Roberto Caricchio, MD, Now Chief of Rheumatology at UMass Chan Medical School As of July 1, Roberto Caricchio, MD, began a new appointment as chief of the Division of Rheumatology at UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester. He was formerly chief of the Section of Rheumatology at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia,…
My long-standing patient with CRST syndrome (i.e., calcinosis cutis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, sclerodactyly and telangiectasia) had been losing ground over the past 18 months. BL was 54 and had developed restrictive pulmonary disease without radiographic pulmonary infiltrates. Her mean right heart pressures were moderately elevated by ultrasonography. But the greatest impact on her quality of life…
As a dermatologist/internist with a career-long subspecialty interest in the cutaneous manifestations of the rheumatic diseases, I found the case of refractory acute cutaneous lupus by Samantha C. Shapiro, MD, in the June 2022 issue of The Rheumatologist intriguing in several ways, and I felt my perspectives on this case might provide additional educational value…
The glassblowers were in revolt. The island of Murano, in the 13th century, was a perfect home for the glassblowing industry. Connected to Venice through a system of bridges, Murano was surrounded by waters that protected the city from the furnaces that fueled the glassblowers’ craft. The Republic of Venice dominated trade throughout the Mediterranean,…
Charles G. Helmick III, MD, Retires After 42 Years with the CDC On Dec. 31, 2021, after 42 years of service, Charles (Chad) G. Helmick III, MD (Capt., USPHS, Ret.), officially retired from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He joined the CDC in 1979, when Jimmy Carter was president, and served through eight…
It is better to be feared than loved. The associate dean of student affairs at my medical school embraced this motto. Although the dean of the medical school was titularly in charge, it was the associate dean who kept the school running. And we all feared her, just a little bit. Without ever raising her…
We read the article, “Rheumatologists Share Lessons Learned in the Wake of Hurricane Ida” (July 2022, The Rheumatologist), with great interest. This poignant account of the impacted patients and rheumatologists provides invaluable planning tips regarding medication loss, access to pharmacies and medical records, and strategies to avoid practice losses. The critical lessons presented in this…
Elliot Rosenstein, MD, spends most weekend mornings and late afternoons a bit differently than other rheumatologists. He feeds and waters chickens, rabbits, llamas, horses, goats and guinea fowl, as well as an orphaned peacock. Dr. Rosenstein is one of two medical directors at the Institute of Rheumatic & Autoimmune Disease (IRAD) at Overlook Medical Center,…
I just didn’t understand. I was an excellent student. I know this is true of most of you. Given the nature of this publication, most of our readership have graduate degrees. This means that collectively, after completing four years of college, we all made the financially dubious decision to pursue post-graduate education, like lemmings jumping…
Jennifer May, MD, a rheumatologist with Rapid City Medical Center, South Dakota, completed her undergraduate degree at Augustana University, Sioux Falls, S.D., and earned her medical degree at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Vermillion. She was in the fourth grade when she first began playing the viola. Although she came to love…