The BRI Blog

The American Medical Association discusses changes to the STEP 1 exam and how those changes will effect medical students – in the US and internationally.

JAMA – Medical education takes a STEP in the right direction

The American Medical Association (AMA) discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic has and will change the application cycle for 4th year medical students applying for residency in the June 3, 2020 edition of JAMA.

Potential Implications of COVID-19 for the 2020-2021 Residency Application Cycle

Dr. Peter Wei, a BRI alum and former chapter leader, worked with BRI strategic partner Mercatus Center and economist Edward J. Timmons to author this timely and important paper on the difficulty he and many other physicians were facing in being credentialed in order to work – right when our country needed every trained physician in order to maximally respond to the pandemic threat. [Read Now]

Rafael Fonseca, MD, is the Getz Family Professor of Cancer, Professor of Medicine, Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, Director for Innovation and Transformational Relationships, Interim Executive Director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a consultant in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He earned his MD at Universidad Anahuac, Mexico. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami, FL, and a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN. He was named a clinical investigator for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund. He is a visiting healthcare fellow at the Goldwater Institute. Dr Fonseca’s practice has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of plasma cell disorders and leading the multiple myeloma team in its efforts to develop a better understanding of the disease and its impact on patients. In his laboratory, Dr Fonseca has led his team of researchers in concentrating on the genetic nature of the clonal cells of plasma cell disorders, myeloma bone disease, prognostic markers, and development of new therapies for the disease.

Throughout his training and career, Dr Fonseca has received numerous awards and honors, including the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Clinical Investigator Award, and the International Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Research Award. Most notably, he is a Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator, the highest academic distinction given to investigators at his institution. Dr Fonseca holds memberships and serves in positions for organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, American Association for Cancer Research, and the . Dr Fonseca serves as reviewer and in editorial capacities for medical publications. He has given many national and international presentations as a visiting professor, and has authored numerous articles. Watch Now!

Dr. Singleton is a board-certified anesthesiologist and immediate past president of the AAPS – Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. After being told “they don’t take Negroes at Stanford, she graduated from Stanford and earned her MD at UCSF Medical School. Dr. Singleton completed 2 years of Surgery residency at University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, and her Anesthesia residency at Harvard’s Beth Israel Hospital. She was on the faculty at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland before returning to California for private practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley. While still working in the operating room, she attended UC Berkeley Law School focusing on constitutional and administrative law. She interned at the National Health Law Project, and practiced insurance and health law. Dr. Singleton has published numerous articles, given presentations on health policy, and had many radio and television appearances. She started a blood pressure screening clinic at her church and make-shift clinics in two rural villages in El Salvador. Dr. Singleton ran for Congress in 2012.

Watch Dr. Marilyn Singleton talk to BRI about the cornavirus pandemic, masks and healthcare here.

Dr. Corba is owner of Green Hills Direct Family Care in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. In January 2016, Dr. Corba successfully transitioned her thirteen year-old, solo, independent, insurance-based office to DPC. She is an early innovator, champion and national leader for independent Direct Primary Care practices. She is co-founder and active Board Member of DPC Action, and formed a non-profit group called the Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care Association® to increase awareness of DPC and educate about the benefits DPC brings to patients in Pennsylvania.

Listen to Dr. Kimberly Corba offer her deep knowledge of how DPC changed her path, and how students can affect change in healthcare policy today.