Three U.S. Army medical residents earn national awards at ACP annual meeting

Last month, U.S. Army medical residents and their program directors from around the country attended the American College of Physicians' (ACP) annual meeting to present their research, compete in national medical student abstract competitions and share their perspective as military officers with civilian peers. Three Army medical residents earned national awards for their research.

"The ACP annual meeting is a valuable setting where Army internal medicine physicians can come together to collaborate and share best practices with civilian colleagues," explained Col. Jeanne Tofferi, M.D., MPH, FACP, internal medicine consultant to the Army Surgeon General. "The Army actively encourages professional development and leadership opportunities for our medical residents, and these national awards speak to their high caliber. The research and presentation skills they honed at this year's ACP annual meeting will help them become even better clinicians."

During the annual meeting, residents participated in the Associates and Medical Student Abstract Competitions, which included clinical vignette and poster competitions. Already winners of their local chapter competitions, the following Army residents earned national ACP awards:

• Capt. Richard Wayne Hilliard, Jr., D.O., William Beaumont Army Medical Center (El Paso, Texas) won the ACP National Association Abstract Competition for his presentation, "Atypical Presentation of Recurrent Adrenal Cell Carcinoma."

• Capt. Johnny Dias, D.O., Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Bethesda, Md.) for his poster, "Comparison of Aerosolized Swallowed Fluticasone to Esomeprazole for the Treatment of Eosinophilic Esophagitis."
• Capt. Hillary Thomas, M.D., San Antonio Military Medical Center (San Antonio, Texas) for her poster, "Effects of Illicit Drug Use on Clinical Outcome of Heart Failure."

The ACP divides abstracts into four categories for the competition: clinical vignette, basic research, clinical research and quality improvement - patient safety.

"The ACP's Internal Medicine meeting is a valuable opportunity to meet and learn from both military and civilian peers," said Capt. Johnny Dias, D.O., an internal medicine resident at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "The loan repayment, bonuses and benefits are great, but the chance to provide medical care for our Soldiers is a unique experience within the Army."