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

No. 389, February 2006

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

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

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MED 2010 retreat outcomes

More than 80 Medical School faculty, students, staff, leaders in education, heads of departments, and a couple of community colleagues participated in a retreat on medical education Jan. 6-7. "I am very pleased that so many were willing to devote time to discussions about transforming education," said Dean Deborah E. Powell, M.D. Immediate plans include setting up MED 2010 projects on: developing outcomes and assessment; building mentoring relationships among faculty and students; integrating community and global health, health disparities, and diversity into the Medical School experience; integrating professionalism; and, developing principles of knowledge management.

Kudos to Alisa Lee

Alisa B. Lee, a fourth-year student, has been selected to receive the 2006 AMA Foundation Leadership Award, presented in association with the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative. The AMA foundation cited Lee's exemplary leadership skills and has invited her to the AMA National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., March 11-15, 2006, to provide her with further leadership development training. Lee is one of a group of up to 15 students, residents, and young physicians to receive the award. Congratulations!

Hello to Julia Wynn

"I feel it's important to report data in a way that is meaningful for faculty and staff to make informed decisions about teaching methods, learning styles, and environments," says Julia Wynn, M.A. Wynn recently joined the Medical School as an assistant education specialist to increase the effectiveness and timeliness of communication for course evaluations within the Medical School. Senior Associate Dean of Education Kathy Watson, M.D., says: "As an evaluation specialist, Julia will help the Medical School develop tools to collect and analyze information to continuously enhance the school and graduate medical education curricula." Wynn earned her B.S. in psychology from the University of Cincinnati and her M.A. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. Wynn has a strong background in program evaluation by performing independent consulting work with Face Valu Evaluation. Wynn looks forward to building upon the current evaluation structures in the Medical School for interpreting learning outcomes to assure that students receive the highest quality educational experience.

Farewell to Sara Axtell

During her nine years in the Medical School Education Office, Sara Axtell, Ph.D., assumed a variety of responsibilities. Axtell initially focused on program evaluation and educational consultation for basic science faculty but, responding to needs within the Medical School, she expanded her efforts to include community engagement, cultural competence curriculum, and faculty development. "Sara has been involved in many aspects of enlightening and evaluating medical students," says Ted Thompson, M.D., director of clinical education, "She has tirelessly led a number of incredible new programs to make students aware that medicine is more than evaluating and treating patients but that it is about the humanistic aspects of patient care." According to Axtell, the opportunity to participate in service learning and community engagement at the Medical School led to her new position at the U as Community Campus Health Outreach Liaison. In this recently created position, Axtell will serve a liaison between faculty and community partners to build infrastructure for the U and community for all health science schools in the Academic Health Center, as well as Family Social Science in the College of Human Ecology, and Extension Services. Axtell said, "I will most miss the people that I work with -- the faculty, staff, and especially talking with students."

Admissions report -- Twin Cities campus

The applicant pool in the Twin Cities has been very strong again this year, with great numbers of highly qualified applicants from Minnesota and across the nation. Applicants are expressing much enthusiasm about the new Flexible M.D. Program. This program provides students with the opportunity to create a more individualized medical education. As one interviewee noted: "I am awed by the flexibility!" The Admissions Committee looks forward to reaping the rewards of their hard work as the specially selected class enters into the first year curriculum in August. Submitted by Marilyn Becker, Ph.D., director of Admissions, Twin Cities campus.

Admissions report -- Duluth campus

The mission of the Medical School-Duluth campus is to train family medicine and other primary care physicians for rural communities in Minnesota and Native American communities.  Since the inception of the medical school's program in Duluth, 51 percent of the students who began their studies in Duluth have chosen family medicine compared with 11 percent nationally. In addition, 50.7 percent have chosen to practice in communities of less than 30,000. Applications to the University of Minnesota Medical School-Duluth campus for the entering class of 2006 are at a number (1,281) not seen since 1996 when 1,386 applications were received. The increase in applications reflects an upward trend observed nationally in the last several years. Thirty two applications were received as part of the Early Decision Program. The hard-working admissions committee members have interviewed 117 applicants thus far.  Furthermore, 34 year-two students from the Duluth campus applied for the Rural Physicians Associate Program, a nine-month elective available in the third year of medical school.  This number is up from 15 students who applied last year. Submitted by Lillian Repesh, Ph.D., associate dean for Student Affairs and Admissions, Duluth campus.

Do you teach residents? Learn more April 17

Brush up on your own teaching skills and learn how to present teaching skills to interested parties in your own unit by attending the spring Resident Educator Development (R.E.D) program Train-the-Trainer session scheduled for 12:30-4:30 p.m., Monday, April 17, 2006, in B-646 Mayo Bldg. The 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 will be covered: 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 are also welcome. Training materials, including a Facilitators CD, are distributed upon completion of the training session. Registration is required. On the Medical Education Web site (www.meded.umn.edu) click on Faculty Workshops or on Resident Workshops, if you are a resident. (Sandwiches and beverages will be provided at 12:15 p.m.; parking will be validated.)

New: Summer fellowships in clinical or translational research

Medical students pursuing the M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. are eligible to apply for a new summer fellowship in clinical or translational research. Successful candidates will be matched with mentors and join an ongoing research project. The application deadline is Feb. 15, 2006; for details, go the Web site of the Office for Clinical Research (www.ahc.umn.edu/research/clinical/OCR/predocfellowship/home.html).

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.

Kassirer lecture February 23 continues series on clinical research

Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., author of On the Take: How American Medicine's Complicity with Big Business can Endanger Your Health, former editor-in-chief of New England Journal of Medicine, Distinguished Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine, and adjunct professor of Medicine and Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University, is the speaker as the new Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series continues at 12:10 p.m., Thursday, February 23, in 2-620 Moos Tower. A light lunch will be served. The series is sponsored by the Academic Health Center's Office of Clinical Research. The visiting scholar series is one of a number of initiatives that launched this spring to promote the transformation of clinical and translational research in the AHC. The third scholar will be David Kupfer, M.D., director of research at the Western Psychiatric Institute, March 29. 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. 

Liaison Committee on Medical Education visit update

The Medical School is preparing 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, 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.

Hold May 11-12 for best practices in teaching institute

The Medical School has invited the other Academic Health Center schools to participate in the "Best Practices Institute: Teaching in the Health Professions," scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 11 and 12, 2006. Leaders in education from all six AHC schools, as well as a national education leader, will share their expertise. Opportunities for skill-building and sharing of ideas in small groups will be provided to participants. In broad strokes, the institute will focus on four themes: 1) Enhancing Key Teaching Skills; 2) Teaching Ethics in the Classroom, Clinic, and Community; 3) Finding Balance for Health Care Professionals; and 4) Technology-Enhanced Teaching. Once the details have been finalized, medical and other health professions educators will be able to register for the institute. Announcement will be sent by e-mail via the Medical School All-Faculty listserv, and well as by other venues. Be sure to mark your calendars if you have not already done so! Watch for updates by clicking on the Faculty Workshops link on the Medical Education web site, http://www.meded.umn.edu

New task force report on metrics available for comment till Feb. 24

The Metrics and Measurement Task Force report suggests that the U consider several measures, including the U of Florida's annual "The Top American Research Universities," to benchmark progress toward becoming one of the top three public research universities in the world. Additional proposed measures include student participation in public engagement activities, retention and graduation rates for undergraduates, and time-to-degree rates for graduate students. For more information, see http://www.umn.edu/systemwide/strategic_positioning/tf_metrics_measurement.html . Public comment period ends February 24.

Literary inspiration

december 30

Two degrees and clear.

A box of holiday pears came yesterday,
twenty tough little pears, all red and green,
neatly nested in cardboard cubicles,
their stems all pointed the same direction
like soldiers, a shine on their faces.
Five, all in a row, had been singled out
for special commendation and were wrapped
in crumpled tissue parachutes. Maybe
these were the leaders, the first to leap
from the trees, singing their battle song,
Early this morning I lifted the lid
and they were sleeping peacefully, lying
on one hard side or the other, dreaming
their leafy, breezy dreams of home.

By Ted Kooser