On July 21, Tamika Milam, a student in Texas Wesleyan’s Entry-Level Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia program, won the program’s first-ever Scientific Abstract Competition, hosted by Tito Tubog, CRNA, in his scholarly practice overview class.

Tamika, along with nine other finalists, explored current trends in anesthesia by presenting their research on a topic of their choice. Her winning presentation was titled Benefits of Virtual Reality in Medical Simulation. Finishing in second place was Morgan Harris with her presentation Detrimental if Not Disinfected: Cell Phone Use in the Operating Room. David Yurka was awarded third place for his presentation Whole Blood for Trauma Patients.

The other finalist topics included:  

• Ventilator Splitting in Disaster Scenarios, presented by Alexis Schmid 
• Video Laryngoscopy: A Double-edged Sword, presented by Darryl Newberry
• Physiologic Detriments of Vaping and Anesthetic Concerns, presented by Alyssa Wilson 
• Magnesium: A Key to Optimizing Postoperative Pain Control, presented by Ashlynn Ernes 
• Medical Podcasts, presented by Svenja Mujagic
• Can You Feel the Burn? Burnout in Anesthesia, presented by Laken Hamilton 
• Midodrine for Refractory Hypotension in Resuscitated Shock Patients, presented by Tracy May 

Tamika was named the winner after two rounds of judging and an audience vote made by Dr. Tubog’s class. The panel of judges included Jose Castillo, Ph.D., Brian Cornelius, DNP, James Schmidt, Ph.D. and Scott Shaffer, DNAP.