“It’s crazy! None of the pictures online look like me!” a young Black woman with systemic lupus earythematosus (SLE) exclaimed. We could only affirm her observation and agree that it was unfair. Like many patients with SLE, our patient was diagnosed at a young age and suffered severe complications that required kidney transplantation before her…
Civil unrest in response to racism is a call for realignment of priorities in all aspects of society, including medical education. Hospital preparedness demands training in the treatment of victims of pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as planning for lockdown procedures in healthcare facilities and medical schools. Beyond logistics though, events…
I have been tongue-tied, of late. When I was a medical student, I was told not to turn the physical examination into an aerobic workout. This sage piece of advice was imparted by my physical examination preceptor, who had watched me perform a complete examination on a hapless volunteer. At the time, I thought of…
RheumMadness is an online collaborative learning experience created to educate trainees, rheumatologists and the wider medical community about recent advances and important concepts in rheumatology. The project is funded by the Rheumatology Research Foundation Clinician Scholar Educator (CSE) Award and modeled after NephMadness, an educational initiative of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD) that…
As we emerge from the grips of a global pandemic, we are taking this opportunity to pause and reflect on the ARP and what our division brings to the care of our patients. I found the words of Amanda Gordon’s inaugural reading of her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” inspirational and instructive for our past,…
Courses before the 2021 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium will focus heavily on what’s new in practice, including mastering evaluation and management changes and access to treatments in rheumatology. Early bird registration ends March 31.
The ARP’s revised Fundamentals of Rheumatology Course (FRC) will soon be released on the ACR website. The course was revamped by interdisciplinary rheumatology professionals emphasizing an inter-professional approach to patient care. It is intended to reach a broad audience, including nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physical therapists, psychologists and social workers to name a few. However,…
ACR practice management staff are offering a free, tailored, one-hour Lunch & Learn series to help members, practices and their staff become familiar with new office and outpatient evaluation and management codes and documentation guidelines that went into effect Jan. 1.
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—In 2020, terms like unconscious bias, diversity and inclusivity are buzzwords in rheumatology, as well as throughout American society. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark disparities in healthcare outcomes for rheumatic disease patients of racial and ethnic minorities, including new research that shows Black and Latinx patients have a higher risk of hospitalization and…
Some have opined, cynically, that transformative changes will not come to medical education and training, and to healthcare, until pigs fly. Well, in 2009–10, “swine flu,” and now we are in the midst of an unprecedented and disruptive pandemic, affecting virtually all aspects of our lives, including fellowships.1 As someone who started a rheumatology fellowship…