Dr. Mayukh Sarkar, a medical laboratory scientist in UTMB’s Department of Pathology, was recognized as a 2017 “Choosing Wisely Champion” by the American Society for Clinical Pathology during its annual meeting Sept. 6-8 in Chicago. This honor recognizes clinicians as well as teams of clinicians for their commitment to the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation’s Choosing Wisely Campaign. The campaign’s ideals are intended to reduce test overuse and to encourage clinicians and patients to question which tests are really necessary to improve the nation’s health care system.
Stella Turrubiate, a nurse at the Breast Health and Imaging Center at the League City Campus, received the Emma Josephine Loffelholz McMorris RN Spirituality Award for embodying compassion, communication and commitment to her field during the 24th Annual Nursing Conference sponsored by the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center. Turrubiate was nominated by Gail Kwarciany, an oncology clinical nurse specialist, who said Turrubiate “not only encourages others to be compassionate and respectful of others’ spiritual needs including each other, but she role models this behavior on a daily basis. Her quiet manner and gentle approach sets everyone at ease and allows effective interaction between herself and patients.”
Mike Mastrangelo, program director for institutional preparedness, and the UTMB Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) Incident Preparedness Program was recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during its annual Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. UTMB received an honorable mention for the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award, which recognizes contributions toward strengthening communities to prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster. HF is considered to be the No. 1 priority chemical risk in UTMB’s preparedness program; UTMB convenes an “HF Symposium” each year, which brings together national experts in various aspects of preparedness and response.
David Marshall, chief nursing and patient care services officer, has been appointed to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Commission on Magnet Recognition. His term on the commission will run through Dec. 31, 2021. Members of the commission, which is a voluntary governing body that oversees the Magnet Recognition Program, are appointed by ANCC’s Board of Directors. They represent various sectors of the nursing community, which include nursing executive leaders, nurse managers, staff nurses, long-term-care nurses and advanced practice registered nurses. One commission member represents public consumers. The Commission on Magnet Recognition makes the final determination of award designation.
Dr. Sharron Forest, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, was selected as the 2017-2018 recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Novice Faculty Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence and innovation in the teaching of nursing by early-career faculty at AACN member schools. Two honorees are chosen annually for this national award, one each in two categories: didactic teaching and clinical teaching. Dr. Forest won the Novice Faculty Excellence in Didactic Teaching Award.
Nine UTMB employees recently graduated from the Coaching for Rising Leaders pilot program, which pairs high-potential and high-performing individuals with an associate vice president or vice president for one-on-one coaching over a period of six months.
Kevin Haslam (coached by Celia Bailey-Ocha),
Jill Bryant-Bova (coached by Ian Barrett),
Yvette Dean (Scott Boeh),
Shashan Shetty (Jeremy Brynes),
Amy Blount (Kimberly Hagara),
Caren Brownfield (Craig Kovacevich),
Isaac Hebert (David Marshall),
Karen Wong (Tom Riley), and
Andrew Herndon (Bo Stults), received certificates of completion at a graduation ceremony on Oct. 4 on the Galveston Campus.
Dr. Joan Richardson, chair and professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Neonatology, received the Charles W. Daeschner, Jr., MD Lifetime Achievement Award at the Texas Pediatric Society (TPS) annual meeting in Plano, Texas. This is the highest honor given by the TPS and was created in 2001 to recognize pediatricians’ contributions to the health and well-being of children and the education of pediatric medical students. Richardson has been a member of the UTMB faculty since 1974.