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Show A-6 The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, February 7-9, 2018 Teachers receive stamp of Physician puts heart into work research found approval from National Board His a new treatment for heart disorder The certification takes hundreds of hours to complete CAROLYN WEBBER The Park Record CAROLYN WEBBER The Park Record From the moment Liis Rametta heard about National Board Certification for teachers, she knew that one day she would do it. The only question was when. After multiple years of waiting and three years working on it, she can finally say that she is certified. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards recognizes and helps teachers around the country improve their teaching methods, use data and assessments more efficiently and understand the needs of their students. This year, three teachers in the Park City School District passed and became certified: Rametta, Steve Cuttitta and Matt Nagel. That brings the district’s total number of certified teachers to 11, said Jenn King, a certified teacher at Jeremy Ranch Elementary School who helps teachers through the rigorous process. There are 269 certified in the state. Rametta said that she was initially attracted to the certification because it is one of the highest achievements a teacher can receive. When she came to teach at Jeremy Ranch four years ago, she learned about the district’s initiative to help teachers through the certification process and pay for half of the fee. With all of that motivation, she said that she knew it was time. Even with all of the support, getting through all of the work is no small feat. Teachers must film their classes, evaluate their teaching, write essays, analyze their students’ work and gather data. Rametta esti- PHOTO BY MELINDA COLTON From left: Matt Nagel, Liis Rametta and Steve Cuttitta all received their National Board Certifications last December and were recognized at the Park City Board of Education meeting in January. mates that it took her between 300 and 400 hours total to complete. When she started the program, most teachers finished the certification over the course of three years. But last year, the National Board made all of the materials available in one year, so Cuttitta and Nagel powered through it all during that time. Nagel, who teaches English at Park City High School, said that the work was demanding, but having a cohort of teachers who were either already certified or working on their certification helped him. Plus, there was some monetary motivation. Certified teachers in the district get a $3,000 stipend each year during the length of their certificate. Plus, Utah grants certified teachers a Level III teaching license, which is the same level of licensure a PhD can get, King said. But there were some other obvious benefits as well. Nagel said that his biggest takeaway came from the work he did studying not his own teaching, but the lives of his students. “Everything I can know about a student will help me teach them better,” he said. “(Whether that) is data from academic work they’ve done in the past, or if that’s knowing that they have a job outside of school, or if that’s knowing that they are interested in fantasy novels. The better I get to know my students, the more effective I can be as a teacher.” For Rametta, one of the main benefits was becoming more aware of her teaching methods so she could improve them for her students. “I think it’s a really good professional development as a teacher,” she said. “It is really applicable to your classroom.” King said that having teachers reflect on their work leads them to also reflect more on their role in the community. Plus, it is always nice to be recognized for the work teachers have put in over the years, Rametta said. “It’s confirmation that what you’re doing is good,” she said. ate n D018 o i let y 2 mp ar Co ebru F Since Nassir Marrouche was in medical school, he has been interested in studying heart disease and, in particular, atrial fibrillation. After years of research and more than 100 published papers, Marrouche has taken a big step toward treating those with the heart disorder. Marrouche and his team found that a treatment called catheter ablation can reduce the chance of death for those suffering with atrial fibrillation and heart failure. His work was published in this month’s edition of “The New England Journal of Medicine.” Marrouche, a Park City resident who is a cardiologist and professor of internal medicine for the University of Utah, said that atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to reduced blood flow and strokes, blood clots and heart failure, is a common disease in the U.S. “Six to eight million Americans have atrial fibrillation today,” he said. “Imagine how common that disease is.” People with atrial fibrillation suffer from about 200,000 strokes each year, he said. Marrouche has spent years studying atrial fibrillation. He has published research about imaging and mapping of the heart of those with the disease as well as different treatment options, which have previously been limited to drug treatments. He decided to start this particular research to test a new treatment nine years ago. One of the reasons the research took so long was because Marrouche wanted to prove that his treatment, catheter ablation, can save lives. Patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure were assigned to undergo either catheter ablation or medical therapy. To see if the treatment worked, Marrouche waited multiple years until some in the patient pool passed away from heart failure. For those treated with catheter ablation, the mortality rate was about half of those treated with medicine. The ablation procedure uses a catheter that is fed to the site of the abnormal heart cells. Doctors deliver a dose of radiofrequency energy and destroy the abnormal cells. From this treatment, the heart can restore its regular heart rhythm. Marrouche said that mortality studies are hard to do because of the time it takes to complete them, but collecting that data provides more assurance that the treatment reduces the death rate. Marrouche, who moved to Utah in 2006, said that the infrastructure and spirit of collaboration is what initially attracted him to the state and helped make his research possible. He helped create the CARMA Center (Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research and Management), which brings together medical professionals for research and treatment of patients with arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. “People in Utah are so hungry for collaboration,” he said. “I could only do this in Utah bePlease see Physician, A-7 S a f COURTESY OF NASSIR MARROUCHE Nassir Marrouche, a cardiologist and professor of internal medicine for the University of Utah, recently had his research published in “The New England Journal of Medicine.” He was testing a new treatment for the heart condition atrial fibrillation. 674 N. 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