Solidarity Week to highlight compassionate care

Each year, a group of medical students at the USA College of Medicine take a national message about compassion in healthcare and drive it home with a week’s worth of special activities.

Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care, set for Feb. 14-18, is being organized by members of the USA Chapter of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society (GHHS). Activities in previous years have ranged from distributing painted “kindness” rocks to creating posters for patients and physicians to encourage meaningful conversations.

“We want to ensure that compassion is always at the center of the high-quality care we provide our patients and community,” said T.J. Hundley, M.D., F.A.C.P., associate dean for medical education and a chapter adviser.

The national Gold Humanism Honor Society established National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care in 2011 to highlight the nationwide movement promoting provider-patient relationships based on caring, personalization and mutual respect. In 2013 and 2014, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing Solidarity Day on the national calendar, and the day was expanded to become Solidarity Week in 2016.

The GHHS is named for the late pediatric neurologist Arnold P. Gold, M.D., who co-founded the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Gold, who died in 2018, championed the importance of empathy and compassion in patient care, and inspired generations of doctors to connect with the patients they treated.

Follow Solidarity Week activities on social media and tag your posts using the hashtag #solidarityweek. Find the USA College of Medicine on Facebook at @usacollegeofmed.

Graduate students awarded Dean’s Predoctoral Fellowships

Three students in the USA College of Medicine’s Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program were awarded this year’s Dean’s Predoctoral Fellowships. The one-year fellowship program offers up to three $30,000 awards annually to Ph.D. students with USA College of Medicine faculty as primary mentors.

Jenny Hewes

Jenny Hewes is conducting research with mentor Natalie Bauer, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology. Her study looks at gender and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) – a fatal, progressive disease characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. 

“Patient data have revealed a gender paradox within the field. While females are at a higher risk for PAH, female patients develop a milder form of the disease than their male counterparts,” Hewes said. “Our preliminary studies are the first to reveal that cytokine production differs between males and females in a model of PAH. Our work is designed to examine this novel link between inflammation and the gender dimorphism reported in PAH patients.”

Rachel Rodenberg

Rachel Rodenberg is working with faculty mentor Robert Barrington, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology. Her research focuses on herpes stromal keratitis (HSK), the leading cause of infectious blindness in developed countries.

“Our lab previously observed that a rare cell population called γδ T cells are necessary for protection against ocular herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and that there are multiple subsets of cells within the γδ T cell population,” Rodenberg said. “My studies will utilize single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze the entire transcriptome of the γδ T cell subsets in the HSV-1 infected cornea. In so doing, not only do we hope to uncover the mechanisms by which these cells provide protection against HSV-1, but also we hope to identify potential immunotherapeutic targets to treat HSK.”

Reece Stevens

Reece Stevens works in the lab of mentor Ji Young Lee, M.D., Ph.D., professor of physiology and cell biology. He is studying how carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) signaling protects the pulmonary endothelial barrier. CAIX is an enzyme involved in maintaining intracellular and extracellular pH.

“The goal of my research project is to advance our understanding of acidosis on lung capillary injury and repair during infection,” Stevens said. “We aim to identify novel therapeutic targets that may improve the survival and long-term health of pneumonia patients.”

Meet a Med Student: Baylee Edwards

Baylee Edwards

Age: 25

Class of: 2023

Hometown: Birmingham

Undergrad/grad institution: University of Mississippi

Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in dietetics and nutrition

Interests, hobbies: Pottery/ceramics, baking, reading, dogs, making stickers and magnets, and going to the movies

Three of my favorite things: Throwing the ball at the park for my dogs when it’s sunny, going to dinner with friends, and the feeling you get when you walk out of an airport in a new city 

What I enjoy most about being a student at the USA College of Medicine: The interactive atmosphere that promotes student-to-student relationships and student-to-faculty relationships

More than 200 items collected for women’s health donation drive

Medical students lead a women's health and hygiene presentation at McKemie Place, a shelter that provides a safe environment for women.

To support women facing menstrual health inequities, more than 200 feminine hygiene products and personal protective equipment were given to residents of McKemie Place and Penelope House, shelters that provide a safe environment for women.

The donation drive was hosted by the USA College of Medicine’s OB-GYN Interest Group. All donations were from USA Health and the USA College of Medicine’s students, faculty and staff.

With the goal of empowering the community with knowledge and understanding of women's health, students of the interest group also led a women's health and hygiene presentation at McKemie Place the last weekend in January. They discussed topics such as menstruation, menopause and mental health.

“The residents of McKemie Place were engaging and asked questions regarding their health. It was a wonderful couple of hours of ‘girl talk,’” said Rennan Zaharias, community service chair of the OB-GYN Interest Group. “Feminine hygiene products are expensive, and the lack of access to them has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are honored to be able to advocate for women in the Mobile community who may be suffering from period poverty.”

The OB-GYN Interest Group is a part of an international organization called PERIOD, which aims to end period poverty through service, leadership and education.

Alumni couples: Keep sending your stories

Valentine’s Day is two weeks away. That’s when the Med School Watercooler will post a special feature on couples who met as medical or graduate students at the USA College of Medicine.

If you met your significant other in medical school, please email a brief story and photo (old, new, wedding, whatever!) to medalum@southalabama.edu.

“Thank you to everyone who has sent in their stories and pictures so far,” said Anna Claire Parks, associate director of medical alumni relations at the University of South Alabama. “The USA College of Medicine is a special place that nurtures friendships and relationships. We look forward to hearing from all of our alumni couples.”

Follow the USA Medical Alumni Association on Facebook at @usacollegeofmedalumni.