The conference, which will be held March 22-23, in Salt Lake City, Utah, is sponsored by the newly established Center for Global Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Catherine deVries, MD, director of the Center for Global Surgery,  is also founder and president of IVUmed, a non-profit organization I work with as a volunteer surgeon, teacher, and mentor, and as a member of the board of directors. VISTA Staffing has been a long-time supporter of IVUmed, and VISTA’s executive vice president, Katie Hoffman Abby, also serves on our board of directors.

Presentations at the conference will focus on innovations for providing globally sustainable, affordable surgery. Course topics that have already been accepted include:

• The Surgical Ecosystem
• The Need: Essential Surgery
• Measuring Cost
• Conceptualizing Sustainability
• BioDesign: Engineering for Extreme Affordability
• Surgery for Low Resource Environments
• Supply and Demand: What do we want? What do we need?
• From Entrepreneurship to Global Health
• Programs That Work: From the Himalaya to Africa, From Mongolia to Utah

Keynoters address disruptive innovation and hands-on experience

“While the need is clearly greatest in resource poor countries and in rural areas, ‘disruptive’ innovations will ultimately reduce the cost of surgery for everyone, everywhere,” says Catherine.  “That’s why we are especially excited to have Clayton Christensen, MBA, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Prescription, delivering one keynote address.” Christensen is a thought leader in the area of disruptive innovation, particularly as it relates to the economics of less-developed countries. 

This keynote address is presented by the Intermountain Healthcare Healthy Dialogues Lecture Series.

A second keynote address will be given by Geoffrey Tabin, MD, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, director of the Division of International Ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah, and founder of The Himalayan Cataract Program.  Co-founded by Dr. Tabin and Sanduk Ruit, MD, The Himalayan Cataract Program provides life-altering cataract surgery for only $20 US to the most needy patients in the world’s most remote places. 

Additional conference faculty members are drawn from ministries of health, the International Finance Corporation, entrepreneurs, bioengineers, specialists in public health, anthropologists and educators and surgeons. Members of the surgical community, students, and the broader academic, policy, business, engineering and general communities are encouraged to attend.

Visit the conference website to register, submit an abstract, or learn more: http://medicine.utah.edu/globalsurgeryconference/email/globalconference_email.html.

Read!

In the December 28, 2011 issue the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, December 28, 2011—Vol 306, No. 24) Thomas R. McLean, MD, JD, reviewed Global Surgery and Public Health: A New Paradigm, by Catherine deVries and Raymond R. Price, calling it a “fact-packed book (that) will benefit all physicians in the developed world, regardless of their specialty.”

McLean highlights the book’s examination of how making surgery affordable in the developing world can reduce the developed world’s dependency on expensive healthcare technology. He supports the authors’ argument that this benefit is not complex or unique to the surgical industry, but a natural outcome of innovation.

According to the book, McLean continues, developing countries have made strides in overcoming infectious diseases and diseases related to water quality and hygiene. This has allowed more focus on diseases that could be easily treated surgically, such as hernias, cataracts, and vesicovaginal fistulas.

 However, he says deVries and Price are adamant that the solution to implementing a surgical delivery system in the developing world should not be based on a reengineering of expensive models from the developed world, because, “For the 1.6 billion people without electricity, the developed world’s concepts of surgery are impractical.”

The book includes advice on the factors developing countries should consider as they commit economic resources to the creation of a sustainable surgical infrastructure. And it features case studies on how best to partner with private organizations that can help, recognizing that no person or institution has all the tools required to solve this momentous challenge. “But for readers interested in the plight of the less fortunate,” McLean concludes, “Global Surgery and Public Health is a good place to start.”

Learn!

McLean’s review is timely because author Catherine deVries was recently named Director of the Center for Global Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.  In this capacity she is hosting a global surgery conference, Extreme Affordability: Innovative Solutions for Surgical Care, March 22-23, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Keynote speakers include Clayton Christensen, MBA, Harvard School of Business professor and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Prescription, and Geoffrey Tabin, MD, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, director of the Division of International Ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah, and founder of The Himalayan Cataract Program. Additional course topics will include The Surgical Ecosystem, BioDesign: Engineering for Extreme Affordability, Surgery for Low Resource Environments, and many more. Find out more at the conference website: http://medicine.utah.edu/globalsurgeryconference.

Volunteer!

Catherine deVries is also founder and president of IVUmed, a non-profit organization I work with as a volunteer surgeon, teacher, and mentor, and as a member of the board of directors. VISTA Staffing has been a long-time supporter of IVUmed, and VISTA’s executive vice president, Katie Hoffman Abby, also serves on our board of directors. IVUmed uses a “surgical education workshop” model to teach medical and surgical techniques in urology to physicians and nurses in developing countries. As I have experienced first-hand in workshops from Kisumu, Kenya to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, these workshops are incubators for many of the concepts of extreme affordability and innovation discussed above.  

IVUmed routinely sends volunteers to more than 30 countries including Haiti, India, Honduras, Kenya, Mongolia, Mozambique, Senegal, Nigeria, Vietnam, Zambia, and the West Bank.  Our training programs include pediatric urology, focusing on the treatment of reproductive and urinary tract birth defects; reconstructive urology, for treatment such as hydrocele repair for lymphatic filariasis and circumcision for the prevention of HIV/AIDS; women’s urology, which includes vesicovaginal fistula repair; and much more.  Is the time right for you to help this important movement gain momentum?  For information on volunteer opportunities for urologists, pediatric urologists, endourologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, and non-medical personnel, visit  http://ivumed.org/pages/opportunities_abroad.

Please be advised that some of the steps will appear similar. However, each process achieves a different goal: linking the accounts enables a member to combine award miles; combining elite activity may improve status. Elite members, especially, are encouraged to perform both steps!

We encourage you to complete this prior to 1/1/12.  By combining miles today, you may be eligible for a higher status once the 2012 Mileage Plus year comes around.  For questions, feel free to contact us.

Alternatively, you can also contact Mileage Plus Customer Service at 800-421-4655 or OnePass Customer Service at 800-554-5522.

The Board has been advised that several physicians in the Los Angeles area have been contacted by an individual impersonating an investigator with the Medical Board of California.  The individual asks physicians for their social security number and a credit card number, threatening cancellation of their license.

This individual is NOT associated with the Medical Board of California.  If you have been contacted by anyone representing themselves as a Medical Board Investigator requesting credit card information or social security information, please report this contact to local law enforcement and the Medical Board of California at webmaster@mbc.ca.gov.  Please take the necessary precautions to ensure your social security and credit information is not misused.

You may receive this alert more than once if you are subscribed to multiple Medical Board of California Subscribers’ lists.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.  Thank you.

As of July 1, 2011, the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Dayton have failed to reach an agreement to fund state government. As a result, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice is required to cease all operations.

The July 9, 2011 board meeting will be postponed and no licenses will be issued and no disciplinary actions taken. Please note the following:

• All temporary permits expiring on July 9, 2011 are valid until the next board meeting. The new board meeting date will be announced when the board re-opens.
• During this period of shutdown, online services including online renewal and professional profile will be unavailable.
• License status is available online at www.docboard.org/mn/df/mndf.htm

 If you have any questions, you can reach the VISTA Licensing Department at  800-366-1884.

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners has been notified of a possible credit card scam involving their licensees.  Individuals posing as employees of the “Nevada State Medical Board” may be contacting licensees and requesting credit card information in order to send the licensee emergent information about their Nevada license.  The names known to have been to be utilized during this scam are “Jennifer Riley” and “Richard,” and fraudulent telephone numbers have been provided.

Please note, The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners will NEVER call and solicit your credit card information.

If you have been contacted by viagra individual you think may be posing as an employee of the NSMBE, you may check his or her identity by calling the Board (775-688-2559, or 888-890-8210, toll-free within Nevada), or you may find a list of all Board employees on their website, www.medboard.nv.gov, under the “About the Board” link.

 If you believe you have been a victim of such a scam, please contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.

 If you have any questions, you can reach the VISTA Licensing Department at 800-366-1884.

You must always be aware of and follow state specific rules and regulations in order to practice.  One requirement is to update the board anytime you have a change of address (COA).  Additionally, many states, like Idaho require a separate physician profile be kept up to date.

Idaho’s Patient Freedom of Information Act enacted January 1, 2000, requires health care providers to update the physician profile on an annual basis.  Please note that new profiles must be entered within 30 days of initial licensure.  If a licensee fails to provide full and truthful disclosure of information within the required time frame, the board may fine the licensee up to fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day the licensee is not in compliance.  The board may also take disciplinary action it deems appropriate, short of revoking, suspending, or refusing to issue or renew a license or registration.

A physician was recently fined $30K by the Idaho Board for not updating his IDACARE profile.  Another physician was fined $5K.  In both cases, the physicians were notified of the fines when they tried to renew their Idaho State License.  The board simply did not have their correct address to remind them to update their profile and they were not able to return to work until the fines were paid. 

You have worked hard to obtain your license to practice medicine.  Don’t take any chances; contact every state you are licensed in when you move.  If you are licensed in Idaho, we encourage you to review the entire Idaho Patient Freedom of Information Act and to visit the IDACARE website to enter your profile information.  If you have any questions, you can reach the VISTA Licensing Department at  800-366-1884.

Carl was a driving force in our “pick up the phone and work things out” philosophy and was always willing to step in as coach, sounding board, expert, or wise friend. He was instrumental in building our credentials verification process, our peer review and QA programs, and our strong professional liability insurance offering. He was a down to earth, approachable, no-nonsense man.

It was only natural that, when Carl retired from full-time practice in 1998, he would try his hand at locum tenens. He went on to work in Gallup, NM, Roosevelt, UT, Marshalltown, IA, High Point, NC, and Ketchikan, Anchorage, Kodiak, and Juneau, AK.  He once said the key to enjoying locum tenens is understanding that, “Expectations are your enemy—flexibility is your friend.”

In 2000, Carl and Linda began regular medical missions to Africa. They settled into an enviable routine, working several short locum tenens assignments in Alaska between semi-annual trips to Sengerema Hospital in Tanzania. Linda is a certified orthopedic tech who “speaks Swahili better than I do,” according to Carl. She assisted in the OR, helped with PT, and managed the long queues of patients waiting for surgery.

Most of the surgeries performed were to correct birth defects, like club feet, in children. Carl said they didn’t go there to save the world, “Taking care of one child at a time is enough for us.”

When time permitted, they operated on adults and handled trauma cases. When they first visited Sengerema Hospital there were very few orthopedic surgery instruments, particularly for adult surgeries. On every subsequent visit they brought as much equipment as they could carry.

VISTA will be making a donation to Sengerema Hospital in Carl’s memory and Linda’s honor. If you would like to join us, please send your donations to Linda Unsicker, c/o Lori Douglas, VISTA Staffing Solutions, 275 East 200 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. The facility is in a very rural area and donations will have to be handled personally by Linda to ensure that the funds get to the right place.

If you are an orthopedic surgeon who would like to volunteer to help fill the big shoes Carl left behind in Tanzania, please contact Lori Douglas, VISTA VP of Operations, at 800-366-1884. Although Carl focused on pediatrics, this is not required. The need spans all ages.  

For more information about Carl and his work, read his profile on our Physician Stories page.

Carl and Linda Unsicker care for a child at Sengerema Hospital in Tanzania.

Related Posts:

• Locum tenens and the foodie physician: Installment 1
• URGENT - Medical Board of California - Fraud Alert
• The ties that bind: Locum doctor returns to Canyon de Chelly
• Minnesota Board of Medical Practice Ceases Operations
• IVUmed Traveling Resident Scholar Program deadline is February 1!

Patrice has been serving as president-elect and chair of the public relations committee for the association. She succeeds Pat Doyle-Grace, CPC-PRC, from Cejka Search.  

The National Association of Physician Recruiters (www.NAPR.org ) is a global non-profit trade organization for professionals in the physician recruitment industry. Members are held to a strict code of ethics and standards of business practice. NAPR provides valuable networking and educational opportunities including conferences, webcasts, regional meetings, and the NAPR School of Healthcare Recruitment. It also offers candidate sourcing resources and access to the NAPR World Job Bank.

Patrice brings decades of experience and expertise to this leadership role. She has a track record of very strong recruiting success and an unwavering commitment to ethical business practices. She is a terrific role model and the right person to be leading an association like NAPR.

Also during the meeting current president Doyle-Grace gave Patrice the President’s Choice Award, citing her efforts in the development of social media channels for the association.  Additionally, she recognized Patrice’s contributions as the primary author of the Physician Practice Search Guide, which many residency programs have incorporated into their curriculum.

In addition to her duties as associate director of VISTA’s Physician Search and Consulting Division, Patrice works as a Senior Consultant for clients seeking to fill surgery jobs, family medicine jobs, neurology jobs, and physician executive jobs.

Prior to joining VISTA she served as vice president at Fox Hill Associates, a well-respected physician search company acquired by VISTA in 2009.

Congratulations Patrice!