med ed
A newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the University of Minnesota Medical School

No. 365, May 2003

Editor: Gregory Vercellotti, M.D., verce001@umn.edu

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu

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Satcher speaks at graduation May 9

Honoring our 2003 graduates is speaker David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Satcher, director of the new National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga., served as the 16th Surgeon General of the United States. He also served as Assistant Secretary for Health from February 1998 to January 2001, making him only the second person in history to have held simultaneously both positions. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 1970, with election to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Faculty in academic garb are encouraged to join the Medical School graduating class at 2 p.m. in front of Coffman for the procession to Northrop, where the ceremony will begin at 2:30.

Hip-Hip-HIPAA Hooray!

Congratulations to students, residents, and fellows for their compliance with training requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). That's great news for our University. Yet that training just launches HIPAA. Now everyone trained needs to ensure that we comply with the law and keep protected health information confidential.

Giving voice: LCME student survey available

Students in Years One through Four have an opportunity to voice their opinions through the online LCME student survey (meded1.ahc.umn.edu/LCME/resources/ Instruction_booklet.doc). The survey is anonymous; students' user names will be used only to track who has and who has not completed the survey. Gathering student input is an important part of the preparation for the March 28, 2004, site visit by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (www.lcme.org), the accrediting body for North American medical schools. Be honest, suggest the student leaders who coordinated the survey, Chloe Zera and Alen Sabati; being overly mean or too nice could be detrimental. Questions? Contact Zera at zera005@umn.edu or Sabati at saba0032@umn.edu, or the LCME co-chairs, Charles Schultz, M.D., scs@umn.edu, or Glenn Giesler, Ph.D., giesl001@umn.edu.

"What I did for my summer opportunity..."

Classes end June 24 for first-year students and they return Sept. 1. This is the first Medical School class to have nine weeks to explore summer opportunities. Choices are up to the individuals, of course, but they might devote time to work with a faculty researcher on a topic of interest, join a public health agency for the period, or hook up with a preceptor to gain experience. For an introduction to the summer opportunities program, see the Web site, http://www.meded.umn.edu/resopps/summerguide.htm.

Spring fling: MMF awards

The Minnesota Medical Foundation encouraged medical students with scholarships and awards and lauded faculty accomplishments at a reception April 15. To name just a few of the many recipients: Distinguished Teaching Awards were given to Glenn Giesler, Ph.D., Scott F. Davies, M.D., Gregory J. Beilman, M.D., Kelli M. Bullard, M.D., Dean M. Fox, M.D., and Kyuhyun Wang, M.D. Named Outstanding Medical School teachers were Virginia Lupo, M.D., in the basic sciences, and David V. Power, M.B., M.P.H., in clinical teaching. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Awards were presented to Dwenda K. Gjerdingen, M.D., and to student Maren E. Olson. For the complete list, see the MMF Web site (www.mmf.umn.edu).

Student researcher wins award

Lydia Y. Ong Sahara, a third year medical student, has been granted a 2003 Alpha Omega Alpha Student Research Fellowship. Working with Maria Hordinsky, M.D., chair of the Department of Dermatology, she will study the neurotrophic effects of immunophilin ligands on human hair follicles grafted onto severe combined immunodeficient mice.

Also on deck for accreditation: Graduate Medical Education

In April 2004, immediately following the LCME accreditation site visit, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will visit. This site visit team will examine our 62 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs. Internal reviews of programs and an online survey of residents and fellows are key parts of preparing for the site visit. While we hope and expect to be favorably reviewed, as we were in November 2000, recently nearly one-third of graduate medical education programs have received adverse reviews. If asked to participate, please be responsive to the needs of our GME program as well as those of the ACGME.

Editor's note: Meeting LCME standards for Educational Program Management

As we prepare for our LCME accreditation site visit in early 2004, we are examining the progress we have made since the last site visit in 1997 and the follow-up visit in 1999.

In 1997, LCME site visitors expressed concern about the management of the educational program, specifically the curriculum. At that time, it was not clear where lay the responsibility for the curriculum. It seemed the Medical School lacked centralized control over curriculum management and evaluation. In addition, no mechanisms existed to ensure comparable educational experiences across educational sites.

Since then, the system has been greatly improved with the involvement of many faculty members. To oversee curriculum and student affairs, the position of Senior Associate Dean for Education was created. The Medical School instituted an Education Council and its standing Curriculum Committee, each of which are charged with improving the education of medical students. A complete review of all four years of the curriculum was conducted in 2000-2001.

Recently, in addition, the Education Council approved a preliminary version of Educational Program Objectives. These 13 objectives, such as "competently diagnose and manage common medical problems," are gauged with outcome measures and tied to essential competencies as described by the ACGME.

Another key component in the educational-program management is the Office of Educational Development and Research, which encourages innovation as it promotes improved faculty teaching. As part of its work, the office also conducts and oversees rigorous evaluation of educational experiences. EDR has created one of the finest faculty development programs in education to help our faculty become better teachers.

Seeing a need to better integrate basic science and clinical skills, the Curriculum Committee convenes course directors and faculty who teach common topics in 14 Integration Work Groups. As well as integrating curriculum over the four years, these groups also seek to integrate curriculum between the Twin Cities campus and Duluth.

Curriculum management is an area in which we in this Medical School can be proud of the progress we have made.