No. 359, August 2003
Editor:
Gregory Vercellotti, M.D., verce001@umn.edu
Editorial
Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu
Welcoming
the Class of 2007
Dean Deborah Powell,
M.D., officially welcomes the Class of 2007 to the Medical School Aug. 13, at
10 a.m., in MCBB 3-120. Orientation also includes a discussion with a patient
of "Uncertainty, high-tech tools, and primary care" by Jon Hallberg, M.D., and
Michael Maddaus, M.D. After lunch with master tutors, students come back to
learn about financial aid, have an opportunity to quiz second-year students
about their experiences, and hear about maintaining wellness in medical school
from psychiatrist Thomas Mackenzie, M.D. Please join us in welcoming these new
future physicians.
For the
second year, the entering class at the School of Medicine-Duluth will
immediately be immersed in an introduction to rural medicine course. "We want
to catch their interest early and keep it high throughout their education
years," says Jan Pierce, program coordinator. "The goal is for all our students
to practice in rural communities." The short course, on which the students are
graded, was designed and is directed by Ruth Westra, D.O. After classroom
instruction at the end of August, the students break up into groups to visit
Hibbing, Grand Rapids, or Moose Lake. Accompanied by faculty, they will meet
with everyone from emergency room staff and police officers to Native American
leaders and seniors to discuss what medicine is like from their perspectives.
Bringing the most up-to-date
educational approaches to continuing medical education is a goal for Steven D.
Hillson, M.D., new assistant dean of CME for our medical school. Rather than
relying heavily on lectures, Hillson says he plans to emphasize education
techniques that are "highly learner-centered, in which the person being taught
takes a fair amount of responsibility... and the task of the teacher is to meet
more individualized needs." He adds: "I'd like to do follow-up assessment to
determine whether courses had a lasting impact on what they do and what they
know." Hillson replaces longtime CME head Barton Galle in this part-time
position. He will step down as associate director of Hennepin County Medical
Center's graduate training program in internal medicine, a position he has
served in since 1995, but will continue as a clinician-educator and a
practicing physician at HCMC. Hillson, who received his M.D. at Johns Hopkins,
did his residency and a master's in health informatics here at the University
and has been a faculty member since 1990.
Farewell,
Ilene
After 30 years of service
to the University of Minnesota Medical School, most recently as Professor and
Director of the Office of Educational Development and Research, Ilene Harris,
Ph.D., is moving on to a position to which she is eminently suited, Professor
and Director of Graduate Studies in Health Professions Education in the
Department of Medical Education at the University of Illinois Medical School at
Chicago. She will also have a joint appointment as Professor in the Department
of Pathology. "It's a significant shift," she says. "I'm very excited to
be embarking on a great new adventure after 30 rewarding years here at the
University of Minnesota Medical School. While we share her joy at moving on to
this new challenge, we also feel sad to have to say farewell. Recently, during
a ceremony honoring her and others for All-University Awards for Distinguished
Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education, David Anderson, M.D.,
head of the Department of Neurology was quoted on her work in producing such
faculty development series as Best Practices in Medical Teaching and Help!
There's a Medical Student in My Office. "These activities helped elevate
education issues in the consciousness of a faculty that had hitherto largely assumed
that education 'happened' as an inevitable byproduct of their activities. Her
ideas helped create a new sense that we could, and should, do better." Among
her many accomplishments---as a nationally known leader and scholar of medical
education, as the director and originator of the Medical School's standardized
patient and objective standardized clinical exam programs, and as the leader of
medical education research colloquia---she may be most proud of her long history
of mentoring large numbers of Medical School faculty, of helping them become
better educators. Please join me in wishing her the best in her new position.
New
to the Office of Educational Research and Development
With the departure of Ilene
Harris, the EDR position will be filled on an interim basis by Stuart Speedie,
Ph.D. Speedie will be aided by Sara Axtell, Ph.D. The standardized patient
program will be centered in the Interprofessional
Education and Resource Center, the Academic Health Center's clinical skills
lab, and be administered by Jane Miller, Ph.D., with the assistance of David
Power, M.D., Medical School liaison for the program.
One-stop
shop for faculty development
Help cutting through the clutter
of information on medical education is at hand. Check out the carefully
selected collection of materials---books, journals, articles---in Mayo B645, as
well as videotapes of effective teaching. A one-stop resource for faculty,
residents, and students interested in sharpening their medical education tools,
the collection of up-to-date and innovative approaches was organized by Ilene
Harris and the Educational Resource and Development Office. There's even a
guidebook to the collection available in the resource room and soon to be
posted online.
Revisiting
Greater Minnesota's summer opportunities
Due to an editing error
in last month's Med Ed, we omitted crediting the School of Medicine-Duluth and
Ray Christensen, M.D., the assistant dean for rural health, and Jim Boulger,
Ph.D., director of the family medicine preceptorship program, for the placement
of more than 20 medical students in summer internships and established research
programs in rural settings around Minnesota and Alaska during the first-ever summer
opportunities break. Christensen,
Boulger, and staff worked with the Minnesota Hospital Association to place
students in hospitals
in Ada, Bagley, Crookston, Hibbing, Moose Lake, Parkers Prairie, Willmar, and
Winona, as well as an isolated medical center in Alaska. Hospitals provide
stipends and in some cases housing; Minnesota AHEC also provides student
support. The students, on a nine-week break before they begin Year Two, pursue
interdisciplinary experience by connecting with many community professionals,
including nurses, workers in nursing homes and hospice care, pharmacists, morticians,
dentists, social workers, those who keep medical records, and law enforcement
officials. These dozen are in addition to the 14 students who have MMF grants
to support research during the break.
Other
summer opportunities...
Students participating in rural
experiences are just part of the picture of summer break 2003: a survey of the
Class of 2006 reveals that students are taking part in a variety of activities.
About 40 percent are pursuing research opportunities at venues from the
University of Minnesota to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City
and L'Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti. Nearly 25 percent are involved in
preceptorships; about the same number are volunteering to teach English as a
Second Language, coach sports, work with kids at camp (including kids with
heart disease), or help care for people at a hospice, Smiley's Clinic, Phillips
Neighborhood Clinic, and other settings. Others, about 9 percent, are doing
medically related employment at, among other places, Regions Hospital,
Medtronic, and the Minnesota Department of Health. While the students suggested
improvements---such as more paid opportunities---the majority surveyed were
satisfied with the program.
Health
activism course launched
This summer, five students are
taking part in the new Health Activism course, directed by John Song, M.D., and
Sara Axtell, Ph.D. "It gives students an opportunity to look at how health
professionals can be involved in health activism," says Axtell. The goals
include building skills in legislative advocacy and working with
community-based groups to fill community needs. In this summer's pilot program,
students are supervised by staff at the Women's Cancer Resource Center, Center
for Victims of Torture, and the Just Energy Campaign, as well as Medical School
faculty. They focus on such issues as access to health care; environmental
justice and health; and, women's and reproductive health. There has been
interest from faculty in other AHC disciplines, such as nursing and public
health, and Axtell expects the course to become interdisciplinary in the
future. For more information, contact her at axtel002@umn.edu.
Sharing
tools
Improvements in tracking residents' activities for Medicare
reimbursement, affiliated billing, MERC, and much more are on the way. Under
the direction of Carol Sundberg and her colleagues Mary Dishaw and Dan Routhe
in the Graduate Medical Education Office, the GME Toolkit will begin to
implement GME programs later this year. This project is funded by the four
teaching hospitals of the Metro Minnesota Council on Graduate Medical
Education, Fairview-University Medical Center, Hennepin County Medical Center,
Regions, and the VA, and their associate member hospitals. The online
Toolkit promises to track detailed information not available on the 20-year-old
RITS system for both hospitals and GME programs. Once implemented, data
collected by the GME Toolkit should aid the UMMS, its programs and hospitals in
preparing for internal and external site visits, Medicare audits, verification
and credentialing, alumni tracking, and so much more.
On
course with fundraiser
On July 21, 60 golfers from the
medical and business communities teed off for the seventh annual Golf Classic
at the Northland Country Club in Duluth. Along with enjoying a beautiful day
for golf and hosting a continuing medical education program on Inflammation:
From Bench to Bedside, the event raised funds for the Student Assistantship - Research (STAR) program. Although this year's
tally was not complete at press time, in past years the amount has exceeded
$10,000. The STAR program offers School of Medicine-Duluth students support for
research and research presentations under the guidance of a member of the
Department of Family Medicine. Over the past eight years, students have
presented more than 50 scientific papers or posters at the state level, 31 at
the national level, and had more than 25 papers published in scientific and
professional journals.
Second
course: MMF Golf Classic
On Aug. 11, the 13th
annual Minnesota Medical Foundation Golf Classic takes place at Midland Hills
Country Club in St. Paul. Mark your calendars and join us to support medical
education and research---in the past 12 years, more than $540,000 has been raised.
There are still 8 a.m. tee times available; the cost to participate is $225. To
register or for more information, contact Emily Heagle at 624-9161 or
e.heagle@mmf.umn.edu
Editor's
note: Taking the Bridge to Quality
Health professions education is the focus of A Bridge to Quality, a follow-up to the Institute of Medicine's 2001 report, Crossing the Quality Chasm. To enhance patient care and safety, say the authors, health professions education must focus on patient-centered care, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics, and working in interdisciplinary teams. Even language can be a barrier, they note, as in medicine, in which interdisciplinary can mean working across medical specialties rather than across professions. The Bridge authors propose that health professionals must learn about the other members of a health team and their expertise, define their individual roles, and use group communication skills to ensure that the patient's care is handled competently and compassionately. We in the Medical School are working with the other schools in the Academic Health Center to establish interdisciplinary---also known as interprofessional---educational opportunities. The only way we're going to improve health care systems and patient care is by doing it together.