Rounds

In the mid-1300s, one of the largest pandemics of the bubonic plague known as the “Black Death” broke out in Europe. Public servants known as plague doctors entered the scene with many responsibilities with the first being to save lives. However, this often came second to administrative duties.

Uncovering the dysfunctional health care delivery system of the Middle Ages creates a case of deja vu. Sharmila Dissanaike, MD, chair and professor of TTUHSC School of Medicine Department of Surgery, claims that physician burnout isn’t due to lack of self-care as some have opined. “The dysfunctions are structural,” Dissanaike said.

The frustration of paperwork and administrative duties preventing patient care has affected physicians throughout the ages — at least nowadays they aren’t sporting beaks.

Jessica Washer, MS, SLP-CC, (Health Professions ’12) — pictured fourth from left — with husband, Andrew Washer, Holly Jackson and Blair Jackson, flew out to Studio City in Burbank, California, to try their hand at the famous game show after responding to a casting call in Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 18, 2019, they played on national television.

“My friend, Holly has been on five different game shows including ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and wanted us to try out as a team,” Washer said. “We’re all best friends, with board games and competition being the foundation of that friendship. We had an absolute blast.”

The “Friendly Fliers,” as their team was called — Andrew and Blair are both pilots — won the game and $1,000 in prize money (they missed one question in the final round).

At 10:30 on a weeknight, most mothers have put their children to bed and are enjoying a little down time. Not Grace Sun, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC (Nursing ’18). She often finds herself talking to her distance learning students who are often nurses working hospital shifts, taking care of families and studying in what little down time they have.

A few years ago, Alex Lawrence, MSN, RN, (’15) was the student benefitting from Sun’s time. Lawrence was working as an ER nurse at Longview Regional Hospital and enrolled in the distance program for only a few months when she learned she was pregnant. When the baby was four months old, it was discovered the baby had a heart defect and had to undergo surgery. That’s when Sun and Lawrence began to talk by phone, often late at night.

“If it hadn’t been for Dr. Sun’s encouragement and professionalism, I would have had a hard time staying the course,” said Lawrence. “She seemed to always be available to go over tests, answer questions or just listen.”

Prior to coming to TTUHSC, Sun was a nurse practitioner who saw a lot of young mothers and babies. Sun said it was often the moms who needed her help and reassurance. She applies the same concept to her        students.

 Lawrence was able to take the time she needed for her baby, yet also graduated on time. As a new nurse practitioner, Lawrence followed her dream and opened a medical day spa in Longview, where she can manage her hours to accommodate her family. Her baby is now six years old and thriving.

From school to divorce and from marriage to babies, two classmates became family

Friendship was instantaneous for Tiffany Hayashi Girardot, RN, (Nursing ’09) and Jenni Pelletier Dunnam, RN, (Nursing, ’09). On the first day of nursing school, the two new students in the second-degree program sat next to one another. Tiffany turned to Jenni, introduced herself and said, “Let’s be friends.”

Now, 10 years after graduating, they’re more like family.

The material covered in the second-degree program is intense with a grueling pace. The friends studied together and were there for each other in life outside of school.

“During nursing school, I went through one of the biggest hardships of my entire life,” Tiffany said. “If I hadn’t had Jenni, I don’t know if I would have made it through.”

Tiffany, who had married just before starting nursing school, returned home after a final exam the first semester to find her husband gone.

“He took all of his belongings, no warning, no communication — he just disappeared,” she recalled. “I was devastated. You can’t work during the program, so I didn’t have any income. The first person I called was Jenni. She took me in, and she was just there for me.”

Jenni later introduced Tiffany to the only person she knew when she moved to Lubbock. He’s now Tiffany’s husband, and through him, Jenni met hers.

After graduating in August 2009, they both began in the pediatric unit at UMC Health System. One year later, they both took jobs in Dallas: Jenni in the Children’s Medical Center pediatric intensive care unit and Tiffany at Medical City Children’s. Tiffany moved to the Children’s Medical Center in Plano a year later.

 “As close as I thought we were when we lived in Lubbock, I think it's even closer now that we’ve shared careers, marriages and motherhood. I don’t have another friend like Tiffany.”

Thinking back now on their meeting, and the fact that it may not have happened had she not introduced herself to the girl sitting beside her, Tiffany is grateful:

“It was one of the best decisions of my life, actually.”

 

Sister Writes “Give it Up for Nurses” In Moving Social Media Post

Laura McIntyre wrote a beautiful tribute to her sister, Caty Nixon, RN, (Nursing ’13), that went viral on Facebook. More than 225,000 likes, 23,000 comments and 133,000 shares were made based on the following:

“She's gonna kill me for this pic, but can we just give it up for nurses for a minute?

Caty just wrapped up her fourth shift in a row. That's around 53-plus hours in four days. That's not including the 1.5 hours she's in the car each day. She usually doesn't get a chance to eat lunch or even drink much water. (And she has to dress like a blueberry. I mean, come on). She is so good at what she does that she often forgets how to take care of herself while she's taking care of her patients.

This pic is from a night back in July where she came to my house after a particularly hard day. She delivered a stillborn. Have you guys ever really thought about what a labor and delivery nurse see? They see great joy in smooth deliveries and healthy moms and babies. They see panic and anxiety when a new mom is scared. They see fear when an emergency C-section is called. They see peace when the mom has support from her family — because not all new moms do. They see teenagers giving birth. They see an addicted mom give birth to a baby who is withdrawing. They see CPS come. They see funeral homes come. Did you know that they have to make arrangements for the funeral home to come pick up the baby? I didn't either.

Caty (and all other nurses) — you are SPECIAL. You bless your patients and their families more than you will ever know. Thank you for all that you do.”

McIntyre’s Facebook post has been covered by Time, Good Morning America, Fox News and many other news outlets.

“This post reminds everyone that health care workers are human,” Nixon said. We all have emotions. What a patient may see as an ‘unfriendly nurse’ may be a nurse who’s just keeping it together until she can go home and mourn for a family she doesn’t even know who lost their baby earlier that day. I take care of patients the absolute best I can and sometimes that means not succumbing to emotion while on the job. But it doesn’t mean I’m not feeling what they’re feeling.” 

 

Pulse polled alumni on advice they would give to new students. Here’s what they said.

1. Save, save, save
“My computer died second semester and I had to start over on several papers,” said Jaci Johnson, MS, CCC-SLP (Health Professions ’07).

2. Pay it upfront
Eric Chaffe, MD (Medicine, ’10; Biomedical Science ’05) advises to pay the interest on your student loans and not let it add up, setting you up for a more comfortable future. 

3. Your new best friend
Sherry Holmes, RN, BSN, (Nursing ’18) says to get comfortable with your American Psychological Association (APA) book — because it won’t be leaving your side for the next couple of years.

4. Everything leads to saving lives
Your objective seems distant now while you’re in class taking notes and having loads of information thrown at your left and right, but everything you are learning is to help you improve the lives of patients and save lives in the future, said Matthew Goldfinger, DO, first-year resident in the School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics in Amarillo.

Pro Tip: Bring a jacket to class as the classrooms are cold – a good snack never hurts either. – Danielle Necker, DPT, (Health Professions '19) and Courtney Taylor, DPT, (Health Professions ’19). 

 

The Global Impact of a Cleft Palate Surgeon Leaves Behind a Trail of Stuffed Llamas

Joshua Demke, MD, (Medicine ’03), is searching for the smile. The look that transforms a child’s face from sadness to joy — a transformation he brings through missionary work and stuffed llamas.

“The llamas aren't necessarily changing the world, but it’s a rewarding thing to see these kids smile, both in the United States and around the world,” he said.

As surgical director for the cleft palate team at TTUHSC, Demke has always enjoyed helping others and giving back to his community. As a father of three, it is important to him to instill these same values within his children. He leads by example in the founding of the nonprofit, Cupcakes for Clefts, which his kids have volunteered with from a young age. “I just want my kids to be exposed to, and know that, there’s kids out there that have differences,” says Demke.

Through his nonprofit, Demke travels around the world to help children with oral clefts. In May 2019, he traveled to Honduras and wanted to bring something special for the kids he would meet there. That’s when Demke came up with Llamas for Lips, an initiative sponsored by Cupcakes for Clefts.

Cupcakes for Clefts hosts fundraisers throughout the year and uses the money raised to buy stuffed llamas for “Llamas for Lips.”  However, these stuffed llamas are not ordinary. Each llama is given a stitch on their lip to match the stitches that a child might have after cleft lip or palate surgery. Demke has his students practice their suture skills by having them stitch right, left and bi-lateral sutures on the llamas so that they can match whatever type of cleft scar the patient might have. The llamas were such a big hit with the children overseas, that Demke also passes them out to his patients in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.

For more information on Llamas for Lips or to sponsor a stuffed llama, please reach out to Joshua Demke via email or through Facebook.