Pediatrics Flyer

The official newsletter of the Department of Pediatrics
June 2021 | Issue 22
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
This June issue of our department newsletter, the Pediatrics Flyer, comes at a fairly optimistic time for most of us with summer in full swing and the long-awaited operational/ financial recovery phase for the department taking root. Specifically, as many of you are certainly experiencing, the numbers of patients and families that we are serving are steadily increasing on all fronts, including in the inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient clinic settings. In fact, we are getting very close to our “pre-pandemic” patient volumes. On the education side, our new interns are here (Hooray!), and we had a celebratory graduation dinner for our senior residents in early June, so the academic cycle is rolling onward. Finally, on the research front, our department investigators continue to successfully compete for grant awards. I’d like to comment on two specific items below.

First, with all of this optimism, it's time to "re-launch" our staff Employer of Choice initiative. This effort seeks to make sure that our talented team of staff members have a good experience when working at the Department of Pediatrics. Towards that end, the Employer of Choice initiative establishes career ladders so that staff feel like they can grow and develop as they gain more and more expertise in their roles, such as medical assistants and schedulers. The initiative also addresses training needs and career development plans for our team members so that they can increase their skills and gain experience in different areas. And finally, it invests in finding ways to increase the sense of job satisfaction among our staff. Not surprisingly, with all of the distractions over the last 15 months or so, our Employer of Choice initiative has been a bit side-lined, but in the next few months we’ll work together to get it reinvigorated. I’ve asked Mike Rogers and the administrative team to start developing plans to get our Staff Grand Rounds up and running again and to also help us pick up the various elements of the initiative that may have slowed during the pandemic response. Stay tuned for updates this summer and fall.

Second, I wanted to comment on a recent faculty survey on academic meetings completed by a large number of our Department of Pediatrics’ faculty. While not fully analyzed yet, a group of MHA students worked with Brandy Harman and Tyler Sebahar to ask our faculty a series of questions related to academic meetings. The faculty’s response was tremendous with 223 respondents, which means a response rate of approximately 70%-- wow! The top three reasons for attending meetings were to present research, pursue continuing education, and to network with colleagues. Poster presentations and oral presentations were the two most common ways that research was shared at those meetings. Numerous comments and examples where shared that explained the value of professional networking that occurred at the meetings, with many responding faculty discussing how collaboration opportunities that came about via meeting participation were essential to the faculty members’ academic work. Additionally, approximately 170 of the respondents reported that dissemination of their research findings occurred after the meetings, with the most common types of dissemination being published peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Another common dissemination medium of the presented research findings was related to use in grant submissions. Finally, the vast majority of faculty respondents recommended that the department continue to provide financial support for faculty to attend and participate in future academic meetings. In the coming months, I hope to enlist the help of a few interested faculty members to help us write up the full findings of this survey so that we can share them in a more detailed fashion. With the anticipated financial recovery for the department, we all look forward to seeing faculty being able to once again attend academic meetings for all of the positive reasons identified in the survey and briefly discussed above.

In conclusion, as we move into the new academic year starting July 1, we have a great deal of reason to believe that our recovery effort will continue. We will continue to invest in our staff development via the Employer of Choice initiative and its many elements, and we’ll also be able to encourage faculty to work with their division chiefs to select valuable academic meetings where they can present research and make important professional connections that will allow them to continue to follow their academic pursuits. As always, I’m grateful to each and every one of you for your hard work during a very challenging previous 15 months, and I think we are all looking forward to busy and productive next academic year beginning in July. Enjoy the summer!
GREETINGS AND FAREWELLS
Welcome to the Team!
To see the new faculty and staff who joined us in May, click here.
Thanks for the Memories!
Leigh Fredericks, who managed operations and the administrative assistants of the Eccles Building fourth floor, has left the department to be closer to family in Wisconsin. Ruby Roller has taken over Leigh's responsibilities.

Madolin Witte, MD retired from the Division of Critical Care this month.

Several faculty members will retire on July 1. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors:
Jeff Botkin, MD, MPH - Medical Ethics
John Carey, MD, MPH - Pediatric Genetics
Carol Foster, MD - Pediatric Endocrinology
Mary Murray, MD - Pediatric Endocrinology
NEW RESPONSIBILITIES
Sterling Meisner- Transitioned from Clinical Research Coordinator for Neurology to Project Manager II for Critical Care

Ruby Roller - Transitioned from Administrative Manager over the admin team at Williams to Administration Manager over the admin teams at both Williams and Eccles
DIVISION & ENTERPRISE UPDATES
Education Enterprise Update
The Education Enterprise is delighted to announce that Reena Tam, MD has accepted the position of Assistant Program Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Pediatric Residency Program.
 
The University of Utah, Department of Pediatrics and its training programs are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational environment. Our department is committed to identifying systemic racism and individual hidden biases, and, further, to counteract these forces as we connect with patients, families, colleagues, and trainees.
 
Our goal is to create an inclusive educational environment that allows us to attract, retain, and support diverse faculty, staff, and trainees who will provide excellent care to our patient population. Moreover, we are committed to creating an inclusive, engaging, and respectful culture, as well as educating our trainees to be firmly committed to advancing equitable care for all children. 
 
Dr. Tam will work directly with the resident antiracism workgroup as well as the diversity, equity, and inclusion recruiting workgroup, and create mentorship program(s) for faculty and trainees. In addition, she will work with colleagues and experts to create and promote training and education for faculty, staff, and trainees to support an inclusive and safe work environment. She will also act as a liaison for DEI initiatives in the GME, the department, and at the university.
 
Join us in congratulating Dr. Tam in her new role!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Need Volunteers for Residency Noon Conference Lecture Series
The Education Office is in the process of creating our didactics schedule for the 2021-2022 academic year, and we are asking for lectures to be given during our Pediatric Residency Noon Conference. Noon Conference takes place Monday-Friday from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Our office has a detailed list of topics and objectives from the American Board of Pediatrics to consider covering; please email us at ped.education@hsc.utah.edu for this list.

Click here to sign-up for Noon Conference slots. (Include your title in the comment section.)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AAP Utah Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award
Linda Book, MD, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Utah Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The award honors a pediatrician for significant contributions in the field of pediatrics and lifelong service in the community.
Marty Palmer Service to Children Award
Kathleen Franchek-Roa, MD, Division of General Pediatrics, was awarded this year's Marty Palmer Service to Children Award. The Intermountain Pediatric Society/UTAAP established the Service to Children Award in 1989. The award was later re-named for William Martin (Marty) Palmer, MD, one of Utah's most beloved and respected pediatricians. This award recognizes individuals who have rendered outstanding service to improve the health and welfare of Utah children. It is the highest honor bestowed by the Utah Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Emergency Medicine Division Partners with CHOP for PRoMPT BOLUS Trial
What’s fast-moving, all-encompassing, and plays no favorites? Sepsis, an indiscriminate systemic condition that escalates so rapidly, national guidelines recommend treatment begin within 20 minutes of arrival to the emergency department. Crystalloid resuscitation with normal saline or balanced fluids (including lactated Ringers and Plasma-Lyte) is the current standard of care, but which is optimal is unknown. In the Pragmatic Pediatric Trial of Balanced Versus Normal Saline Fluid in Sepsis (PRoMPT BOLUS), principal investigator Fran Balamuth, MD, PhD, and Scott Weiss, MD, MSCE [Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)], aim to build an evidence base for the most effective crystalloid fluid.
 
The brief window between presentation and recommended treatment leaves little time for a thorough informed consent discussion, and the trial has been approved for exception from informed consent.
 
"We are doing particular outreach in the oncology clinic and the PICU where some of the children with complicated medical conditions have repeat visits to the ICUs," Dr. Balamuth said, adding that the majority response to the trial has been positive. "I think people know that sepsis is a scary condition, and that there is no one treatment or medication that works. PRoMPT BOLUS is investigating which of two currently available standards of care for fluid resuscitation is most effective —0.9% saline or balanced fluids (including lactated Ringer’s or Plasma-Lyte).. If one of them turns out to be better than the other and we can save children’s lives from a potentially deadly condition, that’s our main goal, and I think families are excited about that."

Partnering with CHOP for PRoMPT BOLUS is Primary Children’s Hospital. The goal is to enroll 8,800 patients across all 21 sites by 2024 with CHOP beginning enrollment this year. Patients for whom the ED doctor suspects septic shock will be enrolled and treated with one of two commonly used fluid types, along with the best locally available medical care, unless patients "opt-out" or decide to withdraw from study completion. We are not aware of any reason, at this time, why anyone with sepsis would not choose to participate if awake and able to take part in decisions about their care. Learn more about the study and how patients may opt out of participation by clicking here: PRoMPT BOLUS website.

Feel free to contact site PI Roni Lane or Research Manager Toni Harbour with any questions.
WELLNESS
Equanimity
Contributed by Sydney Ryan, MD, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Equanimity is an even-minded mental state or dispositional tendency toward all experiences or objects, regardless of their affective valence (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral) or source.1 For me, finding the even-tempered state of mind can be difficult amidst the ebbs and flows of life, work and emotion. What I find even more difficult is to meet these chaotic or emotional moments with a sense of acceptance or calm and not aversion, as it is easier to ignore, react, or pass by these critical times. Through the practice of mindfulness, acknowledging feeling and emotions can lead to improved preparedness in quieting the attachment to strong emotions. Sometimes equanimity is mistaken for indifference, but equanimity embraces engagement.2 Nyanaponika Thera describes the Four Sublime States as love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. By practicing mindfulness and equanimity in high-emotional/high-stakes moments, there could be resulting outcomes and interpersonal relationships anchored in love, compassion and joy. While there have not been many studies specifically looking at mindfulness and resulting equanimity, there is a small study that discusses that residents, after completing the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, were "better able to gain distance from and to dis-identify with thoughts, emotions, and stressful situations and to reduce ruminative thinking about work during their leisure time. At the same time, participants described being more accepting of situations that were beyond their control. Moreover, many of the resident physicians expressed feeling calmer and more relaxed."3 Implementing and practicing mindfulness and equanimity can be difficult in stressful moments, but practice and awareness can certainly aid in improvement.4

References:
  1. Desbordes G, Gard T, Hoge EA, Hölzel BK, Kerr C, Lazar SW, Olendzki A, Vago DR. Moving beyond Mindfulness: Defining Equanimity as an Outcome Measure in Meditation and Contemplative Research. Mindfulness (N Y). 2014 Jan 21;2014(January):356–72. doi: 10.1007/s12671-013-0269-8. PMID: 25750687; PMCID: PMC4350240.
  2. Bernhard, Toni JD. Equanimity: The Key to Happiness:Here are some suggestions for finding the inner peace that all of us seek. November 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/turning-straw-gold/201911/equanimity- the-key-happiness
  3. Aeschbach VM, Fendel JC, Schmidt S, Göritz AS. A tailored mindfulness-based program for resident physicians: A qualitative study. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021 May;43:101333. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101333. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33601285.
  4. Mackesy, Charlie. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Harper One; Oct 2019.

Resources:


HELLO! MY NAME IS...
Celeste Buckley, PsyD
Assistant Professor
Pediatric Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

  1. When did you join the Department of Pediatrics? January 2016
  2. What is your role in the department? I am an attending psychologist on our consultation-liaison service, psychologist providing assessment and therapy in the Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic and Sleep Behavioral Clinic, and supervisor to psychology trainees. I'll soon be working in some Gastroenterology subspecialty clinics as well.
  3. What's your favorite part of your job? Connecting with patients and their families
  4. Do you collect anything? My husband and I collect patches from national parks and national forests. We started this during a road trip around the country and now have about 25 of them. We use them as ornaments for our Christmas tree.
  5. What are your hobbies and/or talents? I love spending time outside, especially hiking, mountain biking, and skiing. I'm also good at drawing and painting. 
  6. What's your favorite band, musical artist, or music genre? Indie folk
  7. What's your favorite book or movie? Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews (reminds me of home as I'm from Savannah)
  8. What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to? Reading lots of children's books with my two little ones
  9. Who or what inspires you? My colleagues
  10. What's your favorite way to decompress after work? Trail running
  11. If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in one thing, what would it be? Gourmet cooking
  12. What is something you learned recently? The KonMari method of tidying
  13. If you could share a meal with any three well-known individuals, who would they be? Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, and Ellen DeGeneres
  14. What do you consider your superpower? Patience
  15. What are your guilty pleasures? Watching HGTV shows
  16. What is something you saw recently that made you smile? Watching my 3 year-old play with his baby sister
  17. What's the most daring thing you've ever done? A 10 week road trip around the country with my husband and dog that included lots of backpacking and exploring new places
  18. What is something that might surprise us about you? I was previously a studio art major.
Brad Avery
Senior Systems Administrator
Pediatrics Information Technology

  1. When did you join the Department of Pediatrics? I have been with the department since the end of April 2014.
  2. What's your favorite part of your job? I love helping people and learning new things. The people in Pediatrics are great to work with I love helping them.
  3. Do you collect anything? The only thing that could be considered "collected" is my computer video games. I have over 200 different games (although I have only paid a few of them).
  4. What are your hobbies and/or talents? I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades. I know and can do most basic things and if it requires any more I will figure it out.
  5. What is your favorite motto or quote? Everything is awesome from The Lego Movie. I sing it in my head most of the time; helps me to stay focused and not get discouraged. I also like to use "it is fine" for everything.
  6. What's your favorite band, musical artist, or music genre? I do not have a favorite music; I like to listen to almost any type of music.
  7. What's your favorite book or movie? My favorite movie changes from day to day (currently Coco and just watched Kung Fury on YouTube which is my current theme movie in my head). As for books, my favorite right now is most of what Rick Riordan has written
  8. What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to? I read YA books to my kids at night every night; right now we are reading the third book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series (The Ship of the Dead).
  9. Who or what inspires you? Just the thought of trying to be a good or better person is my main inspiration.
  10. What is your favorite way to decompress after work? I hang out with my kids and wife, and after everyone is asleep I play some games on my computer.
  11. If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in one thing, what would it be? Money and/or investing. It is one area that I still struggle with on a personal level no matter how much I try to learn/get better at.
  12. What is something you learned recently? I am working on learning more programming; have a basic knowledge from when I learned C++ back in high school but looking to get better at different programming languages.
  13. What is your guilty pleasure? Reading webcomics on the Webtoon app
  14. What’s something you saw recently that made you smile? There is a new webcomic (Forever After) and I could not stop laughing from the first three episodes. 
  15. What's the most daring thing you've ever done? The most daring thing that I have done is between doing some of the bike rides down in Moab and passing a snow plow in the canyon between Brigham City and Logan when there was a foot of snow on the road.
  16. What is something that might surprise us about you? Back in high school I used to shave my head. Also that I look great in a dress (wore one back in high school for Mr. Lancer contest).
Recognize Someone for a Job Well Done!
The department has an 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.
This Month's Recognition

Hayley McLaughlin - Adolescent Medicine
Recognized for Making a Difference
Hayley McLaughlin is a nurse extraordinaire. She makes a difference every day in the lives of the patients and families who come to Adolescent Medicine and to members of the healthcare team. Examples of how Hayley makes a difference include: advocating for patients as she works with pharmacies and insurance companies to access difficult to obtain expensive medications for patients (as well as finding the best possible pricing in a world where everything is opaque); reaching out to patients who haven't been in clinic for a while to see how they are and making sure their needs are being met; greeting everyone with a smile and positive attitude. Hayley is exceptional in all that she does.

HIM Team - Clinical Enterprise
Recognized for Excellence
I had to stop this morning and thank you all for being so amazing! Your team is always so quick to respond, always helpful and very accommodating!! Thank you for your support! Thank you for your expertise! Thank you for your patience with all of us! 
DEPARTMENT CHAIR'S SUGGESTION BOX
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 in the "Contact Us" tile, or send a suggestion now by clicking box below.