Become a Member of UNR’s School of Medicine Community Faculty

Share Your Expertise with the Next Generation of Healthcare Providers

Community faculty are one of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine’s most important assets. They volunteer to share their knowledge, skills, and abilities with our students in a wide variety of practice environments. The Office for Community Faculty (OCF) builds relationships between community faculty and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) to promote the advancement of medical education.

We thank you for your commitment to our students and are excited to invite the members of the Washoe County Medical Society to either continue or participate with us in our communications, upcoming events, workshops, and CME opportunities.

National Infant Immunization Week

How to Turn National Infant Immunization Week into a Celebration for Your Entire Practice

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is just around the corner. From April 22-29, 2017, communities across the United States will highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrate the achievements of immunization programs in promoting healthy communities. Since 1994, NIIW has been a way to focus attention on the benefits of maintaining high immunization rates in our community, state, and nationally.

Healthcare professionals like you are an important reason why we can celebrate high infant immunization rates. According to a national poll conducted by CDC in 2014, a doctor’s recommendation was the #1 reason that parents made sure their child got all of the recommended vaccines.

Perils of Social Media, Think before you post

What you post on social media sites can help or ruin your reputation. The seemingly harmless photo of you and your friends clowning for the camera can spiral in cyberspace and reach friends of friends of friends.... And, I can guarantee you have a good chance of offending someone. That someone could be a person who is about to make a major decision about your career or approve the loan for your new home.

Keep in mind that posts to any social media channel are always only part of the story. They are snapshots in time without context. My recommendation is that if you wouldn’t say it, show it or do it in front of your grandmother, don’t post it.

WCMS Dean’s Dispatch

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine has had, from its very earliest days, a fundamental commitment to serving the healthcare needs of rural Nevada. A rural preceptorship for all fourth-year medical students was an early requirement in the curriculum, and continues to this day. It is often one of the most highly-rated clerkships in a student’s entire medical school experience.

As we return to our roots as a Reno-based medical school, we are committed to making our rural outreach more robust than ever before.

Keeping Our Stick on the Ice

“Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

This was the advice that Walter Gretzky passed on to his son, hockey hall-of-famer, Wayne Gretzky.

While this advice has been overused by corporate CEOs (especially in Canada) and on motivational posters, it still resonates. I do find my interpretation of this quote changing over time. I used to think that “The Great One” had some sort of preternatural ability to know what was about to happen on the rink. As I’ve gotten older, I now realize that Mr. Gretzky put in many, many hours studying and watching tape. By doing this homework off the ice, he could better anticipate any game scenario.

Both WCMS and NSMA are doing our homework too so that we can be ready for where the puck is headed in the next few months. At the federal level, we’re keeping an eye on the proposed changes of the American Health Care Act and what impact that will have on our patients and our community. At the state level, our governmental affairs committee is meeting weekly to review all of the proposed legislation that affects how we care for our patients and healthcare in Nevada.

Our not-as-new executive director, Mary Ann McCauley is working feverishly to get WCMS up to speed. We recently had an incredible meeting with many of the WCMS past presidents who shared their vast wisdom and brought up some new great ideas. We’re excited about new partnerships with the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine and getting medical students, residents and fellows more involved with organized medicine. Finally, we are organizing a long-term planning meeting at the end of March where we hope to continue to work on improving WCMS and increasing membership.

Observations from the Legal Trenches

Keep Calm and Carry On

The British World War II morale boosting slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On” seemed a fitting way to begin 2017. While there has been plenty of speculation on the fate of the Affordable Care Act it is much too early to make any predictions other than things will be changing but when and how remains to be seen. Additionally, the 2017 state legislative session has just begun which may bring additional changes to the healthcare landscape as the session continues. In the midst of the uncertain changes that lie ahead, the only thing to do for the moment is to carry on and address the developments in healthcare regulations as they come.

Looking at the here and now, one thing that is here to stay are Electronic Health Records (EHR).

WCMS Dean’s Dispatch

For my first Dean’s Dispatch of 2017, I’m turning over this space to Nicole Jacobs, Ph.D., who leads the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Melissa Piasecki, M.D., Executive Associate Dean, for an update on exciting diversity and inclusion developments in our campus community, including the results from recently completed focus groups as well as a survey regarding mission-based diversity groups.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of all Nevadans and their communities. During these times of great transition, the value of our mission is particularly important in guiding day-to-day activities and plans.

Washoe County Medical Society 2017 Annual Party

Rockin’ Good Time

The WCMS 2017 inaugural Dinner’s was a rocking good time as guests partied and danced to Motown hits. Detroit native Andy Pasternak, M.D., 2017 WCMS president, celebrated his inauguration by bringing his hometown music to Reno. The Chocolate Martini band kept the crowd on their feet and singing along. A great way to start
the new board year.

Leading with Enthusiasm 2017 Goals to Manage Change

I am incredibly honored and humbled to become the 111th President of the Washoe County Medical Society. In the words of Jack Harbaugh, father of football coaches Jim and John Harbaugh, I will attack this next year with an “enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Please indulge me as I recognize two physicians who have been incredibly influential to me. First is Dr. Tom Schwenk who was chairman of family medicine when I was fortunate to attend the University of Michigan Medical School. As a young medical student, awash in a sea of esoteric diseases and tertiary care specialists, Dr. Schwenk and the faculty and staff in his department enlightened me about the importance of family medicine and of community. At a school like Michigan, one of the largest public institutions in the country, that was an extremely challenging task.

Working Together During Times of Rapid Change

It’s been a very productive and exciting year. We spent a great deal of time on membership, which is the key to our success.

Here are some of our key initiatives:

We met with our local hospital CEOs to engage in a dialogue about the importance and role of the medical society. This was an important meeting because many of the bills under debate would impact all practicing physicians in Nevada. The meeting went well and I would like to thank St. Mary’s for their support in the process.

Due to rapid changes in health care policy, we re-devoted ourselves to monitoring and better understanding these changes and sharing this information through the CME format and conducting town hall meetings. The ability to understand any changes currently being discussed and making sure that there is a thoughtful discussion and explanation of the changes is critically important to healthcare providers and the community we serve.