News of the Week

RSO Awards Night Celebrates the Best from 2023

The College of Medicine’s Medical Student Council hosted its annual Recognized Student Organization (RSO) Awards Night on Dec. 8 in the Durell Peaden Auditorium.

The ceremony recognizes the most outstanding RSO’s, in addition to their leaders and events as the calendar year draws to a close.

The 2023 RSO of the Year honor was presented to PRIDE (Promoting Recognition of Identity, Dignity & Equality) in Healthcare. The organization provides support to LGBTQ students and the community through education, service, advocacy, collaboration, mentorship, and support.

In addition to the team honor, PRIDE officer Dillon Buckley (M.D. Class of 2026) collected the Medical Student Council Leadership Award.

In another leadership category, Elizabeth Ruelke was honored as RSO President of the Year. Ruelke (M.D. Class of 2026) headed up the Business and Medicine (BAM) organization and served as the coordinator for the inaugural Specialty & Business Symposium in August, which drew 150 students with an interest in medical careers.

Women’s Health Day, held Nov. 1 on Landis Green and presented by the FSU chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and the College of Medicine, received RSO Event of the Year honors. The daylong event is a free health education and resource for students, graduates, faculty and staff, and it promotes physical, clinical, mental, financial and sexual health through a variety of activities.

Not coincidentally, AMWA advisor Casey Rust, M.D. received the RSO Advisor of the Year Award.

Philanthropic Event of the Year honors went to FSUCares’ MADSO Madness, a collaboration with CollegeTown’s Madison Social to support FSUCares’ mission to provide health services, medical care, education and counseling to those who would not otherwise have access to them.

Service Event of the Year honors went to the HOME (Homeless Outreach Medicine and Education) Street Medicine Drive, which is organized through the School of Physician Assistant Practice. HOME conducted two separate seasonal drives, collecting items including clothing, hygiene products, sunscreen, and bug repellent, which in turn are provided to Tallahassee’s unsheltered population during visits to their encampments.
 

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Dec 08, 2023
AARP photo accompanying story
AARP Magazine

FSU College of Medicine's Jonathan Appelbaum, M.D. and Michael Gloth, M.D. are among several physicians who share their advice on how patients can better ensure that their visits to the doctor's office goes well.

 

News of the Week

PA students, faculty, staff and supporters honored at pre-graduation dinner

On the eve of graduation, the Florida State University School of Physician Assistant Practice Class of 2023 gathered in a Student Union ballroom for the annual dinner and awards ceremony.

The Friday evening program for the 58-member class included the presentation of awards for students, faculty and staff, recognition of PA national honor society inductees, as well as recognition for eight supporting agencies of the PA program.

Program Director and Associate Dean Ben Smith presided over the event, which is highlighted annually by the presentation of four major awards to graduating class members.

Molly Williams, from East Palatka, Florida, received the Academic and Clinical Excellence Award, presented to the student who has demonstrated excellence in both areas.

Miami native Priscilla Yost was selected for The Spirit of FSU PA Award, which recognizes the student who exhibited dedication to the goal of becoming a PA while exhibiting integrity, professionalism and persevering in the face of adversity.

Christina “Christy” Hofman, whose hometown is St. Louis, Missouri, collected the Mission Award, which is presented to the student with exceptional achievement in striving to meet the needs of medically underserved communities, especially elder, rural, minority and underserved population throughout the state of Florida.

The Director’s Award recognizes students who distinguished themselves through leadership, integrity, cooperation and understanding, while maintaining the high professional, academic and clinical standards of the program. Vero Beach native and class President Karen Post and Tallahassee native Michaela Manias were dual recipients of the honor.

Eight members of the Class of 2023 were also recognized for their selection to Pi Alpha Honor Society, the national PA honor society organized for the promotion of PA student and graduates. 

 Hofman, Sonya Ivanova, Manias, Monica Rowe, Jennifer Scott, Williams, Amber Winton and Christian Yann were introduced as the newest Pi Alpha members.

Membership in the society requires significant academic achievements, leadership, research, community/professional service and other activities. The society also encourages a high standard of character and conduct among students and graduates.

In addition, the evening also included the presentation of the following School of Physician Assistant Practice faculty and staff awards:
•    Faculty Guardian of the Mission and Service Award: Allison Justice, PA-C
•    Outstanding Senior Faculty Educator Award: John Bastin, PA-C
•    Outstanding Regional Campus Faculty Award: Megan Verdoni, PA-C at the Sarasota Regional Campus
•    Exemplary Group/Staff Service Award: Melissa Oglesby

Smith opened the evening by recognizing eight supporting agencies of the PA program: Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare; HCA Florida Healthcare; Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee; Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic; Tallahassee Primary Care Associates; North Florida Women’s Care; Talcor; and Capital Health Plan.
 

Contact Bob Thomas at robert.thomas@med.fsu.edu


Below: Class President Karen Post, shown here delivering the class address during Saturday's Commencement Ceremony, was one of two recipients of the Director's Award. (Photo by Colin Hackley for the College of Medicine)

Class President Karen Post was one of two recipients of the Director's Award.

FSU to Host Statewide Maternal Mental Health Conference

Dec 04, 2023
photo of Dr. Flynn
Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat
 
Maternal mental health is known to be a crisis across Florida — and throughout the nation.

That's why Florida State University's College of Medicine and the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (FLMMHC) will host the state’s eighth annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference this Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8.

The conference will be at the FSU Alumni Center, 1030 W. Tennessee St. in Tallahassee. This year marks the conference's first time taking place here since 2015. The annual event is also the state’s only conference that focuses on perinatal – the weeks right before and after birth – and maternal mental health.

“Every year, we identify what the needs are in the state and we mobilize stakeholders from the organization to see what we can do to address them,” said FLMMHC Co-Founder Heather Flynn, also an FSU professor and chair of the College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.

FSU to Host Statewide Maternal Mental Health Conference

FSU professor Angelina Sutin is part of a team of researchers who have identified a potential low-cost method for predicting if a person is at risk of developing dementia

Nov 30, 2023
photo of Professor Sutin

Detecting Dementia

Carlton Proctor | 11/30/2023

Researchers at the Florida State University College of Medicine have identified a potential low-cost method for predicting if a person is at risk of developing dementia.

By analyzing data from nearly 13,000 subjects who participated in a long-term aging study, FSU researchers found that a cognitively healthy person’s memory capabilities successfully predicted the likelihood of developing or not developing dementia over a 15-year period.

“Our findings show that interviewers were able to detect deficits in the memory of participants that predicted higher risk of developing dementia over time,” says research author Angelina Sutin, professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine.

The study surveyed a representative sample of adults aged 50 and older about their health, financial situation and well-being every two years for as long as they choose to remain in the study.

Participants’ memory acuities were rated over time by interviewers on a 1-to-5 point scale, with a score of 1 exhibiting no memory impairment and 5 exhibiting great difficulty.

They found that each 1-point increase toward poor memory, as rated by the interviewer, was associated with a 40% increase in risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment at some point over the long-term follow-up periods.

Florida Trend: Detecting Dementia

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Dec 04, 2023
Tallahassee Democrat

Maternal mental health is known to be a crisis across Florida — and throughout the nation.

That's why Florida State University’s College of Medicine and the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (FLMMHC) will host the state’s eighth annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference this Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8. The conference will be at the FSU Alumni Center, 1030 W. Tennessee St. in Tallahassee. This year marks
the conference’s first time taking place here since 2015. The annual event is also the state’s only conference that focuses on perinatal – the weeks right before and after birth – and maternal mental health.

“Every year, we identify what the needs are in the state and we mobilize stakeholders from the organization to see what we can do to address them,” said FLMMHC Co-Founder Heather Flynn, also an FSU professor and chair of the College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.

Television

Nov 24, 2023
PA HOME Outreach program meeting those in need where they are

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Nov 21, 2023
HOME Street Medicine PA student group shot from visit
Tallahassee Democrat

The Homeless Outreach Medicine and Education (HOME) program, student-run by the College of Medicine's School of Physician Assistant Practice, is providing medical assistance to the unhoused community in Tallahassee..

"A lot of times when unhoused patients come into the ER or somewhere like that, they feel judged," explained Sam Mankus, the HOME president and a member of the PA Class of 2024. "[HOME] helps build a more positive relationship between healthcare providers and the unhoused community."

Over the last year the HOME program student volunteers, joined by a social worker and a licensed medical professional, make weekly rounds at a local encampment, where they measure vital signs, listen to the health concerns of individuals and provide advice and recommendations for further care.

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Nov 09, 2023
Wall Street Journal

Florida State University College of Medicine researcher Antonio Terracciano, Ph.D., who recently published research linking loneliness and Parkinson's disease, contributed to a Wall Street Journal story on the negative effects of loneliness.

"This uncomfortable, distressful feeling of being lonely over time has a negative effect," said Terracciano, a professor in the Department of Geriatrics. "You are in a state of stress, and over time this can increase vulnerability to disease."

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