First-year medical students were recently cloaked for the first time in white coats, a symbol of the profession, during an annual tradition and celebration marking the beginning of their careers in medicine.

Of the 211 new students, 180 come from Kansas. The remaining students come from 14 other states. The students represent 42 undergraduate majors, from biology and anthropology to nursing and finance. 

Fourth-year medical students now have the opportunity to take a functional medicine elective, an option previously available at just two other medical education campuses in the country, according to Jennifer Jackson, M.D., FACP, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the new director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

More than five decades after being assigned to read “Boys in White,” a sociological study of male medical students at the University of Kansas, KU School of Medicine-Wichita professor emerita Anne Walling, M.B., Ch.B., FFPHM, is helping some KU female medical students from 1944 through 1975 have their say in an upcoming book provisionally titled “The Girls in White.”

The book, according to Walling and co-authors Kari Nilsen, Ph.D., and Morgan Gillam, M.D., is an opportunity for women to tell their stories of choosing what was then considered a nontraditional career.

Could a drug commonly used to treat diabetes help prevent Alzheimer’s disease? That’s the focus of an intriguing national study in which KU School of Medicine-Wichita is taking part. The school’s KUMC Clinical & Translational Science Unit Wichita — formerly the Center for Clinical Research — is seeking participants for the study into the drug metformin. 

The MAP study (for Metformin in Alzheimer’s dementia Prevention) is based at New York’s Columbia University and involves just 17 medical schools across the country. Brent Duran, D.O., associate professor in KU Wichita’s Department of Internal Medicine, is the principal investigator here.

A new exhibit by Photoworx will feature photographs by 10 South Central Kansas photographers. Attend the First Friday opening reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, in the West Atrium at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. Complimentary refreshments will be served.

The William J. Reals Gallery of Art at KU School of Medicine-Wichita is free and open to the public.

Congratulations to Gretchen Irwin, M.D., MBA, who has been appointed chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine. Dr. Irwin has served in multiple leadership roles, including clerkship director and residency program director. She currently serves as the associate dean for graduate medical education and the designated institutional official for the Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education. Once a successor has been recruited, she will step down from her associate dean and DIO roles.

Kansas Project ADAM, a joint effort of KU School of Medicine-Wichita Medical Practice Association and KU Wichita Pediatrics, participated in the 35th annual summer conference for Kansas school nurses this month in Wichita. Aaron Ryan, BSN, RN, MBA, FACMPE, executive director of KU School of Medicine-Wichita Medical Practice

Association and Kansas Project ADAM program coordinator, said visitors learned about the steps schools can take to earn the "Heart Safe School" designation, such as implementing comprehensive emergency response plans, training staff and ensuring AEDs are readily available.

“Kansas schools are taking a giant leap toward safeguarding the lives of their students," said Nisha Agasthya, M.D., FAAP, assistant professor in Pediatrics at KU School of Medicine-Wichita and medical director of Kansas Project ADAM. Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) is dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac arrest in children and teens.

Rick Kellerman, M.D., will be taking the mound to throw the first pitch at the Wind Surge game on Aug. 18. The public is invited to commit to a donation supporting JayDoc Community Clinic and then fulfill that pledge if Kellerman throws a strike.

The Class of 2028 has arrived and these first-year medical students are already preparing for a life of service. During orientation week, they volunteered at sites across Wichita, including Wichita Habitat for Humanity, ICT S.O.S. and Rainbows United. Other activities during orientation week included a campus tour, lifesaver training, a curriculum overview and a student activities fair.

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