AAHPM Case Conference Submissions Now Open

Hey all you students of palliative medicine, your chance to present at a national conference is here! The 3rd and last call for submissions for the AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly has opened (Oct 1- Nov 3rd). This call is for professionals-in-training from any discipline to submit a clinical case for a 20 minute presentation. I am very glad to be a part of this for the 5th year now, and grateful to the AAHPM and HPNA for their ongoing support.

Go here now to submit your case or cases!

On a personal and historical note:

I am somewhat sad though because it will be my last year being involved with case selections and presentations. It has grown over the past 5 years, and I need to move on and let other people take the helm. Personally I think these case presentations are one of the great hidden gems of the Annual Assembly; great, fast, focused presentations and national speaking experience for newer members to the field.

Since this is my last year with the case conferences, I wanted to share a bit of the history of how it came into existence, because I think it demonstrates how persistence, teamwork, and the AAHPM's willingness to take a risk made a big difference.

So in 2004, the Professionals-in-Training Special Interest Group (PIT-SIG) formed* and made a list of goals to help junior members of the Academy get more involved. We had a lot of ideas at the inital brainstorming session with Chad Farmer, Lynn Bunch, Brian Murphy, Laura Morrison, KJ Williams, Annette Geisler, and others. But one idea that stuck out the most was an opportunity for palliative medicine fellows to present at the Annual Assembly.

I remember very clearly going up to the (then) new president David McGrew, with all the confidence I could muster and introducing myself as a palliative medicine fellow, and newly elected chair of the newly formed PIT-SIG and that we would be submitting a proposal for a reserved slot for fellows to present. Only after I finished talking to him did I realize how...ummm forward that was.

The first year we had 13 submission and 5 presenters in a single 90 minute slot. We had a smattering of people there, but it was a start. In 2008, we had 61 submissions and 9 presenters in three 60 minute slots. The case conferences have benefited from the involvement from many people at the AAHPM including: Angie Forbes, Karen Nason, Mary Beth Benner, and Julie Bruno.

Thanks to all of the people who have helped to select cases and moderate the conferences: Giovanni Elia, Kelli Gershon, Laura J. Morrison, Solomon Liao, Christine Ritchie, Lynn Bunch, Pam Fordham, Susan Block, Dick Stephenson, and Drew Rosielle.

*That's a whole other story

Cross-posted to the Pallimed blog

AAHPM 2008 Review

Well the 2008 AAHPM conference is over. Many new members came to the PIT SIG meeting to discuss an agenda for next year. Hopefully within the next few days the Chair, Giovanni Elia of Sand Diego Hospice and newly-elected Vice-Chair, Jessica Merlin, of U Penn will be letting you know what they have planned for the year and how you can help.

The case conferences went very well. The speakers presented some fascinating cases and the audience received them very well.

The call for case conferences is for AAHPM 2009 is open October 1-November3, 2008. Look here for more announcements as that gets closer.

The Cases Have Been Selected

The 2008 Cases have been selected. We had a great turnout this year, and the AAHPM and HPNA have been gracious enough to expand the presentations to 9 from the originally scheduled 6. The reviewers had a difficult time choosing because of the high quality of numerous submissions. For those who did not get selected, individual feedback is available by emailing csinclair @t kchospice d0t org.

Some facts on the submissions:

61 cases submitted

From 57 individuals
(There are no rules to prevent double submissions! Good strategy!)
From 43 different institutions
6 RN submissions
4 Medical Student submissions

Congratulations to the selected cases.
The Cases Selected Are:

Session 505 - Sat Feb 2 - 8:30-9:30AM

Erin Remster, D.O. Student
Aminocaproic Acid to Prevent Hemorrhage in a Patient with Metastatic Hypophayrngeal Cancer
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dr. Swee Ng
The Man Who Refuses to Die: The Challenges of Protracted Imminent Death
Summa Health System - Palliative Medicine Fellowship (Ohio)

Dr. Andrea White
Alcoholism at the End of Life on a Palliative Care Unit
University of Alabama at Birmingham - Palliative Care Fellowship

Session 515 - Sat Feb 2 - 9:45-10:45AM

Dr. Urviben Patel
Depression? Dementia? It Makes a Difference for the Patient, Family and Care Givers
University of Alabama at Birmingham Internal Medicine Residency

Dr. Elizabeth Winstein
Exploring a ‘Desire to Die’ Statement from a Patient Undergoing Evaluation for Lung Transplantation
University of Pittsburgh Palliative Care Fellowship

Donita Overend, BSN
The Inconsolable Irritable Infant with Krabbe’s Disease
HRSA Nurse Residency Program with San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care

Session 530 - Sat Feb 2 - 1:45-2:45PM

Dr. Pareshkumar Patel
Control of Sickle Cell Crisis Pain in the Setting of Acute Renal Failure and Multiple Opioid Allergies
MCVH-VCU: Palliative Care Fellowship

Dr. Kristina Newport
Recurrent ICD Firing in a Patient with End-Stage Heart Failure
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center - Internal Medicine Program

Dr. Staci Mandrola
When Family Conflict Masquerades as Religious Differences
University of Louisville - Palliative Medicine Fellowship

The reviewers were:
Giovanni Elia, MD
San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care & Vice-Chair of the AAHPM PIT-SIG

Kelli Gershon, MSN APRN BC-PCM
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Laura J. Morrison, MD
Section of Geriatrics Baylor College of Medicine &
Division of Palliative Medicine, The Methodist Hospital

Christian Sinclair, MD
Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care

AAHPM Call for Case Conference

AAHPM has posted the call for fellows cases on the front page. This is the first time the case conference has received this kind of publicity so make sure you submit your case!

Here is the link to the submission form.

From the submission form:

The call for submissions for the 2008 Case Conferences will be open from September 1 through October 24, 2007. Case Conferences are 20-minute complex case studies that feature the interdisciplinary team. The case study can focus on any of the domains of palliative care faced by the interdisciplinary team including: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual.

This will be the 4th year for the Case Conference, which serves a unique opportunity for student members of the field to present at a national conference, and gain the experience needed to become future leaders. In the past, all cases have been submitted and presented by physicians, but submissions are open to all levels of students of graduate nursing, social work and chaplaincy programs as well as medical students, residents and fellows. The Case Conferences will be presented during the Annual Assembly of AAHPM & HPNA in Tampa, FL on Saturday February 2, 2008.

Professionals-In-Training Case Conference - Presenters Announced

Come out and support your fellow fellows!

Professionals-in-Training Case Conference - Part 1
AAHPM Annual Assembly
Saturday, February 17, 2007
8-9am

Choreoathetosis in a frail elderly female hospice patient taking low dose trazodone: a case report
Charina Gayomali, MD
Summa Health System
Akron, OH

Communication challenges in a Puerto Rican gentleman with oropharyngeal cancer
Winnie Suen, MD, MSc
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA

Communication challenges in a patient with multiple myeloma and developmental delay
Cindy Lien, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA

Professionals-in-Training Case Conference - Part 2
AAHPM Annual Assembly
Saturday, February 17, 2007
9:15-10:15am

It’s never too late
Kelly Ryder Letsinger, MD
VCU Medical Center
Richmond, VA

Communication challenges: denial, language and cultural barriers
Sarah E. Harrington, MD
VCU Medical Center
Richmond, VA

ICU as a comfort measure: treating the anxiety of a lung transplant patient who has survived it all
Lise Taylor Barbour, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI