‘Rewarding and meaningful’

A second-year Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine student received an award from the Society of Human Medicine for a presentation on recreational abuse of nitrous oxide.

Christine Simon placed first for the presentation, "Subacute Combined Degeneration due to Recreational Nitrous Oxide Use.”

The demonstration sought to bring emphasis to the rise in usage of nitrous oxide, and other inhalants since COVID-19, and awareness of the “easy accessibility” of these inhalants.

Simon received the award in conjunction with the American College of Physicians (ACP) conference in Bellaire, Michigan. She says she was “very shocked” to hear she placed first

“I felt proud of myself and it just felt rewarding and meaningful to know that the judges and people there that I had spoken to saw the importance of what I decided to write about,” says Simon.

“This was my first conference ever and if I’m given the opportunity where I saw something rare and not very well known, I would love to do something like this again,” she adds.

Simon came across the idea during an internal medicine internship at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak. She encountered a patient in his mid-20s who lost function in his hands and arms and had difficulty walking due to the use of nitrous oxide.

“As part of my internship, I had to write a clinical vignette…a lot of the attendings and residents around me thought this was an interesting case, so this was a case I wanted to write about and bring awareness to,” says Simon.

“One of my attendings told me about the conference in October, so I submitted it and then presented,” she adds.

Simon gave a five-minute presentation to two judges that introduced subacute combined degeneration and how nitrous oxide affects it.

She says that she created an overall message for her presentation that explains that the continuous rise in inhalant use has become a public health concern from a medical standpoint.

Further, she competed with more than 20 students from medical schools in Michigan – some were OUWB students as well.

Paul Chittick, M.D., Michael E. Maddens, M.D., Distinguished Interim Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, expressed feelings of pride over Simon’s success.

He says it “shows that OUWB students can compete with any students anywhere, be it in research, clinical pursuits, or residency placements.”

“It makes me proud to be a part of OUWB when I see our students excelling at such an early point in their careers,” he says. “It's a tribute to the student, their teaching faculty, and the school for attracting and selecting such motivated and talented people.”