JPS Health Network residents – as well as representatives from nine other healthcare organizations across the Dallas-Fort Worth region – got together June 7 to inspire and challenge each other to new heights.
It was all part of the JPS Research Symposium which this year featured 115 presenters, about double the total from the previous year. The theme was “Fostering Health Equity through Research and Practice,” according to Tricia Elliott, Senior Vice President for Medical, Academic and Research Affairs
“Research and academics are a value and a pillar to us,” Elliott said. “By bringing these people together, it’s the start of a conversation we hope will continue long after this event is over.”
Participants worked for months or longer to investigate ideas about how to better treat patients of the future. Organizers and presenters alike said they hoped the people who saw the research projects would be inspired to add their input to the projects or even to do their own research into others’ ideas, furthering medical advances and changing healthcare for the better.
In all, there were 115 presentations made during the day-long gathering, according to Melissa Acosta, Director of Clinical Research at JPS who organized the event. She said she was excited about the growth of the Research Symposium, and that she hopes it will continue to get bigger and better in the future.
“Research Symposium is a time to celebrate research and the work physicians do to constantly make themselves better while contributing to their profession,” Acosta said. “It’s really exciting to see all of this creative energy come together in one place.”
According to the judges, top presenters at the 2019 edition of the event were:
- Kathy Shum, of the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine took first place for “Use of a Loop Colostomy in a Patient with Extensive Pelviperineal and Rectal Trauma: A Case Study.”
- Miranda Wang, a family medicine physician at JPS, was second with “A Case of Esophageal Perforation.”
- Travis Motley, Dalton Ryba and Nathaniel Alabi, podiatrists at JPS took third-place honors with “Posteromedial Ankle Dislocation: A retrospective case series.”
JPS Sports Medicine residents Brian Shelmadine and Jessica Tulos were part of a team that made a presentation about trying to find better treatments for student-athletes recovering from concussions. They said it was exciting to be a part of the Research Symposium, even though there was a long way to go in their research.
“Although our presentation is happening now, the study is ongoing,” Shelmadine said. “Hopefully, it will go on for another one to two years. There is a lot of interest in this topic right now and it would be very rewarding if we are able to be a part of something that helps athletes get back into the classroom and back on the playing field.”
Rohit Ojha, Director of the Center for Outcomes Research at JPS, called the Research Symposium “a great opportunity to showcase the research we’re doing.” He added that the theme of fostering healthcare equality is important to JPS Health Network’s mission as a safety net hospital, making sure people who need care get it, regardless of their economic status.
“Having double the submission is a big step forward” for the Research Symposium,” Ojha said. “The more people you can bring together and the more collaboration you can get, the better we can help people get the care they need.”
In addition to the presentations of the participants, attendees heard from a pair of keynote speakers, Gerald E. Johnson II, Executive Vice President of Health Equity and Chief Diversity Officer with the American Heart Association spoke in the morning about health equity. Dr. Marcella Wilson, CEO and Founder of Transition to Success, spoke during lunch about understanding and responding to the social determinants of health.