This year we look beyond haunted hospitals, medical mysteries, and morbid little cookies shaped like body parts . . . to the futuristic, the weird, the science-fiction world of medicine of the future.
But first, some big news about NIFA Medical Director and founder of Mission to Heal, Dr. Glenn Geelhoed!
After reading about Dr. Glenn, enjoy some articles about eerie developments glimpsed down the road in medicine. Then scroll down for jobs we’ve collected for you and NIFA’s favorite links.
May your Halloween be weird (in a good way).
Dr. Glenn Geelhoed Admitted into American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators®
NIFA Medical Director Glenn Geelhoed, MD, AB, BS, MD, MA, DTMH, MPH, MA, FACS, was among a group of esteemed surgeon educators inducted as Members into the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Academy of Master Surgeon Educators® on September 30, 2022, at a program event in Chicago. This is the fifth cohort inducted into this distinguished Academy.
The ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators works to advance the science and practice of education across all surgical specialties. Academy members work as a think tank, collaborating on and publishing significant works of scholarship, exchanging best practices and discussing critical topics in surgical education.
Aside from his leadership and mentorship with NIFA, Dr. Geelhoed is Professor of Surgery, Professor of International Medical Education, and Professor of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University. He is the founder of Mission to Heal, a nonprofit global medical missions agency that heals underserved people and trains local practitioners in the most remote and needy areas of the world. This newsletter often features Mission to Heal’s work and many NIFA graduates have accompanied Dr. Glenn, as we call him, on medical missions.
Dr. Glenn has been in the news this month for another reason, too: he’s about to run his 45th Marine Corps Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 30. Aged 80, he has run marathons on all seven continents — more than 170 marathons in all. Read more at CBS.com . . .
Dr. Geelhoed, center, with two other Academy members. Left: Barbara Bass, MD, Dean of George Washington University Medical School and Vice President for Health Affairs supervising the School of Public Health, the School of Medicine and Medical Sciences and the School of Nursing; she and Dr. Geelhoed are co-authors of multiple clinical and research papers. Right: Sir Murray Brennan, Dr. Geelhoed’s colleague at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, where they were both Harvard surgery residents. After leaving the National Cancer Institute, Sir Brennan, who is a native of New Zealand, became the chief at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, was recognized as the major cancer expert in the US in surgical oncology, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
Medicine of the Future
The Technological Future of Surgery
“?Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ This quote by Arthur C. Clarke pretty much sums up the future of surgery.” Thus begins an article on The Medical Futurist that delves into medical uses of virtual reality, 3D printing and much more.
Read more . . .
Top Ten Super-Creepy Medical Technologies
From blood-drawing robots to finding your X-ray on sale as an NFT created by your doctor without your permission, this collection from The Medical Futurist gives food for thought.
Read more . . .
Precision Radiology: Predicting Longevity Using Feature Engineering and Deep Learning Methods in a Radiomics Framework
Precision medicine, which takes into account variation between individuals, has become an important focus of modern bioscience. However, as the authors of this scientific report state, “Precision medicine approaches rely on obtaining precise knowledge of the true state of health of an individual patient, which results from a combination of their genetic risks and environmental exposures. This approach is currently limited by the lack of effective and efficient non-invasive medical tests to define the full range of phenotypic variation associated with individual health . . . We present proof-of-concept experiments to demonstrate how routinely acquired cross-sectional CT imaging may be used to predict patient longevity as a proxy for overall individual health and disease status using computer image analysis techniques.”
Read article on Nature.com . . .
Five Innovative Medical Devices Inspired by Science Fiction
From Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida, here is a look at medical devices existing today that first appeared in fictional settings, such as Star Trek, Star Wars and Gattaca.
Read more . . .
Photo by Aideal Hwa on Unsplash
NASA Pumpkin Carving Contest
NASA employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories participate in an annual pumpkin carving contest with one rule…they only have one hour.
Watch video . . .
Jobs Front
Click here for the RNFA job postings we’ve collected for you this month.
NIFA – Office Hours
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm
Practice Resources
Here are several of the most-in-demand sites for our students, prospective students and grads:
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual scope of practice.
Every year, as the shadows grow longer and my neighbors’ yards sprout decorative skeletons and ghosts, this newsletter takes a break from serious surgical topics. That’s right — it’s time for our annual Halloween issue.