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

No. 382, July 2005

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

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell, aac@umn.edu

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Kudos to ACT II team members

The ACT II interprofessional team of students from the University of Minnesota made an impressive presentation on the results of a quality improvement process to a national forum in Boston in June. The team, composed of medical residents Jeffrey Nace, Benjamin Phillips, and Emily Borman-Shoap, advanced students from the School of Nursing Lori Anderson and Maggie Scheid, College of Pharmacy students Lori Kaminski and Karen Kottschade, and health-care administration fellow Heather Swenson, studied how to make the process of placing peripherally inserted central catheters safer for child patients and more efficient from the standpoint of University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. "Our student group took a perplexing systems problem and used many methods to analyze the problem, working together so that interdisciplinary perspectives led to the best solution," said Linda Lindeke, School of Nursing faculty member. "They then presented their proposal to the Fairview leadership group and steps are now being taken to implement systems change in a timely manner." The University of Minnesota team was one of a dozen nationwide funded by the Achieving Competence Today (ACT) program, a part of Partnerships for Quality Education, which is a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its partners the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. They worked under co-principal investigators Kathleen Watson, Medical School senior associate dean for education, and Susan Noaker, Patient Safety and Performance Improvement for the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

CAIMH hosts SuperStars and Native Americans into Medicine programs

On July 5, the Center of American Indian and Minority Health welcomes 28 high school and undergraduate students from around the United States to their four-week summer program at Medical School-Duluth campus. The high school SuperStars program is a non-residential high school program based around math and science components. Three Medical School Duluth faculty members facilitate problem-based learning groups. Each group is studying the respiratory system and will be touring respiratory therapy departments at local hospitals as well as facilitating experiments relating to this system. Native Americans into Medicine is a residential undergraduate program based around three basic educational components: math and biochemistry, health care in diverse communities, and study skills and computer skills. Medical and graduate students from the University of Minnesota teach challenging courses that reflect the pace of medical school and prepare students for advanced coursework. Each participant is also required to complete a research paper focusing on the respiratory system. The summer programs conclude with an awards banquet July 29. For more information, call the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at (218) 726-7235.

Residents as Teachers

The Resident Educator Development (R.E.D.) program is designed to give residents the skills they need to teach effectively on clinical rotations. A special session on Team Leadership is scheduled for 7-8 a.m., Friday, July 15, 2005, in B-646 Mayo. Parking and continental breakfast is free for people who pre-register. To register, click on the R.E.D. program Website, http://www.meded.umn.edu/red/. Several core R.E.D sessions also are being planned for Resident Orientation and the GME core curriculum. The G1 orientation includes How to Give a 10-minute Talk on Anything. The G2 orientation tentatively includes Team Leadership. Slated for the GME core curriculum are these sessions: How to Teach at the Beside and The Microskills Model: Teaching During Oral Presentations. On-site workshops for residency and fellowship programs will also be provided upon request on a limited basis.

MED 2010: the latest Web site resources

Want to know about innovations in medical education? Check out the Resources and References on the MED 2010 Web site, http://www.med.umn.edu/education/curriculum/. One link leads to an Academic Medicine article about the University of Washington's College system, which consists of a core of clinical teachers who spend substantial time teaching and mentoring medical students. Each medical student is assigned a faculty mentor within a college for the duration of his or her medical school career. Mentors continuously teach and reflect with students on clinical skills development and professionalism and, during the second year, work intensively with them at the bedside.

USMLE results from Duluth campus

A follow-up report on last month's item on USMLE results from the Twin Cities campus--recent results from the USMLE Step 1 indicate that our Duluth campus medical students also performed above the national average. Of those taking it for the first time in 2004, 100 percent of our Duluth campus medical students passed; across the United States and Canada, 92 percent passed.

Meet the new head for Continuing Medical Education

Family physician Kathleen Brooks, M.D., is well-suited for the position of Assistant Dean of Continuing Medical Education, which she assumes July 25. Continued learning broadened her experience in health care, she says, "by evolving my interests in different directions during my career." She is excited about her role in CME, adding, "I want continuing medical education to be there for people who are interested to go back and refresh their skills or to branch out in other directions."

Brooks obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, then continued at the University as a medical student and resident. After practicing medicine for several years, she became interested in health care management and received her M.B.A. at the University of St. Thomas. She also spent a year at Harvard University on a Bush fellowship, where she delved into health policy issues and obtained a Master's in Public Administration degree. Brooks put her knowledge to work most recently at Wisconsin Physicians Service, where she spent nearly five years as Minnesota carrier medical director for Medicare Part B. She also continued clinical practice part-time at HealthPartners.

Brooks is thrilled to return to the University. "It's a great opportunity to work within CME, look at adult learning styles, and formulate good programs for physicians," she says. "We want to meet people's needs." While physicians are extremely busy, they also are interested in pursuing lifelong learning.

One way Brooks hopes to offer efficient and tailored CME programs is to "use technology in an optimal way." Technology can be time-saving in terms of logistics and access, she says. "It will be intriguing to become part of the full spectrum of medical education, to ensure that CME programs fit within health-care providers' lives and needs."

Brooks succeeds Steven Hillson, M.D., who will return full time to his position in Hennepin County Medical Center. Please join me in welcoming Kathleen Brooks to our educational program.

Orienting a new class

In August, a new class of students will enter our Medical School. New this year during Twin Cities campus orientation Aug. 8-10 will be an in-depth introduction to community service, including visits to sites, and an optional movie to attend with family and friends. The Duluth campus offers various activities during the two weeks leading up to the entering class's formal orientation day Aug. 30. Watch for details.

Pre-admissions workshop co-sponsored by CAIMH

A national pre-admissions medical school workshop for 25 top American Indian pre-medical students held June 16-17, 2005, was hosted by the Center of American Indian and Minority Health in conjunction with Association of American Indian Physicians. This workshop involved national speakers from Indian Health Service, AAIP, and the University of Minnesota Medical School, as well as outstanding regional physicians. One participant said: "This workshop helped me learn the skills needed to fulfill my lifelong dream -- that of becoming a family practitioner and serving my community. It was exciting to meet so many people who are working for the same goal."

Duluth campus annual awards breakfast held

On June 24, the Medical School Duluth campus honored long-time employees at a breakfast at the New Scenic Cafe. The following employees were honored in last month's celebration.

For 30 years of service: Jack Aldrich - Animal Services; Gary Davis - Behavioral Sciences; Omelan Lukasewycz - Anatomy, Microbiology & Pathology; Ed Stauffer - Physiology & Pharmacology; and, Jan Pierce - Family Medicine.

For 25 years of service: Gail Boatman - Animal Services; Peggy Mohrman - Physiology & Pharmacology; and Mary Sneve - Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

For 10 years of service: Margaret Herbert - Behavioral Sciences and Anna Wirta - Center of American Indian & Minority Health.

Congratulations and thanks to all!

Program director profile: Cornelius Lam, M.D.

"We want the medical students to learn about neurosurgery, but more importantly -- given it's only a two week clerkship -- to develop a sense of what it is we do," says Cornelius Lam, M.D., course director for the Neurosurgery clerkship. Lam strives to ensure students gain experience both in the operating room and the clinic, with both serious conditions such as tumors of the brain and spinal cord and hydrocephalus, as well as more common ones like back pain and herniated discs. "It's important students see surgery, but they also need to rotate on the wards and clinic to see how patients present for and recover from surgery," he says. Students are placed at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, V.A. Hospital, or Hennepin County Medical Center. On Fridays, students participate and, if motivated to do so, present at the neurosurgery conference. There also is tentative collaboration with the Department of Neurology to round out the students' experience and better prepare them for board exams. Moreover, Lam knows that there are more types of neurosurgical issues than can be accommodated in a single rotation, so he has added a prototype Web-based curriculum to broaden students' experience. Using WebCT, students are introduced to 12 different cases, complete with written case histories and radiologic images tracking patients' pathophysiology and treatment. Lam seeks a 360-degree evaluation of the rotations. "In addition to grading students, students grade us on their rotation experience and provide suggestions for improvement," he says.

Student writing contest on preventive medicine

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is offering an award for the best paper on preventive medicine written by a medical student. The winning paper will be published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The author will receive a $1,000 prize and will be honored at the ACPM's annual meeting. All prevention-related topics will be considered. Submissions must be received by Sept. 20. For more information, contact Erica Frank, M.D., M.P.H., Emory University School of Medicine, efrank@emory.edu .

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 in 2006.  The 4-person scramble will tee off in a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. 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.

Twin Cities Golf Classic August 8

The Minnesota Medical Foundation Golf Classic in the Twin Cities will be held Monday, Aug. 8, at Midland Hills Country Club. During the past 15 years, the event has raised nearly $600,000 to support medical education and research. Lunch and registration begins at 11 a.m.; tee off is at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $250 per person, which includes tournament, lunch, cart, banquet, prizes, and a $70 tax-deductible gift. To register as an individual or as a foursome, call Sue Clark at 612-626-0619 or visit the MMF Web site, www.mmf.umn.edu/golf .

Editor's note: Go with the flow

Cold-oriented physiologist Lorentz Wittmers, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., from the Duluth campus, was profiled in May 2005 issue of Minnesota Medicine. We will not resist the urge to quote from the article: "[S]wimming and treading water causes one to get hypothermia faster than floating. That's because the flow of water quickens heat loss... They also discovered that doing mental arithmetic can stop a person's shivering," which is connected to cerebral function--meaning it's an issue of mind over matter.

Alert to Media Alert?

Media Alert is a daily e-mail that highlights Academic Health Center faculty who appear or are quoted in the media that day. It includes a brief description of the story and a link to the original article, if available. If you would like to receive these daily updates, or if you know of faculty who will appear in the media, please send a note to Sara Buss at mailto:buss@umn.edu.

Literary inspiration

What We Miss

by Sarah Manguso

Who says it's so easy to save a life? In the middle of an interview for
the job you might get you see the cat from the window of the seven-
teenth floor just as he's crossing the street against traffic, just as
you're answering a question about your worst character flaw and lying
that you are too careful. What if you keep seeing the cat at every
moment you are unable to save him? Failure is more like this than like
duels and marathons. Everything can be saved, and bad timing pre-
vents it. Every minute, you are answering the question and looking
out the window of the church to see your one great love blinded by
the glare, crossing the street, alone.