MUSC Catalyst

May 17, 2013 MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA Vol. 31, No. 38

BY CINDY ABOLE

Public Relations

See Grit on page 10

86 NEW NURSE HAILS FROM SOMALIAGRADUATE CONQUERS LYMPHOMAStudent sacrificed seeing the birthof his child for a U.S. education.

2

12

5A fever and chills turned out to be symptomsfrom a large mass in an MHA student’s chest.

Teaching excellence

Meet Jake

Student’s memory lives on

READ THE CATALYST ONLINE — http://www.musc.edu/catalyst

M ay 17 is a day that College of Medicine graduateLouise Anne Alexander, M.D., has dreamed

about for many years.Ever since the Greer native was a child and

throughout high school, she knew she wanted a careerthat involved interacting with or caring for children.She volunteered at hospitals and other activities thatinvolved children. Alexander was able to translatethat passion to medicine after taking a medicalpractice course offered through Clemson University’sDepartment of Biological Sciences. After completingthat class, she could not imagine herself doing anythingelse.

Alexander started medical school at MUSC insummer 2008 and was unexpectedly hit by a car whilejogging on July 8, 2010.

Alexander had just spent the day in the ColbertEducation Center & Library studying for step oneof the medical licensing boards, which was to becompleted prior to the third-year of medical school andclinical rotations. She had arrived at a stopping pointin her studies that afternoon and decided to take abreak with an easy jog around downtown Charleston’sColonial Lake and back again. Alexander never made itpast the corner of Ashley Avenue and Calhoun Street.

When she woke up, every part of Alexander’s bodywas hurting as she was loaded into an ambulance.She didn’t remember being hit by a large SUV andthat people came to her aid. The near-death accidentwas not part of her plans, and it nearly derailedher academic priorities and dreams of becoming aphysician.

In MUSC’s adult emergency department, Alexanderwas diagnosed with multiple broken vertebrae in herback and ribs, and some vision loss due to hitting herhead and blacking out.

She spent the first three weeks on her back recoveringon a couch and managing her pain with medications.“Everything hurt,” she said. “Mostly, I just lay in a darkroom because of the pain. I didn’t want to talk, listento music or interact with anyone.” Her parents becamefearful as they realized the severity of her injuries andthe long road of healing that was ahead.

Not long after the event, she contacted the COMdean’s office and Chris Pelic, M.D., former associatedean for student affairs, about her situation. He assured

her that everything would work out and that herimmediate focus should be on her much-needed care.

Within three weeks, she arrived at Pelic’s office todiscuss her choices and devise a course of action forher scenario. It was the first time since the accidentthat Alexander left her house, and she struggled to situpright in a chair. He remembers seeing Alexanderat perhaps her most vulnerable moment withtired bloodshot eyes, bruises and road rash scrapesthroughout different areas of her body. He reassuredher that despite the seriousness of her injuries, thetiming of this accident, at a gap between the end of herbasic science studies and the start of her clinical years,was ideal in terms of her academic schedule. Pelic (nowassociate dean for student career planning and advising)offered her support at any level by the college’s Groupon Student Affairs throughout her recovery.

“It was a tough time for me,” said Alexander. “Irealized I was at the peak of one of the most intensestudy periods of my life in medical school where I feltI was the most efficient, most productive and mostchallenged to not being able to do anything. It was astruggle for me to accept.”

The decision to take almost a year off from schoolto heal allowed Alexander to rest and be introspectiveof her medical school career and long-term goals. Sherealized she missed a good work-life balance, especiallyin her early years of medical school.

For the next few months, she and Peliccommunicated openly via email. Together, theyformulated a course of action to study and take thenecessary steps to prepare for her comeback to medicalschool.

A faith-filled person, Alexander dug deep, remindingherself of the healing profession that she hadcommitted to as one that preserves, saves lives anddiagnoses problems.

At the start of her first clinical rotation in May 2011,

Graduate shows grit in shadow of adversity

Louise Anne Alexander wouldn’t let being hitby a car stop her from receiving her M.D. Today,ODV +"H :#& Y![[ >%J*!D[[V B& ]?>Y? D: 5<FAlexander.

2 THE CATALYST, May 17, 2013

F our faculty members will be honored for teachingexcellence at MUSC’s annual Faculty Convocation

at the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year at4:30 p.m., Aug. 20 in the Drug Discovery Buildingauditorium.

The faculty members are:! Sara V. Kraft, DPT, assistant professor, College of

Health Professions, Educator-Lecturer;! Carrie L. Cormack, R.N., instructor, College of

Nursing, Developing Teacher;! Shakaib U. Rehman, M.D., professor, College of

Medicine, Educator-Mentor/Clinical-Professional; and! Dorothea D. Jenkins, M.D., associate professor,

College of Medicine, Educator-Mentor/Academic-Scholarship.

Presented for the first time in 1995, these teachingawards were proposed as part of MUSC’s educationalstrategic plan. In addition to a commemorativemedallion, each recipient will receive a cash award fromthe MUSC Foundation.

Foundation honors professors for teaching excellence

5><>8#&D S&?]!?:H OF5FEducator-Mentor/Academic-Scholarship

A newborn in the neonatal ICUmay seem to be the most helpless ofhumans, but to Jenkins, associateprofessor of pediatrics, that infantmay be the most effective ofteachers.

“Bedside teaching is a personalpassion of mine,” she said in herphilosophy of education.

Students, residents, fellows andothers under her tutelage are often brought to thebedside to address the situation.

Even research trainees come to the unit “to see theinfants and how the (research) project relates to theirproblems.”

Jenkins received her medical degree from MUSCand underwent further training at the University ofColorado Health Sciences Center and the University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined the MUSCfaculty in 1993.

One former mentee said that Jenkins, by teamingwith students, researchers and health care providersrepresenting many disciplines, “redefines the concept of‘interprofessional collaboration.’”

“Dr. Jenkins has a remarkable ability to surroundherself with professionals of myriad abilities,” thementee added, “as a means to develop the best projectsavailable.”

Editor’s note: For information on the MUSC Foundation,visit http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/foundation.

Sara Kraft, DPTEducator-Lecturer

7D<<!& 7><@D*]H 0FNFDeveloping Teacher

/#D]D!B 0&#@D?H OF5FEductor-Mentor/Clinical-Professional

Just as a house may only be as sturdy as itsfoundation, one’s health may depend on a sounddoctor-patient relationship. Rehman has devoted muchof his professional life to improving this relationshipby developing and teaching courses in communicationskills for clinicians.

A glance at the letters ofnomination for Kraft reveals manycommon threads.

Much of the praise centerson the free, student-run clinicproviding preventative and primarycare to uninsured patients. Kraftvolunteers much of her time to theCommunity Aid, Relief, Education

and Support Clinic, known as CARES. She servesas teacher and mentor to physical and occupationaltherapy students, and led an effort to increase availablespace for rehabilitation services, thereby increasingthe number of students working at the clinic and thenumber of patients being served.

She also organizes and coordinates studentinvolvement in other community projects for patientswith special needs, such as an adaptive water sportsclinic and events benefitting the organization AchievingWheelchair Equality.

David Morrisette, Ph.D., professor and director of theDivision of Physical Therapy, said Kraft is “one of themost outstanding and effective teachers and cliniciansthat I have had the pleasure to know.”

THE CatalystEditorial of ficeMUSC Office of Public Relations135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425.843-792-4107Fax: 843-792-6723

Editor: Kim [email protected]

Catalyst staff:Cindy Abole, [email protected] Barker, [email protected]

The Catalyst is published once a week. Paidadver tisements, which do not represent anendorsement by MUSC or the State of SouthCarolina, are handled by Island PublicationsInc. , Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St. ,Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or [email protected].

Working and studying demandsa lot of time. Add teaching andraising a family, and you haveCormack’s life. Her colleagues andstudents, however, say she excels inall facets.

As an instructor in the Collegeof Nursing’s Pediatric NursePractitioner program, Cormackworks with students in the

classroom and online. She earned a Bachelor of Sciencein nursing degree from Saint Anselm College inManchester, N.H., and a Master of Science in nursingdegree at MUSC.

She is certified by the Pediatric Nursing CertificationBoard and is a member of the National Association ofPediatric Nurse Practitioners. She is director of nursingat Pattison’s Academy, a school for children withmultiple disabilities.

Cormack is also beginning work on her doctoratedegree in nursing.

“There is not a person who works harder or isas dedicated as Carrie Cormack,” said one of hercolleagues at PACE Charter School. “She has devotedher life to helping educate and assist others.”

“I have seen him performfirsthand and also know from thecomments of mutual colleagueswho Dr. Rehman trained, that heis indeed an outstanding bedsideclinician,” stated Richard Stark,M.D., director of primary care clinicoperations for the Veterans HealthAdministration. As a testament toRehman’s mastery of this complex

skill, other physicians trust him with their own healthcare. Perhaps an even better example is that difficultpatients being treated by other physicians often wind upin his care.

An acknowledged authority on hypertension,Rehman also serves as program director of continuingmedical education for primary care at the Ralph H.Johnson VA Medical Center.

“He is a wonderful doctor,” declared one student.“His patients are happy, and I learned a lot from him.”

THE CATALYST, May 17, 2013 3

First health, rehab science doctors to graduateT hree inaugural graduates of the

doctoral program in health andrehabilitation science will graduatefrom the College of Health Professions’Department of Health Sciences.

The interdisciplinary Ph.D. is theonly research-based doctoral programin rehabilitation science in SouthCarolina and one of only 13 similarprograms in the United States. Studentsfocus their research interests in one ofthree concentrations: pathology andimpairment, functional limitations, orhealth services.

Under the strategic leadership ofLisa Saladin, Ph.D., dean of CHP, theprogram is directed by Bonnie Martin-Harris, Ph.D., a professor with dualappointments in CHP and the Collegeof Medicine.

The Ph.D. core faculty work withbench, clinical and health servicesresearchers in CHP, throughout theMUSC campus and at Veterans Affairsto immerse the students in mentoredlaboratory experiences.

The program works in collaborationwith the College of Graduate Studiesand was initiated in 2009 with only fourstudents. The program has grown toaverage 20 students enrolled at variouslevels of doctoral study.

The following graduates will bemaintaining or assuming academicpositions:! Nicole M. Marlow — Dissertation:Effectiveness of Pharmacotherapy forFibromyalgia Syndrome: A MedicationAdherence and Costs Perspective (KitSimpson, Ph.D., Dissertation Committeechair)! Ann-Catherin Nordbo Simpson —Dissertation: Rehabilitation Utilizationof the Marginal Cost of Ischemic Strokein South Carolina (Charles Ellis, Ph.D.,Dissertation Committee chair)! Joseph J. Sistino — Dissertation:The Influence of the Method ofCerebral Protection During NeonatalCardiac Surgery on the Development ofAttention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(Simpson, Dissertation Committee chair)

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5&?8D[ $<D(6D8&H [&D(&< @D]&: D? !@=D*8 >? >8#&<:BY CINDY ABOLE

Public Relations

It’s a couple of weeks before MUSC’s May 17commencement ceremony and new dental graduate

Brandon Hagan, DMD, may seem overwhelmed withthe work ahead of him. But the energetic and affable27-year-old is not fazed. He loves staying busy andmanaging several things at once and is good at it.

Those who know Hagan are used to seeing theLouisville native around campus whether he’scollaborating with staff at the Student Programs Office,working out at the Wellness Center or working withpeers and faculty at the Dental Clinical EducationCenter of the James B. Edward’s College of DentalMedicine.

It was not long after setting foot on campus thatHagan realized he wanted to be involved with MUSC’slarger student body and be a leader for positivecontributions and student involvement throughuniversity initiatives. He also wanted to expand diversityefforts on campus.

“I feel I do my best when I’m busy juggling severalprojects at the same time. I’m a good time manager, andI always like to be involved and work on big projects,”said Hagan, who is a pastor’s son and credits his momfor his artistic abilities.

His interest in dentistry did not emerge until college.During his senior year at the University of Kentucky,several friends encouraged him to consider dentistry.They knew Hagan loved science, and they helped himarrange to shadow with local dentists, oral surgeons andother dental specialists.

But Hagan was not ready to make that level of acommitment.

Instead, he took time off and contributed to theLexington musical theater scene for two years. Aclassically trained singer who performed throughouthigh school and college, Hagan worked in communitytheater, sang in local Broadway productions andperformed with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra.He wanted time to think while exploring his creativeambitions before deciding about dental school.

“Theater and music is something I love and canalways do. But I also wanted a career related to sciencethat came with a salary that I can depend on,” Hagansaid. He took the dental admissions test and scored wellbefore applying to dental schools across the country anddeciding on MUSC. Hagan’s best friend also happenedto be starting a two-year orthodontics residency atMUSC around the same time. He said he knew hewanted to try something different and Charlestonseemed ideal for that.

Hagan admitted to struggling a little to adjustto Lowcountry life: He moved from a busy, urbanprogressive Midwestern city like Louisville toCharleston’s slower pace and historical charm. Hewas on the verge of moving back home when a faculty

member encouraged him to get involved with MUSC’sStudent Government Association. Volunteering withSGA changed everything for Hagan.

“I met students from the other six colleges andprograms. Today, I feel lucky to have so many differentfriends from all over campus,” he said.

Hagan rose through the ranks in SGA, first servingas a class representative and elected to academic vicepresident and president from 2012-2013. As SGA’s chiefexecutive officer, he chaired the executive committee,presided over meetings and represented students atcampuswide events and at board of trustees meetingsand other activities. His leadership and commitmentwith SGA tested his executive control in tasks andcoordination in implementing new policies such asthe adoption of a tobacco-free campus policy andhospital district smoking ban initiated by students andimplemented in March 2012.

He raised student interest and participation invarious service projects like the 2012 Heart Walk,annual American Red Cross Blood Drive Challenge,Lowcountry Food Bank food drives and expansion ofthe Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event.

He credits SGA executive committee members fortheir creativeness and dedication where members workcontinually with Student Program advisors and supportstaff to plan and organize events.

“People are interested in the small things. Whenthere are issues, people want answers, and that’s whatmatters most,” Hagan said.

As for other involvement, Hagan was a PresidentialScholar representing the dental school and workingcollaboratively with projects that explored healthdisparities and solutions among populations.

Hagan also served as president of the college’s chapterof the Student National Dental Association for threeyears and led his peers to introduce dentistry as a careerand assist in the college’s diversity efforts within SouthCarolina public schools, colleges and institutions.

Hagan was a Student Ambassador in the dentalschool, a member of the American Student DentalAssociation and Psi Omega National Dental Fraternity,a tutor and mentor to fellow students and sang with theMUSC Gospel Choir.

Among his many honors and awards, Hagan isthe recipient of the 2013 Earl B. Higgins StudentLeadership in Diversity Award. At the April 3ceremony, Deborah Higgins, sister of the award’snamesake, summarized Hagan’s qualities in herintroduction of him at the event.

“Brandon exceeds expectations with his willingnessto get involved and serve. He’s a student scholar witha servant’s heart and has devoted countless hoursimproving the lives of current and prospective studentsand people in the community,” she said.

Following graduation, Hagan plans to continuehis dental education with a two-year orthodonticsresidency at MedStar Washington Hospital Center inWashington, D.C.

Looking back, he has no regrets and feels comfortableand confident that he’s leaving the campus and SGAleadership in good hands.

“It’s a nice feeling as a senior to look back and reflecton the work that I’ve been involved in. I’m so proud tobe leaving MUSC a better place, and I thank so manypeople for working together with me in accomplishingthings,” Hagan said, smiling proudly.

5<F 9<D?(>? UD$D? D**&=8: D? /W; DYD<(from Dr. Willette Burnham, SGA facultyadvisor.


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One morning near the end of her second year as ahealth administration student at MUSC, Abby

Bunkley woke up with chills and a fever.As a full-time manager of a plastic surgery office

on Daniel Island and a part-time College of HealthProfessions student, she didn’t have much time fordoctors in her personal life. Thinking she had the flu,she popped in an office the following day for somemedicine.

When the symptoms steadily intensified, she returnedto the doctor and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

By the next month, Bunkley described the painshe was feeling as havingan elephant on her back.She had practically stoppedeating and returned to thedoctor exhausted. This timeshe was referred to CarolynReid, M.D., a renownedcardiothoracic surgeon andoncologist at MUSC whodied a year after meetingBunkley. After several testsand a biopsy, Reid informed the 26-year-old that shehad mediastinal diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin’slymphoma and had an 11-centimeter-wide mass in herchest.

“I couldn’t stand up straight because it had gotten sobig that it was pushing all my organs against my spine,”Bunkley said. “If I stood up straight, I couldn’t breathewith 97 percent of my lung. So I was hunched over formonths.”

Ten days after being diagnosed, Bunkley began herfirst of six rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy, followedby 21 rounds of radiation. For about six months,Bunkley, a College of Charleston alumnus, never spentan evening alone. Her parents and friends created aschedule and rotated bringing her dinner, sleepingover on her couch, walking her dog and keeping herentertained. Patrick O’Neill, M.D., owner of O’NeillPlastic Surgery, provided support and encouragementwhile she continued working. But, Bunkley becamesicker, weaker and more scared over time.

“It’s OK to ask for help. It’s OK to cry. It’s OK tobe mad. Just be grateful for every day that you have,”Bunkley said would be her advice to a new cancerpatient. “There were some nights that I was scared to goto sleep because I didn’t know if I’d wake up. It was thedarkest experience.”

Bunkley’s oncologist, Luciano Costa, M.D., Ph.D.,associate professor of medicine at MUSC, said takingcare of her was “challenging and joyful, but ultimately

very rewarding.”“She did not have an easy time with treatment

and yet managed to keep her life on track with a verydemanding job and going to school at the same time.Abby had a tremendously positive attitude all along,and I am sure this was the key for her success,” he said.“She would write down all her questions in a notebookas they came up and bring them to the appointments,something I wish all patients would do. I saw in her thesadness, the fear and the emotions that all patients face.But these feelings would be brief, and she would neverallow defeat to become her mindset. She just knew howto put cancer in its place.”

Bunkley went into remission on July 3, 2012. Theone thing that didn’t change in her life was the careergoal she had set before the fight of her life began.Bunkley was determined to graduate from MUSC,while continuing to work at O’Neill Plastic Surgery, andearn an administrative fellowship. She accomplished allthree.

There were more than 150 applicants, according toBunkley, for the fellowship at Carolinas Medical Centerin Charlotte, N.C. When she applied, Bunkley had nohair and was new to the concept of wearing a wig.

“During the first interview, I wore a wig, neverdisclosed my lymphoma to anyone and never let anyoneknow what was going on personally. By the grace ofGod, they chose me,” she said. “When the VP ofoperations, Tim Brookshire, called to tell me that I’dbeen chosen, I couldn’t speak. I just kept crying. I wasso excited that I couldn’t find the words. The path thatI had for myself before I got sick was happening. It wasdefinitely what I needed.”

Bunkley, who is the recipient of the 2013 ExecutiveMHA Outstanding Student Award, will spend a year atthe center to see the daily operations from a bird’s eyeview and hopes to move into hospital administration.

Throughout the lymphoma process,many of Bunkley’s friends kept askingher what they could do to help. Oneof her best friends, Courtney Prine, anadministrative specialist in the MUSCDivision of Infectious Diseases, decidedto plan a party to raise money forBunkley’s medical bills.

More than 400 people showed up toWiggin’ Out for a Cure, which was heldlast February at Midtown Bar and Grill.Guests, who showed up in costumes,cocktail dresses and wigs, raised morethan $16,000, which paid for all ofBunkley’s medical bills.

“To walk into the infusion center andsee this beautiful 26-year-old girl withlong blond hair hooked up to all these

IV machines, it was totally heart wrenching,” Prine said.“She has gone through something so unimaginable, andI’m so glad I was able to be with her through it all.”

Because of the party’s success, Bunkley and Prinealso planned a second event to raise money for theLeukemia & Lymphoma Society and for their Team inTraining goal.

“Courtney’s life-long goal was to run a marathonbefore she was 30, and I wanted to get back in shapeafter cancer because I lost all my muscle. So we signedup for a marathon,” Bunkley said.

Their second party raised more than $13,500 for thesociety and their trip to San Diego for the Rock & RollMarathon on June 2.

Even though the lymphoma isn’t with Bunkleyanymore, some of its signs are still lingering.

“I pay close attention to everything that’s going onaround me. If a big gust of wind blows by me, I feel it,”Bunkley said. “I never thought that I wasn’t going tomake it. I just didn’t know if the life that I had plannedout was just a rough draft.”

OU; $<D(6D8& B&D8: [V@=#>@DBY ASHLEY BARKER

Public Relations

More than $16,000 was raised during Wiggin’ Out for a Cure,#&[( !? #>?>< >% ;BBV 96?][&VH :&*>?( %<>@ 8#& [&%8F W6&:8::#>Y&( 6= !? *>:86@&:H *>*]8D![ (<&::&: D?( Y!$:F

;BBV 96?][&V D?( #&< >?*>[>$!:8H 5<F Q6*!D?>Costa, celebrated being cancer free last July.

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MUSC Medical Center Communications Corner

Who? All Medical Center, Sodexo andCrothall employees

What? Employee Commitment Survey

When? May 19 through June 1

Where? The survey can be accessed on the MUSC Excellence website(mcintranet.musc.edu/muscexcellence/), the MUHA intranet homepage, by clickingthe “Take Survey” icon on your computer desktop, or by contacting your surveyambassador.

Why? Why do we conduct this survey?

In order for the MUSC medical center to be the very best place for patientsand their families to receive care, it must also be a great place for employees towork. MUSC employees are our most valuable asset; our facilities and cutting edgetechnology are only as good as the people who utilize them to make a difference inour patients’ lives.

The Employee Commitment Survey is a key tool for the leadership to hear directlyfrom employees about what is working and what our best opportunities are to createan environment that supports a sense of accomplishment and pride. Particularlyduring these challenging times, when difficult, and often unpopular, decisions haveto be made, we need to be informed about employee perceptions in order to focusour attention and resources most effectively.

Employee Commitment Survey

2012 RESULTSLast year, 80 percent of staff (four out of every five) participated in the survey. Wehope to match or exceed that response rate this year.

What is a survey ambassador?* +9;%9:% 4"?4 K96O5 K!4" ;?:?#%65 49 "%M8 &!546!=24% -GC M%44%65 ?:&answer questions from co-workers about the survey

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If you have any questions regarding the survey, contact yoursurvey ambassador.

To find out who your survey ambassador is, visit the MUSCExcellence website (mcintranet.musc.edu/muscexcellence/)and click Employee Engagement.”

How? How are the survey results utilized?

In response to our 2012 Survey, more than 350 work group action plans werecreated on a variety of topics. Organizationwide responses were also developed andhave included:

Items:

“There is a climate of trust in my work group.”“Employees in my work unit treat each other with respect.”

*39;;2:!'?4!9: (>( 'M?55%5 ?6% :9K 9$$%6%& 4K!'% ? ;9:4" $96 ?MM 54?$$ ?:& =Irequest to specific work unit groups.

*E2'" K96O "?5 =%%: '9;8M%4%& 49 ?&&6%55 !552%5 9$ DM?4%6?M 0!9M%:'%B/ ?:& ?new professionalism policy and resources will be introduced in the summer of2013.

“The person I report to is a good communicator.”

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*)%%OMI %A;?!M5 $69; 926 3L. -?46!'O 3?KM%IB E@1@*L;8M9I%%5 6%'%!0% 4"% K%%OMI 8"I5!'!?:5, 3M!:!'?M 39::%'4!9:5 :%K5M%44%6@*36%?4!9: 9$ 4"% :%K ;9:4"MI :%K5M%44%6 $96 %;8M9I%%5 K!4" 4"% $!654 %&!4!9: !:April 2013*E?:&?496I F%?&%6 E%%4!:# %?'" ;9:4"< 54?:&?6&!H%& ;%'"?:!5; $96 '?5'?&!:#information from that meeting to employees is currently under development.*-M?::!:# $96 %J8?:5!9: 9$ 49K: "?MM ?0?!M?=!M!4I 49 5288964 6%72!6%&participation by all employees to assure that everyone has access to theinformation necessary to understand and support the medical center’s goalsand priorities.


BY CAROLINE ASSEY

Public Relations

/D*<!J*&: 8D]&? %>< D? ;@&<!*D? &(6*D8!>?Osman Abdi, R.N., grew up in the city

of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.There he experienced the hardships ofan ethnic-based civil war under a militarydictator. His family hails from the self-declared sovereign state of Somaliland.

“I saw people dead on the streets,bodies everywhere, and it wasunbelievably dangerous. Between thechaos and destruction, I decided I had toleave,” Abdi said.

In hopes of earning an education anda better life for his family, he appliedfor a green card to come to the UnitedStates. While waiting for his acceptance,he lived in Belgium and learned Frenchas a second language.

Abdi was accepted into the countrythrough a program that allows 55,000permanent resident visas annuallyfor countries that have low rates ofimmigrants living in the United States.

While living and working in thestates, he spent time taking free Englishclasses in order to better understand theAmerican accent. Though Abdi found itdifficult to leave his wife in Somalia, hebelieved that an American education wasimportant in providing a better life forhis family.

Abdi graduated from Ohio StateUniversity in 2004 with a bachelor’sdegree in medical laboratory technology.He was hired to work in a lab at thecollege for two years on scholarship butended up staying there for five years.Eventually he was able to support hisfamily and bring his brother and sisterfrom Somalia to the United States.

In 2010, he decided do somethingmore with his education. Originallyplanning to pursue a career as aphysician, Abdi discovered theaccelerated baccalaureate nursingprogram at MUSC. He also was awardeda scholarship through the Robert WoodJohnson Foundation.

“I was accepted into the program,and my thinking of nursing changed.This wasn’t just for females anymore.Sometimes you will care for a malepatient, and they might prefer a male

nurse. You could do so many differentspecialties and departments within thenursing field. It’s such a great program,and I am very thankful,” Abdi said.

He will graduate from the acceleratednursing program with a Bachelor ofScience degree in nursing on May 17.

Brian Conner, Ph.D., R.N., served asboth his professor for pathophysiologyin the spring of 2012 and his mentorthrough the Robert Wood JohnsonScholars program.

“The determination to reach hisgoals with English as a third languageis tremendous. He has a big heart, bigsmile, and he wants to take care ofpeople. One important goal Osman hasmentioned is that eventually he hopesto take what he has learned and go backto his homeland to help those in need,”Conner said.

Abdi joined the Men in NursingGroup in the College of Nursing, a

support group that connects malenursing students with male nursesthroughout MUSC. Because of thisgroup and interaction with professorslike Conner, Abdi felt encouraged tonever give up.

“One of the main reasons we startedthis group was to offer support to ourmale nursing students. Men in nursingare in the minority and, historically,attrition rates of male nursing students

greatly exceed that of women,” saidConner. “Currently, male nurses onlymake up less than 10 percent of allnurses in the United States.”

This past summer Abdi was able tobring both his wife and 20-month-oldchild from Somalia to join him in SouthCarolina. He sacrificed seeing the birthof his first-born child in order to achievean American education.

Abdi and his wife are expecting theirsecond child.

“I am dreaming of opening a clinic inSomaliland in the future. When you gothere, you can see and feel nothingness.The public health problems and lackof American clinicians are clear,” saidAbdi. “My plan is to open a clinic andhelp the woman and children, the mostvulnerable people in this area. I hopeto connect the MUSC medical missionprogram to this clinic.”

Osman Abdi received his Bachelor of Science degree in nursing onMay 17. Abdi was a student in the accelerated nursing program at MUSC.

“I am dreaming ofopening a clinic inSomaliland in thefuture. When you gothere, you can see andfeel nothingness. Thepublic health problemsand lack of Americanclinicians are clear.”

3:@D? ;B(!H 0FNF


SOCIETY WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

The Zeta Eta chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dentalhonor society, inducted its newest members recently at its annualmembership banquet. From left are Dr. Ed Soltis (honorary), College>% 2#D<@D*VA 5&?8D[ O&(!*!?& 7[D:: >% )C+'\ RD8!& 2[6?]&88H S>?2&8&<:>?H ;??D 0>B&<8:H S&D?&88& ,!?$D8&H 9<D?(>? UD$D?H W<D#D@Lee and Max Frawley. Membership is based on scholarship andcontributions to the profession of dentistry.


Pelic served as Alexander’s mentor for a psychiatryrotation at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.She remembers starting out slow and a little nervous,but adjusted quickly with Pelic’s guidance and thereassurance of her peers.

“Usually I’m motived, hardworking and focusedwhen it comes to serving my patients and supportingmy student team. During my return, I felt like a fishout of water and didn’t know how to do this. Dr. Pelichelped by setting high and clear expectations, butproviding all the guidance and support necessary toachieving them,” Alexander said.

As she completed more clinical rotations,Alexander’s confidence in herself grew. Spending moretime with students, she got to know people in her newmedical class and formed relationships. She performedso well academically that she was inducted into theAlpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, a groupthat recognizes the top students in the school class.

When it came time to choose a medical specialty,Alexander loved aspects of various areas of medicine,but after completing her core clerkships she reallyenjoyed pediatrics or obstetrics and gynecology. Becauseof the timing of the accident and the accommodations

the Dean’s office made to maximize her training postrecovery, she finished her core clerkships with moretime left than most students to complete selectiverotations. She wanted more time to explore herdecision in what medical field she wanted to pursue.

A mentor convinced her to explore pediatricanesthesiology. She completed a selective rotation at

MUSC and loved it. “I realized that I could spendmore time with patients in anesthesia than in any othermedical field awake or asleep,” she said. She conductedsome published research in her fourth year with theDepartment of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine.

On National Match Day, she was selected forVanderbilt University Medical Center’s anesthesiologyresidency and plans to complete a fellowship inpediatrics.

“These experiences teach us skills we need to possessto be strong and resilient. As physicians we can getincredibly stressed at times,” Pelic said. “Louise’s storyis an example of a person who was not too proud toask for help, consulted with a team of professionalsto establish a plan and took time off to get well. Wewant all our students to succeed and reach their ownpotential.”

Alexander believes that her accident renewedher sense of purpose, strengthened her personalrelationships and deepened her ability to empathize andcare for others.

“I found that as I struck that balance in a better way, Iwas able to function better academically and in so manyother areas of my life.”

GRIT Continued from Page One

“Louise’s story is an example ofa person who was not too proudto ask for help, consulted with ateam of professionals to establisha plan and took time off to getwell. We want all our studentsto succeed and reach their ownpotential.”

Dr. Chris Pelic

Pharmacist focused on service, matching needsBY CINDY ABOLE

Public Relations

See SERVICE on page 11

C ommunity outreach champion,tireless advocate and trusted

pharmacy professional: These are onlya few ways to describe new graduateChristian Younts, PharmD.

Younts embodies the characteristicsthat every pharmacy professional needsto prepare for a life of service to herpatients. She is an exceptional retail andcommunity pharmacist, a role modelin professionalism and is passionateabout improving the health care needsof people, especially disadvantagedpopulations.

At the retail pharmacy where sheworks as a graduate intern, Yountsspeaks and translates Spanish daily andsports a lapel button that reads “Yohablo Español.”

“When I realized I was helping thestore and our customers out in this way,I realized that I found my calling. This iswhere I’m supposed to be,” said Younts.

The Reno, Nev., native found a way toblend two passions, Spanish and science,

student, Kelly Lambright, M.D.,encouraged her to volunteer withMUSC’s Alliance for Hispanic Health.It was through this organization thatshe cut her teeth in networking andoutreach.

As a pharmacy student, she worked inthe MUSC operating room pharmacy.In her spare time, she devoted countlesshours with the Alliance helping withcommunity service projects, organizing

into what she plans to be – a long-servingpharmacist.

At the May 16 hooding ceremonyof MUSC’s campus of the SouthCarolina College of Pharmacy, Yountswas presented with the national RESPy(respect, excellence, and service inpharmacy) award for her communityservice work. She is among eightrecipients in 2013 to receive this honor.The award is sponsored by PharmacyTimes in conjunction with Wal-Mart.

Cathy Worrall, PharmD, assistant deanfor Student Affairs and ExperientialEducation at the SCCP-MUSCcampus, praised Younts’ efforts in hernomination for the award. “Christianhas made significant contributions tothe pharmaceutical care of the Hispanicpopulation in the Charleston area andunderserved populations both locallyand globally,” wrote Worrall.

As a retail pharmacy technician,Younts started out volunteering atcommunity health fairs and foundthat her Spanish language skills wereinvaluable in these settings. A goodfriend and medical school graduate

5<F 7#<!:8!D? M>6?8: #&[=: D V>6?$ B>V 6:& D @D]&:#!%8 :=D*&< !?#D[&<Hmade out of a water bottle, to deliver medication to his lungs. Yountswas part of a student team that volunteered at an outreach pharmacy inUganda in 2012.


Six graduates in MUSC’s Class of 2013 Medical Scientist Training Program matchedto prestigious residency programs. The new physician-scientists were among 157successful medical student matches revealed at the College of Medicine’s March 15OD8*# 5DV &4&?8F 2!*86<&( D<& 5<:F 2D<]&< ,![:>? LMD[&G2D8#>[>$VKA ;?(<& ZD((VL-D?(&<B![8GO&(!*!?&E7[!?!*D[ T?4&:8!$D8>< 2D8#YDVKA ;@&?D /@!8# LS>#?: U>=]!?:G2&(!D8<!*:KA RV[& /8<!*][D?( LUD<4D<(1: 9<!$#D@ D?( ,>@&?1: U>:=!8D[G2D8#>[>$VKA 2&8&<.D?$ LO!??&:>8DG3=#8#D[@>[>$VKA D?( S>& 2D[D8!?6: LUD<4D<(1: 9&8# T:<D&[PT?8&<?D[Medicine).

MSTP STUDENTS MATCH TO TOP PROGRAMS

SERVICE Continued from Page Ten

health fairs, setting up free screening clinics, recruitingvolunteers and matching people’s needs to serviceswithin the community. A defining part of this workwas helping in a research study to assess the health ofCharleston’s Hispanic community. The study, now inits third round of funding, examines health disparitiesamong migrant and settled Hispanic populationsthrough outreach and collaboration. Younts wasinstrumental in bridging the needs and requirements ofthe study with leaders in the Hispanic community.

“Charleston is a hub, and MUSC is well knownand respected among the Lowcountry’s Hispanicpopulation. Through this and other programs with theCollege of Nursing, Institute of Psychiatry and effortsthat connect needs to services, we were able to workwith them and build a relationship based on mutualtrust and respect,” Younts said.

Younts’ community service work allowed her toextend her practice skills and cultural experiences tointernational populations through mission trips inUganda and Ecuador. There, she completed month-long rotations, working with interdisciplinary healthcare teams, translating evaluation tools and servingpeople in those communities. She plans to participatein other trips to Brazil and Nicaragua and continue tobe an active advocate for the Hispanic community and

others through her profession.Younts is a 2007 graduate of the College of

Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Shefeels her love and connection to the Spanish andCentral American culture was born through familyroots left by her great-great-grandfather who workedtemporarily in the silver mines near Guadalajara,Mexico. She also joined her father in several churchmission trips to Cerro Gordo, Mexico.

“I feel it was always my destiny to someday embracethese two cultures – Spanish and Irish-American – notonly for historical family reasons but because howthis connection has made me the person I am today,”Younts said.

In pharmacy school, Younts held memberships withthe Beta Chi chapter of the Lambda Sigma NationalPharmacy Leadership Society, American PharmacistsAssociation-Academy of Student Pharmacists andChristian Pharmacist Fellowship International. She is amember of Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant and acertified Zumba fitness instructor.

“As I graduate, I’m very honored to be a student fromthis institution. MUSC has done a lot of great things toreach out to people from all cultures. There are so manypeople that I want to thank who believed in me andhelped me get through pharmacy school and make mydream a reality,” Younts said.


STUDENT’S MEMORY WILL LIVE ON

Members of the College of Medicine Class of 2013 gathered April21 to plant a Magnolia tree as a living memorial honoring deceased*[D::@D8& QD6<&? 9D**D<!F U&< #6:BD?(H W<&$ 9D**D<!H ^>!?&( .&(James, Tom Cunningham and other students in the planting ofthe tree, located in the front of the Basic Science Building. As part>% *>@@&?*&@&?8 Y&&] D*8!4!8!&:H 9D**D<! YD: =>:8#6@>6:[V=<&:&?8&( Y!8# 8#& U!<D@ 76<<V ;[=#D 3@&$D ;[=#D ;YD<( %><service. Members of COM’s graduating class also donated $20.13 tothe Lauren Baccari Family Medicine fund, which supports activitiesfor students interested in family medicine, her medical career choice.

Documents

MUSC Catalyst