Explore UAB

The Department is delighted that Doug Morgan, MD, MPH, has joined UAB to serve as Director in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology as of October 1. A global leader in gastric cancer and its prevention, Dr. Morgan comes from Vanderbilt where he was on faculty since 2011. He plans to advance the division’s clinical, educational and research programs as well as expand prevention and treatment of GI health globally. Welcome, Dr. Morgan!

Donita White and RaShundra Hardy McKinney display their project at the annual symposiumKellie Flood, MD (Associate Professor, Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care) and Emily Simmons, MSN, RN (NICHE Coordinator) led the ninth annual UAB Geriatric Quality Symposium on Friday, September 21, celebrating the collaboration of 27 interprofessional Geriatric Scholars in 9 quality improvement projects, and 9 Patient Support Geriatric Scholars in 3 educational projects. The formal presentation included outcomes reports, recognition of scholars and community partners, awards for outstanding geriatric care. To top it all off, 39 inter-professional scholars and 20 patient support scholars were accepted into next year’s Geriatric Scholar Program. Kudos on this incredible interprofessional effort!

The Department of Medicine’s first ever medical education training video is now available online! The MedEd Moments Series addresses important and often unmet needs in topic areas including: Setting Expectations, Feedback, Learning Climate, Evaluation and more. “Setting Expectations” is the first learning episode in the series and was developed right here in our residency program. Kudos to Drs. J.R. Hartig, Jason Morris, and Lisa Willett for screenwriting and production, and to our amazing cast and crew for their star performances. Watch Now. 

Thanks to the dedication of a group of volunteers, both on the UAB Campus and at the Birmingham VA Medical Center, students are now able to do ambulatory clinic rotations on the main campus. Drs. Brooks Vaughan and Winter Williams, the co-directors of the Internal Medicine Clerkship, have developed a curriculum that the preceptors can use, even on busy clinic days. Student feedback regarding the outpatient medicine experience has dramatically improved as a result of these efforts. Kudos to all our volunteers: Stephen Stair, Stephen Bell, Jennifer Vigil, James Williams, Hernando Carter, and Michael Geer, Eric Tofil, Felicia Noerager, Reginald Mason, Meleth Raveendran, Michael Moates and Sharon Balcells.

Above: James Williams, MD, with MTSP third-year medical student Joseph Ladowski, PhD

Thanks to the UAB House Calls program, many frail, older patients who once bounced in and out of the emergency room or the hospital for their care are experiencing life changing results. By employing an interdisciplinary team—a physician, nurse practitioner, medical assistant, case manager and social worker—to visit in the home, this vulnerable population can better cope with serious and chronic illness. What's more, thanks to frank and honest discussions about their goals of care, many reach the end of their lives at home surrounded by family, rather than in the hospital. House Calls Medical Director Marianthe Grammas, MD (Assistant Professor, Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care) is encouraged by her recent findings, which demonstrate that these patients are both living and dying with greater hope, comfort, and security.