Division News

Daniel Kaplan, MD, has been a hospitalist since before the term was invented. In this week’s faculty spotlight, the self-described “purebred clinician” talks about perioperative medicine, the evolution of EHRs and how birding (sometimes also known as bird-watching) acts as training for practicing medicine.

Many public health experts have championed “sin taxes” as a way to discourage unhealthy behaviors while raising money. But recent research conducted by Peter Ubel, MD, and others has found these taxes can actually encourage undesirable behavior. Read his recent News and Observer op-ed explaining why.

AcademyHealth is now accepting abstracts to be considered for presentation or publication at its 2015 Annual Research Meeting and Interest Group Meetings, which will be held in next June. Applications for the Annual Research Meeting are invited for five categories: calls for innovation, policy roundtables, presentations, research panels, and student posters.

The American Medical Informatics Association is offering "10x10” virtual courses in bioinformatics. These courses, taught by partners such as Oregon Health and Science University, Ohio State University and Nova Southeastern University, offer a chance to learn about a variety of bioinformatics topics online. The next batch of 10x10 courses will begin in January and run through April, and include the following:

AcademyHealth’s EDM Forum will host a free seminar on using Twitter to share health innovations and evidence. “The Social Network: Using Twitter to Translate and Disseminate Evidence” will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 15.

The National Institutes of Health will require use of a new biosketch format in research grant applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2015. The revised forms and instructions are now available on the SF 424 (R&R) Forms and Applications page. The new format extends the page limit from four to five pages, and allows researchers to describe up to five of

The PowerPoint presentation from Peter Ubel's time management discussion, given at the Fellow/Faculty development presentation on Friday the 19th, is available online here. During this presentation, Ubel talked about how to make effective lists, avoid being distracted by email, carve out time for research and other techniques.

Joel Boggan, MD, officially joined the division this fall, making him one of the newest additions to the division faculty. In this week’s faculty spotlight, we talk to him about his experience as chief resident of quality improvement and patient safety, his work in Quality Improvement, using Twitter professionally, and great places to eat in Durham. Although you’re new to the division, you’re no stranger to Duke.

The School of Medicine is seeking applicants for the position of Associate Course Director for the Practice Course. The Practice Course is a longitudinal course spanning the first three years of medical school. The first year of the course teaches medical students the foundation of the patient-physician relationship, communication and interviewing as well as basic physical examination skills. The second year of the course is dedicated to advanced communication skills such as giving bad news as well as discussion of topics related to student clinical experiences.

The Clinical and Translational Core (CTC) of the Duke O’Brien Center for Kidney Research (DOCK) is sponsoring projects the interrelationships among kidney disease, hypertension and/or heart disease. Priorities for this year include aging, health disparities and implementation.