UTHSC Physician Has National Impact and Service in Pediatric Nutrition

Mark Corkins, MD, CNSC, FASPEN, AGAF, FAAP, division chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology on the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics within the College of Medicine, is dedicated to offering pediatric diet data to the general public and educating future well being care professionals in pediatrics.

In gentle of his management roles in a number of pediatric organizations, Dr. Corkins has served as a go-to supply on nationwide issues relating to selfmade and prepackaged child meals, child method, and different pediatric diet points for native and nationwide media, together with The Commercial Appeal, The Washington Post, CBS News, CNN, and The New York Times.

His motivation, he mentioned, has been “offering the media with trusted data, as a result of the hope is that you just’re going to get data to the general public that will likely be useful.”

Dr. Corkins shared his perception on the newborn method scarcity that occurred earlier this yr with CBS News, after he handled two sufferers with dietary points brought on by the scarcity.

The scarcity has eased; nonetheless, he’s hopeful that planning can forestall the same state of affairs sooner or later. “The method scarcity is getting higher,” he mentioned. “I’ve been advocating that though the scarcity is over, possibly we want to consider a contingency or backup plan, so when one manufacturing unit goes down, we don’t find yourself with a nationwide scarcity.”

Continuous Impact in Higher Education

Dr. Corkins earned his medical diploma from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in 1989 and accomplished his pediatric residency on the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 1992. He was a pediatric gastroenterology fellow on the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Creighton University.

His curiosity and drive to pursue pediatric gastroenterology elevated after being surrounded by inspirational pediatric physicians. “One of the issues that I’ve seen in my profession is nice position fashions. I used to be at residency and fellowship, and locations that had nice pediatric gastroenterology docs, and also you take a look at them and assume, ‘I may do this’,” he mentioned.

Dr. Corkins turned the division chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and commenced educating as a professor within the UTHSC Department of Pediatrics in 2011.

“As division chief, a part of the position is to ensure we’ve got clinicians in the suitable locations on the proper instances, and one other half is making an attempt to recruit to construct the division and add to the diagnostic talents with the completely different ability units and experience that’s on the market,” Dr. Corkins mentioned. “Always making an attempt to construct and improve what we are able to supply to our sufferers.”

“As the tutorial mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, we’ve got to ensure we offer the cutting-edge schooling to the scholars and residents that rotate by or are on the inpatient service,” he mentioned.

In addition to his position because the Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Dr. Corkins is the director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship program, which gives fellows with numerous scientific experiences and alternatives to coach and put together them to pursue pediatric gastroenterology careers.

“I really like having a fellowship as a result of they create power and pleasure, and after we train them for 3 years, it’s bittersweet once they end,” Dr. Corkins mentioned. “For our whole school, it’s a pleasure to see how far they’ve come and the way a lot we’ve been capable of train them on this period of time.”

“Le Bonheur is a neighborhood, and it’s a crew that helps maintain the sufferers,” Dr. Corkins mentioned of his division. “The docs, in idea are the leaders, however we want all varieties of pediatric specialists on the crew, and it’s a beautiful youngsters’s hospital, great workers and good folks to work with.”

National Leadership in Pediatric Nutrition

Dr. Corkins holds {many professional} memberships in nationwide well being care organizations, together with his membership within the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), for which he has served two phrases on the AAP Committee on Nutrition.

“I used to be on the committee for 2 phrases, after which I turned the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition,” Dr. Corkins mentioned. “We take a look at insurance policies that the AAP has for pediatricians and create diet insurance policies and guides that our pediatricians can use in affected person care.”

“Dr. Corkins’ service as chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition is an amazing honor for him and for the Department of Pediatrics,” mentioned Jon McCullers, MD, senior government affiliate dean of Clinical Affairs and chief working officer for the College of Medicine, and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UTHSC and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. “Guidance from the AAP on essential subjects like baby diet is taken into account the gold customary for medical observe.”

Dr. Corkins can also be a member of the American Society for Parental and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN).

ASPEN is a medical skilled group with 6,000 world well being professionals and a mission to enhance affected person care by advancing the science and observe of scientific diet and metabolism.

“Since I had an curiosity in diet, it was a really logical place for me to become involved and work on a activity power and committees and attempt to give you pointers and polices that may assist the care of children who want diet interventions,” he mentioned.

Dr. Corkins served on the ASPEN multidisciplinary activity power that constructed a brand new definition for pediatric malnutrition, which was authorized by the ASPEN Board of Directors and endorsed by the AAP. “That’s in all probability the most effective issues I’ve ever performed,” Dr. Corkins mentioned.

The new definition of pediatric malnutrition created by the duty power is an imbalance between nutrient necessities and consumption that leads to cumulative deficits of power, protein, or micronutrients which will negatively have an effect on progress, improvement, or different related outcomes.

“There are parameters we have to take a look at, and when these parameters are met, we make a proper analysis that the affected person is malnourished, and we should put the sources in and work on their diet,” Dr. Corkins mentioned.

In 2019, Dr. Corkins was honored because the St. Jude Endowed Chair of Excellence in Pediatric Gastroenterology. In the identical yr, he turned an honorary member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“It is fairly cool as a result of they don’t do this for lots of docs, however as a result of I favored diet and I’ve labored with them, they made me an honorary dietician,” he mentioned.

He was additionally the recipient of the 2015 Excellence in Mentorship Award from the UTHSC Department of Pediatrics and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Corkins is devoted to mentoring others. “People took an curiosity in me and helped me, so I’ve to do this for different folks,” Dr. Corkins mentioned. “You’re paying it ahead since you owe a debt, and in order that mentorship award means rather a lot to me that they felt I used to be mentoring for the junior school, residents, and the fellows right here.”

“The Department of Pediatrics presents one Award for Excellence in Mentorship yearly. Being honored by his friends with this award demonstrates the large respect and regard our school maintain for Dr. Corkins,” Dr. McCullers mentioned.

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