This Week@WesternU, Oct. 29-Nov. 2, 2012

A Tribute to Caring

Western University of Health Sciences’ annual “A Tribute to Caring” gala, which raises money for student scholarships, will take place on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

The theme this year is “Look How Far You’ve Brought Us,” honoring all of the supporters who have helped make WesternU the outstanding academic and patient care center that it is today. Click here to read the full story.

Click here to visit the ATC website.

Medication disposal event

With Halloween fast approaching and children’s attention turning to candy, the Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences wants to help you remove unused or outdated medications from your home.

“A lot of medications look like candy,” said Pharmacy Director Rudolf Mireles, PharmD. “We would like to get those medications out of environments where they can be accidently ingested by children.”

The Pharmacy will hold a free medication disposal event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. The Pharmacy is on the first floor of WesternU’s Patient Care Center, 795 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif.

Click here to read the full story.

Zorro comes to WesternU

Western University of Health Sciences will welcome authors Isabel Allende and Sandra Curtis to talk about the legendary masked swordsman Zorro on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 as part of Pomona’s Together We Read program. The program begins with a reception at 6 p.m. featuring music by the City of Pomona Youth Orchestra, followed by an interview and question and answer session with the authors at 7 p.m. in WesternU’s HEC Lecture Hall I, 701 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif.

Click here for more information.

Preview Day

Registration is open for WesternU Preview Day on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which highlights health education opportunities offered at Western University of Health Sciences.

Preview Day, held in and around WesternU’s Health Education Center (HEC), 701 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif., will provide potential students the opportunity to get more information about a health profession program of interest, hear about the admissions process, learn about financial aid, see curriculum firsthand, discover how to become a competitive applicant, and meet current students and faculty.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in learning more about any of our degree programs offered, please feel free to encourage them to visit our prospective student website for more information or to register for our Preview Day.

From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:

MDs, DOs announce unified residency system

The dean of Western University of Health Sciences’ flagship osteopathic medical college believes the announcement that the systems governing osteopathic and allopathic medical residencies will merge is a positive move toward opening new residencies for osteopathic graduates in California.

“Osteopathically, we will be represented on the board that governs all residencies. Truly there will be a partnership between the two professions, distinct and equal, but working together. This is a huge step forward,” said Clinton Adams, DO, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific.

Click here to read the full story.

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Brion Benninger, MD MSc, Professor/Vice Chair, Medical Anatomical Sciences, Lebanon, had his research project titled “Clinical anatomy of the lingual nerve and identification with ultrasonography” accepted as a manuscript for publication in The British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. He is currently working on many other ultrasonography projects mentoring students and collaborating with colleagues from external institutions.

COMP enrollment climbs

Total enrollment at the nation’s osteopathic medical colleges now tops 21,600, a 4.5 percent increase over last year’s total enrollment, according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). Growth in the number of osteopathic medical school graduates will help mitigate looming physician shortages, especially in the critical primary care area. COMP has total current total enrollment of 1,110 students at its Pomona, Calif., campus and at its COMP-Northwest campus in Lebanon, Ore., according to the 2012-13 enrollment summary report issued by the WesternU Office of the Registrar. Click here to read the full story.

From the College of Allied Health Professions:

Leadership Symposium

Everyone is invited to join the celebration of Humanistic Leadership with the health science students in their 4th Annual Leadership Symposium on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, 6-9 p.m. in Compatriots Hall in the Health Science Center (HSC). Panelists include Charles Ng, Vice Chancellor of Fiscal Services for the San Bernardino Community College District; Dr. Clinton Adams, Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific at Western University of Health Sciences; Dave Demerjian, Head Deputy District Attorney of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Public Integrity Division, and Sara Griffin-Gapasin, Associate Attorney at Egelsee LLP. Our panelist will be speaking about leadership styles, their experiences, and advice on successful leadership. Please join us! Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP with Jacque Mosco at 909-469-5397 or jmosco@westernu.edu.

Department of Physical Therapy Education News

In recognition of National Physical Therapy Month, the Physical Therapy Advocacy Club (PTAC) volleyball and basketball tournaments continue with games scheduled for this upcoming week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, Oct. 29-30 and Nov. 1-2 in Centennial Park at 12:05 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.

From the College of Pharmacy:

Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius wrote an invited editorial on Statins in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. Cynthia A. Jackevicius, Jack V. Tu, and Harlan M. Krumholz. Statins: Is it Safe and Effective to Use Generic “Equivalents?”

Dr. Quang Le presented three posters at the Society of Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Conference in Phoenix, Ari. Oct. 17-20 with co-authors Jason Doctor from USC, Lori Zoellner from University of Washington, and Norah Feeny from Case Western Reserve University: “Methods for Estimating Cost-Effectiveness in a Doubly Randomized Preference Trial,” “Cost-Effectiveness Analyses of Treatment Effect and Treatment-Preference Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs. Pharmacotherapy in PTSD” and “Determine Minimal Clinically Important Differences for the Preference-based Instruments EQ-5D and QWB-SA in PTSD Patients.”

Click here to read a full report of College of Pharmacy activities at the recent California Society of Health-systems Pharmacists and American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) meetings.

From the College of Graduate Nursing:

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Quannetta Edwards, FNPc, WHNPc, FAANP, was an invited speaker at the Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health Conference (NPWH), held Oct. 10-13, 2012 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Fla. She presented a three-hour workshop on “Genetics of Breast Cancer: Risk Assessment and Hereditary Breast Cancer Syndromes.”

The Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative presented Excellence in Pain Management awards to four College of Graduate Nursing students at a gala in Glendale on Oct. 27. The students are Lauren Huss, Alaina Markie, Dymphna Mallari and Jazmine Scott.

From the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Kudos on accomplishments

Several CVM faculty members supported the Zoobiquity Conference this year. Zoobiquity is a sharing between physicians and veterinarians of common biomedical parameters and problems shared by humans and various non-human animal species. Among the highlights:

Veterinary Assistant Professor and physiologist Dr. David Kersey co-presented “Infertility in giant pandas, cheetahs, elephants and middle-aged women” with Pierre Comizzoli and Sherman Silber. This talk highlighted the physiological and environmental commonalities seen in human infertility cases with reproductive issues seen in pandas, cheetahs, and elephants.

Additionally during the “Walk Rounds” at the LA zoo portion Dr. Kersey discussed “Contraception in yellow-footed rock wallabies” with conference attendees.

As part of a panel on self-mutilation and aggression in people and animals, Veterinary Professor and animal behaviorist Dr. Victoria L. Voith presented “Self-mutilation in Stallions.” This presentation was augmented with excellent video clips prepared by Joseph Marilo of Western’s AV staff.

Veterinary Professor and pathologist Dr. Tracey McNamara gave the keynote address at Zoobiquity titled “West Nile virus – a model for One Health.”

From the College of Optometry:

College events

For a complete listing of College of Optometry events, visit the College’s News & Outreach page at http://www.westernu.edu/optometry-college-news.

From University Advancement:

Alumni News

On Wednesday, Oct. 24, the WesternU Alumni Association gave away free Klondike Bars to about 700 students in Ethan Allen Park. The giveaway event, held from 4 to 5 p.m., was timed to coincide with the end of the IPE small group meetings for first year students, and provided a place for those students to meet up with their friends and classmates, as well as for other students to take a break from studying. Students were very surprised and thankful.

On Friday, Oct. 26, the WesternU Alumni Association hosted an evening reception at the District Wine Lounge in downtown Phoenix for more than 100 people. Alumni from throughout Arizona were invited to join Dean Hoppe and dozens of College of Optometry students and faculty, who were in town for the American Academy of Optometry’s Academy 2012 conference, for complimentary food and drinks.