Teresa Fama: Rheumatologist to Chair Public Advisory Council Teresa Fama, MD, is the new chair of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC). A rheumatologist who practices in Berlin, Vt., Dr. Fama has previous experience in public policy, specifically health policy. Before she began her second career as a physician, Dr. Fama was…
If Stephen Soloway, MD, FACP, FACR, CCD, wants to thank someone for his impressive baseball card collection, he may want to start with his mother. Recalling her taking him for baseball cards regularly, he went on to become the rare owner of every set of famed Topps, not to mention a few individual cards with…
How are Annie and Abby? That’s a question some patients ask J. Michelle Kahlenberg, MD, PhD, a rheumatologist and assistant professor in the school of medicine at the University of Michigan, who also runs a lupus research lab at the University of Michigan Health System. Patients aren’t asking about her children, but family members of…
It takes adjustment and patience. That sounds like rheumatology. But for Fred Murphy, DO, FACP, FACR, it also defines his other career—drink inventor. From a drink for the whole family to another he claims helps hangovers, creating beverages is a challenge he relishes. “It’s fun to see what I can come up with next,” he…
The Friday night press release: When a politician or any public figure needs to disclose unfavorable news, chances are they will release it sometime on a late Friday afternoon or evening, hoping that nobody is paying attention. In fact, this behavior was coined “the take out the trash day” on the television political drama, The…
William Robinson, MD, PhD, first became interested in rheumatology in medical school when he started working with a rheumatologist, as well as several other rheumatology mentors. After completing his residency, he joined the rheumatology fellowship program at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, Calif., where he earned support for his research from the Rheumatology Research…
(Reuters Health)—Doctors and nurses in a Canadian intensive care unit found that asking dying patients—or their families—to make three simple wishes, and then fulfilling those wishes, helped bring peace to the end-of-life process and ease grief. Patients and families were invited to participate in the “Three Wishes Project” after a decision was made to withdraw…
There can be a rhythm to rheumatology. At least that’s what Alain Alvarez, MD, can sometimes find. Listening, assessing, helping. It can be a successful dance when doctor and patient become partners, hoping to lead each other forward. When you consider this, it might be little surprise that Dr. Alvarez is also a dance teacher….
Arthritis Center Renamed to Honor Ephraim P. Engleman, MD Ephraim P. Engleman, MD, has been on the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) since 1947, 10 years after he received his MD from Columbia University. The 104-year-old rheumatologist is currently the director of the Rosalind Russell/Ephraim P. Engleman Rheumatology Research Center, which…
Full disclosure: I am not a rabid fan of dogs. None rank among my best friends. Perhaps my antipathy stems from a memorable childhood event, when I was chased down the street where I lived by a neighbor’s large and not-so-friendly hound. He seemed to be twice my size, and this explains why I may…