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Pediatrics Flyer
The official newsletter of the Department of Pediatrics
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Megan O'Connor, MD, Clinician-Educator
Meghan O’Connor, director of the University of Utah EPAC program, is an assistant professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and is a committed clinician and educator. Teaching responsibilities range from directing classroom electives to clinical teaching in the Well Baby Nursery and University Pediatric Clinic. She is involved in education at all levels of learner, from pre-clinical medical students to faculty interested in educational scholarship. Dr. O’Connor’s teaching philosophy is based on three tenets: (1) encouraging learners to take an active role in their education, (2) creating a respectful environment that encourages growth-mindset learning, and most importantly (3) learning should be fun.
Education in Pediatrics Across the Continuum (EPAC): A New Model of Medical Education
EPAC is a novel and innovative model of education that uses competency-based learning and assessment, rather than the traditional time-based framework to educate both medical students and residents. In fact, it is the first competency-based, time-variable program in the history of medical education in the United States.
The EPAC program was started as a national pilot sponsored by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Participating schools include the Universities of Utah, Colorado, Minnesota, and California San Francisco. Since its onset, the two main goals of the EPAC program have been to:
- Establish a model for true competency-based medical education (CBME) through variable time, meaningfully-assessed demonstration of competence across the continuum of medical education, and
- Develop a continuous educational pathway linking the “continuum” of undergraduate medical education (UME), graduate medical education (GME), and practice using pediatrics as a model.
Since 2015, five cohorts have been inducted into the program at the University of Utah and four have successfully transitioned to residency in a time-variable manner. The first cohort of learners have completed their categorical pediatric residency training and have transitioned to sub-specialty training programs. These learners benefit from frequent assessment, formative as well as summative feedback, longitudinal relationships with preceptors and mentors, and a focus on growth-mindset learning. The University of Utah is the first school to advance a GME learner through time-variable, competency-based methods.
Early successes of the program have demonstrated the feasibility of a paradigm shift in medical education from a fixed-time, variable-outcome system of curriculum delivery to a fixed-outcome, variable-time structure that truly assesses the development and competence of emerging physicians.
The Department of Pediatrics’ involvement in the EPAC program has led to several large-scale national collaborations and publications revolving around CBME and the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and has established the University of Utah as a leader in medical innovation and CBME. Furthermore, our continued participation in the program further highlights leadership’s commitment to educational scholarship and the advancement of medical education.
Educational Scholarship Retreat
As part of this commitment to excellence, the Department of Pediatrics will host an educational scholarship retreat January 23
rd
for faculty interested in pursuing education as an academic endeavor. The retreat is organized by the pediatric Education Enterprise and a group of accomplished educational scholars, led by EPAC Director Meghan O’Connor, MD. It will feature educational experts from the University of Utah’s UME and GME leadership, as well as Grand Rounds guest speaker Dorene F. Balmer, PhD – educational specialist from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and qualitative data specialist for the national EPAC project.
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DEPARTMENT CHAIR'S SUGGESTION BOX
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Dr. Giardino wants to hear from you!
If you have any ideas or concerns you'd like to share with Dr. Giardino, please submit your comments to his suggestion box. The link can be found on the department intranet home page, or click the box below.
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Welcome to the Team!
To see the new faculty and staff who joined us in December, click
here
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Thanks for the Memories!
Don Vernon, MD - Critical Care
Dr. Vernon received his medical degree from the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, completed his pediatric residency at Oregon Health Sciences University, and his pediatric critical care medicine fellowship at Children's Hospital of Michigan. He was on the faculty of the University of Miami before joining the University of Utah in 1987 in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. He has been a full-time clinician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Primary Children's Hospital since joining the department. His specific clinical interest was pediatric cardiac intensive care.
Dr. Vernon served as Associate Chair for Quality in the Department of Pediatrics. He also served on the American Board of Pediatrics sub-board for Critical Care Medicine, including two years as chair, and served on the National Board of Medical Examiners.
We will greatly miss Don and wish him the very best in his Florida retirement!
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Amanda Locke
– Transitioned from Research Enterprise as an Administrative Assistant to CTO as a Clinical Study Assistant
Andrew Newton
– Transferred from CTO to Hematology/Oncology as a Clinical Research Coordinator
Alexander Platt-Koch
– Transitioned from a Clinical Study Assistant to a Study Coordinator for CTO
Katherine Termath
– Transitioned from a Clinical Study Assistant to a Study Coordinator for CTO
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Imagine Perfect Care Seed Funding
This funding is aimed at getting employee-led projects that focus on improving patient care off the ground. All University of Utah Health employees are welcome to apply. Requests from front-line staff are highly encouraged.
The submission deadline is
January 31st.
Further details and the application form can be found
here
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Check out these previous projects from our department that were awarded seed funding:
Speaking Their Language
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Project Leads: Jeremy Egusquiza, Wendy L. Hobson, MD
Imagine being a refugee or newly arrived immigrant, being ill or needing vaccines, and not speaking English. Many of the families who seek medical care at the South Main Clinic are in this exact situation. To address this issue, South Main received seed funding for two specially-formatted iPads that provide translation services for non-English speakers, including those who need ASL interpretation. This project helps this patient population to access care materials in their native language and ensure they have a firm understanding of their care.
Newborn Milk Bank
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Project Leads: Belinda Chan, MD, Jerald King, MD, Galina Morshedzadeh, NNP
Imagine an all human-milk diet for every newborn. Since being funded last year, the NICU Milk Bank Team has opened a new milk donation site at the South Jordan Health Center (SJHC), bringing the total collection sites in the system to two (the other one is at the Westridge clinic). The team has used the SJHC opening to fine tune their process and now expect to quickly open sites throughout U of U Health. A collection site at the Main Hospital has already been scheduled, and several community health centers should follow soon thereafter. The team is also working with Clinic 6 (Pediatrics) to integrate patient education about milk donation into visits, so that mothers with extra milk are aware of donor opportunities.
Early Mobility and Social Participation
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Project Lead: Lauren Ayala, DPT
Imagine early mobility and social participation for all children. The Utah Developmental Assessment Clinic (UDAC) cares for children with developmental concerns and disabilities, including gross motor delays and limited mobility. Despite the clinic’s high standards for care, they needed better equipment to help parents make informed decisions about what therapies would most benefit their children. Through Imagine Perfect Care funding, UDAC was able to acquire more, and a wider variety of, equipment for demonstrations with patients and their parents. The new equipment provides mobility, which increases development, growth, social skills and independence for the child. The new equipment also helps with age-appropriate mobility and social participation, such as learning to walk or being able to play with friends. Being able to demonstrate the new equipment has led to more parents following up with therapist recommendations, which in turn leads to improved child development.
Work Wellness Center - Immunization Records
Employees who work in patient sensitive job codes can now view their immunization records on file with the Work Wellness Center through the
My Employee Health Portal
on Pulse. Follow the instructions below to visit the My Employee Health Portal:
- Follow the link: https://pulse.utah.edu/site/hhr
- Enter CIS username and password
- Locate the section titles "Work Wellness Center" (yellow banner)
- Click "My Employee Health Portal"
- Click "Medical Records"
- From here, you will have access to view vaccinations, titers, and TB tests
Revised Form W-4 Effective January 1, 2020
The IRS will be implementing a new Form W-4 on January 1st which removes the withholding allowance option. The new form is designed to reduce complexity and increase withholding accuracy. The IRS provides the 2020 Form W-4 Instructions and the following general guidance:
- Current employees DO NOT have to submit a new 2020 Form W-4 unless claiming exempt (see bullet point below). The current 2019 Form W-4 will be used for the tax withholding computation which includes withholding allowances.
- Withholding exemption is still available. For employees claiming to be exempt from withholding in 2019, the 2019 exemption is set to expire on February 17, 2020 and the redesigned 2020 Form W-4 must be submitted to recertify the withholding exemption for 2020.
- Any changes made after December 31, 2019 will require the redesigned 2020 Form W-4.
- The IRS provides and encourages taxpayers to use a withholding estimator to help determine your W-4 tax information.
Additional information can be obtained by visiting the links below:
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EVENT - JANUARY 17, 2020
BEST FOR MOMS, BEST FOR BABIES: CONTROLLING DIABETES BEFORE PREGNANCY
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Th
e following article, written by Alfred Romeo, RN, PhD (General Pediatrics) for the
Utah Chapter of the AAP newsletter
The Growing Times,
best describes the event and its importance for pediatricians.
Click here for the event flyer
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Controlling Diabetes before Pregnancy
Controlling diabetes before pregnancy may seem like an odd topic for the pediatric medical home, but encouraging both mothers of young children and young women with special health care needs to control their diabetes before they become pregnant helps reduce the chance of another child being born with birth defects.
Uncontrolled diabetes is the most common risk factor for preventable birth defects. Those birth defects include defects of the spine, heart, urinary system, reproductive system, and digestive system. The defects of the spine and heart occur early in the pregnancy, often before the mother realizes she is pregnant and usually long before she schedules her first prenatal visit. Uncontrolled diabetes also increases the risk for miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, polyhydramnios, and preterm delivery.
As mothers with young children visit the pediatric medical home, the medical home team can remind them to prepare for future pregnancies by continuing their folic acid, keeping up to date on vaccines, and controlling any medical conditions such as diabetes. As young women with special health care needs, especially those patients with diabetes, reach reproductive age and transition to adulthood, the pediatric medical home can provide anticipatory guidance on preparing for pregnancy with the same advice. The pediatric medical home is likely to be the first provider to bring up the topic of preparing for pregnancy for these young women. Women with questions about how their diabetes or medications might affect the developing fetus or breastfed baby can contact MotherToBaby Utah at
https://mothertobaby.utah.gov/
.
On January 17, 2020, the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics and the Utah Department of Health Utah Birth Defect Network and MotherToBaby Utah/Pregnancy Risk Line programs will hold an event at the Primary Children’s Outpatient Services Building. The event, “Best for Moms, Best for Babies: Controlling Diabetes before Pregnancy” will be hosted by Dr. Angelo Giardino, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. John Carey, Medical Director for MotherToBaby Utah, will present results of research on the rate of birth defects in Utah from uncontrolled diabetes in pregnancy. For details about the event or to learn more about the risks of uncontrolled diabetes in pregnancy, please email
expertinfo@mothertobaby.org
.
Obese children are at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes than children that are not obese. Medical homes that care for children and youth with obesity can use the
Childhood Obesity Diagnosis Module
on the Medical Home Portal as a resource before and during patient visits. The diagnosis module provides information about obesity to help the medical home manage children with the condition, helping to reduce the chance of developing diabetes.
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Pediatric Emergency Medicine-Global Health Fellowship
Starting in July 2020, the University of Utah Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) will start an official Pediatric Emergency Medicine - Global Health (PEM-GH) fellowship, becoming the 4th PEM-GH program in the country along with Baylor/Texas Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Boston Children's Hospital. The overall goal of the PEM-GH fellowship is to produce academic physicians who have a focus on caring for the underserved with superb clinical skills, the ability to expand the field's knowledge base, and the training to be future leaders in PEM-GH. A PEM-GH fellow will be with the University of Utah PEM Division for four years, completing the PEM fellowship requirements in three years, then spending a 4th year as clinical faculty with PEM. During the four years, the fellow will have protected time for global health activities such as advanced coursework and research along with fieldwork at a global site such as Malawi.
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Emergency Medicine Gives Back
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Ronald McDonald House Volunteering
Members of the Division of Emergency Medicine cooked and served breakfast on December 6 to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.
Find out how your team can participate in the Ronald McDonald House Charities Adopt-a-Meal program
here
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Recent Publications from the Division of Emergency Medicine
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Recognize Someone for a Job Well Done!
The department has a new online tool you can use to show appreciation for other members of Pediatrics and recognize them for exemplifying the PROMISE behavior standards: People Centered, Respect, Ownership, Making a Difference, Innovation, Safety, and Excellence.
Recognitions will be published in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.
Please note:
if a submitter's name is not given, we will not publish the comment.
However, the submitter's name will remain anonymous in the newsletter.
The link to the recognition form can be found on the department intranet home page, or click the box below.
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This Month's Recognition
Lorie Lepley –
Clinical Enterprise
Recognized for Making a Difference
"Lorie has strived to help Peds Referrals/HIM teams better than ever. She is always coming up with different ways to help both teams in their daily work. She is available to anyone that has questions at anytime and always takes advantage of a "teaching moment." She LOVES when we bring new ideas to the table and isn't afraid to jump in and help when needed. She is one GREAT manager!"
Alberta Elstein –
Human Resources
Recognized for Respect
"I have needed Alberta's help for projects a number of times, and I appreciate that she always works to clarify expectations and needs and helps me learn new processes. She asks thoughtful questions that show she really wants to understand your goals and how she can help you reach them. She is reliable and treats everyone with kindness and respect. She is great to work with, and I am so glad to have the opportunity to work with her!"
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Paul Carbone, MD
, Professor of Pediatrics and chairman of the A.A.P. autism subcommittee states, "There's a whole host of medical, behavioral and psychiatric conditions that children with autism are more likely to have than the general population and in some cases can be more disabling than the autism itself." Read more here.
Michelle Hofmann, MD
discusses the difference between inquiry and advocacy, and how their coexistence leads to shared decision-making.
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Five Ways to Protect Your Well-Being as a Health Care Professional
Health professionals from around the world gathered to learn how to care for themselves and nurture their relationships at the Greater Good Institute for Health Professionals and came up with five key takeaways about how to cultivate your own well-being as a health professional and to nurture your relationships with coworkers and patients.
Click here to read more.
Resolve to be Happier this Year
Happy New Year! As Athena Staik, PhD states, "Happiness is more than getting what you want. A happy and healthy new year begins with you. It's an inside job." As you think of new year resolutions, why not think about being happy.
In a recent article, Athena Staik, PhD lays out "Quotes for a Mindfully Happy and Healthy New Year."
- "All that counts in life is intention." ~Andrea Bocelli
- "If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be truly fulfilled." ~Lao Tzu
- "In order for us to become truly happy, that which we can become, we must become." ~Abraham Maslow
- "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become." ~Carl Jung
- "Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life." ~Seneca
- "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." ~Anthony J. D'Angelo
- "The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself." ~Orison Marden
- "Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway." ~M. McLaughlin
- "Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ~George Bernard Shaw
- "You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you." ~Brian Tracy
- "When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine yourself." ~Confucius
- "You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." ~Buddha
- "The moment you accept yourself as you are, all burdens, all mountainous burdens, simply disappear." ~Osho Rajneesh
- "You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you and allowing that goodness to emerge." ~Eckhart Tolle
- "Imagination is more important than knowledge." ~Albert Einstein
- "To me, good health is more than just exercise and diet. It's really a point of view and a mental attitude you have about yourself." ~Albert Scweitzer
- "Deep listening is the essence of mindfulness - a cultivating of intimacy with your own life unfolding, as if it really mattered. ~Jon Kabat Zinn
- "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness, but manifestations of strength and resolution." ~Kahlil Gibran
Dr. Staik says resolutions can be great, "How about an overarching resolution - happiness - to realize what you're already hard-wired to do and that is, to feel happy, and be the primary source of good feelings about yourself and life?"
Click here to read more.
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PROMISE STANDARD OF THE MONTH
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In order to advance our goal of being recognized as a world-class institution, University of Utah Health has developed behavior standards for employees to use to guide their actions and measure their performance. The behaviors that exemplify each of the standards directly relate to U of U Health's core values of compassion, trust, collaboration, responsibility, diversity, integrity, and quality. We highlight a standard each month to remind us of our individual responsibility to meet and uphold these benchmarks.
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M is for Making a Difference
We all have the ability to make a difference at work by promoting the excellent care and services in our organization, dealing fairly, ethically and honestly with others, and treating them as you would expect to be treated, and adapting to provide each customer with an exceptional experience.
Sometimes making a difference for our patients and coworkers can feel a bit overwhelming or too big for one person. How can you make an impact in such a big organization? If you pause to think about it, there are probably a lot of little things you do every day that can make a difference for our patients and colleagues. Watch this video by U of U Health or some examples of how we can all make a difference.
University Hospital Human Resources has developed a set of questions for each of the PROMISE standards intended to help individuals or groups generate new patterns of thinking and behaving. The reflexive questions can be used by teams to facilitate open conversation, by individuals to identify and explore their own beliefs and motivations, and by hiring managers to gain insight into the suitability of potential candidates.
This TED Talk is a must watch! Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like." A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level. We can take these lessons and apply them to the relationships we build with our patients and our colleagues.
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Pediatrics Flyer
committee members: Brandy Harman (Chair), Amy Amann, Pamela Carpenter, Leigh Fredericks, Melanie Gauci, Ashly Medlyn, and Colby Townsend
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