Shout Out! to the Baltimore Surgery Residency Program

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In celebration of Thank a Resident Day, the Baltimore Surgery Residency program expanded the initiative to Thank a Resident Week, dedicating an entire week to wellness and appreciation.

This celebration was inspired by our commitment to resident wellness, guided by our Thrive wellness initiative. Using the Duke Wheel of Health as a framework, each day’s appreciation activities were structured around key wellness themes.

Throughout the week, we highlighted each of our five resident classes, featuring daily messages about appreciation with wellness-focused gifts:

  • Friday (prior): Therapy dog visit to kick off the celebration
  • Monday (PGY-1s): Mental and Emotional Wellbeing – “Pep talk pills” with motivational quotes
  • Tuesday (PGY-2s): Physical Activity and Fitness – Exercise dice for fun and movement
  • Wednesday (PGY-3s): Nutrition and Lifestyle – DoorDash gift cards to support healthy choices
  • Thursday (PGY-4s): Sleep and Rest – Sleep masks to encourage restorative rest, plus a special lunch
  • Friday (PGY-5s): Physical Environment – Scented candles with messages of gratitude. Gift bag filled with thoughtful items, including a candle, pen, and USB drive.

Thank you to all our residents for your dedication and hard work. We appreciate you today and every day!

 

 

Shout out! to our Gastrointestinal/Hematology-Oncology research group

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Shout out! to our Gastrointestinal/Hematology-Oncology research group! We are excited to announce that 10 first-author abstracts have been accepted for presentation at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), taking place from May 4-6.

At DDW, our team will represent MedStar Health, covering a wide range of topics, from improving colon cancer surveillance metrics to trends in MASLD/MASH and GI cancers. Featured abstracts include:

  1. Association between race and adherence to surveillance colonoscopies after resection of stage I to III colorectal cancer
  2. The effect of socioeconomic status on adherence to surveillance colonoscopies after resection of stage I to III colorectal cancer
  3. Association between adjuvant chemotherapy and adherence to surveillance colonoscopies after resection of stage I to III colorectal cancer
  4. Does socioeconomic status influence findings on baseline colonoscopy and adherence to surveillance colonoscopies among individuals with Lynch Syndrome?
  5. Trends in incidence rate of hepatic cancers from 2000-2021: a join point analysis of surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database
  6. Ethnicity-based trends in liver transplantation: a decade analysis of hepatitis c, alcohol and metabolic dysfunction – associated steatohepatitis as primary diagnosis for liver transplant
  7. Incidence of venous thromboembolism in gastrointestinal cancers: analysis from 2020 NIS database
  8. Current electronic nicotine delivery system use associated with incident metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis
  9. Does a history of gastrointestinal and associated cancers affect provider discussions about colorectal cancer screening?
  10. Rising trends and disparities in MASLD mortality: a 20-year US analysis

A huge thank you to Dr. Ramya Vasireddy, Dr. Greeshma Gaddipati, Dr. Mariah Bilalaga, Dr. Boniface Mensah, Dr. Joseph Atarere, Dr. Seunghee Han, Dr. Kevin Eid, and Dr. Urwah Ahmad – the groundbreaking work and research you do each day is invaluable. We could not be prouder to have you representing MedStar Health!

Shout Out! to Dr. David Muwanga

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A heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Muwanga (PGY-1, D.C. General Surgery Program) for his unwavering dedication to our patients! A grateful family nominated him for a SPIRIT Award, recognizing his exceptional care and describing him as “kind, cheerful, professional, and incredibly polite.”

Moments like this reaffirm why we have dedicated our lives to serving others. We are beyond grateful for the compassion and commitment of our residents. Thank you, Dr. Muwanga, you exemplify the very best of us!

Shout Out! to Chief Resident Dr. Maria Sofia Martinez Cruz

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Shout Out! to Chief Resident Dr. Maria Sofia Martinez Cruz for organizing our inaugural Women in Medicine workshop at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in conjunction with the ACP-Maryland Chapter Women in Medicine committee and the Chief Residents of Baltimore (CRAB) committee. This event was held in March to celebrate Women’s History Month.

We were able to gather women residents, faculty from not only the program but from other programs, and community physicians in the local area for the program. The workshop discussed “Fertility in Women Physicians,” “Approaching Opportunity in Your Career,” and “Striving for Work-life Balance.”

Anita Tammara, MD
Medical Director of the MedStar Franklin Square Primary Care Center

Shout Out! to the MedStar Team!

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Shout Out! to the MedStar Team!

“I want to give a huge Shout Out! to the residents, fellows, attending physicians, nurses, and other associates who worked over the holiday weekend to care for our patients! I spent my Thanksgiving on a shift in the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital ED, and although it’s always tough being away from my family on holidays, the camaraderie among our team was palpable. We were in it, together.”

— Jonathan Davis, MD, Physician Chair, GME

Shout Out! to the MedStar Health Baltimore Surgery residents!

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Shout Out! to the MedStar Health Baltimore Surgery residents!

“The Baltimore Surgery team recently gathered together at my house for our annual holiday party. It was a great chance to get everyone together and spread some holiday cheer. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve this great group as their PD.”
– Maggie Arnold, MD, Program Director

Shout Out! Internal Medicine Residents

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A Shout Out! from Dr. Claudia Georges (PGY-3, Internal Medicine):

This holiday season, the MedStar Health Baltimore family wanted to make it a little brighter for those in need.

The Internal Medicine residents organized a gift donation drive to support The Transformation Center, a local organization that supports rebuilding lives and restoring communities by providing pathways to rise above obstacles of poverty, addiction, poor education, unemployment, and social injustice.

We are truly grateful for everyone who helped us collect more than 50 toys for children ages 0-13, by filling The Transformation Center’s Amazon Wishlist during our holiday party.

I am really thankful for our faculty Dr. Anita Tammara (Wellness Committee Chair), Dr. Andrea Gaspar (Community Outreach Committee Chair) and to our amazing Dr. Heather Hartman-Hall for their tremendous support! And to everyone joined us in this worthy cause (faculty or residents)!

Together, we spread some holiday cheer and made the world a better place.

Happy holidays!