Good Teaching Methods Come From the Heart

Vijay K. Rajput, MD, Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program at Cooper University Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has won the prestigious Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award.

In its 10th year, this award recognizes ten program directors from more than 8000 programs in the country, who find innovative ways to teach residents to provide quality health care in a complex, challenging atmosphere, while remaining connected to the initial impulse to care for others in this environment.

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The Courier-Post recently published an article about robotic surgery and the medical advancements it has made in treating patients with minimal to no pain. Initially used in cardiovascular procedures, the robotic-assisted surgery can be used for urologic, cardiac, gynecologic, gastrointestinal and other general surgical applications.

Cooper, one of the only hospital in the region performing robotic assisted heart surgery, is able to better customize treatment options for patients because of the high skill, high technology available in the new operating suites including the new hybrid operating room.

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A recent edition of Diagnostic & Invasive Cardiology published an article about the use of radial access as an alternative of cardiac care to increase patient comfort. Transradial artery access helps greatly reduce bleeding complications associated with femoral artery access.

“Complications are lower in almost all areas with radial access,” said Zoltan G. Turi, MD, Director of the Cooper Vascular Center. “I now do a majority of my cases radially.”

He mentioned his preference for radial access during a presentation on vascular closure during last falls Transcatheter Cardiovascular Theraputics presentation in San Francisco.

He said the wrist does not have any major structures to interfere with the artery puncture. There is also less risk of hemorrhage or aneurisms using the technique, he explained.

To read the complete article visit dicardiology.net.

Joseph E. Parrillo, MD, Director of the Cooper Heart Institute and Chief of the Department of Medicine at Cooper University Hospital, has been appointed to the Cardiovascular Health Advisory Panel (CHAP) for the State of New Jersey.

Established in 2001 to assist the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services with the development and implementation of effective cardiovascular health policy, the Cardiovascular Health Advisory Panel reviews clinical and technological developments, recommends guidelines for standards of practice, and provides guidance on issues of cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention.

“I am honored by the appointment to this important committee by the Commissioner,   Dr. Ponnan Aliagh,” says Dr. Parrillo.  “Though great strides have been made in the field of cardiovascular disease, it remains the leading cause of death in the United States.  The Cardiovascular Health Advisory Panel provides an effective statewide mechanism for review of new research, and rapidly evolving treatment and prevention strategies to assure that New Jersey citizens benefit from this new knowledge.”

Dr. Parrillo has been Director of the Cooper Heart Institute since 2001, and under his stewardship Cooper has become one of the leading cardiac service providers in the state.

A graduate of Cornell University Medical College, Dr. Parrillo completed his training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Dr. Parrillo is board certified in internal medicine, allergy and immunology, cardiovascular disease, and critical care medicine.

Dr. Parrillo has authored or co-authored more than 1,000 manuscripts, chapters, reviews, editorials, books and abstracts.  Dr. Parrillo is a past president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and is presently editor-in-chief of Critical Care Medicine, the premier journal devoted to the discipline of critical care.

Dr. Parrillo is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, and the American College of Critical Care Medicine.  As well, he is a member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI).

Are potentially life-saving nuclear stress tests being denied by major insurance companies?

As part of a recent investigation, CBS3′s medical reporter, Stephanie Stahl, looked to Fredrick L. Ginsberg, M.D., a cardiologist with the Cooper Heart Institute, for perspective. Read the full story