Meet a Med Student: Mary Katherine Moore

Mary Katherine Moore

Age: 26

Class: 2024

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama

Undergraduate/graduate education: B.A. in Spanish with a minor in chemistry, MBA with a concentration in public health; The University of Alabama  

What do you enjoy most about being a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I love how friendly and supportive all our classmates and faculty are. Everyone is always willing to help and encourage each other.

Are you involved in any research, organizations or other initiatives at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I am the president of the Medical Spanish Interest Group, community service chair of the American Medical Women’s Association, and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee member. I am also a member of the Internal Medicine Interest Group and Public Health Interest Group.

What are your interests and hobbies?
I love to read, cook, travel, explore new restaurants, and play with my Cavapoo, Watson.

What is something unique about you?
When I was 16, I successfully performed CPR on my sister after she went into cardiac arrest secondary to an apneic seizure.

Student interest group receives Sparking Interest in Pathology Award

The Pathology Interest Group received a $500 award from the College of American Pathologists to further its mission.

The Pathology Interest Group (PAIG) at the Whiddon College of Medicine recently received the Sparking Interest in Pathology Award from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation. The $500 award is intended to support projects and initiatives that introduce, educate and inspire medical students to pursue a career in pathology.

Founded in fall 2022, the student interest group now has 39 members – a significant number for a medical school of its size. Two of the members are interviewing in pathology in the residency match process, and eight members have expressed commitment to matching in pathology in the next three cycles.

Emily Hartsell and Walker Phillips

attended a reception at CAP23. Reflecting

the reception's theme, they wore Mardi

Gras beads to represent Mobile culture.

Emily Hartsell, co-founder and vice president of PAIG, intends to match in pathology in two years. She applied for the CAP Foundation award on behalf of the student interest group.

“As with many medical schools, there are no mandatory clinical rotations in pathology at the Whiddon College of Medicine,” Hartsell said. “Students interested in pathology have the option to take a four-week selective during third year. However, prior to PAIG, there were no student-led initiatives to make medical students aware of this opportunity or the field at large.”

PAIG has four primary objectives: to raise awareness about the field of pathology among the medical student body; to expose PAIG members to the diverse career opportunities within the field; to connect medical students with the department of pathology at USA Health; and to provide residency application-building and career development opportunities such as shadowing, research and networking.

“I am very impressed with the high level of interest and commitment our medical students have in exploring and learning about pathology as a career field in medicine,” said Thuy Phung, M.D., Ph.D., faculty advisor for the Pathology Interest Group and a professor of pathology at the Whiddon College of Medicine. “The students have worked diligently to build a vibrant program to expose PAIG members and the medical student body at large to the field of pathology. All of the pathology-related activities have been initiated by the medical students, and their efforts have paid off.”

Among the current initiatives, PAIG students and pathology faculty are collaborating to develop a streamlined program for first- and second-year medical students to shadow pathologists in anatomic pathology and clinical pathology, including subspecialized areas in molecular pathology, molecular microbiology and blood banking.

For example, students are working with Mohammad Barouqa, M.D., assistant professor of pathology and director of the blood bank at USA Health. They have submitted an abstract of their research project to the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists for the academy’s annual meeting in June.

In addition, PAIG students are collaborating with Phung, who serves as director of molecular genetic pathology and dermatopathology, and other pathologists at USA Health on a number of research projects; they have submitted two abstracts for CAP24, the organization’s annual meeting in October.

“Two of our members were able to attend CAP23 and were delighted to meet fellow students, residents, attendings, and pathologists on alternative career paths,” Hartsell said. “We hope to continue sending medical students to CAP every year.”

As the philanthropic arm of the College of American Pathologists, the CAP Foundation fosters the next generation of pathology leaders and provides quality care to underserved communities. For over 50 years, the foundation has awarded millions of dollars to support pathology education, research and training.

GHHS hosts Solidarity Week for Compassionate Care

GHHS members Trentyn Shaw and Marjorie Jones deliver a treat and thank-you note to Eduardo Rel, director of radiology and imaging services at Children's & Women's Hospital.

The University of South Alabama chapter of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society (GHHS) celebrated Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care, a national initiative designed to remind students and healthcare employees of the importance of compassion in medicine.

Activities included Wellness Bingo, which aimed to inspire students, residents and faculty to better their own personal mental well-being and the well-being of their colleagues and patients. 

GHHS members visited with ICU patients and families at University Hospital and Children's & Women's Hospital, and delivered treats and thank-you messages to USA Health staff members. Healthcare workers were encouraged to fill out Humanistic Hearts detailing how they practice compassionate patient care.

Additionally, participants in Wellness Bingo and Humanistic Hearts were entered into a raffle to win gift cards to local establishments.

Learn more about Solidarity Week. View more photos from Solidarity Week on Flickr. 

Developmental-behavioral pediatrician joins pediatrics faculty

Sara Garcia Shank, M.D., FAAP, joined USA Health as a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, and she hopes to use her role to educate the next generation of healthcare providers about how to offer inclusive care for neurodivergent children.   

Developmental-behavioral pediatricians provide care for children and adolescents with developmental delays and learning difficulties, and they also detect and manage the treatment of autism.   

Shank is one of about 800 developmental-behavioral pediatricians in the United States, and there is an increasing demand for them, especially in academic settings, according to the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, because they advance research, training, and clinical care.  

“With a workforce shortage in developmental-behavioral pediatrics, I love working with learners and hope to help encourage awareness of neurodevelopmental differences so that their potential interest in this work can be fostered,” Shank said. 

Shank, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Whiddon College of Medicine, is a board-certified pediatrician and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.    

“My goal is to provide empathetic care to those unique children with neurodevelopmental differences in our community. Using standardized developmental testing, I assess a child's behavior along with their cognitive strengths and weaknesses to identify areas in their learning that we can best support,” she said. “I work closely with our multidisciplinary team as well to provide diagnostic care.”   

Shank completed a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine’s Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics and Autism in Houston, Texas. She finished her residency in pediatrics at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. She graduated from medical school at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and is a cum laude graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science degree.    

While in medical school, she completed a medical Spanish course that was dedicated to improving conversational Spanish in the healthcare setting and an end-of-life care course designed to explore issues surrounding patients facing terminal illness.    

Throughout her medical education and training, Shank gained a wealth of experience serving special needs communities as a counselor, tutor, and mentor for a variety of organizations, such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association Summer Camp, Camp Tiger, a week-long day camp for children with special needs in the Greater New Orleans area, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. She also worked as a dog therapy assistant at St. Tammany Parish Hospital and a patient assistant performing violin music for hospice patients at the Hospice of St. Tammany Parish Hospital.   

“Guiding and supporting families of neurodivergent kids through the medical system, school system and community is very rewarding. Often that journey can feel daunting for families,” she said. “I really enjoy being there to make them feel comforted, supported and less alone.”   

Shank is accepting new patients at the USA Health Strada Patient Care Center, located at 1601 Center Street in Mobile. To schedule an appointment, call 251-410-5437.