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

No. 380, May 2005

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

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu

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MED 2010: Malcolm Cox, M.D., visits

"Think big and act small," Malcolm Cox, M.D., told the MED 2010 planning group last month. Advocating small steps toward ambitious goals, Cox is the first of several national experts on transforming medical education to be invited to the Medical School. Cox is Carl W. Walter Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and former head of its education program. During his two-day visit, he spoke to several groups, including the school's department heads, those who lead curriculum, and the planning group for MED 2010. His presentation, Medical Education Reform: Seizing the Opportunity, is available under Resources on the MED 2010 Web site: http://www.med.umn.edu/education/curriculum/

Alum advocates medical activism May 5

Commencement speaker Joia Mukherjee, M.D., M.P.H., will talk with health professional students about medical activism May 5, 1:30 p.m., May 5, in Moos 2-650. An alumna of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Mukherjee is a global leader in the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in resource-poor communities. Through Partners in Health, she divides her time between Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and clinical sites in Peru, Haiti, and Russia. 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.

Celebrate commencement May 6

Celebrate new members of the medical profession May 6. Our Medical School commencement ceremony begins with a procession of faculty and students starting at 1:45 p.m. from Coffman Union to Northrop Auditorium The class of 2005 will be addressed by outstanding alumna Joia Mukherjee (see item above) during the ceremony, which is expected to run about two hours. Weather permitting, a reception follows the ceremony on the plaza outside Northrop. Congratulations to our graduates, their proud families and friends!

Health activism elective offered this summer

Academic Health Center students are eligible to apply for the new Health Activism Elective, which runs from June 29 to August 3. Health Activism is an interdisciplinary, community-based summer opportunity. It involves working on a community health project, with a community-based organization; building your community health and advocacy skills through a series of hands-on workshops taught by faculty and community activists; and building strong working relationships with community activists and fellow AHC students. For information, contact Sara Axtell (5-4489).

Residents: Register and see R.E.D. (Resident Educator Development)

Teaching at the bedside (May 20) and teaching professionalism (June 17) are upcoming topics during the monthly Resident Educator Development (R.E.D.) training sessions. R.E.D. sessions are scheduled for the third 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/ .

Transition to residency: May 3

A workshop designed to give soon-to-be residents hints to reduce anxiety as they go into a residency takes place May 3. The session starts at 4:30 p.m. in Moos 2-650. It is designed to be of practical help, emphasizing what residents need to know and how they can manage time and stress. Included are workshops in family medicine, medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and ob/gyn. It is slated to finish about about 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Theodore Thompson, M.D., 612-626-2841.

SNMA Mentoring Program

Student National Medical Association mentors and their proteges--48 pairs in all--gathered April 19 to celebrate another successful experience of medical students reaching out to undergraduates of color interested in health sciences. Mentors meet at least monthly with their undergraduate counterparts, share social activities as well as career advice, encourage and support them, and set up shadowing experiences. The program begins again in fall 2005; for more information, see http://www.meded.umn.edu/minority/SNMA_mentor_program.htm or http://www.student.med.umn.edu/snma/. Thank you to all who participate and support this valuable program.

Leading change conference on health workforce issues

A report from Ray Christensen, M.D., Assistant Dean for Rural Health, Duluth campus: The Leading Change conference was a wonderful forum for networking, exchange of ideas, and dialoguing new thoughts and reaffirming old ones. I especially enjoyed spending time with rural colleagues from multiple leadership disciplines and establishing new contacts and friendships, during the workforce conference April 14-15 in St. Paul This was a great time to find out what is occurring in other regions of the state and also successful problem solving methods that have been tried in other communities. The information on recruitment and retention and the fresh ideas of those starting new and solo practices reflects well on our dental and medical programs. We also received new ideas from beyond the state borders that will be helpful in our program and AHEC development. Those of us from greater Minnesota appreciated hearing from State, University, and Academic Health Center leadership.  The seeds have been planted for continuing dialogue, nurturing, and collaboration.

Online educational resource bank offered by AAMC

The AAMC has launched MedEdPORTAL, a Web-based tool that promotes collaboration across disciplines and institutions by facilitating the exchange of peer-reviewed educational materials and resources. MedEdPORTAL (Providing Online Resources To Advance Learning in Medical Education) will serve as a central repository for educational materials such as electronic slide presentations, assessment materials, virtual patient cases, and faculty development materials. This tool will be implemented in phases over the next year or more. During the initial phase, non-Web-based educational materials and materials that are available on external Web sites will be peer-reviewed, referenced, and linked on the MedEdPORTAL site. Faculty may submit their Web sites or educational materials at any time for peer-review and, if accepted, the resources will be referenced in the MedEdPORTAL system. Information: Go to http://www.aamc.org/mededportal

Aspiring writers: May 9 is deadline for Medical Musings

The Medical Musings writing contest is an opportunity for physicians, residents, and medical students to share stories and insights gained from their education and practice. Sponsored by the Minnesota Physicians Foundation and Minnesota Medicine, the contest awards $200 to the author of the best creative writing (nonfiction story, short fiction, poetry, or essay) dealing with the practice of medicine or the medical school experience. Winning entries and other submissions chosen by Minnesota Medicine's advisory board and editorial staff may be published in the journal's July issue. The contest deadline is May 9, 2005. Send articles as an attachment (preferred) to smeans@mnmed.org or to Sally Means, Minnesota Medicine, 1300 Godward St. N.E., Suite 2500, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

Duluth Golf Classic July 20

The Duluth Golf Classic 2005 is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20, at the Black Bear Golf Course in Carlton.  This event benefits the Medical Student Scholarship & Research Fund.  Six $1,000 scholarships were awarded to students this year and the Golf Classic Committee hopes to increase the scholarships to $1,500 each for 2006.  The 4-person scramble will tee off in a shotgun start at 12:30pm.  Following the event, there will be a dinner and a short program.  The $100 entry fee ($38 of which is tax-deductible) includes green fees, cart with GPS, use of the driving range and putting green, dinner and prizes.  Only the first 100 registrants will be accommodated.  For more information, please contact Vicki Everett at 218-726-7673 or veverett@d.umn.edu.

Summer internships being planned

The Summer Internship in Medicine Program, based on the Duluth campus, currently has 40 students from both campuses interested in a summer internship. Sites range from several Minnesota communities (Moose Lake, Sandstone, Big Fork, Grand Marais, Hibbing, Marshall, St. Peter, Hendricks, Little Falls, New Ulm, and Bemidji) as well as Michigan and Alaska.

Course director close-up: David Walk, M.D.

Course director David Walk believes the four-week neurology clerkship offers the best of both learning and practice: "We ensure a uniformity of curriculum but we also provide students with a variety of experience." The students also see many different patients and conditions in a variety of sites, says Walk, from Fairview-University Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Hospital, and Hennepin County Medical Center to Duluth Clinic, Regions, North Memorial, Fairview Southdale, and Neurological Associates of St. Paul.

Walk earned his M.D. from Brown University and completed his residency at the University of Chicago, where he practiced and taught for a decade. In 1999 he joined the University of Minnesota's neuromuscular program and became neurology course director. Changes in the clerkship since he took the lead include the addition of several sites, a revised syllabus, and establishing the shelf exam. The clerkship also has taken advantage of technology.

"We've moved all didactic materials online," Walk says. Students can access the course syllabus, as well as videos explaining how to perform the neurological examination, overviews of neuromuscular disease and stroke, and slide presentations developed by neurologist Paul Tuite. There is also an online practice exam, which Walk encourages students to take midway through their rotation.

"I hope the students take advantage of these resources," says Walk. For his part, using an online syllabus provides the opportunity to add new content with ease. The site address is: http://www.meded.umn.edu/courses_y34/NEUR_7510/ The syllabus includes links to the basic science material learned in years one and two. "It's important we improve vertical integration of learning for our students."

Literary inspiration

The Three Goals

The first goal is to see the thing itself,

in and for itself, to see it simply and clearly

for what it is.

No symbolism, please.

The second goal is to see each individual thing

as unified, as one, with all the other

ten thousand things.

In this regard, a little wine helps a lot.

The third goal is to grasp the first and the second goals,

to see the universal and the particular,

simultaneously.

Regarding this one, call me when you get it.

--David Budbill

Need photos or graphics?

For those producing newsletters, brochures, or other materials, images of faculty, buildings, students, and approved wordmarks are posted online. The site is password protected; go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/about/admin/communications/images

SPECIAL AWARDS ISSUE

Bronze award from AAFP

The American Academy of Family Physicians will award the Medical School a Bronze Achievement Award for efforts to foster student interest in family medicine on May 2. Based on a three-year average, 21.3 percent of our graduates have entered family medicine residency programs. Kudos to Macaran Baird, M.D., M.S., head of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, each of the faculty in family medicine, and all the recent graduates who have chosen the specialty.

Community service: SNMA wins an award

The University of Minnesota chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) placed second for their community service work in promoting underrepresented students in medicine at the national SNMA conference in March. “We offer support in many ways,” says Michael Lukoma, a fourth-year student. “We try to demystify medical school.” Three programs featured for the award include First Fridays, where SNMA members provide interviewing guidance to medical school candidates; mentoring premed students to help them prepare for medical school application; and a community-based research program that assessed attitudes of New York City youth towards HIV risk prevention. First year medical student Opeyemi Daramola benefited from a prior First Friday experience when he came to the University of Minnesota to interview in 2004. “The people here definitely helped me with the interview process,” he says. “I felt I knew what to expect, and was very excited to be accepted into the Medical School.” He now participates in First Fridays as an advisor. This is a well-deserved honor for a very active group.

Recognizing outstanding teachers and students: MMF spring awards

It's time to give others a chance to win, noted Kathleen Watson, M.D., in introducing the five supremely talented teachers who launched a new category of Lifetime Distinguished Teaching Award at the Minnesota Medical Foundation honors ceremonies last month. Walter C. Hildebrant, M.D., Stephen A. Katz, Ph.D., Virginia Lupo, M.D., M. Thomas Stillman, M.D., and Valerie K. Ulstad, M.D., were the first winners of this prestigious award. Hildebrandt was enthusiastically selected as a distinguished teacher many times while at the VA in radiology. Katz is a physiologist who has been teaching ever since he was an undergraduate at Macalester. Lupo, who chairs Hennepin County Medical Center's ob/gyn department, is known for her clarity in communicating and passion for women's health. Stillman, a charter member of the Medical School's Academy of Medical Educators, is director of undergraduate medical education at HCMC. Ulstad, who has received several distinguished clinical teaching awards, is a cardiologist and, Watson says, a “Renaissance physician.” The complete list of honored faculty and students from both campuses of the Medical School should be posted this week on the Web site (www.mmf.umn.edu); click the category of Faculty. Congratulations to all!

Medical student awarded Howard Hughes research fellowship

A Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellowship was recently awarded to Kristen Thorstenson, who is finishing her second year of medical school. Thorstenson is one of 66 new HHMI medical fellows in the country this year. She receives a $23,000 stipend for her year-long research project working with Linda McLoon, Ph.D., ophthalmology. “Researchers have known for a long time that muscular dystrophy does not affect…the muscles that control eye moments,” says Thorstenson, “but it affects every other muscle. We're trying to figure out what's different with those muscles.” Congratulations to Thorstenson and best of luck on the project.

Chart-topping presentation in Physician and Society

Congratulations to members of the UCare Pediatric Obesity group, Jeremy Bennett, Angela Fryer, Kurt Habben, Casey Hall, Jeff Johnson, Michael Kilkelly, Katie Radcliffe, and Chris Thompson for their highest peer-rated Health Improvement Project “Childhood Obesity: Where Society Fails, Can UCare Succeed?” The Health Improvement Project is the culminating learning experience for year two medical students in the course Physician and Society. The project requires students to synthesize and apply information presented throughout the two-year course as a means to develop methods of improving the health of people in the Twin Cities area.  As a part of their project, the Pediatric Obesity group interviewed health executives, physicians, researchers, as well as parents, to understand how childhood obesity prevention and treatment can be improved.  Integrating their findings with newly published data from the Institute of Medicine, the group then created quality improvement recommendations for UCare Minnesota, one of this state's leading health maintenance organizations. The group's presentation PowerPoint and paper can be obtained by contacting Physician and Society Course Director Karyn Baum, M.D. (kbaum@umn.edu), or project member Casey Hall (hall0710@umn.edu).

Alum is outstanding resident at Mayo

Alison Chinn, M.D., an alumna of our Medical School who is a resident at Mayo Clinic, has received the Joseph D. Messler, M.D., Fellowship Award for excellence in general internal medicine. Chinn was praised for outstanding work ethic, interpersonal skills, and compassionate patient care. She also has carried out research and is currently working on molecular markers in Native American women with breast cancer. Kudos to Chinn, whose hometown is Luverne.

Two students honored by the AMA

In March, Janet West, year four, was selected as one of 20 medical students across the country to receive the American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award for her non-clinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service, and education. In addition, Manish Champaneria, a year-three student, was recently appointed to represent the AMA Medical Student Section on the AMA's Minority Affairs Consortium (MAC). Starting in June, Manish will be serving on MAC's Governing Council for one year with several other physicians from around the country to advance the care of minority patients and education of minority students via the AMA. Congratulations to West and Manish.

Five win President's Student Leadership & Service Awards

Five students in the Medical School are among the 45 students given 2005 President's Student Leadership & Service Awards. For their outstanding service to the University of Minnesota and the surrounding community, Michael Borich, Sarah Nakib, Will Nicholson, Cuong Pham, and Stephanie Stanton, along with those who nominated them, will be feted at a banquet May 4. Please join me in congratulating them for their service.

Think globally: four medical students win international fellowships

The Office of International Programs has announced awards of Walter H. Judd International Graduate and Professional Fellowships to four medical students. Receiving $2,000 each are: Jonathan Melquist for a project in Peru and Argentina; Cuong Pham for a project in Vietnam; Joshua Rhein for a project in Uganda; and, Rolando Rosas for a project in Latin America and the Caribbean. Kudos to each!