No. 349,
October 2002
Editor: Gregory Vercellotti,
M.D., verce001@umn.edu
Editorial Assistant: Allison
Campbell, aac@umn.edu
Leadership
named for LCME effort
Charles
Schultz, M.D., psychiatry, and Glenn Giesler, Ph.D., neuroscience, have been
named by Dean Deborah Powell to lead the Medical School's self-study effort
prior to the LCME site visit March 28, 2004. Five subcommittees will be
established to assess achievements, collect data, and recommend improvements.
The Twin Cities and Duluth medical schools will be considered for unitary
accreditation. For Duluth, Dean Richard Ziegler named as self-study chair Jim
Boulger, Ph.D. The self-study coordinator is Linda Reilly.
Powell
arrives on campus
Approved
by the Regents earlier this year, Dean Powell takes office this month in the
Medical School. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Powell, who
is an accomplished researcher as well as a dedicated educator.
Taking
the oath
At the
White Coat Ceremony, first-year students gain insight into their professional
values and responsibilities as future physicians. Compassion, kindness,
self-sacrifice, scientific expertise, ethics, humanity, and equanimity will be
emphasized by speakers such as Peter Amadio from the Minnesota Medial
Association, alumna Mildred Hanson, and Abdirahman Mohamed, Minnesota's first
Somali physician. Siobhan Cleary, host of the "Health Diary" television
program, will reflect on what patients tell her. Dean Powell will lead the
class of 2006 in the oath for student physicians. The Council of Clinical
Sciences (the Chiefs) and the Minnesota Medical Foundation contribute
significantly to the success of the White Coat program, which begins at 1 p.m.
Oct. 5 at Northrop Auditorium and is followed by a reception.
Introducing
Pre-Med scholars
The
University has launched the Pre-Medical Scholars program to help attract top
students to the Medical School. Five promising undergraduates have been chosen
from 60 applicants on the basis of their strong interest in medicine, their
academic qualifications, and personal attributes. The students, Andrea Gaetz,
Forum Kamdar, Phillip Barbosa, Benji Mathews, and Mohamed Moussa, will be
matched with mentors to help guide them through their last two years of
undergraduate work and to prepare them for success in medical school. They also
receive conditional acceptance to the Medical School. Thomas Mackenzie, M.D.,
psychiatry, coordinates the Pre-Med Scholars program. The scholars will be
recognized at a reception Oct. 2.
New
M.D./Ph.D. program director
Tucker
LeBien, Ph.D., has been appointed by Dean Powell director of the M.D./Ph.D.
program, effective Jan. 1. LeBien is a professor of laboratory medicine and
pathology, the deputy chair of the Cancer Center, and the former head of the
training grant in immunology. Thanks are due to interim director Martin
Dworkin, Ph.D., along with the executive committee members: Susan Berry, M.D.,
Daniel Mueller, M.D., and Tucker LeBien, Ph.D.
Parker
Palmer award to "courageous" Watson
Kathleen Watson, M.D., internal medicine, is one of
eleven outstanding residency program directors in the nation selected to
receive the ACGME's Parker J. Palmer "Courage to Teach" Award. Parker
J. Palmer, author of "The Courage to Teach," is a respected writer and
traveling teacher who works independently on issues in education, community,
spirituality, and social change. Former residents cite Dr. Watson for her
dedication and as a model for life-long learning. "The ACGME recognizes that
program directors face many challenges...," says David C. Leach, M.D., ACGME
executive director, and a former program director. "Those finding innovative
ways to teach residents and to provide quality health care in this harsh
environment should be celebrated." Criteria for selection included a
demonstrated commitment to education with evidence of successful mentoring,
program development, and improvement.
"Health
Talk and YoU" nominated for Emmy
This
year, the "Health Talk and YoU" television show changed from a studio talk show
to being where the action is: University labs, classrooms, exam rooms, and even
patients' homes. The episode Defying Aging, featuring many medical students
participating in the Aging Game, hosted by Dr. Greg Vercellotti and produced by
Tonya Femal of the Academic Health Center Office of Communications, has
received notice from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
that it has been nominated for a regional Emmy Award. The awards ceremony takes
place the evening of Oct. 5.
New
alumni head
The new
president of the Medical Alumni Society is Richard A. Carlson, M.D., Class of
1972. He replaces outgoing president Gene Ollila, M.D., who served for the past
four years. Dr. Carlson has been involved with the Medical School and the
Minnesota Medical Foundation throughout his career. He was president of the MAS
in the mid-1980s and currently serves on the Foundation's board of trustees.
Carlson is a medical director at Suburban Radiologic Consultants, Ltd., and is
on staff at Fairview Southdale and Fairview Ridges hospitals, as well as
Fairview-University Medical Center.
Need
to sleep on it?
Gain
perspective on ACGME work hour rules, residents coping with the need for sleep,
today and in the 1950s, and handling stress at "Asleep with a Stethoscope," 14th
in the series "On Doctoring: Science, Medicine, and the Social Fabric."
Speakers and panelists include Frank Cerra, M.D., David Dunn, M.D., Ph.D.,
Robert Goodale, Jr., M.D., Robert Howe, M.D., Rosemary Kelly, M.D., Mark
Mahowald, M.D., Thomas Mackenzie, M.D., Kara Pacala, M.D., Jon Pryor, M.D., and
Bob Zajac, M.D. The seminar begins at 1:30 p.m., Oct. 23, in Moos 2-650.
Editor's
note: What are they thinking?
A
snapshot of recent Medical School graduates from around the country, based on
their voluntary participation in an extensive survey, is now available through
the AAMC Web site (www.aamc.org/data/gq/allschoolsreports/2002.pdf).
Along with graduates' attitudes, experiences, and trends, the report indicates
that medical students' debt burden grows heavier. In 2000, the average
educational debt of an indebted student was $94,674 (this informal survey
includes public and private medical school students). In 2002, the figure had
risen to $103,855. Rising debt is not just a student issue; it affects all of
us in the field of medical education.