Pilot Grants – Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence

The Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute’s Pilot Grant Program is intended to fund research projects and educational or clinical programs that support the goals of the Institute. Over the past eleven grant cycles, the Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute has awarded a total of 207 grants with a total award amount of $1.6 million. The majority of pilot grant projects are collaborative, partnering Junior and Senior Bucksbaum-Siegler Faculty Scholars. A complete list of all current and alumni Bucksbaum Institute Scholars and prior pilot grant projects can be found below. In 2025, the Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute will again award pilot grants of up to $10,000 to Bucksbaum Institute Faculty Scholars. These awards will comprise the majority of funding for the 2025 grant cycle. The Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute will also consider funding up to four projects with a maximum award of $20,000. These limited awards will require the proposal to include a national collaborator who may or may not be a former Bucksbaum Institute alumnus. The proposal will need to highlight how the project will work with a national collaborator to help advance the national standing of the Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Pilot Grant Award Summary 2012–2024

Grant Year	Total Funding Amount	Number of Funded Projects	Number of Collaborating Faculty, Staff, and Organizations	Number of Participating Departments
2024	$217,339	25	132	13
2023	$217,371	19	105	8
2022	$203,475	22	76	11
2021	$195,150	21	97	8
2020	$138,116	15	47	8
2019	$135,000	24	68	7
2018	$94,750	18	62	5
2017	$61,375	11	49	7
2016	$74,024	10	37	6
2015	$66,180	9	26	5
2014	$71,400	10	37	6
2013	$69,500	9	22	5
2012	$68,080	13	14	6
Totals	$1,611,760	206	772	95

Pilot Grant Details by Year

2024


$217,339	25	132	13

2023


$217,371	18	105	8
Patient navigation and shared decision-making post-Dobbs: Understanding the experiences and priorities of patients traveling to Illinois for abortion care. Julie Chor, MD with Lee Hasselbacher, JD, Amy Whitaker, MD, MSc, Lori Freedman, PhD, Kristen Chalmers, MS3, Madeline Quasebarth, MA MHS Department: OB/GYN Investigating Disparities in Germline Testing and Mutations in Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer at the University of Chicago Gideon Dosunmu, MD with Ardaman Shergill, MD, Dr. Blase Polite, MD, Namrata Setia, MD Department: Hem/Onc Perceptions and attitudes around “hope”: An examination of the interdisciplinary team caring for terminally ill cancer patients. Vasyl Hereha, MD with Stacie Levine, MD Department: Medicine The Effect of Using a Patient Expectations tool for Pro-Operative Counseling on Patient Reported Outcome Measures in foot and Ankle Surgery. Kelly Hynes, MD with Lily Upp, Jason Strelzow, MD Department: Ortho Surgery, Pritzker “Is it covered?” Bridging the Gap in Health Insurance Literacy Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD with Andy Liu, Frazer Tessema, Grace Keagan, Nicole Gier, LCSW, Nancy Galvez, LCSW, Cody Chan, PharmD, Peter Kaizer, PharmD, Valerie Press, MD Department: Medicine, Pritzker A Pilot Study of the Structural Determinants of the Quality of Patient-Clinician Relationship in the Treatment of Trauma Related Disorders Royce Lee, MD with Bradley Stolbach, PhD, Sonya Dinizulu, PhD, Seeba Anam, MD Department: Psychiatry Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs at US Medical Schools and Well-being of DEI Leaders: A National Study Wei Wei Lee, MD with Monica Vela, MD, Norma Poll-Hunter, PhD, Melinique Walls-Castellanos, Isra Hasnain Department: Medicine, Pritzker Serious Neurologic Illness Communication Training using Standardized Patients in the Simulation Center Heather Leeper, MD, MS with Monica Malec, MD, Stacie Levine, MD, Daniel Kurz, MD Department: Medicine Impact of a 24 hour Shift Call on the Immune Status of Surgery Residents Rosario Angelica Perez-Gutierrez, MD with J Michael Millis, MD, Mohamed Ezzelarab, MD Andrea Liu Department: Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Impact of Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution (PM2.5) and Surveyed Risk Factors on Non-Allergic Rhinitis amoung NHANES Participants: A Case-Control Investigation Jayant Pinto, MD with Christopher Olopade, MD, Fuad Baroody, MD, Christopher Roxbury, MD, John Cursio, PhD, Murtala Affin Department: Surgery, Pritzker Patient reported outcomes from patients with young-onset Gastrointestinal Cancers: A pilot study in patients ages 18-50 evaluating effects of cancer-care on cognitive function, sexual health and quality of life. Ardaman Shergill, MD with Jenna Nimer, Adam DuVall, MD, Blasé Polite, MD, Benjamin Shogan, MD, Chih-Yi Liao, MD Department: Hem/Onc Breast Cancer and Social Vulnerability Sarah Shubeck, MD with Kayla Polcarl, MD, Ann Polcarl, MD, Parth Modi, MD, Stacy Lindau, MD, Nora Jaskowiak, MD, Ted Skolarus, MD Department: Surgery A Grief Group for Today’s Teens: A National Expansion of Evidenced-Based Bereavement Curriculum Dana Suskind, MD with Irwin Sandler, PhD, Jesse Boring, PhD, Julia Chavez, MS4, Alexis Hansen, MPH, Amelie Liu Department: Peds Surgery, Arizona State, University, Binghamton, University, Pritzker Developing a framework for the effective use of language and communication in operating room education. Yalini Vigneswaran, MD with Ian McKinley, MD Lea Hoefer, MD, David Deshpande, Elizabeth Spaulding, Mustafa Hussain, MD Department: Surgery, Pritzker Exploring Racial Disparities in Bariatric Surgery and Treatment of Obesity: A Qualitative Study Yalini Vigneswaran, MD with Mustafa Hussain, MD, Vivek Prachand, MD, Milda Saunders, MD, Andrea Liu, MD, Angela Willis, APN, Caridad McRae, MBA Department: Surgery, Center for Weight and Metabolic Health Designing Interventions for Biased Language by Clinicians Regarding Patients with Sickle Cell Disease Austin Wesevic, MD with Monica Peek, MD, Victoria Parente, MD, Maggie Jalowsky, BS Department: Medicine Kern Good Physician Project: A Mixed-Methods Study of Character, Practical Wisdom and Human Flourishing in Medicine John Yoon, MD with Lana Minshew, PhD, Fabrice Jotterand, PhD, Tavinder Ark, PhD, Andrea Leep Hunderfund, MD, Justine Esposito Department: Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Medical College of Wisconsin Optimal Dissemination and Evaluation of a Novel Surgical Procedure Yalini Vigneswaran, MD with Peter Angelos, MD, PhD Department: Surgery

2022


$203,475	22	76	11
Examining perceptions of and experiences with cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for Native American cervical cancer survivors in South Dakota Nada Attia with Daniel Golden, MD Department: Pritzker, Radiology The Diagnostic Accuracy of Pocket Size Ultrasound (PsUS) in the Detection of Pediatric Elbow Fractures Alisa Brennan, MD with Bree Andrews, MD, MPH Department: Pediatrics Barbershop Talk: A Black Men’s Health Initiative Isaiah Brown with Neda Laiteerapong, MD, MS Bryan Smith, MD, Conrad Fletcher, Ehizokha Ihionkhan Department: Pritzker, Medicine Death Panels: Exploring the End-of-Life Through Comics Brian Callender, MD with MK Czerwiec, RN, MA, Amy Schiller, PhD, LCSW, Nathan Gray, MD Department: Medicine, Medicine/Johns Hopkins “Impact of Patient-centered Supports in Transgender and Gender Diverse Pregnancies: Group Prenatal Care and Doula Models” Andrew Fisher, MD with Julie Chor, MD, MPH Katlyn Palmer, MPH, Iris Romero, MD, MS, Robin D’Aversa, DNP, MEd, CNM, APRN Department: OB/GYN, Nursing A medical ethics framework for understanding massive resuscitation in critically injured trauma patients: perspectives from surgeons and anesthesiologists Lea Hoefer, MD Jennifer Cone, MD, MHS with Peter Angelos, MD, PhD Stephen Estime, MD Department: Surgery, Critical Care A transformative learning curriculum, grounded in principles of simulation and restorative justice, to address experienced racism, implicit bias and microaggression among physician trainees Priti Jani, MD with Nathan Olson, MD, Coralie Pardo, MD, Larissa Fomum Mugri, MD, MPH, Jacob Schulman, MD, Aretha Boakye-Doncor, MD Melissa Cappaert Department: Pediatrics, Emergency, Medicine, Med-Peds, Simulation Center MyHealthStory: Collecting patient narratives prior to new patient visit Rasika Karnik, MD with Amber Pincavage, MD Department: Medicine Understanding Wisdom Development in Medicine: A Qualitative Study Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH with James Woodruff, MD, Nic Westrate, MD, PhD, Jordan Milhollin Department: Medicine, Center for Research on Health & Aging UIC My Brothers’ Voices (MBV): A zine based intervention to increase care engagement and social service referral among young Black sexual minority men Jade Pagkas-Bather, MD with John Schneider, MD, MPH Alida Bouris, PhD Department: Infectious Disease, Global Health, Social Work Housestaff perceptions of Racism and Racial Equity during the COVID-19 Pandemic Ross McMillan, MD with Monica Peek, MD, MPH, Elizabeth Tung, MD, MS, Michael Sun, MS3 Department: Medicine, Pritzker Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Attitudes Regarding Training and Autonomy in Surgical Practice Parth Modi, MD with Peter Angelos, MD, PhD, Sara Shubeck, MD, MS Susanne Quallich, PhD Eric Singer, MD Department: Surgery, Urology, RWJBarnabas Health Sociological study on the causes of burnout among surgeons at the University of Chicago Medicine Kinga Olortegui, MD with Neil Hyman, MD, Peter Angelos, MD, PhD Kristen Schilt, PhD Department: Surgery, Sociology Relief Exploration for Sickle Pain using through Interventions using Technology Engagement (RESPITE) Valerie Press, MD, MPH with Nabil Abou Baker, MD David Meltzer, MD, PhD Vineet Arora, MD, Andrea Bundy, APN, Nicole Kappel Department: Medicine, Pritzker Memorability of Doctor-Patient communication regarding sun protective behaviors Arlene Ruiz de Luzuriaga, MD, MPH, MBA with Wilma Bainbridge, PhD Zi-Yi Choo, PhD Department: Medicine, Psychology Clinical Providers for Children with Home Mechanical Ventilation: Interviews about Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Habilitative Needs Sarah Sobotka, MD Department: Pediatrics Using and teaching computational bioinformatics and Big-Data approach to discover novel therapeutic strategies for AMD; new tools for the future generation of physicians Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD with Andrea Flores, MA Jason Zhang, MS2 Johhny Moir, MS2, Max Hyman, BA, Lincoln Shaw, MD, Saira Khanna, MD, Jessie Wang, MD, Demetrios Vavvas, MD Dinanath Sulakhe, PhD Bingqing Xie, PhD Department: Ophthalmology, Center for Health and Social Sciences, Center for Research Informatics, Boston University Prospective, Randomized-control Trial Comparing Standard vs Augmented Informed Consent Protocols in Elective and Trauma Orthopaedic Patients. Jason Strelzow, MD with Walaa Abdelfadeel, MD Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, MD Justin Bell Department: Orthopedic Surgery, Office of Clinical Research A Search For Non-Invasive Correlates of Invasive Cardiac Catheterization Findings: Echocardiographic Strain Imaging to Evaluate Left Atrial Function in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Frazer Tessema MS2 with John Blair, MD, Tess Allan, MD Gaurav Upadhyay, MD Department: Pritzker, Medicine, Cardiology Evaluation of Community Health Workers in the Primary Care Group: Bridging the Clinical Gaps in Unmanaged Diabetes and Hypertension Anna Volerman, MD with Lisa Vinci, MD, Ifeoma Ikedionwu Ankur Srivastava, MD, Kevin Pearlman, MD Department: Med/Peds, Pritzker, Medicine An Intervention to Improve Discharge Teaching for Pediatric Asthma Roxana Wiswell, MD with Jaclyn Eisenberg, DO, Anna Volerman, MD Department: Med/Peds, Pediatrics Opioid and Substance Use Disorders Services in Nursing Homes: Development and Pilot Testing of a Survey Instrument Zhigiu Ye, PhD with Stacie Levine, MD Valerie Press, MD, A. Justine Landi, MD Meredith Yang, MD Kimberly Beiting, MD Donna Sroczynski, MSN Department: Center for Healthcare Delivery Science and Innovation, Geriatric Medicine, Palliative Medicine, Med/Peds, Pritzker, Vanderbilt

2021


$195,150	21	97	8
“Pediatrics Learning Starts at Home: Examining strategies to educate and support parents of moderately and late preterm newborns” Bree Andrews, MD, MPH with Anjali Rao, MD Department: Pediatrics “If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a 3D model? Supporting shared decision making and parental expectations during prenatal counseling using 3D printed models” Gillian Brennan, MD and Kelly Nelson Kelly, MD with John Brandt, Harris Khawaja, MD Department: Pediatrics, Physical Sciences Division “Improving patient education, health literacy, and advocacy through graphic narrative and design” Brian Callender, MD with MK Czerwiec, RN, MA, Daniel Golden, MD, Maria Alkeureshi, MD, Wei Wei Lee, MD, Tomoko Ichikawa, MA, Lisa Sandos, Marina DePablo, MPH, RN, Matthew Noe, MSLS, Alex Thomas, MD, Gary Ashwal, MA Department: Medicine, Pediatrics, Radiation and, Cellular Oncology, Institute of Design, Patient Education Harvard Library of Medicine, Graphic Medicine International Collective, Booster Shot Media, Health Literacy, Office DEI “Medicine Clinical management of patients with COVID-19: An online learning module” Keegan Checkett, MD Department: Medicine “Impact of substance use on the adolescent trauma population” Jennifer Cone, MD with: Rachel Essing, MD, Tanya Zakrison, MD, MPH, Mark Slidell, MD, MPH Department: Surgery “Liver week: From metabolism to neoplasm” Carla Branco Harmath, MD with: Anjana Pillai, MD, Osmanuddin Ahmed, MD, Diego di Sabato, MD, Andy Liao, MD, Sonali Paul, MD, John Hart, MD, Elizabeth Reyna, APN, Melvy Mathew, MD Department: Radiology, Hepatology, Interventional Radiology, Transplant surgery, Oncology, Pathology “Pediatrics Feasibility of mindful meditation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit” Sarah Hoen, MD with Neelima Marupudi, MD, Jonathan Tutko, Ashley Beumel, Elizabeth Ruhl Department: Pediatrics “Bridging the Digital Divide: Patient-oriented solutions to promote digital health access, equity, and literacy” Wei Wei Lee, MD and Maria Alkureishi, MD with: Valerie Press, MD, Megan Huisingh-Scheetz, MD, Sachin Shah, MD, Vinny Arora, MD, Zi-Yi Choo, Ali Rahman, Daniel Wolfson, Gwen Darien Department: Medicine, Pediatrics, Pritzker School of Medicine, ABIM Foundation, National Patient Advocate Foundation “The Bionic Breast Project: Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a neuroprosthesis for restoring touch sensation after mastectomy” Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD Department: OB/GYN and Medicine-Geriatrics “Addressing healthcare disparities and improving access to rhinologic and skull base care utilizing patient-centered educational materials and telemedicine outreach” Jayant Pinto, MD with Christopher Roxbury, MD Department: Surgery “Comics as decision aid for heart failure with a reduce ejection fraction” Tamar Polonsky, MD with Shirlene Obuobi, MD, Charles Rhee, MD, Bryan Smith, MD, Amita Singh, MD Department: Medicine-Cardiology and Palliative Medicine “FAM TECH Survey: Family Assessment of Managing Technology-based Education for Chronic Health conditions Survey” Valerie Press, MD with Vineet Arora, MD, David Meltzer, MD, Wei Wei Lee, MD, Maria Alkureishi, MD, Megan Huisingh-Scheetz, MD, Nicole Kappel Department: Medicine, Pediatrics, Pritzker School of Medicine “Improving outcomes and reducing barriers to care in patients with neovascular glaucoma” Mary Qiu, MD with: Pathik Amin, OD, Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD, Catherine Sun, MD, Aakriti Garg Shukla, MD Department: Ophthalmology and Visual Science, UCSF, Wills Eye Hospital “Improving quality of family meetings in the Medical Intensive Care Unit” Rita Rossi-Foulkes, MD with: William Parker, MD, Gina Piscitello, MD Department: Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care, Rush University Medical Center “Communicating with families of young children with invasive mechanical ventilation dependency about long-term disability trajectories” Sarah Sobotka, MD Department: Pediatrics “A Grief Group for Today’s Teens: A national expansion of evidence-based bereavement curriculum” Dana Suskind, MD with Julia Chavez, Alexis Hansen, MPH, MSW, Irwin Sandler, PhD, Karey O’Hara, PhD, Vicki Jay, ED, Amelie Liu Department: Surgery, Pritzker School of Medicine, Social Service Administration, Arizona State University, National Alliance for Grieving Children, UChicago Lab School “The Living Time Capsules of Chicago’s South Side: A proposal for a multi-media oral history initiative” Sandy Tun, MD with: Doriane Miller, MD, Stacie Levine, MD Department: Palliative Medicine, Internal Medicine “Novel digital solutions to optimize operating room teamwork” Kiran Turaga, MD, MPH with Hunter D. D. Witmer, MD, Cagla Keceli, MS, Joshua Morris-Levenson, MD, Dan Adelman, PhD, Alison Laffan, PhD Department: Surgery, Booth School of Business, Department of Economics, NORC “A pilot program of medical students as health coaches for primary care patients with hypertension” Anna Volerman, MD with Julia Nath, MD, Ankur Srivastava, MD, Jill Baranowski, Frazer Tessema, Lisa Vinci, MD Department: Medicine, Pediatrics, Pritzker School of Medicine, Internal Medicine “Fast-track for Abdominal Pain (“FFAP”) leading to expedited care” Kenneth Wilson, MD with Andrew Benjamin, MD, Annie Polcari, MD, Abdullah Pratt, MD Department: Surgery, Emergency Medicine “Kern Project on the Good Physician (KPGP): A national longitudinal study of character, caring, and human flourishing in the post-COVID era” John Yoon, MD with Adina Kalet, MD, Magdy El-Din, MD, Jordan Milhollin, Marie Kim, Andrea Leep Hunderford, MD, Lauris Kaldjian, MD, PhD, Fabrice Jotterand, PhD, Tavinder Ark, PhD Department: Kern Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Hospital Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, The College, Mayo Clinic, University of Iowa

2020


$138,116	15	47	8
“Patient-Centered Telemedicine Use; Understanding patient, trainee and clinician perspectives to inform educational support and engagement.” Maria Alkureishi, MD with Wei Wei Lee, MD, Gena Lenti, Jason Castaneda MS3, Zi-Yi Choo MS1, George Weyer, MD, Julie Oyler, MD, Sachin Shah, MD, Graeme Ossey, MBA Department: Pediatrics, Medicine, PSOM “My CoVID Passport: A Primary Care Group Pilot of a Mobile Technology for Patient Engagement and Care during the Pandemic” Bree Andrews, MD, MPH with Steve Schrantz, MD Department: Pediatrics “Trauma informed abortion care – A qualitative study” Julie Chor, MD, MPH with Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, Candice Norcott, PhD, Amy Whitaker, MD, MSc Department: OB/GYN, Psychiatry, Planned Parenthood “Peer support program for healthcare workers who experience adverse perioperative events” Allison Dalton, MD with Brian Williams, MD Department: ACC, Surgery “Development of a novel digital counseling tool to spark non-judgmental sexual and reproductive health conversations between adolescents and clinicians” Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH Department: OB/GYN, CI3 “Addressing Disparities to Telemedicine Access For Children on the South Side of Chicago” Jessica Kandel, MD with Carmelle Romain, MD, Thomas Lee, MD, Manish Raiji, MD, Kathryn Rowland, MD, Mohan Gundeti, MD Department: Surgery “National Survey on the Impact of COVID19 on Medical Student Well-being” Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH with Lolita Alkureishi, MD, Amber Pincavage, MD, Jim Woodruff, MD, Katherine Chretien, MD, Swetha Tatineni MS1, Shivam Dave MS1, Devika Jaishankar MS1 Department: Medicine, PSOM, George Washington University “Supporting Advance Care Planning and End of Life Discussions via Video Based Patient and Surrogate Education” Stacie Levine, MD with Monica Malec, MD, Joshua Russell, MD Department: Medicine “Punishment in a Pandemic: Arrest and Jail Cycling as Determinant of Community Covid-19 Case Rates” Monica Peek, MD, MPH with Eric Reinhart, Daniel Chen Department: Medicine, PSOM, World Bank “COPD Virtual Medication Reconciliation and Education Pilot: COPD V-M(ED) Pilot” Valerie Press, MD, MPH with Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP Jennifer Austin, PharmD, Maggie Adams, APN, Sharon Feehan, APN, Raj Kristhnamurthy, MD, JC Rojas, MD, Sachin Shah, MD, Roshawnda Thompson, Craig Umscheid, MD, Wen Wan, PhD Department: Medicine “Reducing structural and moral injury in patients and trainees: a novel curriculum on structural competence and anti-racism praxis for surgeons (structural justice)” Selwyn Rogers, MD, MPH with Tanya Zakrison, MD Department: Surgery “Metformin Use and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Could This Common Medicine Be Protective?” Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD with Sandra Ham, MS Department: OVS “Using Human Centered Design to Develop an Evidence-Based Curriculum for Teens Who Have Lost a Parent” Dana Suskind, MD with Julia Chavez, Alesix Barnes, Irwin Sanders, Amelie Liu Department: Surgery, PSOM, SSA, Arizona State University Lab School “The Project on the Good Physician: Physician Use of Narrative Sequences and Wellbeing” John Yoon, MD with Christine Mozer MS2, Jessica Guillaume MS1 Department: Medicine, PSOM

2019


$135,000	24	68	7
“Language Matters: A pilot to Improve 3rd Year Medical Student Communication Skills with Individuals with Substance Use Disorders and Chronic Pain to Build Empathy and Reduce Stigma” Mim Ari, MD with Amber Pincavage, MD Department: Medicine “Gauging Knowledge and Opinions on Travel for Organ Transplantation” Andrew Aronsohn, MD with Ann Nguyen, MD, Bow Chung, MD, Gene Kim, MD Department: Medicine “Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Teach-to-Goal Education on Family-Doctor Communication in Pediatric Ambulatory Clinics” Anna Volerman Beaser, MD with Valarie Press, MD, MPH Department: Medicine “Our Greatest Lessons: Developing A Medical Student-Focused Anthology of Health Humanities Essays” Adam Cifu, MD with Russell Simons, MS2 (PSOM) Department: Medicine “Supporting medical student communication, confidence, adaptability and professionalism skills through an elective in improvisational theater at The Pritzker School of Medicine” Barrett Fromme, MD with Nicola Orlov, MD, MPH, Jen Ellison (Second City) Department: Pediatrics “Use of a Decision Aid for Contraceptive Counseling with Adolescents and Young Adults” Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH with Amber Truehart, MD, MS Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology “Improving informed consent for Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) using video simulations to educate family” Jessica Kandel, MD with Nikunj Chokshi, MD, Rebecca Rose, RRT-NPS Department: Pediatrics and Surgery “Family-Clinician Communication for Critically Ill Brain Injured patients and Relatives’ Experience of Organ Donation Requests From Brain-Dead Patients” Christopher Kramer, MD with Fernando Goldenberg, MD, Christos Lazaridis, MD, Janet Bettger, ScD Department: Neurology “COLPO WHAT? Creating Patient centered Communication Tools to improve abnormal pap smear follow-up and colposcopy attendance for cervical cancer prevention” Nita Lee, MD with Andrea Loberg, MD Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology “Biomedical Control Systems Learning for Medical Students and Residents” Raphael Lee, MD, ScD Department: Surgery “BA Call to Medicine: The Professional Identity Formation of Physicians with a Sense of Calling” Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH Department: Medicine “Assessing Health-Related Social Needs Among Cancer Patients to Advance whole Person Care” Stacy Lindau, MD, MA with Olwen Hahn, MD, Nita Lee, MD Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology “Bring Together Patients and Providers: Educational videos in the management of gastrostomy tubes.” Dejan Micic, MD with Kiran Turaga, MD, MPH Department: Medicine and Surgery “What Women Want: A faculty development project in shared decision making through core primary care women’s health topics” Amber Pincavage, MD with Jennifer Rusiecki, MD Department: Medicine “Airborne Exposures and Respiratory Disease in Inner City Chicago Children” Jayant Pinto, MD with, Louise Giles, MD, Brisa Ashebrook-Kilfoy, PhD, MPH, Robert Stanaker, NP, Brenda Battle, MBA Department: Surgery “Respiratory Education Dosed across Settings” Valerie Press, MD, MPH with Sharon Feehan, RN, Jennifer Austin, Pharm, Steve White, MD, Sebastian Otero, Mary Akel, Grace Cameron, Pharm Department: Medicine “Creation of a Pritzker Medical School elective on LGBTQ Health Issues: Training the Next Generation of Physician Peer Educators” Charles Rhee, MD with Aniruddha Harza, MD, Vineet Arora, MD, Jeanne Farnan, MD, Monica Vela, MD Department: Medicine “Enhancing Communication and CKD Health Outcomes (ECCHO): A randomized trial to test using the CKD Report Card to improve doctor-patient communication” Milda Saunders, MD, MPH with Tipu Puri, MD, PhD Department: Medicine “Using Digital Outreach with a Shared Decision-Making Tool after a Failed Colonoscopy to Increase Successful Completion of Colorectal Cancer Screening” Neil Sengupta, MD with Sonia Kupfer, MD, Lisa Vinci, MD, Dejan Micic, MD Department: Medicine “Improving a patient-centered approach to reducing radiation exposure in pediatric trauma patients through selective Computed tomography (CT) scan use in pediatric victims of blunt abdominal trauma” Mark Slidell, MD, PhD with Nikunj Chokshi, MD Department: Pediatrics and Surgery “TMW – Using SPEAK results to inform anticipatory guidance” Dana Suskind, MD with Risa Brudney, MS2 (PSOM) Department: Pediatrics and Surgery “Supporting Patients with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Shocks and Associated Post-Traumatic Stress: A patient focused program and national registry” Gaurav Upadhyay, MD with Jennifer Grower, PAC, Roderick Tung, MD, Royce Lee, MD Department: Medicine and Psychology “Complications of Complications” Jennifer Tseng, MD with Tessa Balach, MD Department: Surgery “The Impact of Civilian Ballistic Trauma: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its Impact on Physical and Psychological Outcomes after Gun Violence” Jennifer Wolf, MD with Jason Strelzow, MD Department: Orthopaedics

2018


$94,750	18	62	5
“Connecting the Dots: Evaluating the Use of Graphic Medicine to Empower Patient-Centered Technology Use” Maria Lolita Alkureishi, MD with Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH, Vineet Arora, MD Department: Pediatrics “Improving Parent Engagement Through Utilizing an Infant Crying Tool in Pediatric Clinics; A Multi-Layer Approach” Bree Andrews, MD with Maria Lolita Alkureishi, MD, Tiffany Burkhardt, PhD Department: Pediatrics “Liver Ally: A Clinical Initiative to Improve the Liver Transplant Process through Caregiver Education and Support” Andrew Aronsohn, MD with Vineet Arora, MD, Barrett Gray, LCSW, Lauren Feld, MD Department: Medicine “Improving the Advanced Communication Skills of Pritzker Medical Students Through the Implementation of an Improvisational Theatre Elective” H. Barrett Fromme, MD with Nicola Orlov, MD, Anne Libera, Kelly Leonard Department: Pediatrics “Implantation and Evaluation of a Graduate Medical Education Bucksbaum Scholar Track” Daniel Golden, MD with Brian Callender, MD Departments: Radiation-Oncology and Medicine “Communicating the External Beam Radiation Experience (CEBRE): Expansion and National Implementation” Daniel Golden, MD with Ritu Arya, MD, Tomoko Ichikawa, MS, Brian Callender, MD, Anne McCall, MD Department: Radiation-Oncology “Socioeconomic Status and Adherence to Enhanced Recovery Pathways Following Colorectal Surgery: The Importance of Doctor-Patient Communication” Neil Hyman, MD with Ben Shogan, MD, Lia Cannon, MD, Peter Angelos, MD, PhD Department: Surgery “Patient Decision Making Regarding Kidney Transplant Options: A Needs Assessment” Michelle Josephson, MD with Yolanda Becker, MD, Tipu Puri, MD, Patrick Cunningham, MD, Lainie Ross, MD, Milda Saunders, MD, PhD Departments: Medicine, Surgery and Pediatrics “Surgeon Opioid Prescribing for Umbilical Hernia Repair” Jessica Kandel, MD with Bethany Slater, MD Departments: Surgery and Pediatrics “Building the Business Case for Medical Scribes” Neda Laiteerapong, MD with Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH, Valerie Press, MD, MPH, Marie Brown, MD Department: Medicine “The Impact of Medical Scribes on Physician Work-Life Balance and Satisfaction in Orthopaedic Surgery and General Internal Medicine” Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH with Douglas Dirschl, MD, Neda Laiteerapong, MD, Kelly Hynes, MD Departments: Medicine and Orthopaedics “What Women Want: A Faculty Development Project in Shared Decision Making Through Core Primary Care Women’s Health Topics” Amber Pincavage, MD with Jen Rusiecki, MD Department: Medicine “Flipping the Clinic Using Patient Driven Self-Management Training at Home to Enhance in Clinic Visits with Providers” Valerie Press, MD, MPH with Sharon Feehan, APN, Jennifer Austin, PharmD, Steve White, MD, Anna Volerman, MD Departments: Medicine and Pediatrics “Use of Mobile Smartphone Technologies in Medical Practice to Improve Productivity, Reduce Cost, Improve Patient Engagement, and other Benefits” Russell Reid, MD with Satanarayan Hedge, MD, Venkata Majeti, PhD Departments: Surgery and Pediatrics “Current Practices and Perceptions Regarding Patients Undergoing Endoscopy with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order: A National Survey of Gastroenterologists” David Rubin, MD with Vijaya Rao, MD, Lauren Feld, MD Department: Medicine “Evaluating TMW-Pediatrics: A Novel, Web-based Education Curriculum for Pediatricians” Anna Volerman, MD with Valerie Press, MD, MPH, H. Barrett Fromme, MD Departments: Medicine and Pediatrics “Goal-Directed Decision Empowerment for Health Care Proxies (HCP)s of Persons Living with Advanced Dementia” Shellie Williams, MD with Stacie Levine, MD, Katherine Thompson, MD, Rita Gorawhat-Bhat, PhD, South Shore Senior Center, St. Bernard’s Outpatient Center Department: Medicine “The Challenges of the ‘Good Physician’: Virtue Ethics, Clinical Wisdom, and Character Resilience in Medicine” John Yoon, MD with Michael Hawking, MD, Sandra Ham, MS, Joni Krapec, MA Department: Medicine

2017


$61,375	11	49	7
“Preeme+You: A Bedside Mobile Technology Application to Engage the Parents of Premature Infants” Bree Andrews, MD with Larry Gray, MD, Yaya Ren, JD, PhD, Abbigail Whitney Department: Pediatrics “Second Annual Resilience Week: Promoting Resilience and Building Community” Anita Blanchard, MD with GME Resilience Committee Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology “Assessing and Improving Attitudes, Practices and Procedures Surrounding Sexual Assault Patient Care in the University of Chicago Emergency Department” Keme Carter, MD with Sonia Oyola, MD, Niccole Dussault, Ayushi Chandramani, Ramya Parameswaran, PhD Departments: Medicine and Family Medicine “The Use of Perioperative Videos to Enhance the Surgical Discussion” Megan Conti Mica, MD with Jennifer Wolf, MD, Kelly Hynes, MD, Tessa Balach, MD Department: Orthopaedics “Understanding Patient Attitudes about Genetic Testing for APOL1 -Associated Kidney Disease” Patrick Cunningham, MD with Milda Saunders, MD, Arlene Chapman, MD, Lainie Ross, MD, PhD Department: Medicine “Illustrated Versus Textual Radiotherapy Patient Education” Dan Golden, MD with Ritu Arya, MD, Brian Callender, MD, Anne McCall, MD, Andrew Howard, MD, Andrew Howard, MD, Daniel Haraf, MD Department: Radiation-Oncology “Clear Education Initiative: Improving Anorectal Patient Experience and Therapy Adherence through User-Centered Educational Materials, a Targeted Anorectal Patient Navigator Program and Standardization of the Medical Message” Neil Hyman, MD with Lisa Cannon, MD, Radhika Smith, MD, Laura Crawford, APN, Konstantin Umanskiy, MD Department: Surgery “The Physician-Industry Relationship: How do Conflicts of Interest Affect Patient Communication and Care?” Michael Lee, MD with Lewis Shi, MD, Vineet Arora, MD, Marshall Chin, MD, MPH Department: Orthopaedics “Be Here” Amber Pincavage, MD with Lisa Moore, MD, Sonia Oyola, MD Department: Medicine “Improving Patient-Provider Communication of Lung Function and Medication Adherence Using at Home Hand-Held Spirometry and Adherence SpiroPD Tool” Valerie Press, MD, MPH with Steve White, MD, Ted Naureckas, MD, Mindy Jacobs, APN, and Jennifer Austin, PharmD Department: Medicine “Teaching Diagnostic Reasoning at the Bedside: The Core Clinical Competence” Scott Stern, MD Department: Medicine “TMW-Pediatrics: Strengthening the Pediatric Provider’s Role in Parent Education on Early Language Development” Dana Suskind, MD with Danielle LoRe Departments: Pediatrics and Surgery “A Pilot Project to Measure Mental Health Literacy in Psycho Oncology Patients” Marie Tobin, MD with Holly Shiao, MD, Nancy Beckman, PhD, Amy Siston, PhD, Jill Bice, MS, RD, Julie Dalla Rosa LCSW, Kelly Truby, APN Department: Psychiatry

2016


$74,024	10	37	6
Integrated Counseling at the Border of Viability for Infants Born 22-25 Weeks by a ‘Small Baby Counseling Team’ Bree Andrews, MD with Deborah Boyle, MD, Melissa Adrianov, MD, Kelly Kelly, MD, and Lea Redd, BA Department: Pediatrics Provider Resilience as a Pathway to Wellness: Improving the Wellbeing of the Health Care Provider to Improve Patient Care Anita Blanchard, MD with Adrianne Dade, MD, Sandra Valaitis, MD, Elizabeth Banks, MD, Julia Simon, MD, Danielle Young, and Kathi Blaszkiewicz Department: OB/GYN Role Modeling Doctor-Patient Communication in the Pre-Operative Setting Douglas Dirschl, MD with Megan Conti Mica, MD, David Dickerson, MD, Sarah Collins, MD, and Grace Mak, MD Department: Orthopaedics Optimizing Management of Pediatric Eye Trauma at a Level 1 Trauma Center Jessica Kandel, MD with Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, Tina Chen, MD, and Mark Slidell, MD Departments: Surgery/OPVS/Pediatrics Medical Scribes Pilot: Impact of Scribes on Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physician Satisfaction, and Patient Experience Wei Wei Lee, MD with Deborah Burnet, MD, MPP, Neda Laiteerapong, MD, MPH, Anna Volerman, MD, and Lauren Feld, MD Department: Medicine Teaching Diagnostic Reasoning at the Bedside: The Core Clinical Competence Scott Stern, MD Department: Medicine CAMP (Chronic Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain) Clinic for Children and Adolescents: A New Clinical Initiative Melissa Tesher, MD with Matthew Young, PhD and Carolyn Zic, RN Department: Pediatrics Using Empathy as a Clinical Tool. Elective Course for 4th Year Medical Students Tamara Vokes, MD with Olwen Hahn, MD and Amber Pincavage, MD Department: Medicine Project on the Good Physician: Medical School Predictors of Physicians’ Opinions on Long-Term Doctor-Patient Relationships John Yoon, MD with Sandra A. Ham, MS, MA Department: Medicine Water, Water, a Secret Elixir and Genie in the Smart Bottle: Improving Patient Compliance with Fluid Intake Prescription with Non-Invasive Hydration Monitoring via a Smart Bottle Anna Zisman, MD with Arlene Chapman, MD Department: Medicine

2015


$66,180	9	26	5
The Premie “Show and Tell” Story Project: Using Mobile Technologies to Co-Create Meaningful Interactions For Life in High Risk Families and Improve Premature Infant Growth and Development Bree Andrews, MD with Larry Gray, MD and Yaya Ren, MD, PhD Department: Pediatrics Understanding Your Hospitalization: A Graphic Narrative to Empower Patients and Improve Communication During the Inpatient Experience Brian Callender, MD with Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, MK Czerwiec, RN, MA, and Alyssa Wiener, MS1 Department: Medicine Qualitative Study on Patient-Centered Interunit Care Transitions Keme Carter, MD with Barrett Fromme, MD Department: Medicine/Pediatrics Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing Music to Alleviate Anxiety During Transrectal Prostate Biopsy Scott Eggener, MD with Glenn Gerber, MD, Vignesh Packiam, MD, Andrew Cohen, MD, and Charley Nottingham, MD Department: Surgery Optimizing Role Modeling Encounters: The Efficacy of a Metacognitive Barrett Fromme, MD with Rachel Stork, MD Department: Pediatrics Promoting the Skill Set for Compassionate Patient Care During Invasive Outpatient Procedures in Colon and Rectal Surgery Neil Hyman, MD with Kanstantin Umanskiy, MD and Lisa Cannon, MD Department: Surgery The PICU Passport: Improving Life After Pediatric Critical Illness Neethi Pinto, MD with Bree Andrews, MD Department: Pediatrics It Takes Two: What Doctors Say, What Patients Understand in a Nephrology Visit Milda Saunders, MD, MPH with Bree Andrews, MD Department: Medicine A Multidisciplinary Approach to Manage Gait Difficulty in Parkinson Patients Tao Xie, MD, PhD with Joseph Cooper, MD and John Jacobson, MD, PhD Departments: Neurology and Psychiatry

2014


$71,400	10	37	6
A Perinatal Palliative Care Program: Meeting the Needs of Babies and their Families after the Diagnosis of a Life-Limiting Condition Leslie Caldarelli, MD with C. Lydia Wright, MD, Deborah Boyle, MD, Laura DiGiovanni, MD, Deborah Raithel, Kathleen O’Sullivan, and Amy Morris Department: Pediatrics Transitional Clinics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): A Comprehensive Approach to Improving Patient Care Stacy Kahn, MD with David Rubin, MD, Rachel Greenley, PhD (Franklin U), and Laurie Keefer, PhD (Northwestern) Department: Pediatrics Curriculum Based Education of Parents and Families of Children with Colorectal Anomalies Grace Mak, MD with Christa Fox, MD Department: Surgery Youth HIV/AIDS Patient Care and Satisfaction Pilot Research and Training Series John Schneider, MD, MPH Department: Medicine PI-REAL: A Pilot Study of Improving Informed Consent Communication in REAL-TIME During Phase I Cancer Trial Clinical Encounters Manish Sharma, MD with Fay Hlubocky, PhD, MA and Christopher Daugherty, MD Department: Medicine Improving Utilization of Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Robert Steppacher, MD with Sachin Shah, MD, Ross Milner, MD, Laurie Lozanski, RVT, Yashas Attanayake (CBIS) and Christopher Skelly, MD Department: Surgery Optimizing the Radiology Experience through Radiologist-Patient Interaction Christopher Straus, MD with Larry Dixon, MD, Gregory Stacy, MD, and Deepa Sheth, MD Department: Radiology Developing Innovative Strategies to Teach Population Health Management Lisa Vinci, MD with George Weyer, MD, Julie Oyler, MD, Neda Laiteerapong, MD, and Sachin Shah, MD Department: Medicine Improving Care of Patients with Psychogenic Movement Disorders: A Model Involving In Depth Communication between the Movement Specialist, Psychiatrist & Patient Tao Xie, MD, PhD with Marie Tobin, MD Departments: Neurology and Psychiatry Do Long-term Doctor-Patient Relationships Matter? Exploring the Impact of Longitudinal Relationships on Clinical Outcomes John Yoon, MD with Ross Milner, MD and Joni Krapec, MA (College) Department: Medicine

2013


$69,500	9	22	5
A Formal Curriculum in Surgical Professionalism and Ethics Peter Angelos, MD, PhD with Ross Milner, MD and Raymon Grogan, MD Department: Surgery To enhance and encourage the professionalism of surgical residents and their understanding of the central concepts of surgical ethics. Predictors of satisfaction with surgical decision-making in elderly women undergoing gynecologic surgery Sarah Collins, MD with Sandra Culbertson, MD and Nita Lee, MD Department: OB/GYN To evaluate the impact of medical and demographic characteristics, such as surgical indications, medical comorbidities, and health literacy, on how elderly women feel about their decisions regarding gynecologic surgical interventions. A Pilot Program of Cost Communication in Hematologic Malignancies Jonas de Souza, MD with Michael Bishop, MD, Lauren Kirby, LCSW, and Christopher Daugherty, MD Department: Medicine To develop educational material and further provide education to patients with hematologic malignancies related to the costs of their cancer care. An Acute Pain Patient with Advanced Stage Cancer and a Hospice Patient with Respiratory Distress in the ER: Improving Resident Physician Communications with Patients at the End of Life Utilizing Simulation Training Allen Gustin, MD Department: Anesthesia To characterize the relative effectiveness of EOL simulation training on improving ACGME Core Competency (patient care, communication, and professionalism) scores of participants residency rotation evaluations. Quality Improvement vs Research: Controversies and Confusion Emily Landon, MD with Jessica Curley, MD Department: Medicine and Pediatrics To systematically delineate the conflicts that arise in the determination of whether or not a QI project requires IRB approval by applying widely available QI vs research checklists to IRB approved projects and non-approved, self-defined QI projects at UCM. Dynamic Operational Mapping – Annotation for Patient and Family Education Alexander Langerman, MD with John Alverdy, MD, David Song, MD, and Marko Rojnica, MD Department: Surgery To develop and field-test modules surrounding two common surgical procedures that contain multimedia informational content regarding clinical details, instrumentation, decision-making and workflow. These modules are intended for applicability to a wide-range of audiences – patients, families, medical students, OR staff, anesthesiologists, surgeons, and trainees – and in this project will be specifically annotated for use in patient counseling. Our hypothesis is that annotated dynamic operational maps (DOMs) will enhance surgeon-patient and surgeon-family communication regarding risks and benefits. We will test this hypothesis via the approach of conducting pre- and post-DOM implementation follow-up interviews to assess information transfer during surgeon-patient and surgeon-family encounters. Improving Patient-Centered Technology (iPaCT) Use Wei Wei Lee, MD Department: Medicine To understand how patients perceive technology use by physicians in inpatient and outpatient interactions, with a focus on the impact on the patient-doctor relationship and to develop and implement the “Improving Patient-Centered Technology Use (iPaCT)” curriculum for internal medicine (IM) residents. Improving Professionalism for Physicians in Training: A Curriculum Based Approach Ross Milner, MD with Jerome Klafta, MD and Baddr Shaksheer, MD Department: Surgery To create a program that improves professionalism in housestaff that receive poor evaluations as determined by the AGCME competency system. Provider Training to Improve Patient Medication Adherence in Federally Qualified Health Center Settings: The Case of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) John Schneider, MD Department: Medicine The objective of this clinical initiative pilot grant is to develop strategies and tools for providers in resource restricted settings to improve Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) across the spectrum of adherence. We will focus on both physician-patient and physician-health system interactions that drive adherence.

2012


$68,080	13	14	6
Sickle Cell Focus Group for Development of a Care Card Gina Dudley, MD Department: Medicine With the support of the Bucksbaum Institute Pilot Grant, the University Of Chicago Medicine Adult Sickle Cell Program has implemented a project to develop a patient-centered self-management tool for improved disease control. The purpose of the project is to improve patient/provider communication by creating a portable medical record for sickle cell patients. This tool features specific details of care individualized for each patient, serving as a communication tool when patients present to acute care facilities, hospitals, and outside clinics. Central to this tool is input from patients, as provided in a focus group that allowed clinic participants to brainstorm about revisions to previous iterations of the card. By incorporating patient recommendations, the tool emphasizes the importance of the patient-doctor dyad. View Report Understanding the Psychology of Thyroid Cancer in an Era of Increasing Incidence Raymon Grogan, MD Department: Surgery In a recent study our group estimated that by 2019, thyroid cancer will be the 3rd most common cancer in women of all ages, and the second most common cancer in women under the age of 45 in the United States. Despite the increasing incidence, thyroid cancer survival has remained relatively stable in recent years. The prognosis for thyroid cancer is good as the 10-year survival rate for papillary thyroid cancer is as high as 97% in some studies. A high rate of survival, a relatively younger age at diagnosis, and the rising incidence is resulting in a greater prevalence of thyroid cancer survivors. In another recent study our group found that 11% of thyroid cancer recurrences and 17% of deaths occur more than 20 years after diagnosis. This leads to a lifetime of follow-up and the knowledge that once diagnosed, a person will never be fully cured of their cancer. Unfortunately, the psychology of thyroid cancer survivorship has been neglected and understudied. Our recent findings confirm that there is a clear need for a comprehensive evaluation of the psychological impact of thyroid cancer on survivor QoL so that physicians can be better equipped to help patients cope with these lifelong consequences. Improving Patient Perception During Disclosure Conversations of Unanticipated Outcomes Allen Gustin, MD Department: Anesthesia Since the 1999 landmark Institute of Medicine report “To Err is Human,” evolving healthcare innovations have intended to reduce harmful patient events through education and systems improvements. Many organizations have been advocating for patient safety by instituting quality measures meant to create environments of transparency and encourage disclosure practices. Educational disclosure training programs are slow to grow and currently seem to be limited to cognitive exercises via electronic learning modules. I proposed a simulation study employing “real time” simulation disclosure training within the University of Chicago Medical Center. Simulation training has proven a viable training modality in sustaining changes in communication behaviors. To date, no investigator has validated the relationship between educational disclosure training and the perceptions of trained actors acting as patients after disclosure of harmful events. I propose this novel project with the following specific aims: to characterize the relative effectiveness of simulation disclosure conversations using Effective Arts actors and using the “Attend-To’s” methodology, to characterize the relative effectiveness of simulated disclosure conversations after simulated unanticipated outcomes using utilizing real time disclosure simulation as best practice as assessed by pre and post simulation assessments, and to characterize the relative experiences of participants using post evaluations and reflective practices after each RT unanticipated outcome simulation. View Report Communication Skills Training Program for Oncology Olwen Hahn, MD Department: Medicine Effective communication is crucial to successful physician-patient encounters. Cancer patients report unmet communication needs for information about disease extent, prognosis, and treatment options. In communicating with patients, physicians tend to focus on technical and cognitive information, and they often omit key communication tasks such as eliciting patient’s perceptions and tailoring information to meet patient’s needs. Several studies have demonstrated that effective communication is not an innate talent, but a learned series of skills. Communications skills training (CST) is a vehicle to learn and solidify skills that improve doctor-patient interactions and professionalism. Only 5% of practicing oncologists have received formal training in communication and most fellowship programs do not offer CST. In 2010, a CST curriculum was initiated for the University of Chicago’s Hematology-Oncology fellows. The teaching methods include didactic lectures and workshop-based sessions. The Bucksbaum Institute’s grant provides an opportunity to augment this program by piloting a critical component of CST for trainees: experiential role-play of common oncology topics with standardized patients. The grant funds small-group practice sessions with standardized patients, faculty facilitator, and trainee. Topics to be covered include: breaking bad news, family meetings, and transitions to hospice. The goal of this educational initiative is to improve the communication skills by oncology trainees and improve their interactions with patients. If successful, our program could be adopted by other graduate training programs at University of Chicago. View Report Physicians as First Line Responders Against Human Trafficking Jennifer Hofer, MD Department: Anesthesia The Bucksbaum Institute Pilot Grant was awarded for the creation of guidelines and a curriculum that would empower physicians to be first line responders against human trafficking. Nearly one-third of victims interact with medical providers at least once during their captivity, yet the victims are not identified as victims and are instead returned to captivity. Human trafficking affects up to 200 million people worldwide. In Chicago alone between 2006-2007, an estimated 16,000-25,000 women were victims of trafficking. These victims are at high risk for illness, severe mental trauma, violent physical trauma, and sexually transmitted disease. Physicians are in an ideal position to screen and identify victims of human trafficking and to intervene to help them obtain medical care. Physicians can also work with other disciplines including social services, psychology departments, and the law to help victims obtain safe shelter, counseling, and legal aid. The ultimate goal is to restore human rights to the victims, bring the captors to justice, and end human trafficking. The grant money was designated towards education to create awareness on this topic, and to develop a lecture series to empower young physicians to identify, and intervene to help trafficked victims. Patient Beliefs Regarding How the Timing of A1C and BP Control Affects Diabetes Outcomes Neda Laiteerapong, MD Department: Medicine Patients are routinely challenged by complex medical decisions regarding when to undertake preventive, acute, or chronic care. Evidence from the UKPDS has suggested that, among adults with newly diagnosed diabetes, early tight hemoglobin A1C (A1C) control has benefits both at ~10 and ~20 years, while tight blood pressure (BP) control may have benefits only while tight control is maintained. For patients with established diabetes, more recent trial results have suggested that pursuing very tight A1C control may have little benefit, or even cause harm. Thus the timing of A1C and BP control may have important clinical consequences for patients with diabetes. A fundamental questions is raised by these timing effects: what do patients believe regarding how time affects the burdens and benefits of achieving tight A1C and BP control, defined by an A1C<7% and BP<130/80 mmHg. I will conduct semi-structured interviews with 40 patients with diabetes from diverse clinical settings, in order to: Aim 1. Describe patients’ beliefs regarding when medications are needed for tight A1C and BP control, when benefits from tight A1C and BP control are expected to accrue, and whether the timing of tight A1C and BP control alters benefits. Aim 2. Explore how patients evaluate a given treatment regimen in the context of new information about the timing effects of tight A1C and BP control. Endometrial Cancer Survivorship in African American Women Nita Lee, MD Department: OB/GYN Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy, affecting 43,000 women each year. Women with endometrial cancer are likely to be diagnosed early and cured of their disease. Despite a positive cancer outcome, the major risk factors for the disease, which include obesity and diabetes, persist long after the cancer diagnosis, placing these women at high risk for future morbidity and mortality. Sixty to eighty percent of women are overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis. Thus, a new diagnosis of endometrial cancer becomes a compelling reason to promote nutrition, healthy behaviors, and weight loss in individual patients and their families. The objective of this pilot proposal is to better understand knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding endometrial cancer, obesity, and feasibility of lifestyle change among African American women with endometrial cancer and their female family and social network using qualitative research methodology. A cancer diagnosis can be teachable moment in which the clinician can influence obesity-related behaviors. Themes and concerns elucidated via moderated focus groups will build the foundation and drive future patient-centered interventions supporting cancer education and healthy lifestyle change among African American women. View Report Communication During Pediatric Resuscitation Diana Mitchell, MD and Alisa McQueen, MD Department: Pediatrics One of the most stressful events for medical providers is the resuscitation of a critically ill child. And of course, such an event is unthinkable for parents. However, survey shows that parents wish to be present during the resuscitation of their child. We developed a simulation-based resuscitation curriculum to train fellows in pediatric critical care and emergency medicine how best to carry out a pediatric resuscitation in the presence of a family member. Each case uses a high-fidelity mannequin to guide fellows through advanced medical interventions and procedural skills in the resuscitation of a pediatric patient. During the scenarios, fellows communicate with standardized patients acting as parents. Program evaluations rate the sessions as highly realistic. All fellows report they plan to change their management of patients based on the sessions. Self-assessment of skills before and after each session indicate that fellows feel more comfortable with parental presence during a resuscitation, explaining medical interventions, communicating with family members, and answering hard questions (i.e. “is my child going to die?”) after completion of the sessions. Future directions include implementing the curriculum as a mandatory component of fellow training and development of a best practices video so that key skills can be disseminated across other training programs and medical disciplines. View Report 1200 Patients Project Peter H. O’Donnell, MD Department: Medicine “Personalized medicine” has been practiced for centuries, but with sequencing of the first human genome in 2000, the expectation became that ‘personalized medicine’ would also mean inclusion of genetic information. The field of pharmacogenomics has permitted discovery of genetic polymorphisms for many drugs, but thus far, information has infrequently been utilized due to poor physician knowledge about drug-gene relationships, limited avenues for testing, and time delays to receive results. This project aims to overcome these barriers to realize the promise of pharmacogenomics. We are prospectively enrolling 1200 adults receiving routine outpatient care from early-adopter physicians at The University of Chicago. Patients are preemptively genotyped across a panel of polymorphisms selected based upon clinically relevant evidence of their pharmacogenomic role. Patient-specific results are made available to early-adopters through a created research portal (the “genomic prescribing system”) which provides instantaneous pharmacogenomic consultations. Through this individualized health care model, we are studying how pharmacogenomic results are utilized by physicians if timely, interpretable results are provided, and whether inappropriate or high risk medications are less likely to be prescribed in patients for whom pharmacogenomic results are known. Importantly, we are studying how the availability of pharmacogenomic information impacts the nature of the doctor-patient relationship. View Report Engineering Patient-Oriented Clinic Handoffs Amber Pincavage, MD Department: Medicine While patients are especially vulnerable as they transition to care by a new physician, patient input into the resident clinic handoff process is lacking. To create a patient-centered process, we interviewed patients shortly after their transition for suggestions. Using this input, two months before the 2012 handoff, patients were sent a “transition packet” with a welcome letter from the new resident with their picture and personal information (i.e. hobbies), a certificate of teaching recognition, and a visit preparation tool. In 2012 (post-packet), patients were interviewed by phone on the impact of the packet. In 2011 and 2012, charts were reviewed to examine outcomes. The majority of patients post-packet (99%) were aware of the handoff. Of the 44% of patients who remembered the packet, most (70%) reported that it helped them build rapport, acknowledged their role as a teacher, and helped them prepare for their first visit. Fewer patients missed their first visit with their new physician (43% 2011 vs. 31% 2012, p<0.01) and were lost to follow-up six months after the handoff (22% 2011 vs. 12% 2012, p<0.01). A patient-centered clinic handoff was helpful to patients and may have encouraged patients to return for care after the handoff. View Report Daily Prognostication of Outcome in the Pediatric ICU Neethi Pinto, MD Department: Pediatrics Limited data exists regarding the accuracy of clinician predictions of morbidity and mortality in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Our objective was to determine the accuracy of such prognostications. We hypothesized that predictions, obtained daily from members of the clinician care team (attending physician, fellow, resident/nurse practioner, and bedside nurse) would have limited predictive value for distinguishing survivors versus nonsurvivors. We expected the positive predictive value of prognostication to increase with level of experience, confidence in prediction, concordance among the team, and if the outcome measure included severe functional morbidity. We enrolled 143 children and obtained 3266 intuitions from clinicians over 978 patient days. Our preliminary results indicate that a prediction of death by any member of the care team was not predictive of mortality, but increased when agreement existed across the team, with serial predictions over time, and with experience. Regarding functional outcome at 1 month, there was limited concordance between attending predictions, parent assessment, and a validated scoring tool. Expansion of enrollment and analysis of 6 month outcomes will increase knowledge of the accuracy of clinician prognosis with the potential of improving overall physician-patient communication during an especially stressful time for families and their critically ill children. View Report Annual Education Event with Supporting Group for Parkinson’s Tao Xie, MD Department: Neurology Patient education is very important to enhance patient-doctor relationship, patient satisfaction and their quality of life as well. Patient education in movement disorders could help patients understand and manage better their motor and non-motor symptoms and take best advantage of the state-of-the-art treatment option such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). Patient education, however, was not well addressed here and in many other places. We therefore have conducted a serial of patient education initiatives. We prepared written materials and video clips on various movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia, particularly on the DBS treatment. We also routinely videotaped the pre-surgical status of the movement disorders for post-surgical comparison, which helps the patient to appreciate and enjoy better the post-surgical function improvement and has particular benefit for those patients who somehow do not recognize the improved function capacity even with the significant improved motor symptoms on objective post-surgical evaluation, cases so far difficult to be treated otherwise. In addition, we have more education and outreaching activity in April to benefit more patients including those currently not under our care. Through these educations, we have enhanced patient satisfaction and patient-doctor relationship, delivered quality of care, and improved quality of life. View Report Operationalizing the Virtues for Good Doctor-Patient Relationships John Yoon, MD Department: Medicine Delivering compassionate, patient-centered care remains a key aspirational goal of the medical profession and is central to good doctor-patient relationships. But can such professional virtue be taught and assessed? In our previous work funded by the Science of Virtues at the University of Chicago, we have surveyed a nationally representative sample of medical students clustered within schools. With support from the Bucksbaum Institute, we conducted qualitative interviews with purposively sampled subgroups in order to test and refine the methods and measures that will be deployed in a future longitudinal study. One sub-group was those nominated into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. The other sub-group was those who were not nominated for Gold Humanism. Overall, 21 students were interviewed (10 from Gold subgroup, 11 from non-Gold subgroup). Currently, interviews are now transcribed and being coded for thematic analysis. We hypothesize that role models (clinical exemplars) play a major formative role in those nominated for the Gold Humanism Honor Society. The project contributes to research on the doctor-patient relationship by developing physician-specific measures of these professional virtues and by generating novel insights about character development and moral enculturation among physicians-in-training. View Report

Patient navigation and shared decision-making post-Dobbs: Understanding the experiences and priorities of patients traveling to Illinois for abortion care.

Investigating Disparities in Germline Testing and Mutations in Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer at the University of Chicago

Perceptions and attitudes around “hope”: An examination of the interdisciplinary team caring for terminally ill cancer patients.

The Effect of Using a Patient Expectations tool for Pro-Operative Counseling on Patient Reported Outcome Measures in foot and Ankle Surgery.

“Is it covered?” Bridging the Gap in Health Insurance Literacy

A Pilot Study of the Structural Determinants of the Quality of Patient-Clinician Relationship in the Treatment of Trauma Related Disorders

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs at US Medical Schools and Well-being of DEI Leaders: A National Study

Serious Neurologic Illness Communication Training using Standardized Patients in the Simulation Center

Impact of a 24 hour Shift Call on the Immune Status of Surgery Residents

Impact of Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution (PM2.5) and Surveyed Risk Factors on Non-Allergic Rhinitis amoung NHANES Participants: A Case-Control Investigation

Patient reported outcomes from patients with young-onset Gastrointestinal Cancers: A pilot study in patients ages 18-50 evaluating effects of cancer-care on cognitive function, sexual health and quality of life.

Breast Cancer and Social Vulnerability

A Grief Group for Today’s Teens: A National Expansion of Evidenced-Based Bereavement Curriculum

Developing a framework for the effective use of language and communication in operating room education.

Exploring Racial Disparities in Bariatric Surgery and Treatment of Obesity: A Qualitative Study

Designing Interventions for Biased Language by Clinicians Regarding Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Kern Good Physician Project: A Mixed-Methods Study of Character, Practical Wisdom and Human Flourishing in Medicine

Optimal Dissemination and Evaluation of a Novel Surgical Procedure

Examining perceptions of and experiences with cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for Native American cervical cancer survivors in South Dakota

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Pocket Size Ultrasound (PsUS) in the Detection of Pediatric Elbow Fractures

Barbershop Talk: A Black Men’s Health Initiative

Death Panels: Exploring the End-of-Life Through Comics

“Impact of Patient-centered Supports in Transgender and Gender Diverse Pregnancies: Group Prenatal Care and Doula Models”

A medical ethics framework for understanding massive resuscitation in critically injured trauma patients: perspectives from surgeons and anesthesiologists

A transformative learning curriculum, grounded in principles of simulation and restorative justice, to address experienced racism, implicit bias and microaggression among physician trainees

MyHealthStory: Collecting patient narratives prior to new patient visit

Understanding Wisdom Development in Medicine: A Qualitative Study

My Brothers’ Voices (MBV): A zine based intervention to increase care engagement and social service referral among young Black sexual minority men

Housestaff perceptions of Racism and Racial Equity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Attitudes Regarding Training and Autonomy in Surgical Practice

Sociological study on the causes of burnout among surgeons at the University of Chicago Medicine

Relief Exploration for Sickle Pain using through Interventions using Technology Engagement (RESPITE)

Memorability of Doctor-Patient communication regarding sun protective behaviors

Clinical Providers for Children with Home Mechanical Ventilation: Interviews about Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Habilitative Needs

Using and teaching computational bioinformatics and Big-Data approach to discover novel therapeutic strategies for AMD; new tools for the future generation of physicians

Prospective, Randomized-control Trial Comparing Standard vs Augmented Informed Consent Protocols in Elective and Trauma Orthopaedic Patients.

A Search For Non-Invasive Correlates of Invasive Cardiac Catheterization Findings: Echocardiographic Strain Imaging to Evaluate Left Atrial Function in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Evaluation of Community Health Workers in the Primary Care Group: Bridging the Clinical Gaps in Unmanaged Diabetes and Hypertension

An Intervention to Improve Discharge Teaching for Pediatric Asthma

Opioid and Substance Use Disorders Services in Nursing Homes: Development and Pilot Testing of a Survey Instrument

“Pediatrics Learning Starts at Home: Examining strategies to educate and support parents of moderately and late preterm newborns”

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a 3D model? Supporting shared decision making and parental expectations during prenatal counseling using 3D printed models”

“Improving patient education, health literacy, and advocacy through graphic narrative and design”

“Medicine Clinical management of patients with COVID-19: An online learning module”

“Impact of substance use on the adolescent trauma population”

“Liver week: From metabolism to neoplasm”

“Pediatrics Feasibility of mindful meditation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit”

“Bridging the Digital Divide: Patient-oriented solutions to promote digital health access, equity, and literacy”

“The Bionic Breast Project: Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a neuroprosthesis for restoring touch sensation after mastectomy”

“Addressing healthcare disparities and improving access to rhinologic and skull base care utilizing patient-centered educational materials and telemedicine outreach”

“Comics as decision aid for heart failure with a reduce ejection fraction”

“FAM TECH Survey: Family Assessment of Managing Technology-based Education for Chronic Health conditions Survey”

“Improving outcomes and reducing barriers to care in patients with neovascular glaucoma”

“Improving quality of family meetings in the Medical Intensive Care Unit”

“Communicating with families of young children with invasive mechanical ventilation dependency about long-term disability trajectories”

“A Grief Group for Today’s Teens: A national expansion of evidence-based bereavement curriculum”

“The Living Time Capsules of Chicago’s South Side: A proposal for a multi-media oral history initiative”

“Novel digital solutions to optimize operating room teamwork”

“A pilot program of medical students as health coaches for primary care patients with hypertension”

“Fast-track for Abdominal Pain (“FFAP”) leading to expedited care”

“Kern Project on the Good Physician (KPGP): A national longitudinal study of character, caring, and human flourishing in the post-COVID era”

“Patient-Centered Telemedicine Use; Understanding patient, trainee and clinician perspectives to inform educational support and engagement.”

“My CoVID Passport: A Primary Care Group Pilot of a Mobile Technology for Patient Engagement and Care during the Pandemic”

“Trauma informed abortion care – A qualitative study”

“Peer support program for healthcare workers who experience adverse perioperative events”

“Development of a novel digital counseling tool to spark non-judgmental sexual and reproductive health conversations between adolescents and clinicians”

“Addressing Disparities to Telemedicine Access For Children on the South Side of Chicago”

“National Survey on the Impact of COVID19 on Medical Student Well-being”

“Supporting Advance Care Planning and End of Life Discussions via Video Based Patient and Surrogate Education”

“Punishment in a Pandemic: Arrest and Jail Cycling as Determinant of Community Covid-19 Case Rates”

“COPD Virtual Medication Reconciliation and Education Pilot: COPD V-M(ED) Pilot”

“Reducing structural and moral injury in patients and trainees: a novel curriculum on structural competence and anti-racism praxis for surgeons (structural justice)”

“Metformin Use and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Could This Common Medicine Be Protective?”

“Using Human Centered Design to Develop an Evidence-Based Curriculum for Teens Who Have Lost a Parent”

“The Project on the Good Physician: Physician Use of Narrative Sequences and Wellbeing”

“Language Matters: A pilot to Improve 3rd Year Medical Student Communication Skills with Individuals with Substance Use Disorders and Chronic Pain to Build Empathy and Reduce Stigma”

“Gauging Knowledge and Opinions on Travel for Organ Transplantation”

“Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Teach-to-Goal Education on Family-Doctor Communication in Pediatric Ambulatory Clinics”

“Our Greatest Lessons: Developing A Medical Student-Focused Anthology of Health Humanities Essays”

“Supporting medical student communication, confidence, adaptability and professionalism skills through an elective in improvisational theater at The Pritzker School of Medicine”