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

No. 371, August 2004

Editor: Kathleen Watson, M.D., drwatson@umn.edu

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu
View Past Issues

Medical School helps residents and fellows face FICA

Starting July, 21, 2004, University medical residents saw FICA taxes withheld from their paychecks. The IRS issued new, proposed regulations on Feb. 25, 2004, that if adopted would change the tax status of University of Minnesota medical residents from students exempt from FICA taxes to employees to whom FICA applies. FICA taxes are commonly known as Social Security taxes; they are a shared cost for employees and employers. As they work to protect the residents' student status, the Medical School's leaders recognize the withdrawal of FICA is unexpected and hard news, and they sympathize with residents and fellows. The Medical School dean's office and departments are working together to find a way to ease the situation for residents. A forum for residents will be held 5 p.m., August 2, 2004, in Cancer Center 450. In addition, there is a FAQ on this matter posted online at www.ahc.umn.edu/news/AHC-news/FAQ.

Practice for USMLE clinical skills exam

To help students better prepare for the new, required clinical skills exam, the Medical School has arranged several practice exam sessions. These sessions particularly aim to aid medical students who have not yet taken the objective structured clinical exam that follows the primary care clerkship. But the exam sessions are open to any fourth-year student who feels he or she needs the practice. This is a formal medical school program and students are to be excused from any medical school activities on the day of the practice exam. To sign up, contact Florence Brown via e-mail (brown038@umn.edu); she will allocate slots on a first-come, first-served basis. Two sessions will be offered August 27; additional sessions are scheduled for October 23 and November 4.

Introducing Associate Dean Linda Perkowski

Linda Perkowski, Ph.D., starts officially as our new associate dean for educational and curricular development in September but she may be spotted occasionally on campus during the latter half of August. She comes to Minnesota from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. Perkowski is known nationally for her leadership in medical education; among other forums, has served on the Group on Educational Affairs Steering Committee in the Association of American Medical Colleges. She has five years of experience as director of the office of educational programs at Houston's medical school, where she was responsible for the administrative and professional support of all the school's undergraduate and graduate medical education programs. For Houston's Health Science Center, she served on a study group for teaching excellence, the interfaculty council ad hoc committee on teaching, and the learning and technology committee. Perkowski's bachelor's and master's are in psychology; she earned a doctoral degree in preventive medicine and community health from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Please join in welcoming her to our medical education team.

Making connections in China

Promoting cross-cultural educational and research connections was on the agenda when Dean Deborah E. Powell, M.D., visited Sichuan University in Chengdu, the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi'an, and Beijing University last month. Powell was a member of a delegation led by Frank B. Cerra, M.D., senior vice president for health sciences, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Sichuan University that establishes the basis for future exchanges between students and faculty. Among the advantages of working with Sichuan University is that the medical school was established in 1910 by missionaries from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain; classes are offered in English. Cerra and Powell spoke to a group of medical students and faculty about, respectively, health sciences research at the University of Minnesota and medical education reform in the United States. In addition to exchanging students and faculty studying Western-style medicine, there also may be opportunities to study traditional Chinese medicine and investigate it scientifically in Chengdu and Xi'an.

New head of RPAP: Gwen Halaas

Gwen Wagstrom Halaas, M.D., M.B.A., is the new director of the Rural Physician Associate Program in the school's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Founded in 1971, RPAP is a nine-month elective in which third-year students live and work with family physicians in greater Minnesota communities. Halaas also will be working with the Minnesota Area Health Education Center in the Academic Health Center Office of Education to advance interprofessional education opportunities in greater Minnesota. Halaas graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1982 and completed a family practice residency at Bethesda Lutheran Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has been assistant residency director at the University of Minnesota St. Joseph's residency program and program director of the Regions Family Medicine Residency Program - both in St. Paul. She has an M.B.A. in Medical Group Management and has been a medical director for UCare Minnesota and HealthPartners. She has also served as a consultant for Internet-based medical information and for institutional health and wellness.

Department name changes

At the July 9, 2004 meeting, the Board of Regents approved a department name change for the Medical School: the Department of Family Practice and Community Health is now the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. The department head, Macaran Baird, M.D., M.S., says the new name better represents the profession and arises from recommendations by several national family medicine associations who studied the issue for two years. "The family medicine name unifies our specialty's organizations, programs, and departments nationwide," says Baird. "At the University of Minnesota, we also include community health in our name to represent our commitment to improve the health of the communities we serve through education, practice, and research."

Students may nominate peers for Gold Society

The Medical School seeks nominations from medical students for the local chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. In accord with the values of the Gold Society, those nominating fellow medical students are asked to identify the "future physicians who demonstrate compassion, humanity, dignity, community service, and respect towards patients and their colleagues." Nominations are made by answering six simple questions about one's peers, from who seems most likely to serve the broader community to who is the classmate you'd want as your doctor. The deadline is Aug. 20; to nominate a medical student, go to http://meded1.ahc.umn.edu/stu_GoldSociety.

Honoring Duluth faculty and staff

At a recent breakfast at the New Scenic Cafe on the North Shore of Lake Superior, long-time Duluth faculty and staff were honored for their years of service. Honored this year were: Ben Clarke and Linda Liskiewicz for 10 years of service; Rick Hoffman, for 20 years; Margaret Broderius, Lil Repesh, and Mark Summers, for 25 years; and Jim Boulger, Laurie Dromeshauser, Sue Kurki, and Lorentz Wittmers for 30 years of service. Kudos to all!

Summer in the Cities

From the Twin Cities campus, 32 medical students spent the break between their first and second years carrying out research or studying with local preceptors. Niti Aggarwal worked with Charles Terzian, M.D.; Rebecca Anderson with John Davis, M.D.; Kathryn Berkseth with J.M. Gonzalez-Campoy, M.D., Ph.D., Adam Boettcher with Paul Benn, M.D., Paul Bowlin with Becky Carpenter, M.D., Tina Byun with Barbara Toppin, M.D., Emily Conover with Martin Blumenreich, M.D., Stephanie Davison with Rex Haberman, M.D., Farid Farzanehkia with Todd Fleming, M.D., Vanessa Francois-Bongarcon with Timothy Gibbs, M.D., Anne Gregerson with Thomas Monahan, M.D., Kurt Habben with Daniel M. Zapzalk, M.D., Laurie Holmberg with Joseph Campanelli, M.D., Kate Kardell with Craig Bowron, M.D., Jessica Kassis with Frank Rhame, M.D., Tara Kendall with David Vandersteen, M.D., Amy Kolbe with Gail Bender, M.D., Jessica Laurence with Peter Hilger, M.D., Lissa Lubinski with Gretchen Cole, M.D., Paul Luikart with Anton Rohan, M.B.B.S., Matthew Miller with Chris Armstrong, M.D., Seth Oskie with William Garvis, M.D., Tyler Peterson with Stuart Bloom, M.D., David Prall with Peter Daly, M.D., Katie Radcliffe with Stephen L. Liston, M.D., Karen Rice with Douglas Drake, M.D., Andrew Sciallis with Alan Divine, M.D., Laura Speltz with John Gates, M.D., Lisa Stirling with M. Jennifer Abuzzahab, M.D., Christopher Walker with David Hamlar, M.D., Brent Walters with Daniel Berndt, M.D., F.A.C.P., and Sara Whitehouse with Elaine Hirschfield, M.D.