Enclothed Cognition

Company founder, Lara Francisco, PA-C has been hard at work developing new concepts for more functional fabrics in our lab coats and scrubs. One frequent request that we get is to develop lab coats that offer the most comfort in higher temperatures without degrading the shape of the garment.

As one of our 51 inaugural nominees for The Right Fit H.E.R.O. Honorarium, Dr. Ian Neel was recently awarded a Medelita lab coat and a set of baltic scrubs. While we didn't expect to receive many pictures back, Dr. Neel - a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Diego - was kind enough to remind us why we love being outdoors in southern California (our offices are located just north of Dr. Neel in San Clemente).

This past Tuesday we had the honor of getting our H.E.R.O. inaugural honoree, Kanani Titchen, MD to jump on a Google Hangout with us to discuss the honorarium and her work building awareness around child sex trafficking

Pediatrician from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital-Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children recognized nationally as leader, advocate Philadelphia, Penn. & San Clemente, Cal. –April 30, 2014

Middle school and Freshman age high school students across America are faced with one of the most pressing challenges of their generation: how to remain competitive in a global marketplace where students in many other countries are leading the U.S. in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life.  We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare,  how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future.  This award is our way of recognizing that courage.

Lawrence “Mark” Knab

Northwestern University/Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago, IL

While there were many memorable experiences at Georgetown University Medical School, there is one that seems imprinted on Mark’s training as a physician. It took place during his first year anatomy class while working with cadavers. When Mark saw the face of his first cadaver, he was struck with something rather profound. Though having meticulously dissected different regions of the body for months, discovering first-hand the intricate details and wonders of the human body, he had not seen her face. The day that dissection included the face, it was a strange collision of worlds in which the anatomical basis for human life through anatomy became alive again in seeing her face and imagining what she was like. This important lesson ingrained in him the ideal of always approaching a patient first as a human being, not simply an anatomical specimen with a disease. The general surgery program at Northwestern University provides a rigorous academic training in surgery while providing an environment conducive to teamwork and collaboration. The most overwhelming factor that drew Mark to the program was simply what he saw in the current residents. They seemed to legitimately care for and have a vested interest in their patients. Residency for them was not just a job where they spent the majority of their time but something they enjoyed doing. From the first time Mark observed an open heart surgery as a high school student, he knew that medicine was a field that would allow him to really impact a person’s life in a special and unique way. The idea of cutting into a person to rearrange their anatomy, which was in this case supplying blood flow back to the heart, was a true inspiration both then and even now when he scrubs into a case. It provides him with the opportunity to help others in a tangible, acute way with the hope of alleviating or preventing suffering of some kind. The most significant sacrifice Mark has made to earn his medical degree, which has continued through his residency, is time spent away from family and loved ones. While helping others in this unique way is incredibly gratifying, it requires an immense time commitment that is costly. Those in Mark’s personal life have had to be very understanding and patient to allow Mark to become the surgeon he dreams of being. Vote for Mark here.

Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life.  We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare,  how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future.  This award is our way of recognizing that courage.

Kushal Nandam

The Ohio State University Combined Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine Program / Columbus, OH – Chicago, IL

Kushal Nandam, attends Rush Medical College. He says the best part of going to school at Rush was that much of clinical training was at Cook County Hospital, the premier non-government hospital of Chicago that cares for the undeserved population with no insurance or poor health insurance coverage. Kushal always feels like he could make an immense difference by taking care of patients at Cook County hospital. The people he interacted with were not only medically complicated, but also socially complicated patients. Many of these patients in these cases had nowhere else to turn to. Many of them were homeless, had drug problems, or were struggling to raise their children in single parent households on a minimum wage job. Kusahal said he was able to make a difference because he went out of his way to help them on a path to quit using hard drugs, finding the right social workers to find placement in shelters and rehab for work. The gratitude he received from seeing the difference he makes in these people’s lives is the motivation that keeps him going through his training; it also fuels him to make a difference in the healthcare system. Kushal matched at The Ohio State University Combined Internal Medicine & Emergency Medicine program and he will receive dual training in both specialties. This very competitive training program is an ambitious undertaking and self-sacrifice he has made to pursue his final goals. The dual training program adds an additional 2 years of training compared to EM or IM training programs alone, without the promise of any additional payout in the future that other specialties would have provided with a fellowship program. Kushal chose this specialty because of his insatiable thirst for knowledge. He wants to have the ability to take care of anyone at anytime along their spectrum of illness, whether it was an acute exacerbation or managing critically ill patients. With this training he will be a valuable doctor to partake in medical mission trips abroad that he greatly aspires to in the future. Additionally, he chose this training because he wants to change the broken healthcare system. This dual training encompasses the major fields of exposure to the healthcare world: The ER, the outpatient clinics, and critically ill patients in the hospital. He says that this training will allow him to witness where things can be improved upon and what parts of the hospital system need to be completely replaced. Additionally, this training program gears its residents to leadership positions within hospitals, which allows for greater opportunities to change how the hospital system is run. While at Ohio State, Kushal will also have the fortunate opportunity to take classes, in addition to his residency duties, to pursue a Masters in Public Health. It is a unique offer by the program. Kushal sees this as an immense asset to his training, as well as with his Bacherlor’s degree in Economics, to improve the healthcare system through public policy. Being in Columbus, the state capital, he will have direct opportunity to interact with legislatures during his training years to work on policy or make recommendations to policy as well. Kushal had a number of influences that contributed to his dedication to pursue medicine. However, it was his community service work while he went to college in St. Louis that fueled his passion to not only purse medicine, but change how medicine can help his community. He volunteered in Big Brothers and Big Sisters for four years providing support as a role model and tutoring for the under-served kids in the inner city schools. Kushal also volunteered at an HIV clinic while in college where he saw the stark contrast of health services available for the lower socioeconomic class. Many of these people in the afflicted with HIV were ostracized by their families or communities because of their condition or sexual orientation. Because they were shunned, it was difficult to find work or find support or even proper medical care. This lack of access to resources and healthcare stuck with Kushal and made him vow to pursue medicine with the idea to serve those who needed healthcare the most. Kushal had to make much personal sacrifice on his journey to getting his medical degree, but the number one thing he sacrificed was the family time he cherished so much. He is someone who goes out of his way to not only spend time with his immediate family as much as he can, but also makes sure to keep a bond with his extended family. The intense schedule of medical school has had him sacrifice seeing his parents as often as he would have liked. He is also very close to his brother and has not been able to spend the time he normally would have given him. He had to miss numerous holiday gatherings with the family as well as family religious events that he normally partakes in. Despite having to miss his family more because of the rigorous training, he does a tremendous job in making sure he is connected with his family and let’s us know that we are always on his mind. Vote for Kushal here. If you know a resident that deserves to be recognized, please nominate your candidate here.

Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life.  We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare,  how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future.  This award is our way of recognizing that courage.

Ramu (Ramakrishna) Gumidyala

University of Wisconsin-Madison – Fitchburg, WI

Ramu went to University of Illinois at Chicago’s medical school. He was enrolled in the prestigious GPPA program, which is an undergraduate and medical school program to which he was accepted after high school. An experience that he still talks about from his time there, was his role as a student event organizer for the The Student Sight Savers Program, which offered glaucoma and vision screening to the underprivileged in Chicago. He got a taste for what it was like to help those that needed it. For the first time, he understood what it felt like to truly to help someone with the knowledge he had gained in his time in medical school. Ramu has actually graduated from an Internal Medicine residency program from UW-Madison already. He originally thought he would go into G.I., but realized that was not “the right fit” for him. Ramu understands that not every field in medicine is the same and that you must truly suit your specialty. He found that anesthesiology had all of the nuances that he wanted to see in his field. He thinks that each surgery in which he assists is fascinating and finds it very humbling to have each patient trust him with his/her life. Ramu has always been good at math and science, but I actually don’t think he could really wrap his head around why he wanted to be a doctor until he was able to volunteer in college and then again in medical school. He thinks that there are so many changes that can be made in the medical field and he is excited to be a part of the generation that gets to help bring about this change. Ramu sacrificed three years in order to pursue the field of anesthesiology. It is not easy for one to go back and re-enter a residency program after already completing one. He knew he had to do something he was passionate about – and he found that in anesthesiology. He knew all of his friends would already be practicing by the time he was finishing his final residency (especially since he wants to do a fellowship afterward), yet he still persevered through an entire second program. Vote for Ramu here. If you know a resident that deserves to be recognized, please nominate your candidate here.

Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life.  We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare,  how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future.  This award is our way of recognizing that courage.

Robert Rice

MD Anderson Cardiothoracic Surgery/Houston, Texas – Houston, TX

Robert had the opportunity to attend the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, where he was enlightened to the prospect of surgery during a talk given by Dr. William DeVries about implantation of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. He then sought out extra opportunities to gain exposure to surgery and participated in multiple research endeavors. Rob was destined for cardiothoracic surgery. He is well matched for the technically demanding requirements of this field of surgery. Additionally, he is perpetually working to hone his skills and knowledge base for the good of the patient. His bedside manner and collegial attitude is well recognized amongst the staff. Rob is an incredible person and an outstanding resident. After nearly 13 years of involvement in CT surgery, I believe Rob ranks in the top 0.1% of his peers and colleagues around the country – bar none. He is collegial, professional, and extremely helpful. He is articulate and very seasoned individual who fits well in any team he participates in. He is a natural leader and always seeks out additional opportunities for leadership and further personal development. All it takes is a brief interaction with Rob and it’s clear you’re dealing with someone special. It is not uncommon that former/current patients stop Robert Rice in the hallway to offer their heartfelt gratitude for all his services. I can personally attest that he is a person of unquestioned trustworthiness, integrity, and honest. Simply being around Rob is a “shot in the arm” for anyone with whom he comes in contact. Rob’s ambition is obvious, complemented by a strong thirst for knowledge, an eagerness to learn, and a tireless work ethic. He is surgeon of the highest order and we need more physicians like him with an unwavering commitment to patient care, teaching, and research. He is an extremely ambitious, always eager to learn and never afraid of working hard. Robert has made several personal and family sacrifices along his path to enter cardiothoracic surgery training. Noteworthy is his commitment to serve in the armed forces and deliver cutting edge care to people who are defending this country. Robert as ascended to the rank of Major in the US Army. He is proud of his ability to have served his country in providing cardiac and thoracic care to America’s heroes. Vote for Robert here. If you know a resident that deserves to be recognized, please nominate your candidate here.

Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life.  We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare,  how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future.  This award is our way of recognizing that courage.

Victoria Ward

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital/ Palo Alto California – Palo Alto, CA

Dr. Victoria Ward graduated from the University of California , San Francisco Medical School. Prior to and during medical school, she worked for multiple non-profits and philanthropic foundations, focused primarily on global health, with a particular interest in fighting human trafficking. Victoria has a fantastic knowledge base; she is bright with a wonderful work ethic. Her nominator called her

"one of the most caring and compassionate residents our hospital has ever had. Her follow-through is exceptional."

Victoria has been especially superb on the very intense Gastroenterology and Liver Transplant service. She has taken meticulous care of her patients at all levels– PL1, PL2,and PL3, always going the “extra mile” for her patients. Dr. Ward even contacted the teachers at one 22 year old patient’s junior college to make sure they knew she was in the hospital(The patient did not want the school to know why and Dr. Ward kept that info private). The patient has short bowel syndrome and had lost a lot of weight and required an extensive redo of her parenteral nutrition regimen.The teachers were very helpful and understanding, to the great relief of the patient. Victoria is such a skilled physician that her goal is now to be a hospitalist; she thrives dealing with the most complex cases imaginable. Positive feedback by her faculty caring for those extremely labor intensive and complex patients have fueled her interest in medicine and in her becoming a hospitalist. Victoria made a major sacrifice by delaying medical training while she worked fighting human trafficking. Vote for Victoria here. If you know a resident that deserves to be recognized, please nominate your candidate here.