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| Adam Hines (above), RUSM Clinical Student |
An experience with a difficult patient during a psychiatry rotation became an opportunity for a Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) clinical student to publish and present new research based on the case.
Adam Hines was completing a rotation at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, NY, when an 84-year-old woman was admitted. “She came in with irritability, depression and delusional behavior, but did not seem to have typical dementia,” he said. “She needed to get neuropsychological testing. She was very difficult to deal with, but I was able to build a rapport with her. The way I approached her was by trying to get to know her on a personal level.” A CT scan revealed that the patient had two calcified meningiomas (tumors).
Hines drew on the experience as co-author of Meningioma and Psychiatric Symptoms: A Case Report and Review, a poster presented at the annual meeting of the Institute of Psychiatric Services of the American Psychiatric Association held in San Francisco in October. A paper on this topic has also been accepted for publication in The Annals of Clinical Psychiatry.“The poster presentation was a really great experience,” Hines said. “I was able to present to prestigious people and to discuss the case with them.”
A graduate of West Virginia University, Hines enrolled in RUSM in January 2012, after working for two years in a senior position at a home health agency. “I made a lot of sacrifices to go to medical school,” he said. “I gave up a good job. I was married, and I initially moved away from my wife. It was a culture shock to arrive in Dominica, an unfamiliar place. But once orientation started, it was game time, and I hit the ground running.” His wife later joined him, and became involved in the RUSM Spouses Organization.
Institutional leadership, including RUSM's dean, had kind words for Hines. "We heartily congratulate Adam Hines on his remarkable achievement at this stage of his medical career," said Joseph A. Flaherty, Dean and Chancellor.
"We're glad that Adam's education at St. John's Episcopal has resulted in this poster presentation and the article being accepted for publication," added Gary Belotzerkovsky, Senior Director for Clinical Student Affairs. "These will be great additions to his CV when the time approaches for the Residency Match."