No. 353,
February 2003
Editor: Gregory Vercellotti,
M.D., verce001@umn.edu
Editorial Assistant: Allison
Campbell, aac@umn.edu
Required HIPAA training begins this
month
Medical
School faculty, students, and staff will be trained over the next three months
in new regulations related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act. HIPAA, which starts to be enforced April 14, 2003, establishes strict
federal privacy standards. A disclosure of protected health information may
result in criminal or civil legal actions against the University of Minnesota
or against individuals. For more information on HIPAA, see the University's Web
site, www.privacysecurity.umn.edu
.
"Training
members of our University community on HIPAA compliance is required by the
regulations," says Ross Janssen, director of educational technology, who is the
project manager for the HIPAA effort at the University of Minnesota.
"Furthermore, by complying with HIPAA, we continue to be accountable to the
people of Minnesota in our education, research, and outreach programs."
HIPAA
training modules cover technical issues, clinical topics, research standards,
and the general regulations. The modules that individuals take will depend on
their roles in the University and in health care. Training will be accessed via
the portal, www.myahc.umn.edu. School
privacy coordinators will send e-mail notices to those who must be trained in
HIPAA regulations; watch for the notices. Please respond to these notices
promptly and train as soon as possible, to smooth the process for the great
number of people who must be trained in HIPAA regulations.
Our outstanding nominees
The
Medical School has nominated five people to the committee considering
All-University Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Post-Baccalaureate,
Graduate and Professional Education. Every college in the University nominates
a certain number; at most, only eight awards are granted each year. Award
winners become Distinguished Teaching Professors, members of the University
Academy of Educators, and receive a $3,000 supplement to their salaries
annually. In addition, their departments receive $3,000 a year for five years
for their professional development programs. Decisions are made in the spring
and an awards ceremony follows later in the Gateway building. Those promoting
candidates this year cited our nominees' accomplishments in teaching,
mentoring, advising, course development, educational leadership, and other
areas of education. And the nominees are: John Day, M.D., Ph.D., neurology;
Glenn Giesler, Ph.D., neuroscience; Ilene Harris, Ph.D., Medical School Office
of Education; Richard Linck, Ph.D., genetics, cell biology and development;
and, Marc K. Jenkins, Ph.D., microbiology.
Defining competencies
To
better guide our work of educating the next generation of physicians and to
educate the LCME site visit group about that work in 2004, we are developing a
set of overarching objectives for the educational program. A draft was
presented last month to the Education Committee, headed by James Pacala, M.D.
After feedback has been received and incorporated into a new draft, the
committee is expected to vote on it at its Feb. 18 meeting. Each of the dozen
objectives specifies the expected competency level attained by our students
("...establish a doctor-patient relationship that facilitates patients' abilities
to effectively contribute to the decision making..."). Also specified for each
objective: outcome measures and the associated essential qualities of a
physician, as defined by the ACGME Essential Competencies. It is expected that
this set of objectives will help link the various levels of medical education
in a continuum, from medical student to resident to practicing physician.
Serving the school
During
interview days, our applicants and our school benefit from the volunteerism of
our faculty and students. A large number of faculty members interview
applicants on the 40 or so interview days held each year. As we continue with
the applicant selection process for the 2003 entering class, we'd like to
acknowledge the efforts of our faculty interviewers and those faculty who speak
during the midday programs. In addition, the student tour guides and the
student leaders who speak during the Interview Day programs are invaluable in
introducing potential students to our Medical School. Our speakers on financial
aid also provide essential information. Thank you all for your contributions
and your perseverance! Because the numbers of applicants is up about 15 percent
this year, the school might need to ask more of volunteers than in previous
years.
Research colloquium: call for
posters, collaboration
Students enrolled in medical school, occupation therapy, physical therapy,
medical technology and mortuary science have the opportunity to display their
research on Monday, March 17, for
the 2nd Annual Alfred F. Michael Medical Student Research Colloquium. Faculty
mentors are urged to encourage their students to contribute a poster.
To
participate in the event, students must submit an abstract by Feb. 15. Then
they, under the guidance of their faculty mentors, will create posters for
display on this day celebrating research. For detailed submission instructions,
see http://www.meded.umn.edu/students/research_day/
Students
will present posters from 2:30-4:30 p.m., along the second floor corridor in
the Phillips-Wangensteen Building. A reception begins at 3:30 p.m. At 4:30
p.m., in honor of this student research experience, Dr. Gary Nabel, director of
the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, will speak on
"Viruses and Human Pandemics."
Summer opportunities
This
summer, first-year students have a nine-week break from coursework, which
allows them to explore aspects of medicine such as research. From biochemistry
to family practice, faculty members have developed research opportunities
designed for these nine-week breaks. For a listing of available positions, see http://www.meded.umn.edu/resopps/index.htm.
While some of these research opportunities are unpaid, the Minnesota Medical
Foundation has support available for qualified students in qualified programs.
See Research Grants for Students on the Web site www.mmf.umn.edu
Calling all Valentines
On Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, Medical School students, faculty, and staff warm up with the Winter Ball. Semiformal attire is suggested for the dance, which starts at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight. Tickets, which include two drinks, cost $12 at the door of the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., on the University campus.
Editor's Note: LCME site visit
Many of
us among the faculty, staff, and students are hard at work gathering data or
reviewing it in preparation for the LCME site visit next spring. Preparing for
the LCME is a tremendous effort, one that ultimately will involve all of us, I
hope, in the process of self-study and examination. This is a wonderful
opportunity to see where we are and to determine how we can make our school
better. Don't sit on your hands; get involved. Together we can make the
University of Minnesota Medical School the best in the country.