Alaska

Name: Roan Willson, MS2, Alaska Project: Orthopedic Injury Patterns in Intimate Partner Violence; Defensive Wounds and Upper Extremity Fracture Patterns in Survivors: A Literature Review. Background: There are screening methods to identify Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), but they have their limits. "Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an ongoing epidemic within the U.S. despite implementations of universal screening by the U.S. Preventativee Services Task Force." Willson said....

Name: Cara Chapman, MS2, Alaska Title: Promoting Healthy Living Habits through Community Events in Galena, Alaska The project: Galena, population of 475, is the largest city in the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area. That’s the largest county or county equivalent in the nation – about the same size as the entire state of Montana. It’s also the least densely populated of any county or county equivalent in the...

Here's how an Alaska public radio station opens its profile of two students: Most medical students spend their first two years with a textbook – or several. But this summer, Courtney Stage and Michael Kaden - Hoffmann are working in rural community health as part of ‘RUOP,’ or the Rural, Underserved Opportunities Program through the University of Washington School of Medicine. Learn more on the radio...

In the heart of Anchorage, the Narcan Education & Distribution service learning project is making a difference in the fight against the opioid epidemic. This initiative was spearheaded by MS3 Ariana Gross and is currently led by two dedicated MS2s, Lauren Culver and Ben Henderson. Together with the AK-WWAMI cohort, they are working to assist vulnerable populations grappling with the devastating consequences of opioid...

Noelle Coniglio, MS2, Alaska Title of the project: Injury Prevention Through School-Based ATV Safety Education in Rural Alaska Coniglio's background: "I was born and raised in Alaska. I grew up nordic ski racing and in high school I got involved with Skiku, an organization that travels to villages around the state and teaches kids how to ski. Through Skiku, I realized how important access to healthy...

Ian Richey, MS2, Alaska The challenge: The opioid epidemic remains a complex and multi-faceted issue for residents of the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough, Alaska. Many challenges exist as 107,000 residents are separated by over 25,000 square miles - which include three mountain ranges. Healthcare workers describe worsening rates of opioid misuse despite an increase in resources within the Mat-Su Borough. CDC data validates these concerns, showing...

At its January meeting, the ACGME gave Initial Accreditation to a new Internal Medicine residency program based in the Department of Medicine. This is the very first accredited rural residency training program in Internal Medicine in the country. Known as the University of Washington-Alaska Internal Medicine Rural Residency Program (UW AK IM RRP), the program’s mission is to provide an intensive Alaska-based, rural primary care-focused training experience in internal medicine. The...