Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Program Highlights

Pee Dee AHEC Summer High School Health Careers Exploration Experience

During the third and fourth weeks of June, Pee Dee AHEC’s Health Careers Program hosted high school students from Florence and surrounding counties to explore health science careers.  Students gathered together from Dillon, Cheraw, Horry, Florence, Williamsburg, Darlington, and Marion counties for a week packed with professional presentations, academic advising, hands-on simulations, soft skills workshops, clinical observations and reflection.  

During this experience, students heard the personal testimonies and career path stories of a variety of healthcare professionals including a workplace safety coordinator, clinical pharmacist, pharmacy student, medical laboratory scientist, three NICU nurses, four athletic trainers, and a child life specialist. With these mentor sessions, the students participated in hands-on career simulation labs where they worked in teams to solve problems and overcome hurdles that are common to the professions presented during the week. Students participated in daily soft skill workshops on topics such as cultural competency, interviewing skills, college/future planning, and personal, professional and online image. To culminate the experience, each student was scheduled to observe with five different clinical areas at McLeod Regional Medical Center, focusing both on passions they knew they already had as well as exposure to careers that were new to them. 

Overall, Pee Dee AHEC ran this camp for two weeks, serving 26 students across two cohorts from seven counties. The entire group of students came together on June 28 and shared lessons learned and new passions discovered. According to exit survey data, students look forward to returning to the Health Careers Program next summer and plan to take advantage of other AHEC pipeline services.

Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Students Work Community Event: McLeod Children’s Hospital Back to School Bash

On August 3, Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Program (HCP) students teamed up with McLeod Children’s Hospital to help facilitate a community wide Back to School Bash in downtown Florence. The event was organized by the McLeod Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Specialist, Olivia Whatley, who is often a mentor, speaker and preceptor for Pee Dee HCP students. The students who volunteered to work this event were from this year’s Summer Health Careers Exploration Experience camp, as well as from the Florence One Health Science Work Based Honors class. The students came out and worked booths for Florence County DHEC, Mental Health America, Lighthouse Ministries, Florence City Police Department, Florence City Fire Department, McLeod HeartReach, McLeod Safe Kids, and McLeod Sports Medicine. The students also participated in face painting, registration, and diabetes awareness events.  

At the Back to School Bash, families were offered health education and valuable resource materials, as well as free school supplies. The event also served as a platform to provide students and families with introductions to student services and professionals available throughout the school year. Participating in this event was a great opportunity for HCP students to network with health professionals while being an active part of a community event that touched and informed local families. 

To learn more about the Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Program, please contact Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Program Coordinator Matthew Peake or visit the Pee Dee AHEC website.

South Carolina AHEC Family Medicine Awards

Sharm Steadman Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award Presented to Jenna Reel, PharmD

South Carolina AHEC is pleased to announce that Jenna Reel, PharmD, is this year’s recipient of the Sharm Steadman Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award. Dr. Reel serves as associate program director for the Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency Program. The Sharm Steadman Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award is given to a non-physician member of the faculty of a South Carolina family medicine residency program who has distinguished themself as an outstanding teacher and role model.

As a clinical pharmacist, she rounds with the inpatient family medicine team and ensures that they are all well-versed on appropriate indications for medications, the latest guidelines, the possibility of drug interactions, and adjusting medications for renal function. She is always available for questions from the floor or from the outpatient clinic.  

Over the past year, Dr. Reel has taken on the role of liaison with both the hospital Institutional Review Board and Department of Quality. By championing these efforts, she has become the force behind the residency program’s quality improvement curriculum, making it her mission to assist every resident in understanding their patient panel and quality measures, while learning the importance of population management. She has met with each of the residents individually to ensure understanding and success with their projects. Dr. Reel works tirelessly to ensure longitudinal curriculums are scheduled and coordinates orientation for incoming interns each year. She was also instrumental in coordinating the medication assisted treatment training for the program’s faculty and residents. Furthermore, she is currently working with the program’s newest behavioral faculty member to schedule time for a dedicated behavioral health clinic with 1:1 teaching.  

Statewide, Dr. Reel is active with the other PharmDs in the state’s family medicine residency programs on developing pharmacology curriculum.  In April, she presented “Use Your Moodle:  An Interactive Pharmacotherapy Curriculum” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine along with other PharmDs from South Carolina’s family medicine residency programs. Dr. Reel is indispensable to the Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency Program and exemplifies the wonderful characteristics of the Sharm Steadman Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award. 

Originally called the Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award, this award was renamed in honor of Dr. Sharm Steadman, who passed away in October 2015. Sharm Steadman, PharmD, was a professor with the UofSC Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, where she practiced for 25 years. Dr. Steadman received this award herself in 2012 as she represented exactly what this award was created to recognize: excellence in resident education, with demonstrated skills in teaching, curriculum development, mentoring, research, and leadership.  

Congratulations, Dr. Reel!

Halford Award for Leadership in Humane Education Presented to Nata Young, MD

South Carolina AHEC is pleased to announce that Nata Young, MD, is this year’s recipient of the Halford Award for Leadership in Humane Education. Dr. Young has devoted much of her career to resident education and has demonstrated outstanding leadership in providing humane education.  

Dr. Young is as an associate professor with the AnMed Health Family Medicine Residency Program where she has been on faculty since 2004. She serves as the medical director of the AnMed Health Family Medicine Clinic and practices full-scope family medicine, including obstetrics. 

Dr. Young has been described as extremely positive and enthusiastic in her approach and loves working with medical students and residents. She has been recognized by AnMed’s residents as an excellent physician and a wonderful role model. One of Dr. Young’s greatest strengths is providing effective feedback to residents and her ability to explain things in a simple but cohesive manner, making her teaching very effective. Her kind and empathetic bedside manner puts patients and learners at ease, and many of the program’s faculty and residents have chosen her as their own personal physician. Dr. Young was also a recipient of the 2015 Extraordinary Women in Healthcare Award. 

Dr. Young is very involved in the Anderson community and volunteers at the Anderson Free Clinic. She has served on mission trips through her church and on the board of Doclink, a grassroots initiative led by physicians in Anderson to educate youth on the importance of healthy decision-making concerning tobacco, alcohol, other drugs, injury prevention and much more.   

The Halford Award recognizes a family medicine residency program faculty member who demonstrates outstanding leadership in providing humane education. The award is named for Dr. James Halford, who was the founding director of the AnMed Health Family Medicine Residency Program. Award winners demonstrate a caring attitude and respect for patients, residents and students; value human dignity; exude a passion and joy for teaching, learning and working with others; and participate in community service activities. 

Congratulations, Dr. Young!

Upcoming Program: Behavioral Treatment of Chronic Pain

It is estimated that 100 million people in the US are living with chronic pain and that approximately one third of these individuals are seeking medical treatment for their pain.  As a result, across the nation, healthcare professionals are taking another look at how to safely and effectively treat pain while also reducing the risks associated with opioids.  

With an ongoing opioid epidemic, Pee Dee AHEC is helping health professionals learn ways to address their patients’ chronic pain.  On October 1, Pee Dee AHEC will host a six-hour workshop, “Behavioral Treatment of Chronic Pain: Evidence-Based Tools to Move from Hurt to Hope” presented by Martha Teater, MA, LMFT, LPC, LCAS. This workshop provides credit for counseling, social work, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and any other interested health professionals are welcome to attend. Mrs. Teater is a licensed counselor and social worker specializing in the areas of marriage and family therapy, substance abuse and workplace crisis response. She has been the director of mental health for two nonprofit organizations and provides consultations and trainings to agencies, hospitals, universities, and companies across the country and internationally.

In this program, Mrs. Teater explains that pain management has typically not been a part of behavioral health practice, but research and clinical practice are demonstrating that behavioral interventions are the most effective treatment for chronic pain. Throughout the workshop, Mrs. Teater will provide interactive and cutting edge training to participants through the use of innovative and evidence-based tools and techniques to expand their clinical practice and treat chronic pain.  Her goal is that participants will gain the skills and confidence needed to provide practical and life changing interventions to help individuals manage chronic pain and enjoy active, healthy, and meaningful lives.

The program will be held on October 1 from 9:00am - 4:30pm at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. Register via Pee Dee AHEC’s website.

South Carolina AHEC Resident Scholarship Symposium Recognizes Excellence in Quality Improvement and Research Projects

The annual South Carolina AHEC Resident Scholarship Symposium is held each year in conjunction with the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians’ (SCAFP) annual meeting. The symposium provides family medicine residents from across the state with the opportunity to showcase their quality improvement and research projects through scholarly presentations and poster sessions. Residents are also able to participate in conference and networking events with other family physicians from throughout South Carolina. During the symposium, the upcoming chief residents from each program participate in a seminar to learn about and develop leadership and other skills.

This year’s symposium in Myrtle Beach featured 16 podium presentations and 4 poster presentations. The quality improvement and research symposium gives residents an opportunity to engage with SCAFP members to discuss how these projects translate into practice. South Carolina AHEC is pleased to recognize this year’s Resident Scholarship Symposium winners. 

Basic Research:  

First Place 
Cardiovascular Screening in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Retrospective Case-Control Study Sarah Tucker Price, MD, PhD; Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program
                                                                                
Second Place  
Computer-Based Management Effect on Inpatient Glycemic Measures
Vinay Juneja, MD; Prisma Health-Midlands/University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia (Columbia) Family Medicine Residency Program

Third Place  
Comparing the Prevalence of Adolescent Athletes with Elevated Blood Pressures and Their Physician Recommendations
Louis Gerena, MD; Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program

Quality Improvement

First Place
Protocol to Reduce Hospital Readmissions for Acute Exacerbations of COPD
Kliph Love, MD, MPH and Ben Stillman, DO; Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency Program

Second Place *Tie* 
Improving Pediatric Vaccination Rates in a Family Medicine Clinic
William Burk, MD and Bryan Vo, MD; Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program

Evaluating Effects on Hospital Encounters After Implementing After-Hours Telemedicine Visits in a Senior Living Facility
Natalie Christian, MD and Rebecca King-Mallory, MD; Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program

Poster Session Winner

Injury Rates Among College Athletes Who Played Single vs Multiple Sports in High School 
Evan Madden, MD and Grayson Sumner, DO; Self Regional Family Medicine Residency Program

South Carolina AHEC would like to thank those who served as moderators and judges:

• Dr. Lisa Mims, Trident/MUSC Family Medicine - Chair and Moderator
• Dr. Alec DeCastro, Trident/MUSC Family Medicine - Moderator
• Dr. Mark Humphrey, Prisma Health-Midlands/UofSC SOM Columbia (Columbia) Family Medicine - Judge
• Dr. Jenna Reel, Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine - Judge 
• Dr. Richard Boyles, SCAFP Immediate Past President and Board Chair - Judge
• Dr. Marty Player, Trident/MUSC Family Medicine - Conference Assistance 

If you would like additional information about the symposium, please contact Director of AHEC Recruitment and Retention Programs Kristin Cochran at (843) 792-6977 or cochrak@musc.edu.

Fall Continuing Professional Development Highlights

Lowcountry AHEC

Lowcountry AHEC is offering programs this November to recognize National Hospice and Palliative Care Month by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

• End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Core Course | November 8-9 at MUSC joint-provided with MUSC’s Palliative Care Program.  

• Living Mindfully: Self-Care for the Care Provider | November 12 at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital

• 3 C’s of End-of-Life Nursing: Caring Ethics, Communication and Compassion Fatigue | November 20  at MUSC (South Park training room)

 Register online at Lowcountry AHEC’s website.

Pee Dee AHEC

Pee Dee AHEC has been co-sponsoring “Infant Adoption Training Initiative: Understanding Infant Adoption” programs throughout its 12-county region, presented by Sharon Cole, the assistant director of South Carolina Adoptions. This free, 4.5-hour professional development opportunity funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, is developed for nurses, social workers, and other helping professionals to learn how to discuss adoption as an option with patients and clients who may not be certain if they can parent a child.  The training also provides more information about adoption law and practices in each state, birth fathers’ rights and responsibilities, and issues related to counselling teens, social and cultural influences associated with adoption and nondirective counseling techniques. Pee Dee AHEC has co-sponsored trainings at Tidelands Health, Waccamaw Medical Park South Conference Center, and McLeod Regional Medical Center. An upcoming training scheduled is scheduled for September 12 at Prisma Health Tuomey. Register online via Pee Dee AHEC’s website.

South Carolina Family Medicine Residency Programs Collaborate for Resident Recruitment

Each year in Kansas City, Missouri, the American Academy of Family Physicians National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students is an excellent resident recruitment opportunity for family medicine residency programs. And each year, the South Carolina family medicine residency programs do what few other states accomplish: strong, cohesive collaboration to boost the state’s recruitment efforts at the conference.

During the event, a large expo hall is filled with programs from all over the country vying for students’ attention. The South Carolina programs stand out from the crowd during the event due to joint effort to create an eye-catching South Carolina booth block. South Carolina AHEC supports this effort by designing the booth space and collateral materials, resulting in a bold, cohesive state effort to attract residents to South Carolina.

This year, all 12 South Carolina family medicine residency programs participated in the South Carolina booth. Nearly 500 medical students and residents connected with program faculty, residents and staff to learn more about the state’s family medicine residency programs and fellowships and many more attendees visited the booth space over the course of the conference.

More than 1,800 medical students from across the U.S. traveled to Kansas City for the event. Throughout the conference, the South Carolina’s family medicine residency programs stayed active at the recruiting booth, meeting medical students and potential fellows and explaining the many benefits of completing residency training in South Carolina.  

To see a full listing of the family medicine residency programs in South Carolina, visit the South Carolina AHEC GME page.

Dr. Timothy Carr Recognized as Preceptor of the Year

Matt Ewald, MUSC PA-C, Clinical Coordinator; Dr. Carr; and Lance Butler, Pee Dee AHEC HPS Coordinator

Dr. Timothy Carr was recognized as Preceptor of the Year at the MUSC College of Health Professions Physician Assistant Program graduation ceremony. Dr. Carr is a Pee Dee AHEC health professions student preceptor for McLeod Health Loris and Seacoast Emergency Services.