Med School Café lecture on urinary stones now online

William Terry Jr., M.D., a urologist with USA Health, presented the May Med School Café lecture, "Rocks in Wrong Places: Humanity's Coping With Urinary Stone Disease."

In his talk, Terry discussed why people get urinary stones, types of stones, ways to prevent them, and how best to treat them.

Watch Med School Café - Kidney Stones on YouTube or below.

Townsley discusses 'Women in STEM' on podcast

Mary Townsley, Ph.D., senior associate dean of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, is featured in a recent podcast by Girls Can.

In the episode "Women in STEM," Townsley gives insight as a woman in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She shares her experiences as both a teacher and student and gives advice to help young women excel in advanced science and medical studies.

Girls Can podcast is sponsored by Girls Can, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of young women in Mobile. Formed by four sisters - Elizabeth, Brooke, Abigail and Grace Swain - their mission is to encourage young women to make a difference through education and service. The podcast is sponsored in part with a grant from HERlead.

Listen to the podcast here.

June Med School Café to address abnormal uterine bleeding

The June Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. Eva Alnajjar, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and an obstetrician-gynecologist with USA Health.

Her lecture, "Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, will be held Friday, June 14, at the USA Faculty Club. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation will begin at noon. Alnajjar will discuss abnormal uterine bleeding, how it presents, risk factors and management options.

She earned her medical degree from the University of Dublin, Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin, Ireland. She completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan.

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

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by USA Health. Each month, faculty and physicians share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available.

The USA Faculty Club is located at 6348 Fincher Road on the University of South Alabama's main campus.

Medical Spanish Interest Group improves patient experiences for Spanish-speaking community

From left, Gregory Overbeek, secretary; Matthew Yoder, treasurer; Ryan Miller, outgoing vice president; Bonnie Holley, outgoing president; Elizabeth Hernandez, president; Melody Zeidan, vice president; and Diego Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D., faculty advisor.

The Medical Spanish Interest Group (MSIG) provides an important service to the Spanish-speaking community to help improve their patient experiences and comfort level. An active student organization at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine for the past three years, MSIG consists mainly of medical students who are interested in learning, practicing, or teaching other students medical Spanish.

The group meets monthly with medical students, undergraduate students, Spanish-speaking individuals from the community, and faculty from USA. At their meetings they review a vocabulary list to provide students with helpful phrases to utilize in a patient interview. Following this, the students break up into groups based on their comfort and skill level. The Spanish-speaking individuals serve as standardized patients, and the students work through a prepared medical case in Spanish.

"This is an excellent opportunity to learn from community members," said Elizabeth Hernandez, a rising second-year medical student and incoming president of MSIG. "We not only focus on learning medical Spanish, but we have a focus on providing cultural competency so students have a better idea of how to approach patients of a different background than their own. This is important to providing compassionate and patient-centered care."

In addition to meetings, the group is involved in the community. MSIG provides volunteers to BELONG, a program designed to help immigrant families. Members assist children with their homework and whatever else they may need while their parents are in an English class. They have also volunteered with the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) by providing translation services at their health fair.

Hernandez said MSIG is always looking for ways to expand their scope of outreach, student involvement and opportunities for learning.

"We are a very young organization so there is a lot of room for growth and change based on the input of our members and the needs of our community," Hernandez said. "We look forward to a bright future of helping an increasing number of patients feel comfortable and understood in our healthcare settings. We continue to seek out additional opportunities to be involved in our community because we truly value the importance of reaching out to populations that are often vulnerable and underrepresented."

MSIG recently elected new officers: Elizabeth Hernandez, president; Melody Zeidan, vice president; Gregory Overbeek, secretary; Matthew Yoder, treasurer.

For more info or to get involved, contact Elizabeth Hernandez at edh1322@jagmail.southalabama.edu.

Pediatric grand rounds set for May 17

Michael E. Upchurch, J.D., an attorney in Mobile, will present the next pediatric grand rounds.

His lecture, "Realities of Medical Liability," is set for 8 a.m. Friday, May 17, in the Strada Patient Care Center first-floor conference room. Upchurch will educate and inform the audience of realities of medical negligence litigation and offer tips to reduce the likelihood of being sued.

Pediatric grand rounds is every third Friday of the month. The event is open to USA faculty, staff and students. A light breakfast, coffee and beverages will be provided.

For more information, contact Nicole Laden at nladen@health.southalabama.edu or (251) 415-8688.