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Astute Clinician Lecture to be held Nov. 6
"AIDS: A Window on Infectious Diseases," is the topic of the fifth Astute Clinician Lecture on Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium. It will be presented by Dr. Henry Masur, chief of the Clinical Center Critical Care Medicine Department. Dr. Masur's early career focused on intracellular protozoa and how they evade host immune response. When the first cases of pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with no known immunosuppressive condition appeared at New York Hospital, where he interned, he recognized that there was little precedent for their occurrence. He evaluated these patients, and found more cases occurring at New York Hospital and in surrounding hospitals. His report of this outbreak was one of three that formed the first published report of AIDS. After completing his early research in New York, Dr. Masur moved to NIH in 1982 to expand his investigations. Dr. Masur studied why HIV patients had a poor survival rate. He found that organisms that were previously rarely recognized—toxoplasma, cytomagalovirus and mycobacterium avium—were frequent causes of illness and death in HIV patients. He worked on improving methods of diagnosing and treating these complications. Dr. Masur and his NIH collaborators developed new diagnostic tests for PCP, new therapeutic agents and new management strategies. They developed and patented the most widely used laboratory test to recognize PCP, developed improved techniques for obtaining patient samples for the testing and developed and patented a new agent to treat PCP. Dr. Masur and his colleagues established the Public Health Service Guidelines for Prevention of HIV-related pneumocystis pneumonia in 1989, which were the first HIV-related guidelines. These efforts were expanded into the United States Public Health Service and Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines for Prevention of HIV Related Opportunistic Infections, which are updated regularly. Dr. Masur is co-chair of the Guidelines on Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections, jointly sponsored by the Society of Critical Care, Centers for Disease Control, and the Infectious Disease Society of America. He is also co-chair of the Guidelines for Evaluation of Fever in the Intensive Care Unit. A native of Washington D.C., Dr. Masur graduated from Cornell Medical School, trained in internal medicine at New York Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital and trained in infectious disease at Cornell, where he was on the faculty from 1978–1982. He came to the National Institutes of Health to become assistant chief of Critical Care Medicine in 1982, and has held his current position as chief since 1989. The Astute Clinician Lecture was established through a gift from Haruko and Robert W. Miller, M.D. It honors a U.S. scientist who has observed an unusual clinical occurrence, and by investigating it, has opened an important new avenue of research. The lecture is an NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series event. It is hosted by the Clinical Center. For information and accommodations for the lecture, contact Hilda Madine, 301-594-5595. Foil The Flu Program
In the United States, flu season peaks between late December and early March. Vaccination is the best way to minimize serious adverse outcomes of influenza infection. Influenza vaccine delivery is on schedule for this year. As in previous years, Clinical Center patients and staff who provide direct patient care will be the first to receive immunization. Vaccinations will be given in the Occupational Medical Service offices, 10/6C306, and will be given based on the first letter of the employee's last name. The program is for NIH employees only. An NIH photo identification card must be presented. Contractors are not permitted to receive the flu vaccination through this program. The detailed schedule can be accessed at http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/ds/flu.
Gallin receives highest scientific award from international Society of Leukocyte BiologyClinical Center Director John I.
Gallin was awarded the Marie T. Bonazinga Award by the Society of Leukocyte Biology
for excellence in leukocyte biology.
The annual award is presented to a select member
of the society who has shown consistent excellence in research. This is the highest
scientific award given by this international society. Gallin received the award at
the society's annual meeting in Torino, Italy.
As director of the Clinical Center,
Dr. Gallin has led the revitalization of
clinical research at NIH. This included the implementation of changes in the clinical
research infrastructure with an emphasis on training and utilization of telemedicine
in clinical research.
Among Dr. Gallin's awards are the
USPHS Distinguished Service Award, the Young
Investigator Award of the American Federation for Clinical Research, and the Squibb
Award of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In 1988, he received an honorary
Doctor of Science from Amherst College. In 1991, he received the USPHS award for
orphan-product development for his studies leading to the licensing of interferon-gamma to reduce infections in chronic granulomatous disease. In 2001, he was recognized as the Physician Executive of the Year Award by the USPHS. Dr. Gallin is a member of the Society for Leukocyte Biology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.
Dr. Gallin has authored more than 290 research articles and edited the text
books Inflammation [Lippincott Williams and Wilkins (1999)] and Principles and Practice of Clinical Research [Academic Press (2002)].
When the Clinical
Center's Education and Training Section introduced its 2002 Leadership
Certificate Series of courses for employees and managers, many of the participants
were expecting the same sort of training they had received in the past. But they were
in for a surprise.
"Previously, all federal supervisors
were required to have a designated number of
hours of supervisory training within a certain time period," said senior educational
specialist Karen Pascal, "but the emphasis was on hours, not the type of training.
Now it's on an assessment and analysis of the gap between current levels and
expected levels of performance." Consequently, she added, the Leadership Series
was designed to address the training needs or "skill gaps" identified by Clinical
Center executive leadership and more than 200 Clinical Center supervisors through
an online survey. By realigning the focus from simply improvement to improvement
in specific directions, management was able to chart the results in advance based
on the needs of those being trained.
The 2002 Leadership Certificate Series
was developed by a partnership between the
Education and Training Section and the University of Maryland. Comprised of three classes,
which concluded in September, it was designed for Clinical Center managers, supervisors,
team leaders, and employees in leadership positions.
"The series offered an open interactive environment for leadership skill development,"
said participant Carol A. Romano, deputy chief of the Department of Clinical Research
Informatics. "The faculty was excellent, and the focus on action learning and
pragmatic application to the real work environment made the sessions unique."
Claudia Briguglio, a nurse consultant, called the classes "outstanding," adding,
"I have never attended a class with a follow-up emphasis on a return on learning."
Another participant, called the classes "excellent, stimulating, fun, integrated, realistic,
and totally engaging."
According to Pascal, "return on
learning" is one of the defining elements behind
the series philosophy. Return on learning
refers to positive change through practical and effective application of what one has
learned in the classroom.
The courses were: Development Skills
for the Well-Rounded Leader; Working Effectively Within and Across Organizational Boundaries;
and Motivating Yourself and Others to Meet Individual, Team, and Organizational Goals.
"The overall theme," said Pascal, "was the influence and power that each
supervisor or manager can have within his or her team, department, other
departments or in the organization."
It also demonstrates human resources' commitment and the commitment of the Clinical Center,
in training as an investment in human capital, she said.
-by John Iler
After more than 50 years of service to the Clinical Center, SunTrust bank is closing its
doors and moving out. The good news is that employees won't be left without a banking facility. By January the NIH
Federal Credit Union will take over the space currently occupied by SunTrust, and offer
a full range of services not only to members, but also to patients. "Because credit unions are member-owned, we provide services to members only," said NIH
Federal Credit Union President and CEO Lindsey Alexander. "However, because of the unique
nature of the needs in Building 10, we will provide services that are not offered at other
NIH credit union branches." Such services will include check cashing for patients who are not members of the credit
union, ability to exchange foreign currency, and national and international wiring of funds.
Eventually, the credit union hopes to allow patients to open accounts and become members,
said Alexander. "We are excited about the opportunity to offer a branch in the Clinical Center," said
Alexander. "We will be picking up where SunTrust left off, by offering the same convenience,
sales, and superior customer service." According to Stephanie Parker, branch assistant at the NIH SunTrust, the branch is
closing because of a lack of business. "Corporate headquarters decided to close it
because we were not generating enough business," she said. SunTrust has been a part
of NIH for over half a century. It began as the Bank
of Bethesda in 1950, and was located in Building 1. It is estimated that the
bank moved to the Clinical Center in 1953 when the Clinical Center first opened.
Later, the Bank of Bethesda became Crestar Bank. A few years later, Crestar
became SunTrust. Dr. Stephen Holland, senior clinical
investigator and head of the Immunopathogenesis
Unit at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was awarded the
2002 NIH Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award. The award is the highest honor bestowed
on an NIH senior clinical investigator by NIH clinical fellows.
Some descriptions about Dr.
Holland provided by fellows endorsing his nomination
include: "A gifted teacher; He has inspired countless fellows; Listening to our
ideas and giving us advice about directions and paths to explore; An example of
the consummate clinician; Total dedication to patient care; An extraordinary
command of knowledge of medicine and biology; Never condescending; Stimulates
your own thinking process; A great mentor and guide."
Dr. Holland received his bachelor's
degree from St. John's College in Annapolis
and his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where
he also was an intern and resident in internal medicine and a fellow in the
Division of Infectious Diseases. He first came to NIAID in 1989 as a National
Research Council fellow and Guest Researcher. In 2000, Dr. Holland began his
current appointment as a tenured Senior Clinical Investigator and Head of the
Immunopathogenesis Unit.
Among Dr. Holland's awards is a
1999 Special Act or Service Award from the
U.S. Public Health Service. He has presented more than three dozen invited
talks internationally over the past five years and has written more than 40
invited publications and nearly 90 peer-reviewed papers. He is also active
as an editor and reviewer and in several professional societies.
Dr. Arthur J. Atkinson has been
awarded the 2002 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation
Award in Excellence. The award is given to scientists who received a Foundation grant at
the outset of their careers in a discipline important to the research-based pharmaceutical
industry—and went on to distinguish themselves through their scientific and/or academic
achievements. Dr. Atkinson is the senior advisor in Clinical Pharmacology to the director of the
NIH Clinical Center. He has published more than 100 scientific articles, has been
lead editor and contributor to two books, and has served on the editorial boards of
a number of scientific journals. He received his A.B. degree in Chemistry from Harvard College in 1959, his M.D. from
Cornell University Medical College in 1963, and his postdoctoral training in clinical
pharmacology at the University of Cincinnati. Following an internship and residency at
the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Atkinson joined the Laboratory of Clinical
Investigation of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In 1970, Dr. Atkinson moved to Northwestern University Medical School, where he
started a program in clinical pharmacology. To help initiate the program, the PhRMA
Foundation awarded him a Faculty Development Award. At Northwestern, Dr. Atkinson set
up the first U.S. laboratory devoted to general therapeutic drug monitoring and conducted
important basic and clinical research. In 1994, Dr. Atkinson became Corporate Vice President for Clinical Development
and Medical Affairs at the Upjohn Company. He later joined the Center for Drug
Development Science at Georgetown University as an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology.
In 1997, he returned to NIH as a special expert consultant in Clinical Pharmacology.
The following year, he was appointed senior advisor in Clinical Pharmacology to the
Director of the NIH Clinical Center. Dr. Atkinson, a Master of the American College of Physicians, has been President of
both the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology and the American Society for
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Simplified live-saving devices become permanent fixture
Simplified defibrillators, championed by many heart specialists for installation in public facilities, are now a part of the Clinical Center. Thirty-five plexiglass cabinets have been placed on walls in public areas around the Clinical Center and hold automatic external defibrillators, known as AEDs. Each cabinet, holds a small, four-pound LifePak 500 defibrillator that automatically detects the heart rhythm of a sudden cardiac arrest victim and determines whether the victim needs a shock to help restore normal heart rhythm. "The AED helps the Clinical Center comply with the American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in hospitals to provide defibrillation to sudden cardiac arrest victims within three minutes," said Jerry Taylor, nurse consultant, Materials Management Department. "This is a good system that supports premier patient care." Once the cabinet is opened, a loud continuous alarm is activated and the AED unit can be removed. Instructions on how to use the AED are posted beside each cabinet, and the unit itself gives easy-to-understand screen messages and voice prompts on what steps to take. Employees should also follow regular Code Blue procedures by dialing 911 for any medical emergency. "The AED station emits a very loud continuous alarm whenever the door is opened and only a special key can turn the alarm off," said Taylor. "So the stations should be opened only when there is a Code Blue situation in which the victim is unconscious, is not breathing and doesn't have a pulse." Sudden cardiac arrest from heart attacks, heart disease, accidents or other causes, strikes nearly 250,000 American adults each year. About 95 percent die before reaching the hospital. Survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest drop about 10 percent with each passing minute before defibrillation. People have a better chance of surviving if they undergo defibrillation within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest. AED training is included in all NIH CPR classes. Special skills beyond CPR training are not needed to operate the AED. Disability Awareness Expo
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For
more information about the Clinical Center,
e-mail occc@cc.nih.gov, or call Clinical
Center Communications, 301-496-2563.
Warren
Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7511
Clinical Center Director John Gallin (r) along with Dr. John Paul SanGiovanni (l)
present Dr. Holland with a plaque for being selected as the 2002
NIH Distinguished Clinical Teacher.
Fredrick Manuel and Jerry Taylor demonstrate the easy-to-understand instructions of one of the new automatic external difibrillators stationed outside of the second floor cafeteria. Thirty-five of the plexiglass AED stations have been placed throughout the Clinical Center. NIH CPR training is required to use the device.
