are doing this in effort to get to know our patients beyond their medical background, to provide more compassionate and holistic care to the patients at both USA Medical Center and USA Children's & Women's Hospital, and to find out what makes our patients unique,” Freeman said. “We truly feel this will encourage ongoing communication and trust that will improve patient care from this point forward.”

GHHS members will also hand out candy and buttons to hospital staff to thank them for their hard work and compassion.

The GHHS Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care was initiated after the 2011 shootings in Tucson, Ariz., to honor the humanistic actions of Dr. Randall Friese, the trauma surgeon who first treated Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The “Tell Me More” project was developed in 2014 by GHHS chapter members at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.

The senior medical students of the USA chapter of GHHS are Brian Buning, Griffin Collins, R. Wes Edmunds, JaneMarie Freeman, Alonso Heudebert, Angela King, Timothy Parker, and C. Dale Shamburger.

To learn more about Solidarity Day, visit http://humanism-in-medicine.org/ghhs/national-conferences-events/ghhs-solidarity-day/.

Life Story of Dr. Meyer Featured in Press-Register

The life story of Dr. Frederick N. Meyer was recently featured in the Press-Register.

Dr. Meyer passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 14, 2014. At the time of his death, he served as professor and chair of the University of South Alabama department of orthopaedic surgery. He also served as program director for the orthopaedic surgery residency training program. 

To view the article in its entirety, visit http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2015/02/life_stories_dedicated_to_his.html.

College of Medicine's Office of Diversity and Inclusion to Host Three Lectures

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion is hosting three lectures featuring Dr. Lisa Moreno Walton, professor of clinical emergency medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, on Feb. 11 and 12, 2015.

The first lecture, titled "HIV/AIDS Courageous Conversation," will be held on Feb. 11, 2015, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the student center ballroom on USA’s main campus. The lecture is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.

The second lecture, titled "Addressing Diversity in Clinical Care," will be held on Feb.12, 2015, at the USA Medical Center Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. as a part of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds.

Dr. Walton will also present a special seminar, titled "University Hospital Healthcare: Partnering with the Community," on Feb. 12, 2015, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the College of Nursing auditorium on USA’s main campus.

Dr. Walton earned her bachelor of science degree and her master of social work degree from New York University. She earned her medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y.

For more information on the lectures, contact Chante’ Hendrix at chendrix@southalabama.edu or Dr. Johnson Haynes Jr. at jhaynes@health.southalabama.edu.