Monthly | Pulse

MAR '13

An Update from the Perelman School of Medicine

For Many, Next Medical Home is a Familiar One

Ms. Nordeen with Ashley Levack, M'13, who matched in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.After months of applications, travel, and interviews, 161 students learned their residency placement destinations on March 15 during the Perelman School's annual Match Day Celebration. This year, many of the students we spoke with will return to homes and families spread far and wide - bringing the benefits of their Penn training to hospitals and communities across America.

"I am so excited to be going home to Denver," said Claire Nordeen, M'13, who will be taking up residence in the Denver Health Emergency Medicine program. "Penn has been an amazing launching pad for my new life as a doctor. I feel like my life is coming full circle."

Mrs. Rachel Yang toasting her match at Stanford University with her husband Dr. Joseph Yang. A native of Seattle, Rachel Yang, M'13, will be finally be reunited with her husband Joseph Yang, D'12, GR'12, who has been doing his oral surgery residency at UCSF for the past year.

"This is a dream come true," Mrs. Yang said of her match at Stanford University's General Surgery Residency Program. "I get to join my husband and start my career as a surgeon in the place I always dreamed of doing my training."

Also heading West is Team UCLA - resplendent in Bruin blue and gold lids as Match Day came to an end. Originally from Southern California, Eli Kupperman, M'13, whose parents conspired and brought hats for the four friends, is set to train in the University's Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program. His roommate, William "Connor" Darby, M'13, matched in Psychiatry at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience.

From left to right: Mr. Kupperman, Mr. Jensen, Ms. Schwab, and Mr. Darby will all be taking up residence at UCLA."I am overwhelmed by it all," said Mr. Kupperman. "This is the culmination of the last few years. I am going home. My brother is a resident at UCLA. My mom could not be happier!"

Andy Jensen, M'13, GR'13, also matched with UCLA's Orthopaedic Surgery Residency, while his girlfriend Kristin Schwab, M'13, learned that she will be doing her training in the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

"This is the start of a lot of changes and is so exciting," she said. "Up until now our whole lives have been on hold. We can finally plan our road trip!"

Soon to be married Ms. Flynn-Meketon and Mr. Guttmann.Engaged couple Katherine Flynn-Meketon, M'13, GR'13, and David Guttmann, M'13, GR'13, could not be happier to have matched at Penn - he in Radiation-Oncology and she at CHOP for Pediatrics - the place they met and call home. They are planning to marry a week after graduation, and the past year has been filled with excitement and anxiety.

"We are so relieved that we get to stay at our home at Penn, near our friends and family, and start our training at an amazing top-notch health system."

Finally, one of the most well-traveled residents-to-be, Austin Dixon, M'13, GR'13, took full advantage of the HOST program in finding his place. Born and raised in Albany, GA, he will be heading back down South to train in Duke University Medical Center's Radiology Residency Program.

Hosted by 8 alumni, more than any other student this year, Mr. Dixon valued his time as a guest. "Many of the hosts gave me a tour of their respective cities," he said. "Some gave me interview advice. The HOST experience helped to relieve some of my anxiety going into the interview day. It was nice to have someone to talk to informally the day before."

You can play an important role in next year's Match Day Celebration by helping students while they apply for their residency training through HOST. Or you can advise them through our new Mentorship Program.

Experience Penn Pride - at Medical Alumni Weekend!

With new programming, new faculty, and new energy - thanks to the recent success of Penn Medicine's Making History campaign - this is a great time to reconnect with your medical alma mater. Join us on Saturday morning, May 11, to learn how Penn Medicine is bringing together brilliant faculty, leading-edge research, and renowned patient care to redefine medical education for our students.

J. Larry Jameson, M.D., Ph.D.J. Larry Jameson, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, will provide an exciting update on Penn Medicine's new Medical Education Center. Physically connected to the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine complex, the new Medical Education Center will allow Perelman School of Medicine students to experience the dynamic energy of collaboration from the class room to the exam room to the lab - something no other school of medicine in the country can boast.

L. Scott Levin, M.D., FACSL. Scott Levin, M.D., FACS, Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, is well-known around the nation for leading two teams of surgeons in a cutting-edge operation that gave a quadruple amputee new hands. At Penn Medicine, he launched the state-of-the-art Penn Human Tissue Laboratory - one of only a handful in the country - where medical students, residents, and attending physicians can perform advanced surgical training on fresh tissue, working side-by-side with Penn's leaders in the field.

Garret FitzGerald, M.D., FRSGarret FitzGerald, M.D., FRS, Director of the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics, will explain how translational medicine is a vital component of a Perelman School of Medicine education: from training programs and awards to a Masters of Science in Translational Research. Dr. FitzGerald is credited with uncovering the link between NSAIDs and adverse cardiac events, and has been elected to The Royal Society. Click here for more information about the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics' educational programs.

Stephanie B. Abbuhl, M.D., FACEPStephanie B. Abbuhl, M.D., FACEP, Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine, is leading efforts at Penn Medicine's FOCUS program to advance the role of women in medicine and promote women's health research. FOCUS offers seminars, workshops, and conferences related to career development and mentoring; faculty research seed grants and recognition awards; and medical student fellowships in mentored projects involving women's health research. Dr. Abbuhl was the 2012 individual recipient of AAMC's Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Development Award. You can read more about FOCUS in the Summer 2005 issue of Penn Medicine magazine.

Don't miss your opportunity to see the strength behind a Penn Medicine education - and reunite with fellow alumni and old friends. You can register today by clicking here or contacting the Office of Alumni Development and Alumni Relations at (215) 898-5164 or PennMedicine@alumni.med.upenn.edu.

New Penn Medicine Alumni Mentorship Program to Launch in April!

Perelman School of Medicine students will be able to make a new type of match this spring. Starting in early April, the Penn Medicine Mentorship Program will offer a new and exciting way for alumni to connect with the students who can most benefit from their guidance.

Organized by Penn Medicine's Office of Development and Alumni Relations in partnership with Medical Student Government, the program responds to both student and alumni requests for a way to connect with each other to share knowledge and experience in a way that is enriching to both groups.

Michael Smith, M'02, WG'02, RES'05, Medical Director of Temple University's Esophageal Program.The Penn Medicine Mentorship Program adds another dimension to the current programs that focus on alumni and student connection such as HOST and the Alumni Student Knowledge (ASK) Panel. Members of the Council of Recent Graduates are one example of our alumni looking forward to more professional opportunities to connect. "Penn Medicine is unique because the School is always searching for ways to foster a continuing relationship between current students and alumni," said Michael Smith, M'02, WG'02, RES'05, Medical Director of Temple University's Esophageal Program.

Alumni will receive a survey email once per semester to identify their professional affiliation, mentorship topics (such as career planning, health policy, non-profit work, etc.), and the number of students they would like to mentor. After survey data are compiled, students will review the list and select a mentor. The Office of Development and Alumni Relations will introduce alumni to students via email, and then the student will contact their mentors directly.

If you choose to participate, you will be expected to have at least one substantive conversation or meaningful email exchange with the student, answering his or her questions and allowing them to get to know you and the career path you have chosen. From there, extending the conversation is completely up to you!

For this launch, alumni should expect to receive an email containing a link to the mentor survey soon to complete by the specified deadline. Once all data is compiled, students will search and select mentors that best match their interests.

If you would like to complete the mentorship survey now, great! Please click here to fill it out. To ask questions or get involved, contact Jessica Kozel in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at 215-898-5164 or jkozel@upenn.edu.

Perelman School Launches Summer Camp for High School Juniors and Seniors

Highly motivated students from all over the world are applying to Penn Medicine's inaugural Summer Program for High School Students. During this 4-week, on-campus program, students will take part in a unique experience - exposure to the fascinating world of modern medicine at Penn.

The immersion program is run by Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs, the world leader in summer programs, and guided and taught by Penn Medicine faculty, students, and staff.

Gregg Lipschik, M.D., the Program's course director, also designs medical school and housestaff curriculum as a co-director of the Penn Medicine Clinical Simulation Center, and is the director of the Patient Safety Fellowship at the Philadelphia VA Hospital.

Gregg Lipschik, M.D., demonstrating a simulated clinical experience on the Sim Man mannequin."The curriculum of the Summer Medical Program is special and wide ranging, and is modeled after an education at Penn Medicine," said Dr. Lipschik. "The Camp provides hands-on training by world-class physicians, camaraderie with like-minded classmates, lectures and demonstrations on cutting-edge medicine and patient care, and insights into paths towards careers in medicine and medically related fields."

Students will have the opportunity to tour emergency rooms, observe live surgical procedures, and become certified in basic life support, as well as to perform clinical skills such as ultrasounds, spinal taps, and suturing at Penn Medicine's Clinical Simulation Center.

The program will have the added treat of a lecture and lab on Nephrology from the Perelman School's top educational administrator Gail Morrison, M'71, FEL'76, Professor of Medicine, Senior Vice Dean for Education, and Director of the Office of Academic Programs.

Applications are accepted on a rolling admission basis. For more information and to apply, please visit Summer Program for High School Students.


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