April 22, 2014

Volume 2, Issue 2 The PC Connection

Panther Communities:

• Anderson

Community:

Northwest Miami

• Hippocrates

Community:

Miami Gardens

• Pasteur

Community:

Opa-Locka

• Semmelweis

Community:

Northeast Miami

Student Highlights:

*Dr. Herbert and Nicole

Wertheim Community

Healthcare Conference

* HWCOM Hosts Inaugural

South Florida Residency

Fair

* Fit & Well Teaches Students

How to Eat and Feel

Healthy!

* AMWA Makes a Difference

at Lotus House

* MedSWISH; Linking our

Students to the

Communities

* Non-Profit and Global Health

Interest Group Plans

Second Trip to Peru

* Alumni News

Student Highlights

On February 20, over 200

young community

participants gathered at the

Goodlet Park in Hialeah for

the 4th Annual Dr. Herbert

and Nicole Wertheim

Community Healthcare

Conference: “How to

Become a Health

Professional”. The

conference offered many

interactive experiences for

elementary through college

age students, emphasizing

hands-on aspects of various

health fields; 15 students

from HWCOM were in

attendance to volunteer and

offer their support for the

great cause.

“I really enjoyed helping

these students search for

their passions in medicine,”

said Adam Taggliero, Class

of 2017. “The event was

well organized, full of

charismatic individuals, and

left everyone feeling as

though they were a part of

something special. I’m

looking forward to

volunteering again next year

and seeing where the

students have taken their

passions.”

The conference was made

possible through the support

of Dr. Herbert and Nicole

Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Community

Healthcare Conference Wertheim, City of Hialeah

Department of Parks and

Recreation, and Green

Family Foundation. Along

with the medical students,

over 20 health organizations

and groups also supported

the day by presenting on

their unique experience in

the health industry. Among

these organizations were:

Nicole Wertheim College of

Nursing & Health Sciences,

Robert Stempel College of

Public Health and Social

Work, North Shore Medical

Center, FIU

NeighborhoodHELP Law

Clinic, Baptist Health,

American Medical

Response (AMR), and City

of Hialeah Fire Department.

Preparation for next year’s

Healthcare Conference has

already begun, and is

planned to take place in the

Opa-Locka community.

Editor: Jessica Lewis

Panther Community Coordinator

A newsletter created to promote and share the activities and experiences our students gain from opportunities provided to them by the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and the Panther Communities (PC).

Above: Class of 2017 students Terrence Daley-Lindo, Jean Vo, Chriselle Ebreo, and Melvin Thomas receiving group assignments for the youth participants

Above: Mariel Cataldi, Class of 2016, assisting Dr. Minor at her Health Professions booth

Left: Christopher Brown, Class of 2017, stopped by Dr. Hammad’s booth with a group of students

The PC Connection Page 2 of 6

The Inaugural South Florida

Residency Fair (SFRF), took

place on Saturday, February

1st. HWCOM was the first of

three south Florida medical

schools to host the one-day

gathering of residency

programs and medical

students from around Florida,

leaving Florida Atlantic

University Charles E. Schmidt

College of Medicine and NOVA

Southeastern University

College of Osteopathic

Medicine to host the next two

South Florida Residency fairs.

“The inaugural South Florida

Residency fair was a great

success, and very different

HWCOM Hosts Inaugural South Florida Residency Fair

Dr. Rowena Ramnath, new

Clinical Psychologist at the

HWCOM Counseling and

Wellness Center, seeks to

help the medical students

decipher the difference

Fit & Well teaches students how to eat and feel healthy!

Panther Communities – Students Team up with Faculty

from the residency fairs we’ve

had in the past,” said SFRF

event coordinator, Carmen

Carter. “Not only were students

able to network with residency

programs from around the

southeast, but students had the

opportunity to network with

medical students from different

schools and learn more about

their programs.”

Over 120 students were in

attendance, and 29 residency

programs were there to

represent.

between “healthy” and “crave-

able” food. Although

physicians are on the front

lines of the nation’s diabetes

and obesity crises, a study

from the Harvard Medical

School and the Harvard

School of Public Health

suggest many students

graduate from medical school

with little knowledge of

nutrition and cooking. Dr.

Ramnath is developing a

nutrition series that will tie into

the established Fit & Well

program, to teach our

students not only how to

choose better food options,

but where to find them and how

to prepare them. She will also

explain the digestive process;

emulsification versus extraction;

and nutritional benefits of key

superfoods such as kale, goji

berries, and hemp seeds. The

goal is that our students will be

able thrive in a healthy lifestyle,

and to be able to pass along

their knowledge of health,

fitness, and wellness to their

patients. The first Fit & Well

nutrition class is scheduled for

May 13th.

At a glance:

@FIUMedicine Instagram

“Our Neuroscience Interest Group hosted an event where a few students were able to participate in the Medtronic Surgical Skills Lab that was put in for practicing surgeons. They got to perform laminectomies and various other spinal procedures using state of the art equipment on cadavers.”

Mark Haimes, Class of 2016, speaking to future

doctors at the UCF symposium

Faculty and students have been

hitting the courts! Students and

members of the HWCOM faculty

have been meeting regularly at

FIU’s recreation center basketball

courts. Dr. Anderson saw a

significant need to not only

network with students outside of

the clinic and classroom setting,

but to also offer an opportunity for

students to blow off steam in

friendly games of hoops. Spring

games will be announced in May.

Students, faculty and staff are

encouraged to join!

“Medical students in the Nonprofit Global Health Interest Group and the American Medical Women’s Association (#AMWA) teamed up with #standupforlove #nonprofit to host their annual fashion show. 100% of the proceeds went to #LotusHouse helping woman in need.”

M3s Brandon Schwartz, Hanns Frimpong, Davek Sharma,

Danielle Smith, Ryan Shay, and Dr. Anderson

Above: Dr. Dollinger and Betty Monfort welcome the programs

Right: Class of 2015 Jerry Cherisien and Class of 2016

Scott Macdougall talk to a

Mount Sinai residency program

Above: Rowena Ramnath, PsyD, AADP

The PC Connection Page 3 of 6

The HWCOM chapter of American

Medical Women’s Association

(AMWA) has been leading health

workshops for underserved women

at the Lotus House Shelter in

Overtown since 2010. As a

capstone project started by a class

of 2013 alumnus, Dr. Generoso,

projects and health initiatives

ranged from nutrition to breast

health. The FIU chapter of AMWA

has since adopted Dr. Generoso’s

capstone as one of its signature

projects, and continues to have a

positive impact on everyone

involved.

AMWA members plan and lead at

least one work shop monthly that

includes anywhere from six to

twelve attendees from Lotus

House. “The close-knit

environment creates an open,

compassionate, and trusting space

where women are often bubbling

over with questions about their

health,” says AMWA Vice

President, Rachel Volke, Class of

2017. “The women at Lotus House

also seek advice heard from

advertisements or friends, family,

and misconceptions about

medications and illness.”

When asked what their most

memorable experience was this

year, the medical students all

agreed the workshop centered on

nutrition was their favorite. “We

AMWA makes a difference at Lotus House

This year has been very successful for

MedSWISH (Medical Students Working to

Improve Society and Health), HWCOM’s

student-run health initiative that is focused on

primary healthcare and preventative medicine.

The student-led group participated in over seven

health fairs this year, and successfully achieved

this year’s goal by holding mandatory trainings

for HWCOM student’s prior to health fairs.

“I think what we accomplished this year was a

method to ensure a standard of quality of care

delivered by medical students when participating

in health fairs,” said 2013-2014 MedSWISH

Chair, Tamal Roy. “We trained students about

patient counseling, including how to effectively

communicate with patients at health fairs and

educate the community about chronic diseases.

MedSWISH; Linking our Students to the Communities

taught the women how to read a

‘Nutrition Facts’ label, played a

game of ‘Eat this not that,’ and a

sample food diary,” Said current

AMWA president Sara Kim, Class

of 2017. “During this workshop, it

came to light that one young

woman in our group believed that

the calories listed per serving size

represented all the calories in a

large package. By the end of the

activity, she worked out the math

to prove that the bag of chips in

her hands had 1,700 calories

rather than the 170 she had

previously assumed.”

AMWA is currently in the planning

stages for next year, and

determining goals based on needs

and specific project areas Lotus

House would like to see in the

future.

We also trained students how to measure blood

pressure, BMI, and blood glucose levels. We

saw great results as students felt more

comfortable participating in health fairs and

talking to patients.”

MedSWISH also has many goals and projects in

development for the upcoming year.

Recognizing a need for specific health

education, the 2014-2015 executive board is

currently developing a sexual health education

program and sexual health fair. They would

also like to develop the current health fair

initiative by improving workshops and

participation. Presently, MedSWISH is planning

a FIU-hosted health fair on the Modesto

Maidique campus to help spread awareness

about their initiatives to the FIU community.

Representing our HWCOM

Every year our students travel all over the country to

learn, educate, network, and represent the Herbert

Wertheim College of Medicine. This year, over 100 students

traveled to over 12 cities, five states, and even Canada, on

behalf of HWCOM. Check out our 2013-2014 conference

highlights:

Aug. 1-3: AAFP National Conference, Kansas City, MO

Aug. 17: ACOG District Conference, West Palm Beach, FL

Oct. 4-6: American College of Surgeons Conference, DC

Oct. 19-20:19th Annual Brain Injury Symposium, Miami, FL

Oct. 25-27: AAP National Conference & Expo, Orlando, FL

Nov. 1-2: Duke OBGYN Conference, Coconut Grove, FL

Nov. 9-13: NAPCRG Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Nov. 19: 13th

Emergency Radiology Symposium, Miami Beach, FL

Dec. 6-7: Baptist Health Neuro Symposium, Coral Gables, FL

Dec. 13-15: Family Medicine Winter Summit, Amelia Island, FL

Feb. 8: SE Emergency Medicine Student Symposium, Miami, FL

Feb 12-13: AMA, Medical Student Advocacy Day, DC

Feb. 26-28: International Conference on Tropical Med., Miami, FL

Feb. 27-Mar. 2: 59th

Annual Pediatric Postgrad. Course, Miami, FL

Mar. 6-9: AMSA National Conference, New Orleans, LA

Mar.14-16: AMWA Annual Meeting Women in Medicine, DC

Mar. 18: FMA Lobby Day, Tallahassee, FL

Above: MedSWISH Faculty Adviser, Dr. Fredrick Anderson, and MedSWISH student volunteers at a Miami Gardens Health fair.

Above: AMWA members Spencer Del Moral and Mariel Cataldi with Lotus House Volunteers

The PC Connection Page 4 of 6

6

June 28th – July 11th, 16

medical students will be

traveling to Trujillo, Peru

with the Medical Electives

Network, an organization

that provides electives and

health care internships in

Peru for medicine, dentistry,

nursing, physical therapy,

physician assistant, and

dietetics students and

professionals. HWCOM

Faculty member, Dr. Richard

Lynn, will be accompanying

the students as they rotate

through different hospitals

and clinics in Trujillo,

Nonprofit and Global Health Group Plans Trip to Peru

The Herbert Wertheim

College of Medicine’s

inaugural class graduated

less than a year ago, but in

that short time our alumni

have been doing amazing

things all over the country.

Miami and the HWCOM are

never far from their minds,

and they have made return

trips since graduating.

Dr. Michael Hann is

currently a resident in the

psychiatry program at the

Naval Medical Center in San

Diego, California. Dr. Hann

came back this past

February when he was

nominated for a HYPE award

from the Miami Chamber of

Commerce for Most Valuable

Graduate. The HYPE

awards recognize Miami-

Dade young professionals

and their achievements.

Dr. Patricio Lau is a general

surgery resident at the

Baylor College of Medicine in

Houston, Texas. Patricio

came back to the HWCOM to

attend and show support at

the 6th annual FIU Pre-

Medical Information Forum

on February 24th. The forum

was designed to provide high

school students important

information on carving out

the best path to get into

medical school. Information

Alumni News

providing each student an

opportunity to scrub in for

surgical operations. The

students will gain exposure to

numerous medical specialties

including: Family Medicine,

Pediatrics, Internal Medicine,

Ob/Gyn, Trauma, General

Surgery, Emergency,

Rheumatology, and Urology.

There will also be ample

opportunities for the students

to engage in community

medicine and provide health

education at local schools,

children centers, and

orphanages.

ranging from the best courses

to take to how to finance a

medical school education was

discussed.

Dr. Daniel Castellanos is

another alumnus who made

his way to the west coast,

currently a resident in the

pediatric program at the

Children’s Hospital of Los

Angeles. The Nonprofit and

Global health Interest Group

and Pediatrics Interest Group

hosted Dr. Castellanos on

February 20th. He spoke about

his experiences in his first-year

in residency and fielded

questions from the group.

Dr. Christine Matthews is

currently a part-time faculty

member at HWCOM,

teaching clinical skills. On

February 12, the Family

Medicine and Pediatrics

interest groups hosted Dr.

Matthews to talk about and

answer questions regarding

the match process. Dr.

Matthews is looking forward

to starting her residency in

family medicine at St.

Vincent’s Medical Center in

Jacksonville, Florida.

Jan. 13 SIG and IMIG (Surgery Interest

Group, Internal Medicine Interest Group) hosted “Renal Transplantation” with Dr. Najafian Jan. 17 MMLP (Medical Mentoring

Leadership Program) sponsored “Having a Personal Mission Statement and Creating your Medical Brand” by Dr. Minor Jan 17 Fit and Well hosted Strength and

Conditioning with Cesar Martinez Jan. 21 – MMPL hosted “Diversity in

Medicine” Jan. 30 – AMSA (American Medical

Student Association) hosted an End of Life Care Fellowship presentation Jan. 30 NSIG (Neuroscience Interest

Group) hosted a suturing workshop Feb. 1 HWCOM hosted the first South

Florida Residency Fair Feb. 4 PIG (Pediatrics Interest Group),

FMIG (Family Medicine Interest Group), and Psych.IG hosted the National Tourette Syndrome Association Feb. 6 PaIG (Pathology Interest Group)

hosted guest speaker Dr. Poppiti Feb. 11 AMWA (American Medical

Women’s Association) hosted a lunch and learn discussing cardio cases with Dr. Martinez Feb. 14 MSC Academic committee

presented: Panther Jeopardy Spring Edition Feb. 14 AMA (American Medical Association) and BMIG (Business in

Medicine) hosted Behind the White Coat with Dr. Valverde Feb. 26 LMSA (Latin Medical Student

Association) hosted a Medical Spanish Workshop Feb. 26 SIG and NSIG presented: Use of

Image Guidance in Neurosurgery with Dr. Gonzalez-Arias Mar. 19 AMA, SIG, LMSA hosted Behind

the White Coat with Dr. Schild Mar. 19 Psych.IG hosted a movie night.

“Vampires at FIU: A Psychodynamic Interpretation” Mar. 21 Match Day! HWCOM class of 2014 matched in 14 different specialties around the country

Highlights:

Student Interest Groups

Above: Members of OSA Andria Garcia, Cristina Arabatzis and Maria Jose Araya with Dr. Patricio Lau

Left: Ashley Rousseau, Dr. von Harscher, Andria Garcia, Dr. Hann, Dr. Obeso, Dr. Esposito, Scarlett Aldana-Bosch, and Dr. Dollinger at the Miami Chamber of Commerce Feb. 12th HYPE Awards honoring nominee Dr. Michael Hann.

Below: Dr. Daniel Castellanos and Dr. Christine Mathews at the

Feb. 20th event at HWCOM

Left: HWCOM students in Trujillo, Peru, during last year’s mission trip.

The PC Connection Page 5 of 6

Panther Community

Anderson welcomed a new

community partner this year;

Casa de Provisión and

Mujeres con Propósito, sister

organizations that assist

orphanages and shelters by

providing them with supplies

and much needed medical

attention. Medical students

will be assisting these

organizations with health

screenings and education.

Anderson also “officially”

welcomed their new Class of

2017 community members by

hosting a paint night on

November 13th. The 2-hour

paint night featured a local

artist who instructed students

step-by-step how to create a

work of art from a blank

canvas. It fostered creativity

and networking among new

and current Anderson

community members.

Students also walked away

ANDERSON – MIAMI NORTHWEST

This Christmas, Panther

Community Hippocrates decided

to raise money to give back to

members of the community. Led

by Arun Amble (Class of 2017),

the students donated cash at the

December PC meeting and

purchased Walmart gift cards for

two community members

identified by community faculty

for needing the most immediate

help. Arun traveled to Miami

Gardens to present these

individuals with the gifts himself.

On January 11, Panther

Community Hippocrates started

the New Year out by volunteering

with the Mobile Health Clinic at

the Fresh Start Health Fair in

Miami Gardens. The event was

held at the Antioch Mission

Baptist Church of Miami Gardens

and included a 5K Walk and Run,

and free health screenings.

Students screened over 100

individuals and handed out

HIPPOCRATES – MIAMI GARDENS

from the event with a new

work of art they created to

remind them of their new

community.

During the winter holidays,

students in Anderson

continued their tradition of

donated cash, and pooled

their money to purchase

holiday gifts for households in

need. One lucky child

received a new bicycle. “It felt

so great to be able to help the

children in our

NeighborhoodHELP families

during the holidays,” said

Christina Gauthreaux, Class

of 2017. “We know a lot are

going through so much and it

was so amazing to bring some

joy to the families during the

holiday season.”

On March 14th, Andersons

visited one of their community

partners, Centro Mater (a

Head Start Program in

Hialeah), to teach kids

ages 3-5 about proper

hand washing techniques

and how to prevent the

spread of germs. They

also taught the children

key principals to

preventing the spread of

germs and illness, as well

as how germs grow and

how they can travel. The

students plan to return this

spring to Centro Mater to

continue teaching the

children about health and

nutrition.

several glucometers to

community members. “We also

had the opportunity to speak to

many other community

organizations including Baptist

Health and received some great

ideas about improving our

health fairs,” said Hippocrates

Tamal Roy, Class of 2016. “One

of our next goals is to develop a

better method for keeping track

of the exact number of

individuals we are screening.”

One of Hippocrates’s signature

community projects, Project

Pipeline, continues to be a

successful opportunity for the

students to volunteer and

mentor youth in the community.

The program is geared towards

increasing interest in math and

science and preparing students

for higher education and

possible careers in these fields.

CJ Kwan, Class of 2016, has

been leading the student groups

that attend Project Pipeline

every month at the Fountain of

New Life Church in Miami

Gardens. He will be passing

the torch to members of the

Class of 2017 as he starts his

3rd

year rotations. “It’s been a

great few years getting to

know these kids, and I’m

happy that other Hippos are

just as excited as I was to take

over this project,” said CJ. The

first Project Pipeline was

started by the inaugural class

and continues to grow every

year.

Panther Community Highlights

Above left: : Class of 2017 Chris Brown and Angel Chinea Vicente give young participants of Project Pipeline a fun lesson on plant science.

Left: Hippocrates Faculty Mentor, Dr. Anderson, and members of the Panther Community set up for the Fresh Start Health Fair at the Antioch Mission Baptist Church of

Miami Gardens

Above: Members of PC Anderson at paint night Right: Class of 2017 Andrew Quinn, Zachary Demko, Lubna Ali at Centro Mater Left: Holiday gifts for children in Northwest Miami

Page 6 of 6 The PC Connection

On January 24th, Panther

Community Pasteur participated in

KaBOOM! Build Day. This event

took place at Magnolia North

Playground Opa-Locka where the

students assisted in building a

playground for the Opa-Locka

Community. Elements of the

playground were taken from

children ages 2-13 when asked to

draw their dream playground with

crayons and paper. “Building this

playground was very important for

the Opa-Locka Community,” said

Pasteur Mayor, Misty Coello, and

Class of 2017. “Kids spend less

time playing outside partly

because they don’t live within

walking distance of a park or

playground. This could affect

children physically, emotional and

cognitively.” The new playground

will provide more than 350 children

in Opa-Locka with a safe place to

play.

PASTEUR – OPA-LOCKA

This year, PC Semmelweis

welcomes two new community

partners in Northeast/Little Haiti.

Haitian Emmanuel Baptiste

Church, which is mostly Creole

speaking, will offer students the

possibility of doing some basic

BMI, Cholesterol, Blood Glucose

and education. The second new

partner, Children's Academy

Preschool in the Northeast, will

also provide students the

opportunity to practice basic

BMI, Cholesterol, and Blood

Glucose. Health education here

will be geared toward topics to

educate parents on children

safety and health. Both of these

new community partners will

teach the M1 and M2 students

about the economic and cultural

background of their future

NeighborhoodHELP families in

their assigned community.

Panther Community

Semmelweis participated in their

first community health fair of the

academic year on November

SEMMELWEIS – MIAMI NORTHEAST

The students of Pasteur also

volunteered to lend a hand at the 2nd

Annual Short Iron Chef Competition

and Health Fair on February 8th at

Nathan B. Young Elementary School.

This event has brought awareness to

childhood obesity and prevention.

Medical students taught the children

at the event not only about the

importance of exercise, but how to

incorporate eating healthy and

learning which fruits and vegetables

(how much) they should be eating a

day.

Most recently, PC Pasteur hosted an

Easter egg during their April meeting

for their members; a reward for their

continued hard work and success in

their community of Opa-Locka.

23rd

at the 7th Annual Emilio Lopez

Health Fair. Thirteen medical

students joined Boriquen Medical

Centers, along with other vendors

such as Mount Sinai and Jackson

North, to assist in administering

health screenings to the

participants in the community. All

individuals that completed two

health screenings received a free

Publix food voucher.

On December 12, Semmelweis

hosted alumna, Dr. Matthews, for

an information session on third

year rotations and navigating the

match.

Most recently, the students of

Semmelweis got together to plan a

surprise baby shower for one of

their own. March 14th all students

gathered in the Semmelweis

lounge for their classmate and

second-time mom, Class of 2017

Amy Averhoff-Laurenceau, who

will be having a baby girl this

spring. Amy will be the first

medical student to have a baby

girl at HWCOM.

Above: M1 Amy Averhoff-Laurenceau opening gifts at

her baby shower

Above: M2 Jason Alvarez, Varsha Ramnarine, Nibras Chowdhury, and Monica Patel at the Emilio Lopez Health Fair

Below: PC Semmelweis hosted fellow classmate’s surprise baby shower

Above: Pasteur celebrates their success with an Easter egg hunt Left: Volunteers help build a playground

in Opa-Locka with Kaboom!

Above: Members of Nathan B. Young Elementary School and Short Iron

Chef participants at the February 8th competition and health fair