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Washoe County Medical Society

Hello WCMS! - One Students Journey

My name is Alexis Wybrecht and I am a second year medical student at UNR Med. I will be taking over for the amazing Natasha McGlaun as the new WCMS medical student board member. I am so excited to transition into this role and learn more about organized medicine and how to be a more active part of our medical community in Reno.

I grew up in Colfax, CA and completed my undergrad at UC Santa Barbara where I studied Biopsychology. I knew early in my education I wanted to enter the medical field, although I was unsure what my journey looked like. As a first-generation college graduate, I relied heavily on mentorship from my colleagues and the health care providers I worked with to guide me on the path to becoming a physician. When I applied to Reno’s Post-Baccalaureate program in 2017, I sensed the same supportive community from faculty and knew I was at home at UNR Med. My current interests are internal medicine, cardiology, MED/PEDs, and family medicine but I am going into 3rd year with a very open mind and eagerness to learn more.

Alexis Wybrecht

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Big Hat, No Cattle

By Eric A. Hollen, CFP®, AIF
& Joe Hollen, MD, CFP®, AIF

We have a saying out here in the West: “Big Hat, No Cattle”.

It refers to someone who is all talk, and no action. For us, it refers to someone who earns a high income but is unlikely to save much. After all, it’s not what you make, but what you keep.

Our clients tend to be both High Earners and Good Savers. They’ve spent a lot of time developing these habits. They don’t want their efforts ruined by a bad market, a bad government, bad advice, or an unlucky roll of the dice.

big hat no cattle

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Match Day: A Celebration of Past, Present, and Future

By Melissa Piasecki, M.D.,
Interim Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

For one moment each year, on the third of Friday in March, hundreds of fourth-year medical students collectively hold their breaths across the United States. The clock strikes 9 a.m, they tear open their match results, and the celebration begins.

Match Day, a rite of passage for medical students, sets into motion the next stage of their careers in medicine. While this momentous day celebrates the start of a new chapter for each student, it also recognizes the intense and rigorous journey toward becoming a physician they began four years ago—with many milestones along the way.

After receiving their first white coats to commemorate the beginning of their medical education, these students entered the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine’s classrooms and labs. There, they learned the art, science, and skills of practicing medicine. During their third year, students immersed themselves in pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, surgery, and OB/GYN clerkships while discovering the specialties they wished to pursue.
By their fourth year, students began applying to residency programs. After participating in virtual interviews with potential programs, students ranked each according to their preferences. Meanwhile, the programs also listed their top student candidates and available spots with the National Resident Matching Program (NRWP). Then, the NRWP used a mathematical algorithm to place applicants into residency positions.

Our students perform exceptionally well in the Match in all specialties and across the country. Residency programs know them for their exceptional skills, high levels of competency and knowledge, and outstanding leadership qualities. The Match is the finish line for medical school and a significant accomplishment on their path to becoming a practicing physician. Match results reflect the students’ hard work and commitment to medicine and the tremendous dedication of the faculty and staff who work every day to support student success. I am grateful to UNR Med faculty and staff and our community partners for their commitment to our students.

The vision of UNR Med is A Healthy Nevada, and training and retaining Nevada’s healthcare professionals, including physicians, is key to bringing it to life. Nevada continues to face persistent, widespread shortages of health care workers, which limits access to health care around the state, as reflected in the Office of Statewide Initiatives’ annual Health Workforce in Nevada report. In specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and more, the state falls short of the number of physicians needed to meet our community’s needs. The most effective strategy to grow our workforce is to expand our residency training programs’ size and add new specialties for training newly graduated medical students. Expanding graduate medical education (residency programs) is one of the golden opportunities within UNR Med’s affiliation with Renown Health.

To those students who choose a residency program in Nevada—thank you. You will help address physician shortages and build A Healthy Nevada. I hope those who train elsewhere will take what they learned in Nevada with them to other states and then bring home even more knowledge and expertise when they are ready to start practicing.

Wherever they match for their residency, UNR Med students will demonstrate the quality of our education and will open doors for future graduates. Each student reflects our school’s commitment to educating the best physicians possible and helping all Nevadans and their communities live longer, healthier lives. We are proud of each and every one of them.

To see the 2022 Match Day results and learn the residency programs and specialties of the Class of 2022, visit med.unr.edu/events/match

Match Day 2022

Morganne Murphy-Meyers, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), eagerly awaits to discover where she’ll continue her training as a physician during Match Day 2022, held March 18, 2022 at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada. Murphy-Meyers and her UNR Med colleagues celebrated one of the most critical milestones in medical education at the same time as tens of thousands of other graduating medical students around the country.

Melissa Piasecki, M.D., Acting Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), speaks to the Class of 2022 before they learn where they will continue their training as a physicians during Match Day 2022, held March 18, 2022 at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada. For this yearly rite of passage and one of the most significant occasions in medical education, UNR Med’s fourth-year medical students joined tens of thousands of other graduating medical students from across the country. UNR Med, Photo By Rikki Melenaphy Murphy-Meyers and her UNR Med colleagues celebrated one of the most critical milestones in medical education at the same time as tens of thousands of other graduating medical students around UNR Med, the country.

Members of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) Class of 2022 celebrate learning where they will train for their residencies and in what field of specialty during Match Day 2022, held March 18, 2022 at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada. They joined tens of thousands of other graduating medical students across the country for this annual rite of passage and one of the most pivotal moments in medical education.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), Nevada’s first medical school, is a community-based, research-intensive medical school with a statewide vision for a healthy Nevada. Established in 1969, UNR Med is improving the health and well-being of all Nevadans and their communities through excellence in student education, postgraduate training and clinical care, research with local, national and global impact, and a culture of diversity and inclusion. For more information, visit med.unr.edu.

Media Contact: Scott Walquist, Director of Communications, Office of Marketing and Communications University of Nevada, Reno, 775-287-6788, [email protected]

Happy Hour at BeerNV Draws Members & Prospects

We started the new year with a happy hour at BeerNV to introduce prospects to WCMS and to renew member friendships. We plan to host these small gatherings to encourage members to get acquainted and to introduce prospective members to the benefits of being a member.

The next happy hour will be 5:30-7:30 p.m., Feb. 17 at a location to be announced

We are pleased to join AWCMS in co-hosting this gathering. Watch your email for details. Reservations aren’t required but we’d appreciate an RSVP so we can order enough appetizers.

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Grateful for a Unique & Valuable Community Base Education

By Natasha McGlaun

Thanks WCMS for Giving Us a Chance and a Home

Graduation is somehow quickly approaching already and as such so is my transition from MS4 to MD. Yesterday, I was filling out our graduation survey, giving the name I want on the graduation program and making my class nominations for the clinical faculty, mentors, and classmates who have had the biggest impact on me during my medical education. It took me a long time to fill that survey out because it was so hard to narrow it down to just one name for each category. There are so many fantastic physicians, educators, and colleagues who I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and who have helped me get to the medical school finish line.

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Moving into the New Year with Cautious Optimism

By Mary Ann McCauley, Executive Director

Washoe County Medical Society moved steadily forward in 2021. We held an outdoor even in June to celebrate our 2021 board and Patrick Woodard, MD, as president. It was refreshing break from the many virtual gatherings. We then transitioned in September to bring Shaina Richardson, MD, president-elect, into the role of president when Dr. Woodard accepted a position in Memphis.

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A Healthy Nevada for All

I’ve turned this month’s column over to Nicole Jacobs, Ph.D., to discuss the healthcare disparities (HCDs) and how disparities impact health equity.

Dr. Jacobs is the associate dean for diversity and inclusion at UNR Med. She has served on the200 steering committee of the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion.

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Keeping Up with COVID-19

Shaina Richardson, MD, Assumes WCMS President’s Role

Shaina Richardson

Dr. Shaina Richardson became president of the WCMS Board of Directors in September. She is stepping up from the role as president-elect to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Patrick Woodard, MD, who has taken a job in Memphis. Dr. Richardson, who was elected to the board in 2019, will serve as president through 2022.

She is a board-certified anesthesiologist with Associated Anesthesiology. She is a 6th-generation Nevadan and was born and raised in Reno. She graduated from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in 2012 and completed her residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado in 2016.

She is fluent in Spanish and a proud mother of two young daughters, both of whom are enrolled in public school as part of a Spanish immersion program. An explorer at heart, she has travelled extensively with her husband, has lived abroad, and remains an avid hiker and loves the beautiful outdoors of her home state.

A Fine Line Between Pain Management and Addiction:

What You Need to Know

Presented by: Washoe County Medical Society

Presenters:

Reka Danko, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine

 

Denis Patterson, D.O.
President, Nevada Advanced Pain Specialists

 

Join us to participate in a discussion about managing pain, identifying signs of addiction and treating addiction.

By attending this presentation, you will:

• Become better informed about both opioid and non-opioid pain management strategies that result in non-addictive outcomes for the patient.

• Recognize indicators of opioid dependence before they reach a crisis level.

• Learn about strategies that guide the patient toward addiction therapy.

• Become better informed about addiction management in order to support the patient as part of his/her care team.


Thursday, April 8, 2021
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This event will be held on Zoom

Free to members

$100 for nonmembers*

*Full refund if you join within 30 days.

Approved for two CME credits

 

Click here to register

This event will take place via Zoom

For questions, please contact:

Mary Ann McCauley, Executive Director, WCMS

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

Disclosure Policy
As an accredited provider of continuing medical education through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its educational activities.  In order to assure that information is presented in a scientific and objective manner, The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine requires that anyone in a position to control or influence the content of a continuing medical education activity disclose relevant financial relationships with any commercial or proprietary entity producing health care goods or services relevant to the content being planned or presented.
The following presenter has disclosed the following relationship with an ineligible entity:
Denis G. Patterson, DO: Grant/Research Support: Abbott, Flowonix, Nevro, Saluda; Consultant: Abbott, AIS, Allergan, ComerLoc, Flowonix, Saluda, Spark Biomedical, Vertos; Speakers Bureau or Honoraria: Abbott, Allergan, Amgen, ComerLoc, Flowonix, Lunbeck, Vertos; Ownership Interest: CornerLoc
All other presenters, planners or anyone in a position to control the content of this continuing medical education activity have disclosed any financial relationships with ineligible entities related to the content of this activity.