Nevada Chapter News
2026 Chapter Excellence Award – Gold Winner
(September 2026) We are pleased to announce that our chapter is in receipt of the Gold Level of the 2026 Chapter Excellence Award! The award recognizes truly extraordinary chapters that surpass excellence in chapter management. We are in the company of 69 other outstanding chapters. In order to achieve the Gold Level of the Chapter Excellence Award, chapters must meet 20 Bronze criteria, 12 Silver criteria and a significant number of Gold level activities. Criteria include such activities as having a legislative action plan or agenda, holding a volunteerism/community service activity, holding multiple stand-alone meetings, having revenue sources outside of dues and meeting registration fees, implementing a strategic plan, implementing a formal recruitment and retention plan and measuring outcomes, conducting various activities for Medical Students, Residents and Early Career Physicians. We would like to extend a special thanks to those chapter members who assisted us in all of these endeavors! For their hard work and dedication, we received this award.
Congratulations to Drs. Bates and Callister on National Awards
(December 2025) We are pleased to announce that Kimberly C Bates, MD MACP and T. Brian Callister, MD SFHM MACP are the recipients of Mastership.
Mastership (MACP®)
ACP Bylaws state that MACPs shall be Fellows who have been selected because of “integrity, impact in practice or in medical research, or other attainments in science or in the art of medicine.” MACPs must be highly accomplished persons demonstrating impact in practice, leadership, health policy, or in medical research. Evidence of their achievements can come from many types of endeavors, such as renown within their field and/or ACP chapter, positions of honor, research, education, health care initiatives, volunteerism, administrative positions, care of patients, and service to their community. ACP involvement is highly valued though not required. ACP involvement may include, for example, service to the College in an official capacity, participation in chapter activities, participation in College committees, and involvement in the development of College educational programs.
Please join me in congratulating them and celebrating this accomplishment at Internal Medicine Meeting 2026 in San Francisco, California. To view the full list of national awardees, click here.
Congratulations New Chapter Fellows
- Faizan Sheraz, MBBS FACP
- Scott Andrew Silver, DO FACP
- Monette S Balite-Lacap, MD FACP
- Maia D Carter, MD FACP
- Yonatan G Ghiwot, MD FACP
- Kushal Patel, MD FACP
(December 2025) Congratulations to the Chapter's new Fellows. Fellowship in the College is an honor. Being an FACP® is a distinction earned from colleagues who recognize your accomplishments and achievements over and above the practice of medicine. The most important considerations for ACP Fellowship are excellence and contributions made to both medicine and to the broader community in which the internal medicine physician lives and practices.
2025 Chapter Excellence Award-Silver Level Winner
(September 2025) We are pleased to announce that our chapter is in receipt of the Silver Level of the 2025 Chapter Excellence Award! This year 12 chapters received the Silver Award. The award recognizes chapters that achieve excellence in chapter management. In order to achieve the Chapter Excellence Award, chapters must meet 22 Bronze criteria and 12 Silver criteria. Criteria include such activities as undertaking efforts to increase advocacy efforts, collaborating with stakeholders to increase visibility of the ACP, holding competitions for members, providing chapter financial reports to members, having Medical Student and Resident/Fellow members on the Governor's Advisory council, retaining transitional and unpaid members, giving awards to chapter members. I would like to extend a special thanks to those chapter members who assisted us in all of these endeavors! For their hard work and dedication, we received this award.
Nevada Chapter Receives Two 2025 John Tooker Evergreen Awards
(May 2025) The John Tooker Evergreen Awards Program provides recognition and visibility to chapters that have successfully implemented programs to increase membership, improve communication, encourage member involvement, enhance diversity, foster careers in internal medicine or improve chapter management. The Nevada Chapter received two 2025 John Tooker Evergreen Award for their initiatives, Great Debates in collaboration with the Arizona Chapter and Medical Education Community Faculty Development Program.
Great Debates
Residency participants commented that they may incorporate this type of learning activity in their own residencies thanks to ACP.
The ACP Great Debates takes controversial topics in medicine and allows residency teams to debate these topics with the goal of better understanding the duality of medicine. The tournament is composed of preliminary rounds of residency competitions/events at various state locations, culminating in a championship between finalists. The interstate Great Debates 'Executive Committee' worked together to create rules, judging criteria, and debate topics. Each state's Great Debates Committee ran the logistics of their chapter's events. Topics were assigned at random to each competing teams who were then given 30 days to prepare. Events were judged by a panel of volunteer judges and fellow residents. Medical students, faculty, and other ACP members were invited to attend in person or via Zoom to learn about controversial topics in medicine.
Special thanks to this program’s key contributors:
Allan Markus, MD, FACP, Arizona Chapter, Governor
Sandhya Wahi-Gururaj, MD, PhD, FACP, Nevada Chapter, Governor
Sujatha Reddy, MD, Arizona Chapter, Committee Chair
Ashini Shah, MBBS, FACP, Arizona Chapter, Committee Vice-Chair
Sheraz Faizan, MBBS, Nevada Chapter, Committee Member
Charles Danish, Nevada Chapter, Committee Member
Medical Education Community Faculty Development Program
We had 90 unique registrants to the series thus far. Non-IM attendee specialties included surgical specialties, ob/gyn, pediatrics, neurology, PM&R, and basic science faculty.
Over the past decade, significant growth in graduate medical education at community-based/university-affiliated programs occurred due to physician shortages, predominantly in southern Nevada. While expansion was necessary, it resulted in a strain on available resources since there were few local opportunities for structured faculty development and a shortage of experts in medical education in the greater Las Vegas area. In 2020, the Nevada Chapter developed a high-quality faculty development series to support community faculty in their new roles. This series was created to support faculty while serving the needs of GME programs. Our goal was to provide value for our members.
Special thanks to this program’s key contributors:
Sandhya Wahi-Gururaj, MD, PhD, FACP, Nevada Chapter, Governor
Congratulations New Chapter Fellows
- Birjees Ahmed, MD FACP
- Shana A Bomberger, MD FACP
- Edward Co, DO FACP
- Deanne Leonard, MD FACP
- Ali Haq, MBBS FACP
- Jonathan C Theriot, DO FACP
- Colt J Williams, MD FACP
- Sonila Ziu, MD FACP
- Edwin Avallone, DO FACP
- Disha B Mehta, MBBS FACP
- Jeffrey J Olsen, DO FACP
- CPT Parker W Woody, DO USAF FACP
(April 2025) Congratulations to the Chapter's new Fellows. Fellowship in the College is an honor. Being an FACP® is a distinction earned from colleagues who recognize your accomplishments and achievements over and above the practice of medicine. The most important considerations for ACP Fellowship are excellence and contributions made to both medicine and to the broader community in which the internal medicine physician lives and practices.
2024 Chapter Excellence Award-Gold Level Winner
(August 2024) We are pleased to announce that our chapter is in receipt of the Gold Level of the 2024 Chapter Excellence Award! The award recognizes truly extraordinary chapters that surpass excellence in chapter management. We are in the company of 59 other outstanding chapters. In order to achieve the Gold Level of the Chapter Excellence Award, chapters must meet 20 Bronze criteria, 14 Silver criteria and multiple Gold level activities. Criteria include such activities as having a legislative action plan or agenda, holding a volunteerism/community service activity, holding multiple stand-alone meetings, having revenue sources outside of dues and meeting registration fees, implementing a strategic plan, implementing a formal recruitment and retention plan and measuring outcomes, conducting various activities for Medical Students, Residents and Early Career Physicians. We would like to extend a special thanks to those chapter members who assisted us in all of these endeavors! For their hard work and dedication, we received this award.