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

No. 388, January 2006

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

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

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Admissions task force report

The Dean's Task Force on Admissions has submitted a detailed report to Dean Deborah E. Powell, M.D. "It is a very thorough report," Powell said. "There are a number of aspects by which we can make improvements to the process. One of the most important is not to simply admit students but to recruit students." James Pacala, M.D., led the task force, whose recommendations also included streamlining the admissions process on the Twin Cities campus.

Honor your teachers, your peers, your students

Let us recognize our colleagues -- faculty, residents, graduate students, and medical students -- who make our Medical School an outstanding institution. Nominate deserving people for the 2005-2006 awards from the Minnesota Medical Foundation and the Medical School. These awards honor significant contributions or accomplishments in teaching, research, and achievement. Act now--the deadline for nominations is February 1, 2006. There are many awards for a variety of accomplishments. Specific award categories, award descriptions, and nomination procedures can be found on the MMF Web site (www.mmf.umn.edu) under For Faculty and Students.

MED 2010 retreat January 6-7

More than 60 members of the Medical School faculty and student body gather for the MED 2010 retreat on medical education on January 6. Using the vision and principles developed at two previous retreats called by Dean Powell, this gathering is expected to organize work groups to begin testing new concepts.

New series on clinical research launches with talks January 9 & February 23

With a talk titled "Challenges & Opportunities in Future Clinical Research," David DeMets, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, launches the new Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series at noon, Monday, January 9, in 2-520 Moos Tower. The series is sponsored by the Academic Health Center's new Office of Clinical Research. The visiting scholar series is one of a number of initiatives that will be launched this spring to promote the transformation of clinical and translational research in the AHC. DeMets, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1970, is one of the world's leading authorities in the analyses of clinical trials. The second scholar will be former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine Jerome Kassirer, February 23. Watch for details in the AHC calendar and campus postings. For more information, contact Sue Jackson at 612-626-6033 or sjackson@umn.edu . All are encouraged to attend. 

Mark your calendar: Darnell speaks at student research day March 13

Faculty and students are encouraged to attend the fifth annual Alfred F. Michael Student Research Colloquium on March 13. The poster session is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. After a reception, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Robert Darnell, M.D., Ph.D., will present a lecture honoring the student research experience. Darnell studies degenerative brain disorders that are provoked by an immune response to certain cancers. Watch for details on this important event. Students should submit research abstracts to rsrchday@tc.umn.edu no later than February 24, 2006.

The importance of choosing advisors

Second-year students will hear this month about how advisors can guide them in medical school and in their career choices from Theodore Thompson, M.D., director of clinical education, along with potential advisors. On January 9, at noon in Moos 2-650, Thompson will present the information to students on the Twin Cities campus of the Medical School. Advisor selection begins January 17, 2006; scheduling will start March 2.

Reflections on AAMC annual meeting

The annual meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges was the last for outgoing President Jordan Cohen. In reflections on the annual meeting to be shared with others in education, Theodore Thompson noted especially Cohen's six challenges for the future, as detailed in his keynote address, "The Work Ahead":

· Increase racial and ethnic diversity of medical students

· Transform current obsolete health care system to provide seamless, coordinated, efficient, effective care

· Strengthen the continuum of medical education

· Uphold the integrity of human research and assure safety of human subjects

· Increase capacity of Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools

· Uphold professionalism

(For the complete speech, go to www.aamc.org.) Other speakers at the AAMC annual meeting, said Thompson, focused on major themes that included ambulatory care, continuity of care for those with chronic illness, international health, competency evaluations, the continuum of education, and increasing class sizes by at least 15 percent.

New: Dual M.D./M.S. in biomedical engineering

The Medical School recently launched a new dual degree with biomedical engineering, a rapidly evolving field that applies high-tech research to improvements in health. The five-year dual-degree program will prepare new physicians who have a command of technology. The University of Minnesota Medical School now is one of 10 schools that offers an M.D./M.S. in Biomedical Engineering or a similar master's degree. Among the advantages of our program: the University of Minnesota has a well-established Biomedical Engineering Institute, which takes advantage of the strengths in the Institute of Technology, and the state of Minnesota has a vibrant medical-device industry, with which the Medical School has strong ties. Other dual-degree programs at the Medical School are M.D./Ph.D., M.D./M.P.H., M.D./J.D., M.D./M.B.A., and M.D./M.H.I.

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 in 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@umn.edu.

Liaison Committee on Medical Education visit update

The Medical School is in the final stages of preparation for a limited site visit by the LCME April 2-5, 2006. Major areas of focus include integration of the Duluth and Twin Cities campuses, faculty development, documentation and oversight of the quality of clinical experiences, student learning, and study space. The LCME considers the Duluth campus program to be a track, a concept that provides the framework to continue to build on the demonstrated strengths of that campus's work in rural, American Indian and primary health care. A mock site visit will be held March 13.

Residents in otolaryngology build on work as students

Daniel Schneider and Abby Meyer, two resident physicians in otolaryngology, are making their marks with research that they began while medical students. Schneider, now an otolaryngology resident, as a medical student in 2004 spent two weeks at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, through a grant from the office of International Medical Education and Research. There he worked with physician-scientists on using a polymerase chain reaction to detect human papilloma virus in a group of patients with and without alcohol and tobacco risk factors. Schneider continues his work on the project here with George Adams, M.D., and Stefan Pambuccian, M.D. Meyer, also now an otolaryngology resident, traveled to the American Academy of Otolaryngology annual meeting in Los Angeles to present her paper, "Decreased Hearing After Combined Modality Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer." Meyer conducted the research and wrote the paper while still a medical student here at the University of Minnesota.

Holiday sharing at Duluth campus

During December, the Department of Family Medicine on the Duluth campus held a fundraiser for the local food shelf. Items were collected from the Medical School Duluth campus and included $170 in cash and approximately 500 pounds of nonperishable food items.

U community encouraged to comment on task force reports

One-third of the 34 task forces on Strategic Repositioning have released preliminary recommendations for which comments from the U community are welcomed. To view the 11 reports and to access an online comment form, visit the Transforming the U Web site (http://www.umn.edu/transforming_the_u). Public comment will be accepted until January 27, 2006, and comments will be sent to the task force that submitted the report. Suggestions from people throughout the University and greater community will contribute to even stronger plans for transforming the U.

Literary inspirations

furuike ya the old pond---  

kawazu tobikomu a frog jumps in:

mizo no oto the sound of water

-Bashō (1644-1694)

snow dusted branches

sparrow footprints

lead into the air

-Eileen Sherry