University of South Alabama Celebrates Giving Day

The University of South Alabama is celebrating USA Giving Day – a 24-hour fundraising challenge – today, March 22, 2018.

The goal of USA Giving Day is to rally alumni, faculty, staff and the community to support the University’s students, athletic programs, USA Health and the USA National Alumni Association.

Donors can choose to have their gifts go toward athletics, the MacQueen Alumni Center, excellence in health care or student success. For those donating to excellence in health care, the USA Medical Alumni Association will match the donation up to $10,000, and USA Mitchell Cancer Institute will match the donation up to $100,000.

Click here to participate in USA Giving Day

Register Now: Oncology Outlook 2018

The USA Mitchell Cancer Institute will host Oncology Outlook 2018 on April 13-15 at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Ala. The topic of this year’s event is “Controversies in Women’s Cancers.”

The CME event is an interdisciplinary conference for physicians, advanced care providers, nurses, social workers and radiation therapists throughout the Gulf Coast region. All health care providers interested in increasing knowledge, addressing performance and addressing patient outcomes are welcome.

Featured guest speakers are Dr. Keith Swetz, associate professor of medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine; Dr. Neelima Denduluri, medical oncologist at Virginia Cancer Specialists; Tamika Felder, founder of Cervivor; and Dr. Janet Bouknight, reproductive endocrinologist at Alabama Fertility Clinic.

In addition, the event will feature USA Faculty speakers Drs. Lynn Dyess, Michael Finan, Nathaniel Jones, Spencer Liles, Elesyia Outlaw, Jennifer Young Pierce, Rodney Rocconi and Jennifer Scalici.

Advanced registration is requested. For more information about Oncology Outlook 2018, click here. Click here to register.

April Med School Café – 'Medicine in Art'

April's Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. Charles B. Rodning, professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine.

His lecture, titled “Medicine in Art,” will be held on Friday, April 13, 2018, at the Strada Patient Care Center Conference Room. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation will begin at noon.

A longstanding member of the USA College of Medicine faculty, Dr. Rodning will discuss the validity of integrating the scientific, humanistic, and artistic domains of intellectual endeavor into the patient-physician relationship to achieve patient healing. Eight classic, timeless, and iconic Occidental frescoes, etchings, or paintings will be discussed vis-á-vis how each informs human nature, the human condition, the philosophy of the artist  and the culture from which each emerged.

Dr. Rodning earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, N.Y., and a Ph.D. in anatomy from the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Center in Minneapolis. He also completed his residency training in general surgery at the University of Minnesota.

He served as a Commander in the United States Navy Medical Corps and was assigned to United States Naval Regional Medical Center in Okinawa, Japan. He is also past president of the Medical Society of Mobile County and of the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.

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

USA Residents Visit Theodore High School, Participate in Community Outreach Project

A group of pediatric resident physicians at USA talk to a group of high school students at Theodore High School Tuesday, March 6, 2018.

Several University of South Alabama pediatric resident physicians recently participated in a community outreach project at Theodore High School, exchanging motivational letters and hosting a question and answer session during lunch.

In collaboration with Kyle Harper – a teacher at Theodore High School – second- and third-year residents received a photo of a student and were encouraged to write them a motivational letter. The residents then presented the letters to each student, followed by a problem-solving ‘breakout’ activity and question and answer session.

According to Dr. Bryce Willen, chief resident of pediatrics, the purpose of the activity was to give back to the community, while focusing on resident wellness and burnout prevention. “The project originated because we thought an outreach activity would provide our residents with an added sense of community,” he said. “Overall, the activity was a tremendous success; both the students and residents got more out of the experience than they anticipated.”

Dr. Willen said having an opportunity to interact with engaged and inspired youth was refreshing. "The students asked tough questions about our jobs, including dealing with death, what to do with debt, how much caffeine we drink, having a family and everything in between,” he said.“Our residents are very diverse and have unique stories to tell. This experience allowed them to connect with the students, and they used that connection to share positive and motivating stories.”