Pediatric Focus - Vol. 1, Issue 2

• Letter from Chairman

• New Director of Pediatric
Cardiology

• Hospital Receives Lounge

• Pediatric Hypertension

• Ewing's Sarcoma Family
of Tumors

• New Physician Profiles

Letter From the Chairman

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

This past July, while serving as the ward-attending physician at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children, I had the opportunity to interact with our current group of bright, compassionate and enthusiastic medical student resident trainees.

As I worked closely alongside many of these students and trainees, I was impressed by their thirst for new knowledge and challenges. The entire University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty benefited from their genuine enthusiasm and love of learning, and a special thanks goes out to Carol Carraccio, M.D., associate chair for education and current president of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, and Robert Englander, M.D., our student education director, for assembling such a wonderful group of resident trainees and medical students.

Education Opportunities Abound

For community physicians engaged in children's health care, the University of Maryland Department of Pediatrics offers numerous academic opportunities and experiences, including our weekday Morning Report Sessions, designed for a variety of age and experience levels.

I also invite you to participate in our Thursday Noon Hotbox Conference, in which our residents try to stump the chief with a diagnostic dilemma. And of course, you are always welcome to join us for Grand Rounds, every Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

For those who wish to engage in an individualized "refresher" learning experience in any area of pediatric medicine, please know that my office will be happy to arrange a mini-sabbatical experience tailored to your needs and interests. In addition, watch for mailings throughout the year about our statewide CME programs and numerous evening lectures and discussions, given by a member of our faculty and accompanied by dinner.

Focus on Research

Our department continues to thrive in its research endeavors. In the past two years, our research grant funding has grown from 10 million to 15 million dollars annually, and we already are on track for further significant increases in the current fiscal year. The wealth of our scholarship can be measured in ways other than dollars as our faculty members continue to make meaningful contributions in areas of childhood infectious diseases, cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension and a wide variety of other child-related health issues.

To ensure that our research endeavors continue to advance, I have appointed James Nataro, M.D., Ph.D., to the position of associate chair for research. Dr. Nataro is already hard at work reorganizing our pediatric research efforts in ways that will further enhance our ability to make a difference in children's health and welfare.

Please stop in for a visit to observe firsthand the creative energy that permeates the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the University of Maryland Hospital for Children.

With warmest wishes,

Jay A. Perman, M.D.

For more information about UMHC or to make an appointment, call the University Physicians Consultation and Referral Service at:
1-800-492-5538 (patients) or 1-800-373-4111 (physicians).

** ERROR:

IncludeAsset Error locating asset.