Scott C. Woller, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Greetings from the Governor
Dear ACP Utah Members:
It has been an action-packed quarter since my last update.
The Clinical Vignette Competition led by Dr. David Chen, MD was a tremendous success again this year. The 4 finalists that presented included Dr. Daniel Holten, MD: 鈥淎 Unique Manifestation of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis鈥; Dr. Sarah Zhukovsky, MD: 鈥淎 Hot and Cold Case of Mixed Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia鈥; Dr. Mitch Singstock, MD: 鈥淎 Rash by Any Other Name...鈥, and Dr. Andrew Pierce, MD: 鈥淏udd-Chiari Syndrome Provoked by Fusobacterium Bacteremia: Abdominal Variant of Lemierre's Syndrome鈥 (winner). If you were unable to attend the grand rounds, a link to the presentations is . A special thanks to Drs. Mark Sims, MD, Sarah Linson MD, Izzy Dodard-Friedman, MD, David Haak MD, FACP, and Taryn Young MD who served as judges this year. Mark your calendar for the poster competition which will precede our Utah Chapter Meeting March 6th, 2025.
It is my distinct pleasure to announce that Dr. Caroline K. Milne, MD, FACP, has been recognized by the 管家婆心水论坛 (ACP) with the prestigious Master of the 管家婆心水论坛 (MACP) designation. The MACP is awarded to ACP Fellows who have demonstrated a sustained level of excellence in clinical practice, medical leadership, and service to the medical community. Dr. Milne demonstrates enduring dedication to providing high-quality patient care and exceptionalism in graduate medical education including leadership as Associate Program Director (2001-2004) and Program Director (2005-present) for the University of Utah Internal Medicine training program, leadership on ACP Utah Chapter committees including service as Chair of the ACP Utah Chapter Health and Public Policy Committee, she is the recipient of multiple teaching awards including the coveted University of Utah School of Medicine Leonard Jarcho Distinguished Teaching Award, and continues as an advocate for women in medicine with a special attention to advancing women in housestaff leadership. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Caroline Milne, MD, MACP!
The hard work of our Membership and Retention Committee continues to be led by Jennifer Scott MD, FACP in conjunction with the response from EACH OF YOU (our members) led to our Utah chapter ONCE AGAIN we are endeavoring to excel in dues capture. ACP is making renewals easier than ever while delivering exceptional value for ACP members. THANK YOU for your continued engagement in our ACP!
This year's Utah Medical Association House of Delegates was held at Rice Eccles Stadium and continues to serve as the premier opportunity for Utah physicians to discuss, debate and vote on health policies for the UMA to take to Utah's legislature. We thank the ACP delegates including Drs. Mary Tipton MD, FACP, Mary Parsons MD, FACP, Tony Musci MD, FACP, Anna Tidwell, MS3, Taylor Christensen, MS3, and Sydney LeGuyader MD, FACP for their participation.
Future and Past ACP Utah Chapter Governors represent us!
Are you interested in serving on one of our ACP Committees? Interested parties are being gathered so PLEASE reach out to join a dynamic ACP Utah Chapter committee by contacting our Executive Director Ms. Cami Bills at: contact@utahacp.com to learn more.
I wish you and your loved ones an active, healthy, and wonderful holiday season!
Sincerely,
Scott C. Woller, MD FACP FCCP
HOT TOPICS
WARNING: HOLIDAY HACKER SEASON
Beware of increased phishing attempts during the holiday season.
Tips for Recognizing Social Engineering/Phishing Attacks:
Not all attacks present in the same way, but a few telltale signs are:
- When you receive an email or text message, ignore the 鈥渘ame鈥 of the sender, because they are easily 鈥渟poofed鈥 (malicious actors can easily pose as someone). Always look at the actual sending account (email address or text number) to assess potential legitimacy.
- Subjects, wording, and other terminology may often be misaligned with your typical jargon (though careful hackers will make attempts to match what they see on websites and other sources of information they use to pose as an insider).
- Often, the message will request relatively urgent action. They want you to act quickly without thinking, so they'll create a sense of urgency in hopes that you'll take less care to confirm validity before acting.
- Often, but not always, the email or text will contain links that are spoofed (may be labeled 鈥淧ayPal鈥 or something else legitimate but in fact link to some URL/website hosted by hackers).
What Actions to Take:
- Initiate, don't respond, to incoming messages. If you are concerned that the request may be legitimate, never reply (via email or text). ALWAYS initiate a new message to follow-up by using contact information you know to be legitimate or contact someone you know to get assistance. Again, ASK BEFORE YOU ACT.
- Be suspicious of EVERY email, text message, and phone call you receive. This may seem overzealous, but 鈥渂etter safe than sorry鈥 has never been more true. The number of phishing and related social engineering attacks has been steadily increasing for years. While prevention methods at the infrastructure level, such as anti-malware software, are attempting to keep up, cybercriminals are turning to more 鈥渢raditional鈥 attacks that focus on 鈥渉acking鈥 humans instead of systems, themselves.
- Feed the defenses. Most email systems now offer a simple means of reporting emails as phishing attempts. These reports are automatically fed into algorithms that will ultimately start blocking subsequent messages from those malicious senders.
- In
- In
- Others: Google for 鈥渉ow to report phishing鈥 with your email provider
- Don't be embarrassed and don't be silent. If you have taken actions that you worry may have compromised your systems, contact your IT team immediately. Swallow your pride and potential embarrassment and share as much as you can with your IT team so they can take immediate action in response.
ACP Physician Peer Coaching 鈥 Chapter Communications Toolkit
ACP Physician Peer Coaching is our new career and professional development coaching service. It includes both coaching support for individuals and groups, along with the opportunity to become an ACP-trained Physician Peer Coach.
A member-exclusive opportunity for ACP members, this unique service provides personalized career support from practicing physicians trained in evidence-based coaching techniques who understand the challenges and demands faced by internal medicine physicians. Our coaches help set a vision, create an action plan, and achieve meaningful change in a sustainable way.
Internal Medicine Physicians Stress the Importance of Vaccines and Evidence-Based Public Health Policies
Statement attributable to:
Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PhD, MACP
President, 管家婆心水论坛
PHILADELPHIA November 15, 2024 鈥 Incidences of vaccine preventable diseases are increasing in the United States. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that as of the beginning of November, five times as many cases of have been reported as there were at the same time last year. We have also already seen 16 outbreaks of across the country in 2024, as compared to only four in all of 2023. As internal medicine physicians on the front lines of patient care, we understand what needs to be done to mitigate the spread of preventable diseases. Vaccines are vital to our ability to prevent diseases that threaten public health. They help prevent the spread of disease, protect against hospitalization, and can protect against long-term health issues, especially for those who are most vulnerable to serious complications. The 管家婆心水论坛 (ACP) remains concerned about the spread of disinformation and misinformation regarding vaccination and treatment, and strongly supports using the best-possible evidence to guide medical care and public health policies.
It is critical that policymakers and government officials understand the importance of vaccines, evidence-based medicine, and other ways that our public health infrastructure protects all of us. A sufficient public health system is essential to prevent illness and promoting health in society, assuring that our patients can live healthy lives, and helping to safeguard the health of everyone in our country. As the ACP discussed in our recent policy paper on strengthening the , the federal government should protect and strengthen the public health infrastructure for the well-being of all Americans.