No. 363, December 2003
Editor:
Gregory Vercellotti, M.D., verce001@umn.edu
Editorial
Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu
News
from the AAMC annual meeting
Our Medical School was
well-represented at the Association of American Medical Colleges annual meeting
last month in Washington, D.C. Among the meeting's highlights was Dean Deborah
Powell, M.D., being named chair-elect of the AAMC's Council of Deans. In
addition, Brad Choate, president and CEO of the Minnesota Medical Foundation,
ended his term as chair of the Group on Institutional Advancement with honors
for his gung-ho leadership. Among those presenting at the AAMC meeting from the
University of Minnesota were: Gregory Vercellotti, M.D., Helene Horwitz, Ph.D.,
Karyn Baum, M.D., James Pacala, M.D., Steve Hillson, M.D., Mark Mahowald, M.D.,
Robert Howe, M.D., Sara Axtell, M.D., Ilene Harris, Ph.D., and Scott Velders,
M.D. In addition, Ruth Westra, D.O., and Alan Johns, M.D., presented at the
meeting's academic innovations about online clinical pathological conferences
and the obstetrical longitudinal program. Also attending from Duluth were deans
Rick Ziegler, Ray Christensen, and Lillian Repesh.
Preparing
for USMLE Step 1---help is on its way
In response to students' request
for earlier information about USMLE Step 1, the school is offering an
informational meeting for year 2 students. On Dec. 15, students can learn more
at a meeting led by Doug Wangensteen, Ph.D., director of preclinical education,
Ted Thompson, M.D., director of clinical education, and Helene Horwitz, Ph.D.,
head of student affairs. The meeting takes place 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Moos
2-650.
Preparing
for USMLE Step 2CS---changes in the works
The Class of 2005 will be the
first required to pass the new clinical skills exam part of USMLE Step 2CS.
While the test will last more than seven hours, the good news is, in pilot
testing, the pass rate for American students was more than 95 percent. Director
of Clinical Education Ted Thompson, M.D., told the Education Council last month
that he believes University of Minnesota Medical School students will be
well-prepared to pass this test. Students are encouraged to practice before
taking the USMLE Step 2CS. Three stations modeled after the national exam will
be available in the Primary Care Clerkship OSCE. The suggested deadline for
completion of the exam is Feb. 15 of their fourth year. While only test sites
in Philadelphia and Atlanta will be available initially, by September 2004,
test sites are scheduled to be added in Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.
Those at the council meeting noted that the test fee, $975, will be built into
students' financial aid packages.
Introducing
Eileen Grundstrom
After a spell working for an arts organization, Eileen Grundstrom this year returned to her native state of Minnesota and returned to her real vocation: providing American Indian students with the support they need to succeed in their educations and their careers. These students, she says, "have to function in a world that's a long way from the reservation, on so many levels." Grundstrom now heads the Twin Cities campus office of the Center for American Indian and Minority Health, which strives to raise the health status of the Native American population by educating Native American students in the field of health care and Indian health. During her career, Grundstrom has worked with students of all ages, from elementary-school kids at the Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School in North Dakota to college students seeking PharmD degrees at North Dakota State University. At times, she says, American Indians students need to deal with personal, family, or money issues before they can get down to the business of learning. She certainly found that true for herself, growing up in Kittson County, Minnesota. Although Grundstrom belongs to the Pembina band of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa, her mother of Scandinavian heritage and her father of Metis or mixed French-Canadian and Indian heritage, didn't talk about the family's Indian identity. She encountered it first at school, when she first faced the subtle and not-so-subtle racism of her classmates. At first, she withdrew and went through a period of denial but over time she came to accept her heritage, which turned her life around. She graduated from college later than traditional students, with a degree in English because she wanted to give words to who she is. "I look back at what I went through and I see children going through that," she says. "I understand and want to be the person to help them." To contact Grundstrom, call 612-624-0465 or e-mail grund016@d.umn.edu.
LCME
update and kudos
Many faculty and students
contributed comments to the draft LCME Self-Study Executive Summary that was
posted on the Web. Thank you all for your help. In response to those comments,
a new draft is being prepared and should be completed in time to meet the Dec.
15 deadline to submit to the LCME accreditation site visit team. In addition,
kudos to students Chloe Zera, Alen Sabati, Theodore Ruzanic, and Paul Tonkin,
who did a great job in administering and analyzing the LCME student surveys for
both campuses. The LCME site visit team will visit both campuses of our Medical
School in late March 2004.
Editor's
note: "Physician, Teach Thyself"
"In the past, faculty used to view
teaching as an honor and a privilege," says Dr. Diane Fingold. "Now
physicians are trying to stay alive. They're flooded with paperwork... There's
no good will left among the physicians who are on the front lines to try to
summon the energy to teach." Recruiting seasoned practitioners to teach medical
students is a national problem, according to "Physician, Teach Thyself," in the
Nov. 28 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, from which the quote
above is excerpted. (To read the entire article, go to http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i14/14a01801.htm.)
Here at the University of Minnesota Medical School, we have the good fortune to
be able to recruit many talented teachers among full-time and adjunct faculty
to educate our medical students. We recognize that this recruiting is becoming
more challenging as physicians face financial and time pressures---and we are
grateful that so many continue to contribute to educating the next generation
of physicians. Thank you.