Kansas Connections is Online

Kansas Connections has gone paperless. The Summer 2009 issue was the last printed edition. No worries, the Fall issue of Kansas Connections is now available online in an easy-to-view format. If you are concerned you might miss future issues, sign up to receive e-mail alerts four times a year, letting you know when the newest issue is available. Please visit www.ruralhealth.kumc.edu or join our email list here.

Last chance to sign up for the Kansas Bridging Plan

The December 31st deadline for first and second year residents to sign up to participate in the Kansas Bridging Plan is quickly approaching. Kansas resident physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or medicine/pediatrics can apply either in the Rural Health office or on the Rural Health Web site at www.ruralhealth.kumc.edu/kbp/residents.html.

Loans will be awarded to applicants in the order in which the applications are received. The Kansas Bridging Plan encourages residents to practice in a rural community upon completion of residency. For more information, contact Joyce Tibbals, jtibbals@kumc.edu.

Rural Health Education and Services Marketing Efforts Honored in Statewide Competition

WICHITA, Kan. – Rural Health Education and Services (RHES) was recognized with two Emerald Awards for excellence in public relations and marketing. The awards recognized RHES for a luncheon they presented to health care students at Newman University and the story “Husband and Wife Teams” written by Marena Assarsson for the summer 2008 edition of Kansas Connections.

Presented by the Kansas Association of Health Care Communicators, the Emerald Awards are given annually to hospitals and health care organizations across the state that excel in internal communications, external communications, special events, advertising, and other categories. Judges from the Louisiana Society for Hospital Public Relations & Marketing evaluated this year’s 56 entries for planning and research, implementation, cost effectiveness, and results.

The Emerald Awards were presented at the Kansas Association of Health Care Communicators luncheon and meeting Nov. 13, held during the Kansas Hospital Association’s Annual Convention in Wichita.

Deep Fried Turkey Safety

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Rural Health Education and Services would like to offer some safety tips if you choose to deep fry a turkey. Below are three videos that demonstrate the proper and tasty way to fry a turkey from Alton Brown's TV show Good Eats.

Episode: “Fry Turkey Fry” (Part 1 of 3)



Episode: “Fry Turkey Fry” (Part 2 of 3)



Episode: “Fry Turkey Fry” (Part 3 of 3)



Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

KAFP 2010 Poster Contest

** RHES found this to be a great article. So, we thought we'd share the link with our readers. **


Calling medical students and residents! KAFP invites you to submit an abstract for research, a case study or a literature review for the 2010 Poster Contest at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Session, Saturday, June 19, 2010, at Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park.

Download the guidelines, program outline and abstract application by clicking here. To be considered, all completed abstracts must be received by Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

Staff Attends Writing Grant Proposals Workshop

Joyce Tibbals, Andrea Ellis, and Auburn Rickman attended the Writing Grant Proposals Workshop at the University of Kansas Medical Center on November 19th. This was Paul Casella’s 4th year presenting this material at KUMC. The course reviewed the principles of good grant writing to produce clear, direct, and convincing grant applications, with an emphasis on the new NIH format guidelines, page limits, and reviewer instructions and scoring system. The workshop emphasized the psychology of reviewers, how to engage readers and facilitate understanding, and how to manage the proposal writing process.

Casella provided proposal templates and exercises to foster creative thinking while examining particular elements of a grant proposal. For more information on the National Institutes on Health grants please visit www.nih.gov/. Paul Casella will return to KUMC on May 11, 2010. For more information on his next workshop please contact Marty Gunon at mgunion@aol.com.

Rural Health Visits With Internal Medicine Residents

Rural Health was given the chance to spend a few minutes informing the Internal Medicine Residents about the programs offered by Rural Health Education and Services (Kansas Bridging Plan, Kansas Locum Tenens, Kansas Medical Resource and Kansas Recruitment Center).

Yesterday, Tyler Doyle and Amy Greenstein shared Jayhawk cookies and RHES literature and also answered questions regarding the many programs offered through RHES.

Thanks to all who attended.