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

No. 377, February 2005

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

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu

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Planning group meets for Med 2010: Transforming education

 

"We're doing well now [educating medical students]," said Kathy Watson, M.D., "but by 2010, if we're doing the same things, the world will have left us behind." She spoke at the first meeting of the planning group for Med 2010, a project to transform education at the Medical School, on January 19. The group expects to meet every two weeks until June, clarifying vision, establishing goals, and setting up work groups. Members of the planning group include: Jonathan Ravdin, M.D., chair of the Education Council; Kathy Watson, M.D., Senior Associate Dean for Education; Lindsay Darrah, MS4, Education Council Representative; Joy Dorscher, M.D., director, Center for American Indian and Minority Health (Duluth campus); Erin Drasler, MS1, Year One Class President; Timothy Ebner, M.D., Ph.D., Elie Gertner, M.D., Regions Hospital - Health Partners; Fred Hafferty, Ph.D. (Duluth campus); Elizabeth Hoel, MS3, Student Council President; Richard Hoffman, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Education and Curriculum (Duluth campus); Ruth Lindquist, Ph.D., R.N., School of Nursing; Louis Ling, M.D., Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education; Wesley Miller, M.D.; Manoj Monja, M.D.; James Pacala, M.D., MS; Linda Perkowski, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Educational and Curricular Development; S. Charles Schulz, M.D.; Paul Siliciano, Ph.D.; Stuart Speedie, Ph.D.; Theodore Thompson, M.D.; Amy Van de Water, M.D., Chief Resident - Medicine/Pediatrics; and, Trina Weik, MS3, Education Council Representative.

 

Orientation added to Transition Day, April 15

 

Year two medical students from the Duluth and Twin Cities campuses come together April 15 to learn about the transition to clinical clerkships and become better acquainted. Workshops have been modified according to student suggestions and Duluth students also will have an orientation tour of the Twin Cities campus of the Medical School. Watch for details.

 

Outstanding service award to Helene Horwitz

 

The Association of American Medical Colleges Central Group on Student Affairs will present its Outstanding Service Award for 2005 to Helene Horwitz, Ph.D., our associate dean for Student Affairs, at its regional meeting April 14-17. Her leading and service to the CGSA have been "remarkable," according to the letter announcing her award. One who nominated Horwitz cited her involvement of others, "creating greater member ownership and strengthening the organization for the future." Horwitz also was praised for her skills in mentoring others. Congratulations, Helene!

 

Delegation from Sichuan University visits

 

Led by Sichuan University's head of graduate medical education, Zhanpei Liu, M.D., a delegation of 10 residency directors visited our Medical School starting January 19. Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., had met Liu last summer at Sichuan University, where a memorandum of agreement was signed and she was made an honorary faculty member. Dean Powell encouraged the delegation to learn as much as they could about managing residencies and fellowships. Among the many faculty members who spoke to the group were Paul Quie, M.D., co-director of the office of International Medical Education and Research; Louis Ling, M.D., head of GME; Carol Sundberg, GME administrative director; Kathy Watson, M.D.; Karyn Baum, M.D.; James Nixon, M.D.; David Dunn, M.D., Ph.D.; Karen Lawson, M.D., Mary Jo Kreitzer, Ph.D., R.N., head of the Center for Spirituality and Healing; David Beebe, M.D.; Thomas Mackenzie, M.D.; Peter Duane, M.D.; and, William David, M.D., Ph.D. The delegation's trip, which ended Feb. 3, also included visits to Mayo's medical school and Hennepin County Medical Center. It was arranged by the University's China Center.

 

New pediatrics fellowship for clinician researchers

 

Pediatrics' Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health is accepting applications for a new fellowship, the Primary Care Fellowship in General Pediatrics. The overall purpose of this fellowship is to improve the status of children and adolescents by training a cadre of pediatric clinician researchers who will assume positions of leadership in general pediatrics within academic institutions, conduct the next generation of primary care research, and train a new generation of pediatricians who will be committed to serving children in low-income, high-need areas. The fellowship is two to three years and includes an integrated set of coursework leading to a Master's in Public Health, two half-days per week in clinics serving historically underserved populations of children, and mentored research experiences. The fellowship will be grounded in a division with an extensive research and publication record as well as 25 years of experience in post-graduate fellowship training. The fellowship is open to physicians who have completed a pediatrics residency program by the start of the program and are board-certified or board-eligible. Those from racial and ethnic communities underrepresented in medicine and primary care are encouraged to apply. To find out more, please e-mail Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D., at borow004@umn.edu.

 

Duluth medical students expand brain awareness

 

During their February and March preceptorship visits, second-year medical students from Duluth will be taking a little time away from the clinic to educate elementary school students about the brain. Approximately 2,300 5th- and 6th-grade students will take part in interactive demonstrations of brain functions, due to the efforts of 40 medical students who will visit schools in 27 towns scattered throughout Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. The University of Minnesota Brain Awareness program is sponsored by the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, the two campuses of the Medical School, the Keith Kajander scholarship fund of the School of Dentistry, and the Academic Health Center.

 

Feb. 8: Listen to a Great Conversation

 

Medical School cardiologist Anne Taylor, M.D., a researcher on a recent study of the effectiveness of a combination of heart drugs for African-Americans, will discuss that controversial study and other issues of race and gender in medical treatment with Vivian Pinn, M.D., director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health, 7:30 p.m., Feb. 8, at Ted Mann Concert Hall. Tickets for this evening in the University's Great Conversation series are $28.50--or $23.50 for U of M faculty, staff and students, Presidents Club and UMAA members. Call 612-624-2345 or go online to www.cce.umn.edu/conversations and click on Tickets. Taylor is director of the University of Minnesota's National Center for Excellence in Women's Health, author of The Black Women's Guide to a Healthy Heart, and serves as associate dean for faculty affairs in the Medical School.

 

Be immunized or be barred from patient contact

 

To stay enrolled and be able to see patients, about 250 students across the Academic Health Center were immunized last month. Given the success of that event, another mass clinic may be offered by Boynton in April. Immunizations offer protection for the health of patients, for the accreditation of teaching hospitals affiliated with this Medical School, and for students' enrollment. Students who are not in compliance with the immunization policy of the University of Minnesota Regents will be barred from contact with patients and a hold will be placed on their enrollment in classes and clerkships. Students should review their immunization information available in the portal Toolkit and work with Boynton Health Services to achieve compliance. Theresa Baultrippe in the Medical School can help with specific questions or issues related to status; contact her at 612-624-9473 or t-baul@umn.edu .

 

Seeing more R.E.D. (Resident Educator Development)

 

Teaching during oral presentations (February 18) and How to give a 10-minute talk on anything (March 11) are upcoming topics during the monthly Resident Educator Development (R.E.D.) training sessions. R.E.D. sessions are scheduled for one Friday of the month from 7 to 8 a.m. in B-646 Mayo. Breakfast is provided and parking is validated. All residents who are involved in teaching are strongly encouraged to participate. To find out more, and to register, click on www.meded.umn.edu/red/ .

 

Alum with global focus chosen as commencement speaker

 

At commencement May 6, the class of 2005 will be addressed by an outstanding alumna Joia Mukherjee, M.D., M.P.H. Mukherjee has been involved in health care access and human rights issues since 1989 in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Since 1999, she has served as the Medical Director of Partners in Health, an international medical charity with clinical programs in Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Russia, and inner-city Boston. Dr. Mukherjee is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, where she teaches Social Medicine and Infectious Disease to medical students, residents, and fellows. Her scholarly work focuses on the human rights aspects of HIV treatment and on the implementation of complex health interventions in resource poor settings.

 

Summer fellowship in cancer research seeks medical student applicants

 

First- and second-year medical students are encouraged to apply for the 2005 National Cancer Institute Summer Student Fellowship Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. This eight-week program is designed to promote interest in oncology and research careers. Twenty-five $5,000 fellowships are available for the 2005 program, which begins in June. The completed application materials are due Feb. 11. The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For information, go to http://www.mskcc.org/summerfellowships .

 

Course director close-up: Manoj Monga, M.D.

 

"Every student learns a little differently, so it's important to be adaptable and have a variety of teaching techniques," says Manoj Monga, M.D., course director in urologic surgery. When Monga was medical student, one of his most inspiring teachers worked in the Cook County hospital Medical ICU. "He had a great way of stimulating you to think under pressure, which is important for a physician."

 

Urology is one of the surgical specialties that medical students may choose during their clerkships and about one-third take it. Monga would like all of the students to have some clinical exposure to urology, because much of his specialty's work has shifted to the primary care arena: what were once surgical problems, like sexual dysfunction, benign prostatic enlargement, and incontinence, can now often be effectively managed with medications. All students who take Urology 7200 receive a CD-ROM with lectures on common urologic topics. To reach all the medical students with information about urologic surgery, Monga's colleague Steven Schwartz, M.D., is developing a handbook for students.

 

Monga's commitment to education extends to serving on the Education Council and the planning group for the Med 2010 curriculum project to transform education. "It's not that often that you get involved on the ground level [of a project] that has the potential to be revolutionary," he says. It's exciting and, he adds, "it will be a good learning experience."

 

Editor's note: Here's food for thought, from Hippocrates...

 

Source: Hippocratic Writings, "The Canon"  A brief note on the characteristics desirable in a student of medicine.

 

"For a man (sic) to be truly suited to the practice of medicine, (s)he must be possessed of a natural disposition for it, the necessary instruction, favorable circumstances, education, industry and time... Prolonged industry on the part of the student is necessary if instruction, firmly planted in his mind, is to bring forth good and luxuriant fruit... Our characters resemble the soil, our masters' precepts the seed; education is the sowing of the seed in season and the circumstances of teaching resemble the climatic conditions that control the growth of plants. Industrious toil and the passage of time strengthen the plant and bring it to maturity."