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

No. 386, November 2005

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

Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu

View Past Issues

Rural Physician Associate Program launches new class, gives awards

"RPAP is an improved model every year," Macaran Baird, M.D., head of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, told the 30 students entering the Rural Physician Associate Program this year. A new Web-based curriculum, increased use of simulations during orientation, and new laptops for the learning sites are among this year's improvements. Baird, an RPAP alum himself, also told the students at the October 5 luncheon to seek balance in their personal and private lives as they spend nine months working with a preceptor and health-care team in a Minnesota small town. The new RPAP students also had the opportunity to hear from veterans of the program: Student Achievement Award winner Angela Brandes, who studied in Long Prairie, and Preceptor Achievement Award winner Glenn Nemec, M.D., who has taught 11 RPAP students so far in the Monticello Clinic. Brandes, who carried out a project on stroke risk in diabetic patients, was nominated for the award by the doctor whom she worked with -- and who also actually delivered her -- Paul Van Gorp, M.D. Of Nemec, RPAP Director Gwen Haalas, M.D., M.B.A., said: "On my visits to Monticello during the program year, I have seen the remarkable growth in clinical skills, confidence, maturity, and problem-solving skills of his students. He is certainly helping to shape the future of medicine."

New Pre-Med Scholars chosen

On October 26, the new Pre-Med Scholars were welcomed at a Medical School reception. The five students -- Micah Frerck, Andrew Geeslin, Emily Johnson, Sean Polster, and Susan Rashid -- are undergraduates at the University of Minnesota who demonstrate outstanding potential as future medical students. Please join me in congratulating these outstanding scholars.

Making the Connections with mentoring program

Connections brings together community physicians and medical students in mentoring relationships. The program results from a partnership between the University of Minnesota Medical School, the Hennepin and Ramsey Medical Societies, and the University of Minnesota Medical Alumni Society. The Connections Mentoring Kick-off Breakfast begins at 7 a.m., Friday, November 18, in the A.I. Johnson Great Room, McNamara Alumni Center. The program takes place from 7:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. All students and mentors participating in the program are welcome; register with Rika Young at r.young@mmf.umn.edu. For more information, contact Emily Heagle at e.heagle@mmf.umn.edu or 4-9161

Harvard Street Forum November 11

"A Compassionate Response to Disaster: 9/11, the Tsunami, and Katrina," will be a conversation with Department of Family Medicine and Community Health faculty members Jon Hallberg, M.D., and Tai Mendenhall, Ph.D., at noon, November 11, at Grace University Lutheran Church, on the corner of Harvard and Delaware streets. This talk is the second for the Harvard Street Forum, a new partnership bringing together students, faculty, and community members to discuss issues of relevance and controversy. Attendees are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch to the forum.

Anatomy Memorial November 15

First-year students acknowledge some of their first teachers when they host the Anatomy Memorial on 7 p.m., November 15, at Ted Mann Concert Hall, West Bank, 2128 Fourth St. S., Minneapolis.

International Education Day, November 14

Global Health and the Frightened Empire will be discussed by Steven Miles, M.D., professor in the Medical School and the Center for Bioethics during International Education Day, 12:15- 2:00 p.m., November 14, 2-650 Moos Tower. Also presenting will be fourth-year student Dan Miller on his experiences in Mexico, India, and Tanzania.

You may have already won...

But first you must apply for the Herz Faculty Development Teaching Award or be nominated for the Thorne Stroke Award to encourage research on stroke. Watch your e-mail in box for nomination forms; Herz awards can go to faculty and Thorne awards can be given to faculty, staff, or students.

Harding High School students come to campus November 4

Some 70 students from Harding High School in St. Paul are slated to visit the Twin Cities health sciences campus on November 4. Opeyemi Daramola, second-year medical student who organized the half-day event, expects the students to gain new insights into health careers and the importance of going to college. Nearly 30 health professional students from the Medical School and other schools in the Academic Health Center will help host the students in a program sponsored by the American Medical Association's Doctors Back to School Program.

White Coat ceremony, October 15

"This white coat has been created, stitch by stitch, by your parents, families and teachers, who saw something special in you, and gave you new coats when you needed them... This coat has also been assembled, thread by thread, by all physicians who have gone before you, and requires you to add stitches, patches and stains," said Kathleen Watson, M.D., senior associate dean for education, at the White Coat ceremony October 15 on the Duluth campus. "Wear it with honor," she told the 55 students. Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., joined Richard Ziegler, Ph.D., dean of the Duluth campus program, and the first-year students, their families and friends at the celebration of medical professionalism. (The Twin Cities ceremony, held October 1, was reported on in the last Med Ed newsletter.)

Rural Pre-Med Summit, October 22

The first annual Rural Pre-Med Summit took place at the Medical School's Duluth campus on Saturday, October 22. Attending the all-day event were several pre-med advisors and 80 students, mostly from Minnesota, who represented 22 undergraduate institutions and hometowns with populations ranging from 200 to 500,000 (Arlington, Texas). The goals of the summit were to help attendees strengthen their medical school application by providing insight into the application process, to introduce the attendees to the life of a rural family physician, to provide information about the two campuses of the University of Minnesota Medical School, and to recruit students. Activities included an overview by the admissions staff, presentations on the various elements of the admissions process, discussions with a panel of first-through fourth-year medical students and a panel of rural family physicians, and breakout groups that included topics such as HistoTime, heart sounds, OB/delivery, anatomy/pathology showcase, and medical imaging. It was a very successful event based on anecdotal comments and evaluations. --Lil Repesh, Ph.D.

Dual M.D./M.P.H.; apply by January 15 for first priority

The Medical School partners with the School of Public Health, which is among the top ranks nationally and internationally, to offer a joint degree in medicine and public health. The program can be tailored to students' individual interests and current students are eligible to apply. For more information, go to www.php.umn.edu or e-mail php@amn.edu.

Clinical Research Conferences offer opportunities to learn

Hone clinical research skills or learn about careers in clinical research at the new Twin Cities Clinical Research Conference, 8-9 a.m., the first and third Fridays of each month. The new conferences results from the combination of the VA CECR Clinical Research Conference and the GCRC K23 discussion group. Conference sites will alternate in four-month blocks between the VA and the University, beginning at VA, in the third floor Medicine Service conference room 3B-108. Parking is free at VA and will be provided at UMN. To get on the mailing list or to learn more about these conferences, contact Julie Mulvihill at 612-467-1979 or Julie.Mulvihill@va.gov

Hold May 11-12, 2006, for Faculty Development Institute

The planning is in full swing on the Best Practices Institute scheduled for 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Thursday, May 11, and 8 a.m.-noon, Friday, May 12. The institute will feature presentations by leaders in education and opportunities for skill-building and sharing of ideas among faculty who teach health professionals. The institute will focus on four themes: 1) Enhancing Key Teaching Skills; 2) Technology-Enhanced Teaching; 3) Teaching Ethics in the Classroom and in the Clinic; and, 4) Teaching about Self-care. Once the details have been finalized, medical and other health professions educators will be able to sign up for the complete institute or portions of it. Watch for updates by clicking on the Faculty Workshops link on the Medical Education Web site, (http://www.med.ed.umn.edu).

Resident Educator Development (R.E.D.) update; next meeting is April

Two half-day R.E.D. Train-the-Trainer sessions were presented in October, one in the Twin Cities and one in Duluth. These sessions are designed for chief residents, program directors, academic faculty, and others who work with residents to help them equip residents with teaching skills that may not have been covered in their medical school training. Four learning modules are covered at each session: Team Leadership, The 10-Minute Talk, How to Teach at the Bedside, and Effective Feedback. The educational goal is two-fold: 1) to teach these educational skills, and 2) to prepare participants to present modules to interested parties in their own programs and departments. Residents with a special interest in education also are welcome. Training materials, including a facilitators CD, are distributed upon completion of the training session. The next opportunity to attend a Train-the-Trainer session is 12:30-4:30 p.m., Monday, April 17, 2006, in B-646 Mayo Bldg. The session is free to participants, including complimentary parking and a light lunch. Registration is required; register on the Medical Education Web site (www.meded.umn.edu) by clicking on Faculty Workshops or on Resident Workshops, if you are a resident.

Gold Society student writing contest: November 30 deadline

November 30 is the deadline for this year's Gold Society student essay contest. The humanism-boosting society is offering a $1,000 first prize for the best essay that in which a student shares how she or he feels humanism in medicine is impacted by service, illustrated by at least one real-life experience. For details and an entry form, see the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Web site, humanism-in-medicine.org.

Meet the course director: Fernando Pena, M.D.

Orthopedic surgeon and clerkship director Fernando Pena, M.D., wants students to grasp what life as an orthopedic surgeon can be like. "On the rotations, we expose them to trauma as well as some of the more common procedures, so they can get a sense of both orthopedic knowledge and its lifestyle," he says. Students have the opportunity to experience a wide range of cases during the required two-week rotation. "One of the rotation's strengths," says Pena, "is the luxury to offer diverse types of pathology. Students also find that the rotations are very hands-on." In addition to the required two-week rotation, four- and six-week rotations are also available at sites including the Riverside campus of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, Gillette Hospital, and Hennepin County Medical Center. Regions Hospital and Tria, an orthopedic outpatient facility, were recently added. Orthopedic surgery at the University setting can be daunting, says Pena, so he suggests students conduct first-time rotations in the community. That way, they can come back to the University for an elective, follow-up rotation. "We don't want to scare anyone away," he says. The orthopedic surgery rotation is popular. "The students really like it, but I'm always interested in improving the experience." Pena meets with every student once they complete their rotation. "I ask them to tell me three things they would like to change." Some suggestions include having students conduct weekly presentations to staff and offering "real, on-call exposure to trauma," says Pena, who is working on implementing the suggestions. Pena understands why orthopedic surgery is so popular. "It can be a relatively quick fix for devastating injuries," he says. "To treat a severe condition and see it completely heal in a short period of time is very gratifying."

Heart Walk

The Twin Ports Area Heart Walk on the Lakewalk was held Saturday, September 24, 2005. The Medical School - Duluth team consisted of: Rick Ziegler, Lillian Repesh, George Trachte and his daughter Samantha Trachte and her friend Bobbie Greg, Les and Rose Drewes, Lori Isaacson and her daughter Taylor.  The Med School team raised more than $1,000, and was one of eight among the 30 teams participating to surpass that amount.

Literary inspiration

Surprise

This--

According to the voice on the radio,

The host of a classical music program no less--

This is the birthday of Vivaldi.

He would be 325 years old today, quite bent over, I would imagine,

And not able to see much through his watery eyes.

Surely, he would be deaf by now,

The clothes flaking off him,

Hair pitiably sparse.

But we would throw a party for him anyway,

A surprise party where everyone

Would hide behind the furniture to listen

For the tap of his cane on the pavement

And the sound of his dry, persistent cough.

-- by Billy Collins