The 2018 Maria Mandell Award Winners for the Research Forum Best Research Presentation

April 26, 2018

The 2018 Maria Mandell Award Winners for the Best Research Presentation at the Department Research Forum are residents Whitney Robertson, MD, Georgia Baumann, MD, Ashley Guinn, MD, and Kurt Curtis, MD, for their research project “The Effects of Dexamethasone on the Time-to-Pain Resolution in Dental Apical Abscess.” Emergency medicine faculty Noah Tolby, MD, and Dale Woolridge, MD, PhD, served as mentors.

The winners and other UA Emergency Medicine residents presented their research projects at the UA Department of Emergency Medicine Resident Research Forum April 17. Each year, EM residents give oral presentations followed by a question and answer period on research projects they have worked on as part of the department’s ScholarQuest program. Through the ScholarQuest, EM residents team up with EM faculty and research staff to develop research projects, submit abstracts to national meetings, and present their work to a panel of local faculty judges at the annual forum.

This year’s keynote speaker was Joseph J. Zorc, MD, MSCE, an expert on emergent asthma management in children. He presented “Pediatric Respiratory Disease as a Model for the Future of Emergency Department Research.” Dr. Zorc is the Mark Fishman Professor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the director of Emergency Information Systems at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Other research projects presented at the 2018 Resident Research Forum:

Prevalence and Characteristics of Clinical Teaching in Emergency Physicians.
Kiel Urata, MD. Mentor: Katherine Hiller, MD, MPH, FACEP

Effects of Protocolized Trauma Care on Outcomes of Medically Critically Ill.
Zachary Hernandez, MD. Mentor: Jarrod Mosier, MD

Baseline Point-of-Care Ultrasound Knowledge and Confidence of First-Year Emergency Medicine Residents.
Miguel Sandoval, MD, and Linsey Sandoval, MD. Mentors: Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD, and Albert Fiorello, MD, FACEP

Does an EMS Protocol Change Decrease Spinal Board Use in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury?
Peter Fletcher, MD. Mentor: Joshua Gaither, MD, FACEP

Emergency Medicine Residents’ Musculoskeletal Knowledge Acquisition after Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Rotations.
Mark Bernardi, MD, Ross DeChant, MD, and Justin Eales, MD. Mentor: Anna Waterbrook, MD, FACEP

Decreasing Computed Tomography Use in Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma: A Clinical Decision Rule.
Colin West, MD, and Jeremiah Garrison, MD. Mentor: Kurt Denninghoff, MD

Can Ultrasound Naïve First-Year Medical Students Develop Hands-On Skills in Image Acquisition after Reviewing Online Ultrasound Modules?
Dang Huynh, MD. Mentor: Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD

Clinical, Laboratory, and Ultrasound Characteristics of Common Bile Duct Stones.
Josie Valenzuela, MD. Mentor: Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD

Prehospital Availability and Use of Medications for Managing Hazmat Emergencies.
Amber Bellafiore, MD, Carl Youngs, MD, and Eric Lederer, MD. Mentor: Joshua Gaither, MD, FACEP

Communication and Professionalism Education for Resident Interns in Emergency Medicine: The Cope Project.
Aubrey Bethel, MD. Mentor: Alice Min Simpkins, MD, FACEP