 |
| Col.
(Dr.) Theodore Parsons (left) accepts the San Antonio
Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium flag
from Col. (Dr.) John Roscelli, during a ceremony at
the SAUSHEC graduation ceremony June 3. Parsons will
serve as the new SAUSHEC dean and Col. William Flynn
will replace him as the director of Graduate Medical
Education at Wilford Hall Medical Center. (Courtesy
photo) |
By
Dewey Mitchell
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
SAN
ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Uniformed Services Health
Education Consortium graduated 310 health-care professionals
in a ceremony June 3 at the University of Texas Health Science
Center.
One
of the largest graduate medical education programs in the
nation, SAUSHEC maintains a close partnership with San Antonio’s
University of Texas Health Science Center, Wilford Hall
Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center.
Guest
speaker for the graduation was Air Force Surgeon General
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) George Peach Taylor Jr. He described how
today’s military medicine was saving far more of our warriors’
lives than in previous conflicts due to a much quicker transport
to stateside hospitals and continuous joint medical care
along the way. He also thanked everyone who wears the uniform
today.
Turning
to the new graduates, he told them, “Welcome to the bottom
rung. Prepare yourself for shellshock as you start your
first real assignments, and keep your humility, well maybe
not for the surgeons.”
During
the award portion of the ceremony, the Commander's awards
for original medical research were presented to 15 SAUSHEC
graduates for research in various fields.
The
Maj. John H. Gillespie Award went to two transitional year
interns for excellence in medical knowledge, clinical judgment
and medical ethics. Army Capt. Aaron Nelson and Air Force
Capt. Lori Caloia received the award. The award is named
in honor of Gillespie, a BAMC anesthesiologist, who was
killed in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.
The
Maj. David S. Berry Award for outstanding resident went
to Army Capt. (Dr.) Won Kim, ophthalmology, and Air Force
Capt. (Dr.) Scott Barnacle, OB-Gyn. This award goes
to the graduating residents who best exemplify the spirit
and character of Berry, a former SAUSHEC pediatric
faculty member who was murdered while assigned in South
Korea in 2000.
A
newly created award for the outstanding program coordinator
went to Carmen Vargas of the BAMC internal medicine program.
The
SAUSHEC Outstanding Faculty Award went to Army Col. (Dr.)
Karl Stajduhar, cardiology, and Air Force Col. (Dr.) Michael
Gordon, OB-Gyn.
The
newly named John D. Roscelli Award for SAUSHEC’s outstanding
program director was awarded to Lt. Col. (Dr.) Randal Robinson,
OB-Gyn.
Also
at the ceremony, the outgoing Dean of Graduate Medical Education
Col. John Roscelli transferred the SAUSHEC flag to the new
dean, Air Force Col. Theodore Parsons, who was associate
dean and director of GME at Wilford Hall. Col. William Flynn
was selected to replace Parsons at the Wilford Hall post.
Finally,
Roscelli was awarded a plaque from the executive committee
and staff of SAUSHEC for his four years as dean.
