Côte d'Ivoire : Gbagbo et Ouattara ont prêté serment

Côte d'Ivoire : Gbagbo et Ouattara ont prêté serment

There are two claimants for the presidency of Ivory Coast. The outgoing president Gbagbo, lost the election to Mr. Ouattara 46% to 54% according to the electoral commission supervised by the UN. However, the Constitutional Council, appointed by president Gbagbo, invalidated the electoral commission’s results and gave victory to the outgoing president. With the military support, Mr. Gbagbo was sworn in for a new term this morning.

The international community, the UN, USA, European Union and France, recognized the electoral victory of Mr. Ouattara, who is also recognized by the current Primer Minister of Ivory Coast. Mr. Ouattara sent a swear-in in writing this morning.

There is going to be chaos and violence in Ivory Coast. One should wonder when Africa should be able to get out the ordeals of dictatorship, corruption, and misery.

Letter of support of osteopathic identity of UNTHSC

The following letter dated on December 10th, 2008 by David Garza, DO,  FACOFP, FAAFP,

TCOM class 1989, President of TCOM Alumni Association 2008-2009, TOMA Board of Trustees, and Former President of Texas ACOFP

During their Fourth Quarter Board meeting on Saturday, December 6, 2008, the TOMA Board of Trustees overwhelmingly supported and then approved the following position statements in the form of motions from the floor.  I believe the first two were unanimous, and the third may have had one dissenting vote based on language, not intent.  They are as follows:

1)   The Texas Osteopathic Medical Association opposes the granting of an MD degree by the University of North Texas Board of Regents.

2)   The Texas Osteopathic Medical Association supports and re-affirms Texas statutes that prohibit the University of North Texas System from awarding the MD degree.

3)   The Texas Osteopathic Medical Association Board of Trustees supports the appointment of a task force to formulate an immediate course of action to address issues affecting the osteopathic integrity of UNTHSC/TCOM including, but not limited to, the concept of granting the MD degree by any entity of the University of North Texas System.

These motions were then discussed with the board members of the TCOM Alumni Association, who also agreed unanimously to support and echo TOMA’s position statements.  The minutes from the TOMA meeting can be found at their website at http://www.txosteo.org/.  I am sharing this information with you merely to keep you up to date with accurate information on this topic.  Thank you for your attention.

We have gone through this before

The following letter to UNT Chancellor dated on December 22nd, 2008 by Jay G. Beckwith, DO, MACOI

Let me extend Happy Holidays and best wishes to you and your family.  I am Jay Beckwith, DO, and would like to present a quick background on myself.

I received my undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed my rotating internship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I completed three years of internal medicine at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital and became a Fellow at Tufts Medical School in Boston, MA.  I was the first DO physician ever at Tufts Medical School.  After leaving Boston I taught and ran the GI Department of Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine and was voted Teacher of the Year.  I relocated to Fort. Worth, Texas and was Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the hospital and taught at TCOM for over 25 years.  I was voted Teacher of the Year at your institution.  I was the last part-time employee of TCOM.  I still have students come through my service and have been involved in training residents and interns all of my medical practice.  I am Past President of the American College of Osteopathic Internists, a national organization.  I was chairman of the Fort Worth Air Power Council, a businessman’s organization limited to 200 members only by invitation, and have been the only doctor to be president of that esteemed institution. 

I write all of this not to flatter myself, but hopefully you will begin to see that the mail you have received or receiving now, and much more to come in the future, is from people with character, class, integrity, and not with a special agenda.

Man who lost his sight every time he had sex

A man was forced to seek medical help after going temporarily blind every time he had sex. No, this isn't a tabloid headline. It actually happens. The victim of this predicament never lost his sight with other strenuous physical activity except when he climaxed during intercourse. This is a rare but true phenomenon!  

 It was reported that was not due to embolism to the vessels (ophthalmic artery) supplying the eye as it is a recurring condition in this young man. It can be speculated that vasoconstriction of ophthalmic artery is the cause and the patient is treated with a vasodilator. I suspect that the patient may have an optic nerve with cup-disc at risk, meaning that the blood vessels traveling through a narrow space within the optic nerve. Vasodilator or baby aspirin could possibly help to prevent the transient mini-stroke/ visual loss in this patient and hot have to explain embarrassing health details to potential partners.

 You can see all more of the details here.

Question of the forced resignations of Dean Hahn and Department Chair Palmarozzi

The following letter dated on December 22nd, 2008 by John Jones, DO, TCOM class 1987, TCOM alumni association board member

The forced resignation of Dean Marc Hahn from his position at TCOM/UNTHSCFW was a huge mistake.  As dean, he had led TCOM to the number one position on COMLEX I and II CE, administered by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners.  Not only that, he also had oversight over great expansion in the college's impact and program development.  He was popularly supported by the alumni, because of his great leadership.  He has served the college and the university well.

Why have you allowed this to happen on your watch?

Dr. Stoll: Dr. Ransom’s inappropriate leadership and the resultant negative impact on UNTHSC culture

The following  memorandum transmitted to the UNT Board of Regents and Chancellor, on November 20, 2009 by Scott Stoll, DO, PhD.
                   Former Chairman of Department of Osteopathic Medicine
                  Former Tenured Professor-UNTHSC
                  Former UNT Health Board Member
                 Former Director of Physical Medicine Research Institute

This memorandum is intended to accompany my testimony delivered in front of the UNT System Chancellor and Board of Regents on Friday, November 20, 2009 regarding the MD Option at UNTHSC in Fort Worth.  The existence of an MD School in Fort Worth is no threat to TCOM.  The creation of an MD School outside of UNTHSC is also welcome.  It is only the creation of an MD School at UNTHSC and the associated initial and longstanding diversion of UNTHSC resources and attention which is harmful to our institution, city, county, region, and state.

It is clear that Dr. Ransom is committed to the goal of creating an MD School within UNTHSC regardless of the costs. 

Refractive Errors in the US

Refractive Errors: Some of us have to wear either glasses or contact lenses in order to see clearer. The corrective devices (glasses, contact lenses, and magnifiers) help to bring the image onto the retina. There are four typical refractive errors, which cause our vision to be blurred if we do not wear corrective devices.

• Myopia or nearsightedness--Close objects appear sharp but those in the distance are blurred. The eyeball is longer than normal from front to back, so images focus in front of the retina instead of on it.
• Hyperopia (hypermetropia) or farsightedness--Distant objects can be seen clearly but objects up close are blurred. The eyeball is shorter than normal, so images focus behind the retina.
• Astigmatism--Objects are blurred at any distance. The cornea, lens, or both are shaped so that images aren't focused sharply on the retina.
• Presbyopia or aging eye--The eye loses its ability to change focus due to the natural aging process. This usually occurs between ages 40 and 50.

Dr. Stoll's Tenure Resignation

The following resignation dated September 4, 2009 by Scott Stoll, DO, PhD.

I hereby resign my tenured faculty position at UNTHSC effective January 31, 2010. Over these next 5 months, and thereafter as appropriate, I will do everything in my power to assist you (or the new dean) to make a smooth transition of my responsibilities to whomever you deem appropriate.

I began medical school here at TCOM in 1985 and, with the exception of my PM&R PGY2-4 years off campus, have studied or worked at this institution ever since. I am an alumnus of TCOM for my medical degree, UNT for my graduate degree and OMCT for my internship. I have served as chairman of the Manipulative Medicine Departmental and Executive Director of the Physical Medicine Institute for over 10 years and have progressively worked my way from Assistant to Tenured (F1111) Professor. I have received millions in competitive federal research grant funding. As a clinical department chairman, I have been a member of the board of the UNTHSC clinical practice plan this entire time. I have always maintained an active clinical practice and have positively contributed financially to my department and the institution. This year alone, I have generated YTD over $370,000 in clinical revenues and show a surplus of revenue over expenses (profit for UNTHealth) of over $100,000. I have been extensively involved in teaching medical students, fellows and residents every year since I began Working at TCOM and have now accumulated 20 years of service to UNTHSC and the State of Texas. Until recently, I believed that I would spend my entire career and retire from UNTHSC.

Dr. Stoll's resignation from TCOM Dean Search Committee

The following letter by Scott Stoll,DO, PhD August 9, 2009

I would like to resign my position as Co-Chairman of the TCOM Dean Search Committee and terminate any further service to this committee effective immediately. As you know, I became profoundly disappointed by a series of deceptive communications and actions put forth by the top administration at UNTHSC in the late fall of 2008. I found this lack of leadership integrity to be tremendously damaging to this institution I accepted this position in January of 2009 as a sign of my good faith and hope for an improvement in the integrity of UNTHSC top leadership. I have continued service to this committee despite an ongoing lack of acknowledgement by this leadership of any wrongdoing or any evidence of contrition. Unfortunately, this president continues to manipulate the truth as a means to his own ends. This leadership method has persisted and has been refined to the point that I cannot in good conscience continue service to this important TCOM Dean Search Committee as I believe my participation in this selection process in part facilitates the deceptions.

A series of assessments of UNTMD from a leadership insider

Dear Readers:

I have tried to wrap up the UNTMD issue as the lack of credibility of the UNTMD financial plan was exposed.  I do want to move on to cover other issues. However, I have just learned the “old news” about the process of how the UNTMD business plan was developed from a longtime insider. The MD study group was set up as a farce as the decision had already been made prior to its establishment.

I am going to post a series of Dr. Scott Stoll’s communications to the UNT Board of Regents and UNTHSC community. These communications from a longtime insider like Dr. Stoll will provide us how a university administration really functions and the kind of leadership that UNTHSC currently has.

We're one month old

Dear Readers:

This week marks the one month-old date for EyeDrD.org, I would like to thank you all for coming reading this blog website. The site has attracted more than 2500 page views. I would like to convey my deep gratitude to my friends, who have provided technical support, editing and designing of the blog posts. I am also deeply appreciative of a few post guests who have helped to start this blog.

The blogs have been emphasizing on the issues on osteopathic medicine and the future direction of my alma mater, the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The site has been able to educate the public about the relevance and the contributions of osteopathic medicine to healthcare needs of the nation. Also, I have used it as a forum to inform the public of Texas about the credibility (rather the lack of) of the proposed second medical school in Fort Worth.

The blogs have been first-class quality and have been able to attract the publications of its commentaries in Star Telegram and in the Brownsville Herald. Gruntdoc.com and KevinMD.com have also been gracious to pick up the debate of physician shortage in Texas provided by EyeDrD.org. I want to thank them for their support. Studentdoctor forums and google have been the main sources of traction to the EyeDrD.org. I have learned a lot from them.

The website’s intention is to provide a forum for discussion of all ranges of issues, not limited to medicine or osteopathic medicine. I would welcome any guest posting and let have your voice or opinion to be heard.

Sincerely,
Tayson Delengocky