RESidENcy PROGRAM Scholarly and Community Medicine Projects

The average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep daily. With age, sleep patterns change, an older adult
may sleep less at night, but nap during the day, still getting a total of 7+ hours of sleep. Not
getting an adequate amount of sleep leads to feeling tired, depressed and grumpy, in addition to
making it difficult to concentrate. People who are too tired have increased motor vehicle
accidents, are more easily aroused to anger and are less productive. There are lots of things that
can cause insomnia. Stress, too much caffeine, depression, shift work, medications and pain are
common triggers.
March 2010: Revisiting Resolutions for the New Year: Smoking and Tobacco Use.
Spring is coming-as the warmer weather and longer days approach many people get the itch to
spend more time outside, start to exercise more and change a few other bad habits. Now is a
great time to look back on New Year’s resolutions and re-assess. Is 2010 the year you finally
quit smoking or chewing tobacco?
Spring is a time of re-awakening and renewal- change is in the air as the trees begin to bud, the
grass greens and the sun regains warmth- now is a great time to renew your resolutions to live a
healthier life.
January 2010: Resolutions for the NewYear: A Healthier You. Shaking Those Bad Habits! Part
1. Diet and Exercise
As we move into the cold days of January many of us are tempted to curl up in a blanket with
some warm, delicious comfort foods... yet the little voice in the back of our head can be heard,
reminding of our New Years resolutions to live a healthier life, lose weight and start exercising!
In this article, the first of a two part series, I will spend time reviewing weight loss and the role
of diet and exercise (those dreaded “lifestyle changes”). The second article will discuss shaking
some of those other bad habits including smoking, drinking and chewing tobacco.
To begin, I’d like to remind you that change is hard, and lifestyle changes may be the hardest of
all. We all have our routines and habits and these are hard to break. Don’t expect to see instant
results and while you should aim for success, try not to be overly discouraged if things are slow
going.
November 2009: New PAP and Mammogram Guidelines
This month, the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued new
guidelines for breast cancer screening with mammography and a few days later the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) presented new guidelines for cervical
cancer screening. Since then numerous voices have been heard, many strongly in disagreement
with the new guidelines especially regarding mammograms. For women who have been
diligently getting their annual Pap smears and mammograms the recent announcements probably
seem very confusing and contradictory to everything you’ve been told about preventative
healthcare. Below hopefully I can lay help lay out the new guidelines, and explain why the
changes were recommended, and then discuss how the new guidelines might be applied.
September 2009: The ABCs and 123s of H1N1
School has started, fall is coming and flu season is just around the corner. How does the H1N1
virus, also known as the Swine flu fit into the winter cold and flu season? Below hopefully you
can find answers to your questions. In addition at the bottom please find resources with further
information.