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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 23
June 6, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
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This week’s news:
* Heart-failure patients overestimate life expectancy compared to Seattle Heart Failure Model
* C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general, on hand at Seattle Children's Hospital for celebration of new UW endowed chair of pediatric surgery
* Five clinical faculty members honored with WWAMI Excellence in Teaching Awards
* William Catterall, professor and chair of pharmacology, named a foreign member of the Royal Society
* John McCarthy appointed as WWAMI assistant dean for clinical phase, Central and Eastern Washington
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HEART-FAILURE PATIENTS OFTEN OVERESTIMATE LIFE EXPECTANCY
Many heart-failure patients have survival expectations that are greater than clinical predictions, according to a Duke and UW study published this week in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Younger patients and those with more severe heart disease are more likely to overestimate their remaining life span, researchers found.
Heart failure claims about 55,000 lives in the United States each year, and indirectly leads to an estimated 230,000 deaths. Life expectancy for heart-failure patients is poor, despite advances in care: The median life expectancy is less than five years. For people with the most advanced forms of heart failure, the one-year mortality rate is nearly 90 percent.
The researchers set out to examine patient's survival expectations, because little is known about how well heart-failure patients understand their prognosis. That perception can affect a patient's medical decisions about medications, devices, transplantation, and end-of-life care, the researchers said.
The group, led by Larry Allen of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, studied 122 heart-failure patients. The researchers compared their personal predictions of life expectancy with their corresponding model-estimated life expectancy predictions. The group relied on predictions from the Seattle Heart Failure Model, developed by the UW's Wayne Levy, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology.
Nearly two-thirds of patients overestimated their life expectancy, compared to the Seattle model, the researchers found. The median amount by which patients overestimated their life expectancy was 40 percent.
Researchers do not know why many heart-failure patients are overestimating life expectancy, but they speculate that the incongruity may reflect patients' hope or may result from inadequate communication between clinicians and their patients.
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C. EVERETT KOOP SPEAKS AT CELEBRATION FOR NEW ENDOWED CHAIR OF PEDIATRIC SURGERY
Former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop was the honored guest and featured speaker at a celebration this week of a new endowed chair at the UW. The event, held Wednesday at Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, celebrated the new Herbert E. Coe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery.
The Herbert E. Coe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery has been established at the UW to honor the memory of Dr. Herbert Coe, who devoted his career to pediatric surgery and played a key role in establishing the field as a specialty. He was the first surgeon in the country whose practice was devoted exclusively to children. He had a long association with Children's Hospital, where he served as chief of staff and chief of the surgical service.
Koop is the Elizabeth DeCamp McInerny Professor of Surgery at Dartmouth Medical School. He is also emeritus professor of surgery and pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and emeritus surgeon-in-chief, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the country's oldest children's hospital. From 1981 to 1989, he was surgeon general, U.S. Public Health Service, and deputy assistant secretary for health, Department of Health and Human Services.
As surgeon general, Koop oversaw the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and advised the public on health matters such as smoking and health, diet and nutrition, environmental health hazards, and the importance of immunization and disease prevention. In 1982, he was appointed Director of the Office of International Health and became the government's chief spokesperson on AIDS.
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WWAMI FACULTY MEMBERS HONORED WITH EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS
Five UW clinical faculty members have been recognized with the 2008 WWAMI Excellence in Teaching Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Department of Medicine, honor enthusiasm in and dedication to teaching medical students and residents. The awards are given each year to teachers and coordinators in the WWAMI Medical Education Program, which includes medical school and graduate medical education sites in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
This year's recipients are:
* Judy Benson, clinical associate professor of medicine, Spokane. Benson is the program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Spokane program.
* Gail Feinman, clinical instructor of medicine, Wenatchee, Wash. Feinman is an internal medicine physician at Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.
* Jonathan McDonagh, clinical instructor of medicine, Soldotna, Alaska. McDonagh is an internal medicine physician, and is the coordinator for the Soldotna medical student clerkship.
* Steve Gerstner, clinical associate professor of medicine, Billings, Mont. Gerstner is an internal medicine physician at the Billings Clinic, and is the coordinator for the Billings medical student clerkship.
* William Bekemeyer, clinical associate professor of medicine, Missoula, Mont. Bekemeyer is a pulmonary and critical care physician, and practices at the Western Montana Clinic.
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CATTERALL NAMED TO UK'S ROYAL SOCIETY
William Catterall, professor and chair of pharmacology, has been elected as a foreign member into the Royal Society, the national academy of the United Kingdom and UK Commonwealth. He will be inducted to the society in July.
The Royal Society is composed of about 1,300 of the most accomplished scientists in the UK, and includes in its ranks 21 Nobel Prize recipients and such notable scientists as Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins. The society has only 127 foreign members, who are appointed in recognition of their outstanding scientific discoveries and achievements. Catterall was part of a group of 44 new fellows, eight new foreign members, and one honorary member inducted into the society recently.
Catterall was recognized by the society for his pioneering work on the molecular and cellular properties of voltage-gated ion channels. His contributions to biomedical science, the society said, are vital to understanding the three-dimensional structures of ion channels.
For more information about the Royal Society, visit its Web site at:
http://royalsociety.org/
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MCCARTHY NAMED ASSISTANT DEAN FOR CLINICAL PHASE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN WASHINGTON
John McCarthy, clinical instructor of family medicine, has been appointed as the WWAMI assistant dean for clinical phase/Central and Eastern Washington. McCarthy will be based in the Spokane WWAMI office, and will work with fellow assistant dean Deborah Harper. He will work half-time for the UW while continuing to work as a family medicine physician for Group Health.
McCarthy and Harper are committed to improving access to quality medical care for all people in the region, both urban and rural, and to increasing the number of doctors trained in the Inland Northwest while maintaining the high quality of education for which the UW School of Medicine is noted.
McCarthy attended Gonzaga University and then earned his medical degree from the UW School of Medicine. He was a resident at the Tacoma Family Medicine Residency Program. Following his residency, he spent 14 years in Tonasket, Wash., practicing as a rural family physician.
McCarthy has held a faculty appointment in the Department of Family Medicine since 1995. He has significant experience with residents and medical students. He serves on the medical school's Admissions Committee and is the president-elect for the Washington Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP). He has served as chair of the Rural Health Committee for the WAFP and is serving as the Public Health Officer for Okanogan County in Washington state.
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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