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DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE UPDATE | APRIL 13, 2021
In this update:
The SHORT Report
Feature Story
  • Nova Scotian dermatologist improves access to skin cancer care in Nova Scotia by establishing the first Mohs surgery Clinic in the Province
Welcome, Kudos & Farewell
Recognition & Awards
  • Administrative Professionals' Week
  • National Physicians' Day
  • Nominate a deserving colleague
Important Matters
  • Medical resident speaking out about racism
Research
  • Can UV-C light reduce infections in long-term care facilities?
  • Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) used world-wide during pandemic
  • How artificial intelligence might change treatment of kidney transplant patients
Dalhousie University
  • One year later - Dr. David Anderson reflects
  • Dal's first Mental Health Awareness Week
  • Living Laboratory Research Fund
Nova Scotia Health
  • Masking changes to come for patients and visitors
  • New - MOVEit Transfer
  • New - LMS Module - Code Silver
  • Quick reference for SHARE & DIS access requests
  • People Strategy launched March 11
  • Appointment of Senior Medical Directors of Corporate Services and Clinical Service Networks
  • Dr. Paige Moorhouse - Episodic and Integrated Acute Care Network
  • Dr. Kenneth Rockwood - Frailty Network
Did you know?
  • AEDs in all public schools
Upcoming Events
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness
  • April 26 – 30: DoM Research Week
  • Euphoria 2021! Through the Ages Virtual Event
  • Medical Assistance in Dying: Where are We Now?
COVID-19
  • Nova Scotia Cases
  • Monthly timeline
Quick Reference / Recurring Content
Hi everyone,

I hope this note finds everyone well and enjoying the somewhat warmer weather of spring.

Our COVID efforts in Nova Scotia are still paying off, but I can’t stress enough that this is not the time to relax or let our guard down. Variant strains are here in Canada and NS and they are more contagious and causing more severe disease even in the younger population. Vaccines are rolling out but are only part of the puzzle to get through this pandemic. As department members, physicians and leaders, I ask you to use your voice and spread the word that we have a bit further to go and this is the time to actually tighten things up so we can get past this pandemic.

Our new organizational structure is rolling out for the Health Authority and I want to congratulate all the new Network Senior Medical Directors that were announced on Friday. In particular a shout out to Dr. Paige Moorhouse and Dr. Ken Rockwood who were named the Senior Medical Directors for the Acute Care and Frailty Networks respectively (see details below). We are building wonderful representation from the department in Senior Medical roles across the Health Authority. I know their knowledge and expertise will help evolve the medical system for all Nova Scotians through their promotion of innovative, excellent clinical care, quality work and further integration of research and education into clinical settings.

In Dr. Stevens article below you will see how we are continuing to improve access to services for the people we take care of.

Please make sure to take time to read and listen to Dr. Hayam Hamodat, PGY1 Core Internal Medicine Resident. Links to her interviews on her experience of racism in the workplace are below. I want to thank Dr. Hamodat for her courage in speaking out about this important topic. We continue to experience the consequences of systemic racism in our workplaces and communities and my hope is sharing stories like Dr. Hamodat’s will not only raise awareness but move us to action.

I hope you enjoy all the content of this month’s newsletter and remember to contact us if you have stories or ideas for our upcoming issues.

Keep well,

Christine



Christine Short, MD, FRCP(C), FACP
Associate Professor & Head/Chief, Department of Medicine
Dalhousie University / Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health
FEATURE STORY - MOHS SURGERY
Nova Scotian dermatologist improves access to skin cancer care in Nova Scotia by establishing the first Mohs surgery Clinic in the Province
Patients with the two most common cancers in Canada can now have access to the highest standard of treatment in Nova Scotia thanks to a campaign in the medical community led by dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, Dr. Michael Stevens.

Mohs surgery is a micrographic surgery that uses a microscope to detect basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma. It achieves this by cutting out the cancerous tissue, creating a map and dividing it into sections, then dying thin, shaved layers so that the cancer is detectable under a microscope. This all takes place while the patient is in the clinic to ensure all the cancer is removed in one visit.

Dr. Stevens, originally from Nova Scotia, was first introduced to the treatment during rotations in Saint John, New Brunswick while he studied at Dalhousie Medical School. He then completed his Mohs surgery fellowship during his dermatology residency at the University of Toronto. 

“For about 15 years, Dr. Robert Hayes in New Brunswick was the only doctor performing Mohs treatment in the Atlantic provinces,” said Dr. Stevens. “That’s when a lightbulb went off for me. I realized people were driving out of Nova Scotia to get it, but that it should be available to patients in their own province.”

One of those patients is Norma MacLean, who had skin cancer on the side of her face painlessly removed by Dr. Stevens in early 2021, after two previous surgeries, before Mohs was available to her.

“The experience was terrific as far as getting rid of cancer goes. When something like that happens, you just don’t know what to expect – it’s frightening. But Dr. Stevens and his staff are excellent, very nice, professional, and calming. He made it so much better,” said Norma. “I’m so grateful that we have this practice in Nova Scotia.”

Dr. Stevens explains that Mohs surgery is much less invasive than other skin cancer treatments, because its precision requires the removal of only minimal healthy tissue, with cure rates of about 99 percent for basal cell carcinoma, and about 97 percent for squamous cell carcinoma. 

Because these skin cancers often appear in cosmetically sensitive sites like the nose, eyes, and ears, Dr. Kerri Purdy, Interim Division Head of Clinical Dermatology & Cutaneous Science for Dalhousie’s Department of Medicine, says having this surgery available to Nova Scotians is a great benefit to patients, both cosmetically and functionally. 

“Patients can feel confident that they have had tumour clearance when the procedure is completed. We are happy to support Mohs surgery as an important pillar in providing excellent dermatologic care to Nova Scotians,” says Dr. Purdy.
After a nearly five-year journey collaborating with Nova Scotia Health, the Department of Health and Wellness, Doctors Nova Scotia and MSI, Dr. Stevens received approval to open his clinic, which is a collaborative partnership with Nova Scotia Health, in November 2020.

He estimates that about 1,200 to 1,600 Nova Scotians will require Mohs surgery each year, and that he’ll be able to operate on at least 1,000 patients.

“Having this standard of care in Nova Scotia allows better access to care, shorter wait times, higher cure rates, reduced recurrences and is cost effective for the healthcare system,” says Dr. Stevens. “And the initial patient feedback has been very positive; people really appreciate having Mohs available right here at home.”
WELCOME, KUDOS & FAREWELL
We welcome the following members to their new positions:

  • Ruth Ampi Kanakam will join the Division of Geriatric Medicine on May 3 as Education Program Assistant supporting Drs. Von Maltzahn and Darvesh.

  • Lindsay Anderson will join the Division of Neurology as Education Program Assistant supporting Drs. Gubitz and Woodroffe while Ashley Doucette is on leave.

  • Shelley Melanson joined the Division of Neurology on March 22 as Administrative Assistant.

  • Dr. Joffre Munro joined the Division of General Internal Medicine on April 1 as a 1.00 FTE at the rank of Assistant Professor.

  • Tina Neath joined the Division of Digestive Care & Endoscopy and is covering for Rachael Tucker who is on leave until June 2022.

  • Breanna Riley will be joining the Division of Cardiology and supporting Drs. Parkash and Gardner.

  • Seneade Smith moved from Digestive Care & Endoscopy to the Sleep Disorders Clinic & Laboratory.

  • Dr. Michael Thorne joined the Division of Neurology on April 1 as a 0.10 FTE locum at the rank of Assistant Professor. His locum term will end on September 30.

  • Dr. Chadwick Williams is the Interim Internal Medicine Chief of Service - Dartmouth General Hospital, effective April 2021. Dr. Colin Van Zoost previously held this role until January 1, 2021.

Kudos to:

  • Leah Cahill, RD/PDt, PhD, has been reappointed as the Howard Webster Department of Medicine Research Chair for a five-year term.

We are grateful for having these team members in our department. We say farewell and best wishes to:

  • Teresa Doran retired on March 31 and was assistant to Drs. Debra Morrison and Alex Nelson in the Sleep Disorders Clinic & Laboratory.

  • Dr. Chris Gallivan, Division of General Internal Medicine, is leaving the Department in April. He also stepped down as DoM Clerkship Director.

  • Dr. Wanda Hasegawa retired from the Division of Hematology at the end of March.

  • Mc'Edward (Eddie) Jones, Accounts Payable / Payroll, has left for a new opportunity.

  • Dr. Chris MacKnight is retiring on April 30, 2021 from the Division of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. MacKnight was Division Head until January 2021.

  • Chad Shearer, DoM Manager, has left for a new opportunity.

  • Connie Tone, Billing Manager, DoM Physician Services, retired on March 31. Kim Pritchard is the new Billing Manager, starting in January 2021.

  • Ashley Tynes, Administrative Assistant, Endocrinology, has left for a new opportunity.
JOIN OUR TEAM

The Department of Medicine has the following job opportunities:
Closing: April 16, 2021 [PDF - 150 kB]
Closing: April 21, 2021
Closing: April 23, 2021 [PDF - 150 kB]
Job Ad – Undergraduate Education Coordinator; one year term; Closing: April 16, 2021 [PDF - 520 kB]

For all Nova Scotia Health opportunities, go to: https://www.nshealth.ca/careers
RECOGNITION & AWARDS
Happy Administrative Professionals' Week
Thank you to each and every one of our 115 department administrative professionals for the hard work you do every day. Thank you for keeping us on track and on time. Thank you for putting up with our crazy ever changing schedules. Thank you for all your support. You are valued and appreciated!

Recognition activities will be held during Administrative Professionals Week (Week of April 26 in Canada).
Always remember how awesome you are!
Happy National Physicians' Day
National Physicians' Day is coming May 1st. To all our physicians and physicians-in-training - THANK YOU!

“We are proud that our work makes positive and impactful differences in the lives of patients, learners, professional colleagues and others who benefit from our education, research and clinical care."

- Dr. Christine Short
Nominate a deserving colleague




View the awards list (in Excel) on the DoM SharePoint site (login required).
IMPORTANT MATTERS
Medical resident speaking out about racism
Dr. Hayam Hamodat, PGY1 Core Internal Medicine Resident, spoke out about her experience with racism in the workplace on Twitter, March 2.

The Department supports and applauds Dr. Hamodat in her professional conduct of this incident and encourages open conversations about racism in the workplace.
1 / 2
Hayam Hamodat on Twitter: "Recently had an admitted...

Recently had an admitted patient refuse to let me examine him, asking for a “white physician” instead, someone who is “English”. I brought this up to my team, as I couldn’t finish my assessment. How do you think my attending should’ve handled this?

Read more
twitter.com
2 / 2
Hayam Hamodat on Twitter: "One of my white colleagues...

One of my white colleagues ended up seeing the patient the next day so I didn't have to. How do we better support trainees in the workplace? 2/2 #MedTwitter

Read more
twitter.com
March 18
Muslim medical resident speaking out about racist incident

A Muslim doctor's patient refused her care and asked for a "white doctor" who is "English" at a hospital in Halifax. She tells Information Morning how she would like to see that kind of situation addressed in the future. Duration: 00:09:02

Read more
tunein.com
March 21
Halifax doctor speaks out about racism on the job after...

A Halifax doctor is speaking out about the racism she faced recently from a patient who refused her care and demanded to be treated by a white physician. Dr. Hayam Hamodat, an internal medicine resident, took to Twitter...

Read more
www.cbc.ca
RESEARCH
Can UV-C light reduce infections in long-term care facilities?
Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) used world-wide during pandemic
How artificial intelligence might change treatment of kidney transplant patients
DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
One year later - Dr. David Anderson reflects
"As Dal marks a year of living with COVID-19's impacts, we check in with Dr. David Anderson to learn how his Faculty overcame obstacles and rallied together in service to the community at a time of great challenges."

Dr. David Anderson
Dean of Medicine and Hematologist
Dal's first Mental Health Awareness Week
Dalhousie's first ever Mental Health Awareness Week was held March 15 to March 21, 2021.

Mental Health Awareness Week at Dal is an annual event that aims to bring together the university community to raise awareness on mental health and the resources available to support students.

Living Laboratory Research Fund
Congratulations to the successful applicants of the Dalhousie Medical Education ‘Living Laboratory’ Fund. The Dalhousie Medical Education Living Lab Scholarship Fund was established to build capacity and accelerate partnerships focused on addressing priority medical education needs and research questions. The focus for this round of Living Lab funding is Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Education. Congratulations to the following grant recipients:
  • Emma Burns and Ashley Martin, Emergency Medicine
  • Babar Haroon and Andrea Davenport, Critical Care and Internal Medicine
  • Lori Connors, Medicine
  • Joanna Zed, Family Medicine
  • Helena Piccinini-Vallis, Family Medicine
  • David Bowes, Postgraduate Medical Education
  • James Gould and David Hung, Emergency Medicine
  • Angela Cooper, Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine
I wish our successful grant recipients and their teams all the best with their medical education endeavours.


From
Dean of Medicine Blog - Spring 2021

For more information about the Living Laboratory Research Fund in Medical Education Research, go to: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/core-units/cpd/research/LivingLaboratoryResearchFund.html
NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH
Masking changes to come for patients and visitors
NEW - MOVEit Transfer
NEW - LMS Module - Code Silver
Quick reference for SHARE & DIS access requests
People Strategy launched March 11
Appointment of Senior Medical Directors
Appointment of senior medical directors of corporate services and clinical service networks and announcement of network co-leads

From:
Dr. Nicole Boutilier, Vice President of Medicine
Colin Stevenson, Vice President of Quality and System Performance

Date:
April 9, 2021
Last week we announced our new clinical service network leads. As we move towards the next phase of medical leadership restructuring, we are pleased to announce the next group of senior medical directors of Corporate services and Clinical Service Networks, their initial network assignments and operational co-leads for the networks. The corporate assignments for senior medical directors will be announced at a later time.
Senior Medical Director, Corporate Services and Clinical Service Networks
In co-leadership with the assigned Senior Director of Corporate Service and/or the Network Director, and reporting to the Vice President of Medicine, the Senior Medical Director provides Nova Scotia Health with strategic medical leadership. Each Senior Medical Director position is assigned to provide medical leadership to a corporate service, a clinical services network, or some combination of both based on individual interest and corporate need.
  • Dr. Maria Alexiadis, Primary Health Care and Chronic Disease Management Network in co-leadership with Erin Christian

  • Dr. Tim Mailman, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services Network in co-leadership with Lewis Bedford

  • Dr. Paige Moorhouse, Episodic and Integrated Acute Care Network in co-leadership with Kate Melvin

  • Dr. Tanya Munroe, Access and Flow Network, in co-leadership with Lynn Edwards

  • Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, Frailty Network, in co-leadership with Lynn Edwards 

Please join us in congratulating our new leaders and welcoming them to their new roles.
Over the coming weeks we will be implementing new structures and processes to address our new approach to communications, decision making, planning and performance as a result of the move towards provincial networks and zone operational functions. We will continue to provide updates on changes within the organization and thank you in advance for your support to these changes.
Did you know?
AEDs in all public schools
UPCOMING EVENTS
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness - April 26, 2021
Please join the Dalla Lana School of Public Health's Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases during World Immunization Week, 2021, for a panel discussion on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness.
DoM Research Week - April 26 - 30, 2021
Keynote Speaker:
Joanne M. Langley MD, MSc, FRCPC
Professor of Pediatrics & Community Health and Epidemiology; CIHR-GSK Chair in Pediatric Vaccinology, Dalhousie University; Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, IWK Health

Presentation: “COVID-19 vaccines – the Canadian story so far”
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Zoom Meeting ID: 626 4418 5927
Zoom Password: 999 999

Tuesday, April 27
8 – 9:30 a.m.

AND

Thursday, April 29
12:30 – 3 p.m.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS & MORE

Website available: April 26-30
Euphoria 2021!
Throwback special promo video (5 mins)
Euphoria 2021! Through the Ages Virtual Event
For more information:

When:
Saturday, May 1
7pm ADT livestream; tickets required

Presented by:
Dalhousie Medical Students' Society (DMSS)

In Support of:
Medical Assistance in Dying: Where are We Now
COVID-19
0
currently in ICU due to COVID-19;
13 total patient admissions
10
South African variant confirmed
(formerly known as B.1.351)
As of April 13, 2021


Nova Scotia Health staff and physicians experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, contact Occupational Health: 1-833-750-0632
QUICK REFERENCE /
RECURRING CONTENT

Nova Scotia Health / Dr. Lynn Johnston
Uploaded: March 13, 2020
Video: 10 min

Nova Scotia Health / Dr. Glenn Patriquin
Uploaded: April 3, 2020
Video: 3 min

Canada.ca
Uploaded: June 15, 2020
Video: 1 min 25 seconds

Canada.ca
Uploaded: July 20, 2020
PDF – 8.5" x 14" poster
When you take care of yourself, you take care of others.
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