Departmental Updates
Dear Fellow FROG,
What did "county" do for you? In 4 short years you went from being a subservient intern to a commanding chief. You started, not knowing how to scrub your hands and finished as a pelvic surgeon. From you first Stats, when you shook in mortal fear of Dr. Mishell, to your last Stats, when you shook in mortal fear of Dr. Mishell, USC has been the resolute foundation upon which we have based our careers.
The FROGs(Former Residents of Obstetrics and Gynecology at USC) is the official alumni association of the LAC+USC OB-GYN residency program. In an attempt to revitalize our FROG organization, we recently completed reorganization into a nonprofit corporation. We are a membership organization which automatically includes all graduates from the OB-GYN Residency at LAC+USC Medical Center. We would like to recognize and thank Dr. Kathy Forte, who for the past 20 years has overseen our organization as the acting President.
Our mission is to continue to support the educational needs of current residents and fellows. We will assist them at various national meetings as they present papers and increase the visibility of our program. We are excited and proud of where we trained and share a common bond. We hope you feel the same way. It is our plan to keep you informed about events at our Residency program as well as at the LAC+USC Medical Center. We envision the FROG organization as our alumni association, which should be a resource for job opportunities, patient referrals or even collaborative research projects. The organization recognizes how valuable it is to stay connected and will continue to sponsor gatherings at ACOG’s Annual Clinical Meeting as well as other times throughout the year. We would appreciate your input on how our organization can be a more valuable resource to you other than as a method to communicate with other FROGs and current residents.
We will be hosting a reception for all FROGs on May 7th from 5:30 to 7:30 at the ACOG ACM in San Diego. It has been suggested that we honor our mentor and Chairman, Dr Dan Mishell for all the wonderful years he has dedicated to our training. The establishment of his endowed Chair is a befitting honor. There will be a hosted bar and appetizers will be served. Come socialize, honor Dan and meet our current directors: Jim Macer, President; Laila Muderspach, Vice President; Marc Kalan, Secretary; and Robert Wallace, Treasurer.
We look forward to seeing you and hearing about your ideas and suggestions. Be on the lookout in the near future for an announcement regarding the details of the ACOG FROG reception.
Sincerely,
James Macer
Laila Muderspach
Robert Wallace
Marc Kalan
We've had another tragedy in our family. Last week the LAC/USC FROGS
lost Mory Nouriani, 1998, in a freak automobile accident on highway
99. He was on his way to Kern Medical Center were he held a teaching
position. Teaching brought him great pleasure; he excelled at imparting
knowledge to others. Mory left his pregnant wife, Kerri Parks, a graduating
FROG from year 2000, and three children; Olivia, Nick, and Will. Two
days later, his wife gave birth to their fourth child, Mora.
Mory was gentle, kind, compassionate, and loyal. He was always willing
to go the extra mile for his patients, friends, and family. Family
was most important to Mory and he loved to share stories and photos
of his children. He was also increasingly involved with Fertile Hope,
a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping cancer patients
faced with infertility (www.fertilehope.org).
In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the Nouriani Children's
Educational Fund (payable to Kerri Parks Nouriani and sent to 1015
Columbia, South Pasadena, CA 91030) or to Fertile Hope (P.O. Box 624,
New York, NY, 10014).
Cordially,
James Macer, President
RECEPTION CELEBRATING THE MISHELL CHAIR
On Monday evening, November 13, 2006, at the Medical Faculty Center, the medical school held a reception to celebrate the announcement of the new Daniel R. Mishell, Jr. Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology at USC. Although only about $1M of the $2M officially needed for Chair status has been gifted, the school established the Chair so the monies can be utilized by the Department.
The event was attended by about 40 people, including the Dean, several Departmental chairs, OB/GYN faculty members, and FROGS. Although speakers, including the Dean, made highly complimentary remarks about Dr. Mishell's teaching, research, and clinical abilities, Robert Wallace, FROG 1983, epitomized what Dr. Mishell has meant to well over 400 FROGS who have matriculated under his tutelage for over 35 years...
"As a 4th year medical student in 1978, I asked Dr. Mishell if he thought he would be here for the next four years (!) … I asked because I had an inkling of what a great educator and leader he would be for me. When he answered ‘Yes,' I made one of the most important, and best decisions, of my life – to come to Women's Hospital for my residency.
Don't misunderstand, it was a terrifying experience back then. There were no limits on time spent in the hospital, and there was a certain military atmosphere to the Program. However, even today, some things haven't changed. The current residents still think Dr. Mishell doesn't know their names until at least the 2nd year, as if the interns don't count. The residents all feared him, then and now. His ward rounds once a week were the scariest. He would ask the most embarrassing questions, and always to someone who couldn't answer.
At least until our Senior year, stats were equally intimidating. At that time, we finally started anticipating the questions and knowing the answers. All of a sudden, we became less fearful. The fear was replaced by self-confidence, respect, admiration, and the recognition that we were really physicians. The Oral Board Examinations never held a candle to our inquisitions at Friday morning stats.
Dr Mishell and his colleagues have taken over 400 rough-edged youngsters and groomed them into smooth physicians, who know how to think on their feet, how to learn, and how to communicate. The residents who trained under Dan Mishell are proud to have been educated in a world class OB/GYN residency program. Out in the real world, we FROGS hold our heads high when we declare that we did our residency here, under the master, Dan Mishell.
I speak for all FROGS, past and present, we are honored to be here, we are blessed for our knowledge and abilities, and we are forever grateful. Thank you, Dr. Mishell!"