Coinciding with the two-day PROGRESS conference, the Iowa Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) held its chapter meeting as it usually does. Because many of the state’s chapter members are already in attendance getting updates in a variety of subspecialty topics, it is a natural time to convene and address chapter business.
Though one activity, the ACP Clinical Vignette Competition, typically reserved for the meeting had been moved into the PROGRESS lineup, the chapter meeting organizers still had an opportunity for Iowa’s internal medicine residents to compete.
After welcoming attendees, Chapter Governor Katherine Harris, MD, turned the podium over to John Yost, MD, that evening’s emcee for the Doctor’s Dilemma, a Jeopardy-style competition among four teams of three residents each. Over the next hour, the lead changed hands a few times while some teams struggled with technical snarls with their buzzers. In the end, the good-natured competition resulted in the team from Unity Point Health in Des Moines retaining the trophy.
A new addition to the evening’s schedule featured an opportunity to watch clinical reasoning in real time. Manish Suneja, MD, and Joseph Szot, MD, were presented a complex and mysterious case by second-year Iowa resident Mackenzie Walhof, MD. The two educators zeroed in fairly quickly on the correct diagnosis based on initial data from Walhof but reserved final judgment as she revealed seemingly inconsistent red herrings in test results and progression.
Harris then moved on to the presentation of awards. The first, a chapter recognition from the national ACP organization, she shared with Yost, who had recently ended his tenure as chapter governor. Harris then presented the two Laureate Awards. First, to Leatrice Olson, DO, FACOI, FACP, who has been instrumental in launching, leading, and expanding the Mercy Internal Medicine Residency Program in Des Moines since its founding in 2013. Olson also directs the Primary Health Clinic, which serves a significant portion of the un- and underinsured. “My belief in medical care that provides care to the whole person, not just the disease,” Olson wrote, “is the foundation of this clinic.” She said she feels “honored to receive the Laureate Award.”
Harris presented the second Laureate Award to Katherine White, MD, MME, FACP. White has made medical education a focus of her career, inspiring learners at all levels. She directed the Carver College of Medicine’s outpatient clerkship in internal medicine for seven years and has mentored countless medical students through their transition into residency. More recently she has begun to specialize in obesity medicine, from new pharmacology options to incorporating weight management into her teaching. White wrote that she is “grateful” for the Laureate Award as “a reminder of the privilege it is to be an internist” and a renewal of her “commitment to serve (her) patients and (her) community.”
Finally, Harris presented the chapter’s Excellence Award to Stephen Joyce, MD, FACP, for his “long-standing support and distinguished service” to the chapter. Joyce combined his internal medicine residency with one in pediatrics and returned to serve as faculty at his alma mater, the University of Iowa, for the Family Medicine residency program in Sioux City. After some years as the Chief Medical Informatics Officer for a local hospital, Joyce returned to clinical medicine full time while still working on statewide health initiatives. Joyce thanked his family for their support and said he was “humbled to accept this tremendous honor,” joining a list of other honorees he holds “in highest esteem and respect.”
