The Official USU Newsletter

Learning to Care for Those in Harm’s Way

Volume 10, Issue 14 n August 17 

2015 www.usuhs.edu
2 the pulse August 17, 2015

Therapy dogs Goldie and Laura Lee visit USU 

Graduate School of Nursing students during 

a class. The dogs visit USU students, staff 

and faculty weekly to help alleviate classroom 

or work stress. See story, page 4. (Photo by 

Alexis Christman)

On the cover

Sharon Holland

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Eric Ritter

Writer and Editor

MC3 Laura Bailey

Writer and Photographer

Alexis Christman 

Communications Intern

Kiernan Kiser 

Communications Intern 

Danielle Snowden 

Communications Intern

 

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Pulse staff may 

include or exclude articles based 

upon news value, impact on the 

university and space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse is published 

biweekly on Mondays. The deadline 

for submissions is at 4 p.m. 

Tuesday prior to the publication 

date. Submissions can be sent to 

eric.ritter2@usuhs.edu or by calling 

301-295-3338.

Vaccines, Cont. Page 7

Research on the causes, prevention, 

mitigation and treatment of heart, lung, and 

blood diseases, and sleep disorders – all of 

which affect the readiness of the uniformed 

services and the health of military families 

– is the impetus for a new partnership between the Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences (USU) and the National 

Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 

National Institutes of Health. 

The Collaborative Health Initiative 

Research Program, or CHIRP, is headed by 

Director and principal investigator Harvey 

B. Pollard, M.D., Ph.D., chair of USU’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, and Deputy Director David Scott, 

M.D., professor and vice chair for Research, 

USU Department of Medicine, with representatives from the NHLBI and other USU 

members serving on the Executive Steering 

Committee. 

CHIRP will initially support pilot 

research proposals that focus on diseases 

and disorders of particular relevance to the 

U.S. military health system–trauma, sepsis, transfusion emergency care, and health 

promotion—and key concerns of the NHLBI such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sickle cell disease, 

and various cardiovascular conditions that 

affect all Americans, including those in the 

military. 

To examine these research priorities, 

CHIRP may integrate clinical epidemiology 

databases with whole genome sequencing 

and possibly other “-omics”, such as proteomics or metabolomics. This may help 

researchers identify better predictors of disease onset and outcomes, as well as assess 

treatment responses. Projects will be supported by multiple research cores at USU, 

including Sequencing and other –Omics, 

Data Storage, Data Commons, and Informatics Cores.

Because service members and their 

families have access to universal health care 

without economic barriers, this initiative 

also presents an opportunity to examine 

diseases of importance to under-represented populations without the complication 

introduced by disparate access to care. 

“CHIRP is an exciting opportunity for the NHLBI and USU to combine 

our strengths—including systems biology, 

large cohort studies, and clinical outcomes 

database experience—to advance priority 

health questions with an eye toward precision medicine,” said NHLBI Director Gary 

H. Gibbons, M.D. “Precision medicine offers an approach to disease prevention and 

treatment that considers the unique genes 

and environment of each patient with the 

ultimate goal of delivering the right treatment, at the right time, to the right patient.”

“President Obama has recognized 

the enormous potential that precision 

medicine offers to cure or ameliorate diseases which have thwarted our best efforts 

up until now,” said USU President Charles 

L. Rice M.D. “USU is pleased to play our 

part in answering the President’s challenge 

through this important initiative.”

USU and NHLBI Launch Collaborative 

Health Initiative Research Program

by Sharon Holland

Highlighting the importance of immunization

By Eric D. Ritter

Every August, Uniformed Services 

University (USU) welcomes a new class to 

the campus. When the students initially arrive, they are given an orientation for their 

role and expectations while at USU. Part of 

the orientation for medical students is immunization updates. 

According to Navy Capt. (Dr.) Mark 

Stephens, chair of USU's Department of 

Family Medicine, every August the University makes every effort to make sure everyone—especially those new arrivals are 

aware of the immunizations that are needed 

and why they are needed.

“Throughout the month, there is a 

concentrated effort here at USU with the 

Department of Family Medicine and the 

University Family Health Center to ensure 

all of our new arrivals are in compliance 

with recommendations from the appropriate authorities such as ACIP (Advisory 

Committee on Immunization Practices) 

and the DoD,” Stephens said.

Stephens added that USU isn’t just 

keeping new students aware of immunizations, they are open to assisting anyone 

with access to care at the clinic.

“It’s really a neat set-up with what 

we have here,” he said. “We see everything 

from newborns all the way to geriatric patients, and offer them the recommended 

vaccinations.”

According to the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC), the importance of proper immunizations is one of the 
3 the pulse August 17, 2015

USU alumna appointed 

Coast Guard chief medical officer

Courtesy article

Public Health Service (PHS) Capt. 

(Dr.) Erica G. Schwartz, a USU alumna, 

was recently selected by the Commandant, 

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and appointed 

by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to serve as the Director, of Health, 

Safety and Work-Life, and Chief Medical 

Officer (CMO) of the USCG. Schwartz will 

officially relieve Rear Adm. Maura K. Dollymore upon her retirement on November 

1, 2015, and will receive promotion to Rear 

Admiral (upper half) at that time.

According to the appointment announcement by USCG Commandant ADM 

Paul Zunkuft, a joint PHS and Coast Guard 

selection panel considered eligible applicants serving in the regular PHS corps in 

the grade of O-6 through O-8. The panel 

recommended three top candidates for further consideration. 

"After careful review of each record, 

I selected Capt. Erica G. Schwartz for this 

assignment," said Zunkuft. "Her executive skills in leadership, management, and 

health services make her ideally suited 

as our next CMO and I welcome her as a 

member of our senior leadership team. I 

know that she is personally committed to 

the well-being of our people, ensuring our 

medical system provides the foundation for 

effective mission execution, and building 

effective partnerships for our medical support needs."

The Director of Health, Safety, and 

Work-Life is responsible for the Coast 

Guard's health care system of 42 clinics 

and 150 sick bays as well as operational and 

off-duty mishap prevention, response and 

investigation. The director also oversees 

the Coast Guard's child care programs and 

food services delivery programs, ashore 

and afloat, and the Coast Guard's Ombudsman, Substance Abuse, Health Promotion 

and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs.

Schwartz is trained and board certified in preventive medicine (occupational 

medicine). She graduated with a Bachelor 

of Science degree from Brown University 

in 1994 and received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Brown University School 

of Medicine in 1998. She completed her 

occupational medicine residency with a 

Master of Public Health degree with a dual 

concentration in Health Services Administration and Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences in 2001. 

Schwartz also has a Juris Doctorate from 

the University of Maryland and is admitted 

to the District of Columbia Bar.

Preceding her transfer to the Public 

Health Service and Coast Guard in 2005, 

she served as a Navy occupational medicine physician. Her assignments included 

serving as the chief of the Occupational 

Medicine Clinic and the Immunization 

Clinic and serving as the Preventive Medicine Department head at the Naval Medical 

Clinic in Annapolis, Md. She also served 

as an occupational medicine physician and 

clinical epidemiologist at the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (formerly 

known as the Navy Environmental Health 

Center) in Portsmouth, Va.

Schwartz served as the Chief of 

Health Services and the Coast Guard’s Preventive Medicine Chief in the Operational 

Medicine and Medical Readiness Division 

at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. She instituted critical interagency 

and intra-agency programs including Navy 

Safe Harbor, disease surveillance, deployment health, adenovirus vaccination, serology screening, febrile respiratory illness 

and the chemical, biological and radiologic 

medical countermeasures programs. 

As an expert in health care policy, 

she wrote the first-ever force health protection policies to include the Pandemic 

Influenza Force Health Protection policy, 

the Anthrax and Smallpox Vaccination 

policies, the Quarantinable Communicable Disease policy, the Periodic Health 

Assessment policy, and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus policy. Additionally, she developed force health protection 

guidance for numerous contingency operations to include Hurricanes Katrina and 

Rita, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, Operation 

Unified Response (2010 Haiti earthquake), 

the Deepwater Horizon Operation, and the 

most recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Schwartz served as the Coast Guard’s 

principal expert on pandemic influenza 

– hand-picked as the medical consultant 

for the DHS Pandemic Influenza Principal Federal Official. She also deployed as 

the Medical Unit Leader for the Deepwater 

Horizon Unified Area Command. Most recently, she served as one of the Ebola Crisis 

Action Team leaders, responsible for ensuring Coast Guard personnel had clear and 

actionable force health protection guidance 

for this emerging and fatal disease threat.

Schwartz’s awards and decorations 

include the Meritorious Service Medal and 

Coast Guard and Navy Commendation 

Medals. She was recognized by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs 

by being honored as one of the Military 

Health System Female Physicians of the 

Year.

Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Erica 

G. Schwartz, a USU alumna, was recently 

selected by the Commandant, USCG, and 

appointed by the Secretary of Health and 

Human Services, to serve as the Director, 

of Health, Safety and Work-Life, and Chief 

Medical Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. See 

story on page 3 (Courtesy Photo)
4 the pulse August 17, 2015

K9, Cont. Page 5

Canines bring comfort to USU campus

by Alexis Christman

Laura Lee and Goldie, the two therapy dogs working to make a difference with 

students, staff and faculty at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU), have really left a (paw) print on the 

campus. 

For nearly six years, Laura Lee, a 

nine-year-old Golden Retriever, has been 

visiting the University while also serving 

at Walter Reed National Military Medical 

Center. Goldie, also a Golden Retriever, 

has been at USU and Walter Reed for only 

a year, but already the dynamic duo have 

done much in the way of combating student test stress and the everyday workplace 

stress of faculty and staff just by visiting the 

campus every Thursday. 

“It’s become quite a habit now for everyone here. I think in my building alone 

they keep better track of how many Thursdays I’ve missed a year than I ever could 

and it’s completely due to the dogs,” said 

Air Force Maj. Regina Owen, assistant professor in the Graduate School of Nursing 

(GSN). 

Owen is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who first learned about the impact 

of incorporating the dogs in her work 

when, after bringing Laura Lee into the 

room with a patient, she observed that they 

would open up more. She said the experience with dogs offers patients a sense of 

security that allows them to fully relax and 

feel better about engaging in therapy. 

“My interest is more on an academic type of setting, on the students and 

their overall safety and comfort within the 

learning environment so that they can really focus on class and the here and now 

and put their concerns away,” she said. 

Owen continued, saying that she would be 

interested in really doing some research on 

the effects the dogs have but for now “I’m 

just happy to see what these dogs are able 

to bring to the campus community.”

Both Laura Lee and Goldie were 

donated by the Southwestern Guide Dog 

Association after failing at their initial 

training assignments but were heavily recommended to be therapy dogs due to their 

nurturing character behaviors and personalities. Dogs who don’t quite meet the 

standards for their originally-intended careers such as mobility assistance, guidance, 

hearing, seizure/alert, etc., are selected to 

change into fields where they can still help 

in the best way possible. 

Laura Lee first started visiting with 

the GSN students at 7 a.m. primarily on 

big test days when students’ stress levels are 

usually at their highest. After entering the 

room and being told to “go to work”, she 

would meander down several rows of students, stopping and sitting with them first 

before exploring the rest of the room. “She 

has a really good sense of intuition about 

her,” said Owen. “She can find students who 

may need more help on those days than 

others.” 

Goldie quickly made a name for 

himself as the energetic jokester. Laura Lee 

is older and patient, taking her time with 

people, and with getting around, according to Owen. Goldie is the first to bound 

away toward anyone and everyone, but they 

balance one another in this way and their 

handler, Patricia Barry (Miss Patty), coordinator of the facility dog program at Walter Reed Bethesda, says 

Goldie’s spitfire energy 

has brought energy and 

life back into his partner, Laura Lee.

“That’s what is 

so great about having 

two dogs. They have 

two different personalities so they can cater 

to the different needs 

of students and faculty,” 

Owen said. 

A lot of people 

are apprehensive at first 

towards the role of the 

dogs wondering if they 

are therapy, service or 

personal dogs, so Owen 

is regularly telling people, “They are therapy 

dogs. It’s okay to sit 

with them, pet them, 

or hug them because it’s 

what they’re really here 

for. They may not be 

your typical ‘working 

dog’ but they do plenty 

of work in the sense of 

providing therapy to offices, students and staff. 

We get tons of feedback all the time from 

students saying things like ‘you relieved my 

test anxiety!’ or ‘you made my week’!” she 

said. 

The faculty and staff look forward to 

Thursdays just as much as the students do 

now, hiding treats in their offices all over 

the building for the dogs to come and find. 

“Thursday is a little bit like their vacation day, I think. They are still working 

but they get to be spoiled by all their fans 

and visit with friends,” Owen said. Even 

the Dean of the GSN, Dr. Carol Romano, 

who is allergic to the dogs, sees the impact 

and positive results and wants them to keep 

coming back, according to Owen.

"Goldie and Laura Lee are important members of our GSN family. These and 

other therapy dogs provide a valued service 

in touching the lives of our patients, our 

students and our faculty in a special way," 

Romano said. 

Air Force Maj. Regina Owen, assistant professor in the Graduate 

School of Nursing (GSN) with therapy dogs Goldie, (seated beside Owen), and Laura Lee (seated on ground). (Photo by Alexis 

Christman)
5 the pulse August 17, 2015

Providers learn importance of 

tropical medicine

by MC3 Laura Bailey

K9 from Page 4

Providers from throughout the Military Health System participated in the 

Military Tropical Medicine (MTM) class at 

the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU), July 9 through Aug. 

3, 2015. 

The post-graduate course typically 

grants approximately 125 hours of continuing medical education credits. As a 

tri-service course, it combined the Army 

and Navy courses in 2001 and serves physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Over the past several years, USU 

has also had medical officers from foreign 

countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America 

in attendance. 

The MTM course is organized by the 

Navy Medicine Professional Development 

Center (NMPDC) and is taught at USU 

every July. Course topics include didactic 

lectures, laboratory exercises, simulated 

patients and case based discussions. 

Additionally, select students visit 

foreign countries to learn and experience 

tropical medicine first-hand in an overseas 

setting through USU and a partnership of 

the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), Division of GEIS Operations 

(GEIS). 

MTM students spend four to eight 

weeks at a Department of Defense overseas 

medical research laboratory or other overseas setting working closely with a clinical 

or research mentor. Activities typically include hands-on experience, often in remote 

locations, in areas of clinical tropical medicine, entomology, public health or research 

related to malaria, dengue, diarrhea, HIV, 

rickettsia and other diseases. 

“Tropical infections no longer occur 

only in the tropics, with dengue virus, West 

Nile virus and chikungunya virus all being seen in the U.S. within the past couple 

years,” said Navy Capt. (Dr.) David Blazes, 

associate professor in the Department of 

Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, F. 

Edward Hebert School of medicine and director for the MTM course. 

“In today’s world where the world’s 

population is connected by no more than 

an airline flight, we 

must all be prepared 

to recognize, treat 

and control infectious 

diseases no matter 

where they arise.” 

“Ad d i t i o n a lly, our military personnel are forward 

deployed in numerous tropical regions 

throughout Africa, 

Southeast and Southwest Asia and the 

Middle East,” said 

Blazes. “They are 

increasingly at risk 

for diseases such as 

malaria, dengue and 

leishmania.”

“I think the 

course is excellent for 

anyone who is going 

to be going out with 

an operational force,” 

said Navy Lt. Cmdr. 

(Dr.) Wesley D. 

Boose, chief resident 

at the Occupational 

Medicine Residency 

in the department 

of preventive medicine and biometrics 

at USU. “For one, it 

teaches you how to 

treat the individual 

patient, but the class 

also gives you a lot of 

information on preventive medicine for 

the larger public health. It is extraordinary 

that we get to travel to other countries to 

work with the local health officials in order to see first-hand the diseases studied in 

Navy Capt. (Dr.) David Blazes (left), associate professor in the department of Preventative Medicine and Biostatistics (PMB) at the 

F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and the director of Military 

Tropical Medicine (MTM) at the Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences (USU) demonstrates how to don personal protective equipment during the annual MTM course at USU. (Photo 

by MC3 Laura Bailey)

Owen added, “Even within my profession, I am a firm believer in any alternative therapeutic modality that has a positive 

impact on patients. The students are able 

to get recharged, have a moment to relax 

and let go and I think the dogs allow that to 

happen. They allow for a good day of focus 

without anxiety and it makes me happy to 

see what they can do,” remarked Owen.

class. It’s really exciting to be a part of it and 

I would encourage anyone to jump at the 

opportunity to attend MTM.”
6 the pulse August 17, 2015

Anthropology course offers 

value to USU faculty

by Alexis Christman

A collection of bones from the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences’ Anatomical Teaching Lab were 

among those used recently by forensic 

pathology fellows and technicians, dental students, forensic educators and others 

to analyze skeletal remains for the National Museum of Health and Medicine’s 

(NMHM) 28th annual Forensic Anthropology Course held at USU June 22-25.

The yearly offering, formerly the 

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology 

course, was presented to military and civilian participants by course directors Brian 

F. Spatola, anatomical collections manager, 

and Franklin E. Damann, anatomical collections curator, at NMHM. Among the 

faculty members for the course were anthropology or pathology instructors from 

USU, NMHM, the University of Maryland, 

the Washington, DC, Chief Medical Examiner’s office, along with specialists from 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 

National Transportation Safety 

Board, and Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s office, including 

Dr. Elizabeth “Lee” Rouse (SoM 

’90), who presented a lecture on 

a pathologist’s role and relationship in forensic anthropology. 

Forensic anthropology 

applies the science of physical 

or biological anthropology to 

the legal process. Physical or 

biological anthropologists who 

specialize in forensics primarily 

focus their studies on the human 

skeleton. The analysis of skeletal, 

badly decomposed, or otherwise 

unidentified human remains is 

important in both legal and humanitarian contexts. 

During the course, attendees focused on detection and 

recovery of remains, the analysis and identification of human 

remains from war crimes, genocide, and homicide and other 

atrocities. Hands-on lab sessions were incorporated into the 

class to help participants learn more about 

skeletal analysis. Besides those from USU 

used for comparison of normal human 

bone, skeletal artifacts used in the class 

were provided by NMHM, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History 

and a number of medical institutes from 

throughout the world. 

“A major focus of this course is to 

demonstrate that anthropology has much 

more value than what many of those attending have been exposed to,” said Spatola. “Participants will see specimens of 

common conditions, but they will also see 

things they will not see again. We teach the 

participants that forensic anthropologists 

are often capable of serving additional key 

functions depending on their background 

and training. They can manage the identification process, establish disaster victim 

identification procedures and provide trauma analysis in support of the medical examiner. Anthropologists have adapted to 

broader roles in a medical examiner’s office 

that some pathologists may not be aware 

of.”

Dr. Edward Jones, an instructor of 

gross anatomy, neuroscience and histology 

at USU, sponsored the course at the University and felt it was a valuable offering. “One 

of my roles at the University is to serve as 

an anatomist, and the way forensic anthropology looks at osteology has made me a 

better anatomist and, hopefully, a better 

educator of our students. We have several 

pathologists here at USU, WRNMMC, and 

the Joint Pathology Center; this course can 

serve as a valuable local source for CMEs 

for this group in the future. This was one 

of the best coordinated federal government 

efforts in hosting a course and it should 

serve as a model for future courses. It is my 

hope that we can further coordinate with 

our DoD and academic partner, the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in 

future academic and educational endeavors,” he said. 

USU's Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics hosted the recent National Museum of Health 

and Medicine's Forensic Anthropology Course, June 22-25. (Photo by Alexis Christman)
7 the pulse August 17, 2015

Vaccines From page 2

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation 

for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. has selected three promising Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences (USU) doctoral students to receive Fellowships for the 2015-16 academic 

year. This Fellowship program, established 

in 1988, provides each fellow a stipend and 

travel support. 

Jennifer Bakalar, a sixth-year doctoral student in the Medical and Clinical 

Psychology Program, will be awarded an 

HJF Fellowship in Medical Sciences. She is 

conducting her dissertation research in the 

laboratory of Dr. Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, 

studying the psychosocial factors that contribute to excess weight gain in active-duty 

personnel. In particular, Bakalar is gathering data on pre-service stressors and early 

adverse life events in an effort to determine 

if there is an association between these 

events and the subsequent development of 

eating disturbance and overweight status. 

Given that unhealthy weight-gain impacts 

the health, well-being and readiness of military personnel, these findings are intended 

to inform appropriate prevention and treatment interventions, ideally attenuating the 

impact of pre-military adversity on service 

members’ physical and psychological readiness for service, with benefits to both military and civilian populations.

Stephanie Servetas is a sixth-year 

doctoral student in the Emerging and Infectious Diseases Graduate Program and 

a recipient of an HJF Fellowship in Medical Sciences. Stephanie is conducting her 

thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. D. 

Scott Merrell, studying the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium 

persistently infects over 50 percent of the 

world’s population and is generally asymptomatic, perhaps even providing a protective role against the development of some 

diseases such as asthma. However, H. pylori 

is also capable of causing severe diseases including peptic ulcers and gastric cancers. 

Her thesis work focuses on characterizing the expression of several H. pylori outer membrane proteins in an effort to identify a link between specific bacterial strains 

and their capacity for causing persistent 

infection and symptomatic disease. She has 

identified a specific membrane protein that 

is required for disease development in an 

animal model of infection. Further characterization of outer membrane proteins 

may help develop tools for better clinical 

management of the infection, identifying 

patients most in need of therapy, and those 

that should not be treated with antibiotics 

to benefit from potential positive aspects of 

H. pylori colonization. 

Eric Laing is a sixth-year doctoral student in the Emerging and Infectious Diseases Graduate Program and a recipient of 

the Val G. Hemming Fellowship. Working 

in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Broder, 

Laing is investigating why bats, which are 

the natural host to many viruses of significant human concern (Hendra/Nipah, Ebola/Marburg viruses, SARS, rabies), do not 

develop symptomatic disease. 

His thesis focuses on bat’s innate immune response, hypothesizing that a cellular process involved in protein homeostasis 

may serve as an antiviral defense mechanism in bats. He has shown that infection 

by the Australian bat lyssavirus induces this 

antiviral autophagy response more strongly 

in bat cells compared to human cells, and 

that drug-based induction of autophagy 

correlates with a reduction in viral titer in 

human cells. These findings suggest that 

autophagy of some viral component in the 

host cell may limit production of progeny 

virus, suggesting possible therapeutic approaches for human infection with these 

emerging viruses.

USU graduate students named as 

2015-16 HJF Fellowship award recipients

Courtesy of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine 

top 10 public health accomplishments of 

the 20th century which has reduced and, in 

some cases, eliminated infectious diseases 

around the world.

Most vaccines are made with weakened or modified versions of a bacteria or 

virus responsible for the disease. When the 

vaccine is administered, the body’s immune 

system reacts just as it would when a new 

full-blown infection occurs. Antibodies 

are produced against the vaccine material. 

These antibodies remain in the body and 

are ready to react if an actual infectious 

organism attacks. Essentially, the vaccine 

tricks the body into thinking it is under assault, and the immune system makes weapons that will provide a defense in the event 

of a real infection.

Stephens added that one of the biggest challenges of properly vaccinating the 

public is education—especially with the anti-vaccination movement which follows beliefs that have been debunked by the medical community.

“We have had to have a number of 

conversations with our patients in order 

to dispel any anxieties between vaccines 

and autism,” he said. “I’m a big believer in 

‘shared decision making’ where I present 

my patients with my best understanding 

of the current literature in regards to immunizations. Then I listen to the patient’s 

questions and concerns. We have a conversation about what will works best for their 

individual situation and make a decision 

accordingly. Almost always, patients are 

very reasonable and understand the benefits of vaccination after those discussions.”

Stephens has also seen a remarkable 

improvement in the vaccination tracking 

system over the past few years.

“We’ve done a lot better job with our 

electronic health system as far as tracking. 

That is a way better system than the old yellow vaccine cards which often got lost.”

He also added that it is important to 

keep up to date on new vaccine data, because information can change based on factors such as new disease threats, changes in 

pathogen strains and so forth.

“I’ve seen a lot change in the immunization program,” he continued. “Immunizations for pneumonia and HPV (Human 

Papillomavirus) are just a couple of examples where recommendations have recently 

changed.”

The CDC recommends patients regularly discuss immunizations with their 

physician. Another misconception patients 

may have is that they may think each immunization is good for life. However, several require intermittent boosters in order to 

maintain their effectiveness against disease. 

Stephens did stress his message about 

vaccines.

“Vaccines are good,” he exclaimed. 

“We are open for business. Come in and get 

vaccinated!”
8 the pulse August 17, 2015

Final Frame

Second-year students at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine practice life-saving medical procedures in simulated 

combat environments at USU during the Advanced Combat Medical Experience. (photo by MC3 Laura Bailey)