No. 244,
June 2002
Editor: Gregory Vercellotti,
M.D., verce001@umn.edu
Editorial Assistant: Allison
Campbell, aac@umn.edu
United
we teach: a retreat
The
miles separating our Twin Cities and Duluth campuses will remain but the gap
between our programs will narrow as we approach our first LCME unitary
accreditation site visit in spring 2004. As a first step toward integrating our
curricula, about 35 people from the two campuses, including course directors
and Education office staff, will meet June 6 and 7 at Minnesuing Conference
Center near Solon Springs, Wis. On Thursday afternoon, we'll compare what's
going on now at both campuses, discussing admissions, performance data,
curriculum databases, and other topics. In the evening, we'll break out into
groups to look at integrated content themes for the curriculum---neoplasia,
women's health, and genetics/genomics---as well as the Physician and Society
course. In addition, one group will focus on planning for the self-study that
will begin this year in preparation for the LCME site visit slated for March
28-April 1, 2004. On Friday morning, break-out groups will report back to the
larger group. For more information, contact Doug Wangensteen, wange001@umn.edu
Fast
break, academically
Plan
ahead: The new schedule that begins fall term frees up students next summer.
The August 16 start for first-year students mainly affects faculty in anatomy
and the Physician and Society courses, as well as our new Master Tutors. But an
earlier start also means the year ends earlier, on June 27. This new schedule
gives these students about 9 weeks of free time, which some might use for
vacation or reflection. But faculty take note, others will be looking for
opportunities to learn, to do research, and to make money. Please let Greg
Vercellotti, 6-5812, in the Medical Education office know of possible
opportunities in your research projects or labs.
Seeing
"patients" early
Another
innovation this coming year is the Panel of Patients. These "patients" will be
used during preclinical education to provide clinical correlations to which all
the courses can refer. Certain patients, for example, will develop diseases at
the same time relevant material is being taught in the curriculum. The panel's
15 patients include: a 28-year-old pregnant woman whose child will be born in
April 2003, when he will become a member of the panel; a 71-year-old
Chinese-American woman with osteoarthritis and a gastrointestinal proble; and a
12-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis. Most patients also have associated
issues, such as being a single parent, problems with health insurance, and so
on, which would be encountered in a physician's practice. The panel will feed
into a virtual clinic, a Web site where students and faculty will be able to
receive weekly updates. Medical and social situations will evolve as the
preclinical years progress.
Transition
to residencies
After
the excitement of Match Day, the reality starts to sink in. To help new
physicians cope with this huge transition, Ted Thompson, other faculty, G1s and
chief residents got together with them last month. Among their pearls of
advice: Learning in-depth about each patient makes a person a better doctor in
the long run; call for help whenever unsure; and, be nice to the nurses. Also
recommended is a Web guide at http://www.womensurgeons.org/pktmentor.htm
Academy
awards
The
Academy of Medical Education, created in 1999 to recognize faculty who have
made outstanding contributions to the education of our medical students,
continues to grow. Glenn Giesler, Ph.D., Paul Iaizzo, Ph.D., Youngki Kim, M.D.,
Jonathan Ravdin, M.D., and Arlen Severson, Ph.D. are this year's honorees. They
will be feted on June 19 at an Eastcliff dinner.
They
join the Academy's distinguished membership: Frank Cerra, M.D., Morris
Davidman, M.D., Ilene Harris, Ph.D., Manuel Kaplan, M.D., Dennis Livingston,
Ph.D., Omelan Lukasewycz, Ph.D., Thomas Mackenzie, M.D., Robert McCollister,
M.D., Alfred Michael, M.D., Wesley Miller, M.D., Charles Moldow, M.D., James
Moller, M.D., Catherine Niewoehner, M.D., James Pacala, M.D., M.S., Ronald
Soltis, M.D., Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., M. Thomas Stillman, M.D., David
Thomas, Ph.D., Robert Vernier, M.D., O. Douglas Wangensteen, Ph.D., Kathleen
Watson, M.D., Richard Ziegler, Ph.D.
Class
of '66: Living legacy
Students
serving homeless people at the Franklin Clinic received $7,500 recently to pay
for supplies and other incidental costs of the project. The money came from the
Class of '66 Fund, which was set up by that class to aid student-related
projects. The next round for these typically modest grants will be in the fall.
For information, call Dave Johnson, 5-7471, at the Minnesota Medical
Foundation.
How
to reach the curriculum database---a clarification
In the
last issue of Med Ed, we provided an URL for the curriculum database but
underlining obscured an underscore. To get there, either go to
www.meded.umn.edu and select Curriculum Database under Faculty Resources or
copy and paste http://labmed47.labmed.umn.edu/~david/notesearch_login.php
Editor's
note
Yale's
general surgery residency program is being threatened with removal of
accreditation if residents' hours are not kept in check. The alarm might seem
unwarranted to those who ensure our residents don't become fatigued to the
point that patient safety is endangered. But it's still an alarm we all need to
heed, at the least because the ACGME and RRCs are cracking down on work hours.
We need to ensure a sense of balance in our physicians' lives.