Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences 

USU Newsletter 

WWW.USUHS.MIL APRIL 3, 2006 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 

In This Issue 

Chadian humanitarian 

effort...........................1 

National Nurses Week....2 

Service Member of the 

Quarter........................4 

USU president visits 

Travis AFB...................4 

Antietam Road March....5 

USU Renovations .........6 

MedPix.........................7 

Calendar of Events...Back

Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences 

WWW.USUHS.MIL MAY 8, 2006 

Mother’s Day

May 14th 

Seven instructors from USU teach 

Chadians first responder training 

 Faculty and staff from the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU) traveled to 

Chad in March to instruct the 

Chadian people in first responder 

training. 

 The instructors’ responsibilities in 

Chad, which is located in NorthCentral Africa and is about three 

times the size of California, were to 

teach first responder training to the 

High Commission for National Demining (HCND) employees. The entire 

trip encompassed four weeks of training. 

 Colonel Charles Beadling, Air Force, MC, 

Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Medicine 

(CDHAM) acting director, said they taught four 

different courses: Medical First Responder in 

Austere Environments (four one-week courses, 

total of 118 students - 9 instructor candidates), 

basic computer applications (21 students - 4 

instructor candidates), Information Management System for Mine Actions (IMSMA) Database (7 students - 1 instructor candidate), and 

Management/Administration (25 students). 

 Colonel Beadling added that of the nine 

instructors, including himself, seven were from 

USU. Others were: Master Chief Kevin Smith, 

SW/FMF, USN, brigade senior enlisted leader; 

HMC Jennifer Mallory, FMF, Military and Emergency Medicine (MEM); Ms. Mary Johnson, 

MEM; Mr. Ray Handel, MEM; Mr. Wes Summers, UIS; and Randy Spears, a Henry Jackson 

Foundation employee in the CDHAM. Also, 

Doug Weaver, coordinator, computer and 

information technology program administrator 

with Cisco Regional Networking Academy, 

West Virginia University at Parkersburg, W.Va.; 

and Mr. Thomas Gilbert, Data Base DOD, Humanitarian De-mining Training Center (HDTC), 

Fort Leonard Wood, MO. 

 Ms. Johnson and Chief Mallory taught two 

classes and an instructor course. The first class 

they taught had about 20 students. 

 “The Chadians are very intelligent people. 

They caught on very quickly,” Chief Mallory 

said. “The first team of instructors modified the 

training material to teach from ground zero. 

The course is a week-long training session, 

almost like Combat Medical Skills, except the 

facilitators had to think outside the box.” 

 “HCND initially told us the class size would 

max out at 24,” Mr. Handel said. “On the first 

day of classes there were more than 50 people 

so we had to divide the class in two, scrap our 

initial plans and develop a reasonable course 

with one instructor for each of the two classes 

of 25 each.” 

 Chief Mallory said the reason for the training is because it could take up to five days in 

Chad for an injured individual to arrive at a 

hospital. The facilitators from USU taught the 

Chadian nationals how to stop the bleeding 

and what to do for infection, sepsis, and 

wound care. 

 “Here in the States, a person can be rushed 

to the hospital within minutes of an accident. 

Over there, the person injured may never see a 

hospital,” Chief Mallory said. “Our students 

talked to us about how they would treat injured people. It is very interesting how anyone 

can survive in a system with no immediate 

health services.” 

 “The facilitators taught them how to treat 

traumatic injuries, how to bandage and package a patient for transport,” Chief Mallory said. 

“This is the same type of training first-year 

medical students are taught except the mateBy MC3 Kory Kepner 

Staff writer, Office of External Affairs 

Photo by HMC Jennifer Mallory 

Mary Johnson, second from left, facilitates Chadian instructors in first responder training. 

See CHAD, page 3 
PAGE 2 

Dr. Rice announces university 

reorganization

News 

Graduate School 

of Nursing

 The theme for the 2006 National Nurses Week is 

“Nurses: Strength, Commitment, Compassion.” This 

theme, along with research, scholarship, and leadership, fully captures the essence of nursing. 

 Strength: America has approximately 2.9 million 

registered nurses (RNs) who practice in diverse settings. Men comprise six percent of this number. 

From traditional settings such as inpatient, outpatient, nursing homes, extended care facilities, and 

office nursing, to military service, community and 

public health, laboratory science, technological, and 

educational settings, nurses make a difference in 

health care outcomes. Individuals or groups can 

expect to receive the best care that nurses have to 

offer, whether seeking nursing services locally, regionally, nationally or internationally. 

 Registered nurses serve in a variety of roles from 

generalist to advanced practice. Among these roles 

are: care provider, case manager, nurse administrator/executive, nurse informaticist, nurse practitioner, 

clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, nurse educator, and nurse scientist, to name a 

few. 

 Commitment: As advocates for quality care, registered nurses are committed to health promotion, 

disease prevention, restorative care, palliative care, 

and when all available measures fail, to helping 

those who are gravely ill experience death with 

dignity. Seeking to achieve excellence in care, 

nurses are not satisfied with the “status quo.” 

 Compassion: Synonyms for compassion include 

sympathy, empathy, concern, kindness, consideration, and care. Registered nurses, as one of the most 

trusted professional groups in the nation, have 

earned this public trust by demonstrating compassion and commitment 24/7 to those entrusted to 

their care. 

 Research/Scholarship: Nurses are committed to 

scientific inquiry making use of evidence-based research findings to improve health care. Based upon 

using current best evidence, nurses make conscientious, explicit, and judicious decisions regarding 

care paths for patients and clients. Further, nurse 

scientists not only conduct research in an effort to 

discover new and better ways to provide care to 

patients, clients, employees, and other publics, but 

also disseminate findings through refereed journals 

and professional presentations. At the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), 

nurses focus their research on operational readiness/force protection, clinical decision making in 

the federal and military sectors, and/or population 

health and outcomes in the federal and military 

sectors. 

 Leadership in Nursing: Celebrating nurses week 

provides an opportunity to highlight the many contributions that nurse leaders have made throughout 

the decades from the time of Florence Nightingale, 

pioneer of modern nursing and a noted statistician 

(1850s), to Clara Barton, founder of the American 

Red Cross in 1881, to current leaders in military and 

federal nursing such as the Federal Nursing Service 

Chiefs: Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, U.S. Army; Maj. Gen. 

Melissa Rank, U.S. Air Force; Rear Adm. Christine 

Bruzek-Kohler; U.S. Navy; Rear Adm. Carol Romano, 

U.S. Public Health Service; Ms. Cathy Rick, Chief 

Nursing Officer, Veterans Health Administration; 

and Ms. Nancy McKelvey, Chief Nurse, American 

Red Cross. Other nurse leaders of note are Dr. 

Patricia Hinton-Walker, dean, Graduate School of 

Nursing (GSN), USU; Retired Rear Adm. (Dr.) Faye G. 

Abdellah, U.S. Public Health Service, and founding 

dean/dean emerita, GSN, USU; and Retired Brig. 

Gen. Linda Stierle, U.S. Air Force, who presently 

serves as the executive director of the American 

Nurses Association, and a member of USU’s Board 

of Regents. 

 

USU Newsletter 

Editorial Staff 

Carol R. Scheman 

Vice President, Office 

of External Affairs and 

Managing Editor 

Tech. Sgt. 

 André Nicholson 

Editor 

Journalist 3rd Class 

Kory Kepner 

Staff Writer 

Mass Communications 

Seaman Apprentice 

Raul Zamora 

Staff Writer 

 

Sharon Willis 

Director 

Alumni Affairs and 

Contributing Writer 

Marla Wright 

Webmaster

 

Production: 

Editorial content is 

edited, prepared and 

provided by the USU 

Office of External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Newsletter staff may include 

or exclude articles 

based upon news 

value, impact on the 

university and space 

availability. 

Submissions: 

The USU Newsletter 

will be published biweekly on Mondays 

and deadline for submission is Friday at 4 

p.m. Submissions can 

be sent to usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or call 

301-295-3925. 

By Karen L. Elberson, Ph.D, RN 

Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs 

Graduate School of Nursing 

May 6 - 12 is National Nurses Week 

Photo courtesy of GSN 

Nurses in the Air Force provide care for casualties 

aboard military aircraft as members of aeromedical 

evacuation crews and Critical Care Air Transport 

Teams. 

Photo by Sharon Willis 

Majs. Michael Meyer (left) and Laura Newkirk, 

both U.S. Army Graduate School of Nursing students, provide care to a simulated patient during 

Operation Bushmaster 2005. 
PAGE 3 

News 

rial was broken down more. The facilitators taught the students 

how to treat things such as: pneumothorax, hemorrhage, impaled 

objects, burns, infection control, heat stress and much, much 

more.” 

 “I believe the Chadians will gain many things from this experience and hopefully our continued presence,” Ms. Johnson said. 

“Positive interactions between cultures have immeasurable value. 

When we asked the students what they had gotten out of this 

course, many of them told us that they felt more confident in their 

medical skills and in themselves.” 

 Chief Mallory said the second week of classes consisted of 

five students and eight instructors. What the USU facilitators are 

hoping for is that the Chadian students and instructors continue 

the classes on their own. The second week was more challenging 

because of the portion of training. Chadians from the first set of 

classes were the instructors. The students from the first week of 

classes returned to teach the students in the second week. The 

students appeared to enjoy the experience. 

 “We would have instructor meetings at the end of class and we 

would ‘divvy’ up assignments for the next day,” Chief Mallory said. 

“We would go over any questions the instructors-in-training 

would have and then go over the material. They were very thankful for letting them return and teach. They appreciated us taking 

the time out of our lives to fly there and teach them, so now they 

can give something back to their own communities.” 

 “I believe the Chadian people had a very favorable impression 

of the Americans that were assisting them,” Master Chief Smith 

said. “They commented on more than one occasion that we came 

from very far away to help their country and were very thankful to 

us.” 

 “I was impressed that the Chadian people were so appreciative 

of the training and how quickly they learned the fundamental 

concepts even though most were barely literate,” Master Chief 

Smith said. 

 “I definitely agree that the Chadian students were very enthusiastic and absorbed what we were teaching quickly,” Colonel 

Beadling said. “With the poverty and political instability in Chad I 

do not know how well the programs will be sustained without 

follow on. I think there are major problems there and we can 

make a positive difference, but it will take time.” 

 The group plans on continuing their work in Chad and they 

also plan on stepping up the training when they return for a conference in September. 

 “For the next trip, (Chief Mallory) and I are working on an advanced course in which we plan to include anatomy and physiology, advanced medical skills and effective teaching methods,” Ms. 

Johnson said. “While we will be training these students to be advanced medical providers, we will also be teaching them to be 

first responder instructors. We would like them to be able to train 

everyone in their village or community to be first responders.” 

Photo by HMC Jennifer Mallory 

CHAD, continued from page 1 

De-miners from the Chad High Commission for National Demining practice bandaging in the classroom. They may use these 

skills on the job if a mine explodes during removal. 

Director General visits USU 

Charles L. Rice, M.D., Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences (USU) president (left), meets 

with Admiral V. K. Singh, director general of the Indian Military Medical Services, during Dr. Singh's 

week-long visit to USU April 18 - 21. The university 

entered an affiliation agreement with India approximately a year ago in an effort to collaborate on 

medical education/research programs. During his 

visit and in addition to his time at USU, Dr. Singh 

visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center, National 

Naval Medical Center and the National Institutes of 

Health. Radha Maheshwari, Ph.D., professor, Department of Pathology, and Emmanuel Cassimatis, M.D., 

associate dean for Clinical Affairs, were instrumental 

in the admiral’s visit to the university. 

Photo by Thomas Balfour 
PAGE 4 

News 

News 

Capt. John R. Rumbaugh, CFAAMA, 

MSC, USN, USU brigade commander, 

presents Staff Sgt 

Thomas Wicker 

(above) and Staff 

Sgt. Thomas Echelmeyer (below) with 

Joint Service Accommodation Medals at 

an awards ceremony 

April 21. 

President Rice visits Travis AFB, speaks to USU alums 

MEM staff member wins Service 

Member of the Quarter Award

 An Air Force staff sergeant has 

been named the Service Member 

of the Quarter (SMOQ) for the 

months of January through April. 

 Staff Sgt. Michelle Rogers, operations training NCO, Military 

and Emergency Medicine at the 

Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences (USU) received the award from Capt. John 

R. Rumbaugh, CFAAMA, MSC, 

USN, USU brigade commander. 

 Sergeant Rogers, who has 

been in the Air Force four years 

and assigned to USU since April 

of 2005, received a Certificate of 

Appreciation, a brigade medallion, a reserved parking spot for 

three months and a gift certificate 

to the Cheesecake Factory, for 

earning the award. 

 “I was very surprised and 

thankful to have been recognized 

as the SMOQ,” Sergeant Rogers 

said. “I have to say it isn't an easy 

award to get. You need to prepare for the board and, of course, 

work very hard to even get to 

that point. I have only received certificates and letters 

of appreciation, but never an 

actual award!” 

 The nominees for the first 

quarter SMOQ were HM2 

Careese Charles, Sgt. Dina 

Lyon, Spc. Kevin Love and 

Sergeant Rogers. 

 Part of the process to be 

named SMOQ is to go before 

a board of senior enlisted leaders who ask the nominees a 

series of questions ranging 

from general military knowledge to current events. 

 During the ceremony other 

awards and decorations were 

given out to members of the 

brigade. They include the 

USU Color Guard Member of 

the Quarter, which was presented to RP2 Cedric McGregory. 

A few medals and Certificates of 

Appreciation were also awarded 

to other brigade members for 

their contributions to the university. 

 Charles L. Rice, M.D., USU president, congratulated all the members on their leadership and professionalism, “I enjoy the opportunity to recognize our service 

members... they are the back 

bone of this institution. The 

awards are only a small token 

and only a symbol of the hard 

work a service member has 

done.” 

MCSA Raul Zamora 

Staff writer, Office of External Affairs 

Photo by Tech. Sgt James Steele 

Staff Sgt. Michelle Rogers, Military and 

Emergency Medicine, U.S. Air Force, 

receives a certificate of appreciation 

for being selected Service Member of 

The Quarter from Capt. John R. Rumbaugh, CFAAMA, MSC, USN, USU 

brigade commander. 

 The President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health and Sciences (USU), was invited to 

be the guest speaker at the biannual Dining-Out 

held at David Grant Air Force Medical Center 

(DGMC), Travis Air Force Base, Calif., April 28. 

 During his Dining-Out speech, Charles L. Rice, 

M.D., USU president, discussed the importance of 

the Air Force’s expeditionary medical system and 

USU’s role in that system. 

 He also met with alumni, faculty and prospective 

students during his visit to the base. He addressed 

the university’s role in the integration of Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval 

Medical Center. 

 Dr. Rice was accompanied by Maj. Chetan 

Kharod class of 1996, assistant professor, Military 

and Emergency Medicine (MEM), and Ms. Sharon 

Willis, director of Alumni Affairs. 

 The USU team also met with prospective students to answer questions and provide information 

on admission requirements to the School of Medicine (SOM), the Graduate School of Nursing (GSN), 

and graduate programs. They were assisted in their 

efforts by several alumni including; SOM graduate 

Maj. Karen Ayotte, class of 1999, GSN graduates 

Maj. Brian Koonce, class of 1999, and Capt. Joanna 

Bourne, class of 2005, as well as former SOM commandant Col. Linda Lawrence and former MEM 

faculty member Lt. Col. Diane Reese, who are all 

assigned to DGMC. 

 Alumni, faculty and prospective students also 

joined Dr. Rice for an after hours reception during 

his visit. 

 DGMC is located in Fairfield, Calif., near Sacramento and is commanded by USU class of 1987 

alumnus Col. Byron Hepburn. 

MCSA Raul Zamora 

Staff writer, Office of External Affairs 
PAGE 5 

Look Who’s Talking...What would you like as a graduation gift?

“New microphones 

and pointers to give 

to the lecturers in 

Lecture Room E. I 

think every one 

knows why!” 

Air Force 2nd Lt. 

Dallas Hansen 

SOM student 

“A diploma!” 

Navy Ensign 

James Bailey 

SOM student 

“A Navy sword. 

That’s one thing I 

want after I graduate from the nurse 

anesthesia program. It’s always 

been a dream of 

mine. I never 

thought I deserved 

one until I accomplished something. 

Navy Lt. 

Jerrol Wallace 

GSN student

First-year students learn from the past 

 Students from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences participated in the annual Antietam Road March at the Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md. April 27. 

 Every year, approximately 165 first-year medical students take 

part in the six-mile hike at the battlefield. The Battle of Antietam, 

which claimed more than 23,000 men killed or wounded in a single day on Sept. 17, 1862, is the single bloodiest day in American 

history. 

 Along the hike re-enactors from the local area entertained and 

taught the students valuable lessons from a war fought a century 

and a half ago. 

 “They (the re-enactors) were awesome. They gave you the flavor of the battle. They are dedicated and passionate about what 

they do... everyone was enthralled,” said Army Col. Constance J. 

Moore, MSN, RN, BC, commandant, Graduate School of Nursing. 

 “It’s really exciting to learn about the history of military medicine and to see where the battle actually took place,” said 2nd Lt. 

Gary Legault. 

 The students were not only given a history lesson but they 

learned something just as valuable. 

 "It's neat to be able to walk on the battlefield and think about 

what it was like then and what soldiers were thinking," said 2nd 

Lt. Todd Balog. "The medical piece has evolved so much from 

what it was then to how it is now." 

 "The more we understand the past, the better we can understand and encapsulate the present,” said Re-enactor David Jahnke. “One casualty in war is one too many.” 

 “Esprit de corps was built...it was really great to see the students 

work together and get the job done,” Colonel Moore said. 

 This operation reinforces the universality of war, Colonel Moore 

said. It shows that we dare to care. The re-enactors show these 

students that we are vulnerable, but strong. They get to see there 

has always been, and always will be, someone trying to help the 

young people who are fighting for this country. 

News 

Photo by MCSA Raul Zamora 

Re-enactor David Jahnke details the events preceding the Confederate line encountering union soldiers to first year medical students from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Led by Maj. Gens. William H. French and Israel B. Richardson. For several hours, Confederate Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill's 

men used the protection of the sunken, 800-yard lane's ridge to 

hold off attackers. 

By MC3 Kory Kepner 

Staff writer, Office of External Affairs 

Photo by Thomas Balfour 

First-year medical students participate in the Battle of Antietam 

road march April 27, where they learned about the bloody battle 

and how military medicine played an integral part.
PAGE 6 

“With construction, you get 

nuisance noise, 

heavy equipment and other 

inconveniences 

that go along 

with laying 

foundations, 

building construction and 

necessary demolition to exact 

repairs to the 

existing buildings or create 

new ones.” 

Building renovations underway at USU 

 As the administration at the Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences (USU) continue to 

make improvements to the university’s infrastructure, make repairs and eventually break ground for 

Building E, members of USU will notice noise, equipment, area restriction barriers, danger signs, etc... 

 “With construction, you get nuisance noise, 

heavy equipment and other inconveniences that go 

along with laying foundations, building construction and necessary demolition to exact repairs to 

the existing buildings or create new ones,” said Mr. 

John Pomerville, asst. vice president for Environmental Health and Safety, director, Environmental 

Health and Occupational Safety. 

 Currently there is a major exterior brick replacement project in process in Building A. This project 

will eventually reach all buildings of the university 

as the workers move their scaffolding from one area 

of the university to the other. The project is essential 

infrastructure repair to repair the bricks that were 

cracking and separating from the buildings. 

 The funds for this repair work were requested 

from TMA specifically for these repairs and would 

not have been available for any other purpose. 

 “Most people at USU are not used to prolonged 

construction and it is new to most of us,” Mr. Pomerville said. 

 This is the university’s first major repair project of 

the buildings’ exteriors. Everyone needs to exercise 

increased caution and employ common sense 

when it comes to ongoing construction and carrying on normal business or as normal as it can be in 

such circumstances. It is important to respect all 

construction barriers and warning signs during this 

process. 

 They are there for everyone’s protection. Building occupants will notice noise and pneumatic hammering from the brick demolition as they prepare 

the surfaces to be repaired. Environmental Health 

and Occupational Safety (EHS) has surveyed the 

noise levels so far as the work progresses in Building 

A. The noise levels, in general areas, surveyed when 

the pneumatic hammering was going on were 70-

78 weighted decibels (dBA). The highest level measured was 103 dBA directly adjacent to an affected 

window where the jack hammering was being conducted directly outside. To put it in perspective, the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) set standards for noise exposure levels. The 

OSHA standards for noise are that a person can 

work in an area of 90 dBA for a period of 8 hours 

without hearing protection. At the 103 dBA level, 

one would be able - according to OSHA - to work in 

that environment for 1 - 1.5 hours, not that you 

would want to. DOD Instruction 6055.12 additionally lowers the 90 dBA 8 hour limit to 85 decibels 

(dBA). This should put the noise level in perspective 

somewhat, but, that doesn't mean that the noise 

itself isn't very bothersome and distracting. 

 The construction crews begin work at about 4 

a.m. to lessen the disturbances in the late afternoon. 

Ear plugs are available in Room G040 to help reduce the noise, Mr. Pomerville said. 

 EHS will continue to monitor noise levels as the 

work progresses. The facilities department is changing air intake filters on a regular basis to keep up 

with the increased dust outside. EHS, facilities, Naval Facilities and the contractor site supervisors 

meet on a weekly basis or as needed to discuss the 

ongoing work and safety considerations. The consideration and cooperation of everyone at USU is 

greatly appreciated during these renovations. 

Photo by NCSA Raul Zamora 

Jose Meja with Desbuilt Construction works hard to 

replace some of the bricks from the walls of Building 

A at USU. 

Article Courtesy of 

Environmental Health and Safety Office 

News 

News 

Photo by MC3 Kory Kepner 

A construction worker cleans his trowel after 

spackling bricks outside of Building A, Wednesday 

afternoon. 

Mr. John 

Pomerville 
 The annual USU Research Week is 

May 16 -18. The theme for this year’s 

event is “Global Public Health: The 

Changing Role of Military Medicine.” All 

USU faculty, staff and students are invited to register and submit abstracts on 

the Research Day website: 

http://www.usuresearchday.hjf.org/. 

 Dr. Alan Leshner, chief executive 

officer for the American Association for 

the Advancement of Science will be the 

Plenary Speaker, May 18 at 3:30 p.m. in 

Lecture Room E. His talk will be 

“Evolving Context for Science and Society.” 

 The Henry C. Wu Symposium will be 

given by Dr. Teresa Dunn, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry May 17 at 9 

a.m. in Lecture Room E. Her talk will be 

“Structural Organization of Serine Palmitoyltransferase and Its Role in Human 

Disease.” 

 The James J. Leonard Symposium will 

be given by Dr. Carol Fullerton, Department of Psychiatry May 18 at 9 a.m. in 

Lecture Room E. Her talk will be 

“Posttraumatic Stress Responses: First 

Responders in a Changing Nation.” 

 The Graduate Student Colloquium 

Bullard Lecture will be given by Dr. Solomon Snyder, distinguished professor of 

Neuroscience, Pharmacology & Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of 

Medicine. His lecture will be at 3 p.m. in 

Lecture Room E, titled “Neural Messengers of Life and Death.” 

 A Medical Imaging Database developed by a professor at the 

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), has 

been ranked the number two imaging database in a paper presented at the Association of University Radiologists annual meeting, held in April. 

 James G. Smirniotopoulos, M.D., professor of Radiology, Neurology and Biomedical Informatics and chair, Radiology and Radiological Sciences, developed MedPixTM in 1999 with Navy Lt. 

Cmdr. Henry Irvine, M.D., currently a flight surgeon for VP-45, 

Jacksonville, Fla. It is a free online Medical Imaging Database, 

provided by the Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Informatics at USU. 

 “I actually started a radiology database – without pictures – 

on my Commodore 64 computer in 1984,” Dr. Smirniotopoulos 

said. “In 1995 when I came to USU, I created a new database 

program running on a desktop PC. That early version of the software helped develop the structural database that we now use in 

MedPixTM.” 

 Dr. Smirniotopoulos said that they began to build the database because nothing else was available at the time. 

 “We needed a cross-platform internet based system to allow 

all of the DOD programs to share a common teaching file,” Dr. 

Smirniotopoulos said. “This became imperative when the Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center Radiology Residency merged with the 

National Naval Medical Center program.” 

 “We also wanted to move our USU Medical Student Teaching 

File into the digital age,” he said. “All students who take the radiology fourth-year medical student elective contribute cases to 

these teaching files, and it has been completely digital for the 

past four years.” 

 The primary target audience includes residents and practicing 

physicians, medical students, nurses and graduate nursing students, and other post-graduate trainees. The MedPixTM material is arranged by disease category, location, captions, and patient profiles, 

providing a user-friendly training 

resource. Today MedPixTM offers 

more than 27,601 images from 

more than 7,324 peer-reviewed 

cases. 

 The Web-based teaching file was 

developed to be a centralized focal 

point of peer reviewed radiographs, 

where radiologists anywhere can 

contribute and view cases. In addition to radiology images, MedPixTM 

also stores pathology, ophthalmology, dermatology, and endoscopy 

photographs. 

 MedPixTM provides a quick summary of medical information with images; it is not intended to be 

encyclopedic. MedPixTM is not intended to be a substitute for 

medical advice, and the reader is responsible for confirming the 

accuracy of this information before beginning or changing any 

therapy or treatment. Not only has the imaging database been 

granted a patent from the U.S. government, but it’s also been 

licensed by the American College of Radiology (ACR). 

 The ACR is pleased to offer the MedPixTM database to their 

members as another Web-based learning tool, according to ACR 

officials. 

 Their mission is to provide state-of-the art educational opportunities for radiologists anytime throughout their careers. Their 

Web-based audience will benefit from the variety of challenging 

cases provided by MedPixTM. 

 For more information about MedPixTM visit http://

rad.usuhs.mil/MedPixTM/MedPixTM.html?mode=news

Dr. 

James G. 

Smirniotopoulos 

PAGE 7 

Imaging database ranked number two 

 John Frankenburg has assumed the duties of 

Protocol and Events Officer formally held by Karen 

Dern. Please contact his office at 295-3665 or 

jfrankenburg@usuhs.mil when your department 

has a distinguished visitor or flag officer visiting. 

His office has relocated to Room B1009 

 For official brigade functions when a flag officer is visiting please notify HM1 Muhammad Hassan, USN, BDE adjutant at 295-3423 or mhassan@usuhs.mil. This will ensure the proper military 

courtesies are provided by the brigade for your 

guests. HM1 Hassan's office is in Military Personnel. 

 Our offices look forward to providing your departments with assistance in hosting visitors to the 

university. 

News 

By MC3 Kory Kepner 

Staff writer, Office of External Affairs 

Protocol Procedures

Research Week News Briefs 
PAGE 8 

USU Calendar of Events 

 8 

LRC Training 

“PubMed Basics” 

Noon-1 p.m. 

LRC Computer Rm 

9 

LRC Training 

“EndNote Basics” 

Noon-1 p.m. 

LRC Computer Rm 

 

 

 

 

10 

Armed Forces District American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Dedication of the Archives 

Bldg. C, Lec. Rm E 

5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

 

 

National Nurses 

Week 

11 

Dept. of Pediatrics 

Grand Rounds 

Lec. Rm D 

7:45 a.m. 

12 

Class of 2006 

Graduation Awards 

Ceremony Sanford 

Auditorium 1 p.m. 

 

 

13 

14 

Mother’s Day 

15 16 

Graduate School of 

Nursing Awards 

Ceremony Sanford 

Auditorium 4 p.m. 

 

 

2006 USU Research 

Week begins 

17 

 

 

USU Toastmasters 

Meeting Rm A2052 

Noon-1 p.m. 

18 

 

 

 

Research Day 

Theme 

“Global Public 

Health: The Changing Role of Military 

Medicine” 

19 

Board of Regents 

Meeting 

Rm D3001 9 a.m. 

20 

2006 

COMMENCEMENT 

Daughters of the 

American 

Revolution 

Constitution Hall 

11 a.m. 

21 22 

 

23 24 

Asian Pacific Islander Celebration 

Cafeteria 9 -10 a.m. 

25 

5K Fun Run/Walk at 

1200 at the Comfort Zone 

 

Dept. of Pediatrics 

Research Conf. 

Lec. Rm C 

9 - 10 a.m. 

26 27 

28 29 

Memorial Day 

30 31 

May