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

No. 394, July 2006

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

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

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In this issue

NEWS: LCME and MED 2010, more

STUDENTS

FACULTY NEWS: Grants

PEOPLE

LITERARY INSPIRATION

NEWS

Accreditation team's return visit: Positive results

In April 2006, a small team from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education visited our Medical School concerning a few issues outstanding from the previous extensive site visit for accreditation. The results from that visit are in -- and they are positive. "I am pleased that the LCME has recognized the quality of our medical education program," said Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., who received the official report from the follow-up visit in June. The next full accreditation team visit will take place during the 2011-2012 academic year. In the meantime, the LCME has requested progress reports on diversity and on the promotion and tenure process on the Duluth campus. Kudos and appreciation to all who contributed to this successful effort to gain full accreditation.

MED 2010 progress report: Professionalism

This e-newsletter will report regularly as work groups meet this summer to advance MED 2010, learner-centered education for patient-centered care. On June 16, the Professionalism work group, co-chaired by James Pacala, M.D., M.S., and Kathleen Watson, M.D., discussed a draft standard for professionalism that the LCME is considering. In its current form, the draft states that "Medical schools must ensure that the learning environment for medical students promotes the development of explicit and appropriate professional attributes (attitudes, behaviors, and identity) in their medical students." One of the issues for the professionalism work group: assessing the current climate of professionalism. They want to explore the local professionalism climate across the continuum, at the Medical School, in graduate and continuing medical education programs, and, beyond, in the medical practice environment. For a listing of MED 2010 work groups and their leaders, go online to http://www.med.umn.edu/education/curriculum/members/home.html .

Med 2010 was launched because:

· Students learn differently today than in the past -- and technology and educational theory continue to advance swiftly.

· Health care delivery has changed greatly -- and it continues to evolve.

· And, our medical students deserve the most flexible and up-to-date education possible -- a foundation as they become life-long learners for their medical careers.

Watch for updates on the MED 2010 Web site or submit questions via the MED 2010 FAQ page (http://www.med.umn.edu/education/curriculum/faq/home.html ).

Understanding the Hmong culture in health-care settings

The doctors profiled in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, Peggy Philp Ernst, M.D., and Neil Ernst, M.D., led a seminar on the Duluth campus recently. The Ernsts treated a Hmong infant severely affected by epilepsy. The child's parents were Hmong refugees who spoke no English. Fadiman's book chronicles the efforts of the Ernsts to diagnose and fine tune their treatment as they adapted their medical practice to understand the Hmong family and culture. Sponsors of the seminar included the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs, Duluth; the Medical School, Duluth campus; the College of Pharmacy, Duluth branch; and, the Department of Social Work.

STUDENTS

Summer internships

In its fourth year, the 2006 Summer Internship in Medicine Program has 45 medical students signed up for 37 sites in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Internships are offered to transitioning first-year students and can range from two weeks to two months.  Experiences may include routine office visits, exposure to radiology, emergency room, OB/delivery, orthopedics, lab, physical therapy, pharmacy, home health care, and even community involvement, such as spending a day with local law enforcement, ambulance service, veterinarians, morticians, or dentists. Internships are coordinated by each site with input from the student. Minnesota sites include Alexandria, Bagley, Bemidji, Cook, Faribault, Fergus Falls, Glenwood, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Moose Lake, Mora, Redwing, Rochester, Tracy, Waconia, Willmar, and Winona.

American Indian students participating in six-week medical immersion

This summer, American Indian students from as far away as Montana and as close as Fond du Lac are participating in a six-week intensive study of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth. The program, organized and sponsored by the Center of American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH), includes 56 students. The participants range from medical students already accepted in the Medical School to undergraduate college students and high school students exploring careers in medicine. The summer program has taken place since 1973. During the program, high school students experience what it takes to become a physician; undergraduate students participate in a pre-medical program, a set of courses for prospective or entering students to gain early exposure to the rigorous academic expectations of medical school; and current medical school students are involved to support and teach the NAM (Native Americans into Medicine) students by encouraging, mentoring and advising them. The Star Tribune recently ran an article about CAIMH's budget challenges; see http://www.startribune.com/462/story/532933.html .

Medical students join MEDS this summer

Medical students participate in the Medical Education through Diversity and Service (MEDS), a student-run organization that provides opportunities for students to experience health care in other countries. Of the 19 students, seven are going to Peru, three to Brazil, four to the Marshall Islands, one to Chile, two to Guatemala, one to Honduras, and one to Cuba. Students increase their cultural awareness by getting involved in community service and medical relief organizations, domestically and internationally. The program, started in 2002, is developing strong ties in Brazil, the Marshall Islands, Honduras, and Peru. Because of the very active role they take in planning their experiences, students additionally come home empowered to independently plan another similar activity for later in their medical education or medical careers. This year's MEDS student president is Mark Renier. Glenn Nordehn, D.O., is the faculty advisor.

Connections Mentoring Program

More than 395 medical students are participating in the Connections Mentoring Program this year. In its eighth year, Connections results from a partnership between the Medical School, the University of Minnesota Medical Alumni Society and the Hennepin and Ramsey Medical Societies. Last fall, 107 students were matched with 107 community physician mentors, who commit to mentoring the students for their entire medical school experience. The students and mentors often form long-term relationships. Community physician mentors are a tremendous resource for medical students who always are hungry to understand the care experience through the perspective of an expert physician. The Connections program also facilitates summer preceptorships and alumni hosting applicants. For more information or to take part in Connections, contact Emily Heagle, e.heagle@mmf.umn.edu, 612-624-9161.

Calling all students: For the August issue, we'd love to hear your news about volunteer efforts, research work, or experiencing medicine in new environments. Send an e-mail to Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu.

GRANTS

Chronic Illness Care grant

Our Medical School's team was one of 10 selected from among 46 applicants for the American Association of Medical Colleges' Chronic Illness Care Grant -- a partnership with the Macy Foundation. The team was awarded $125,000 for one year to develop a model for longitudinal chronic illness learning experiences for medical students and for residents at the Smiley's Family Medicine Clinic. The project team includes Kathy Watson, M.D., Jennifer Welch, M.D., Jim Pacala, M.D., M.S., Brian Sick, M.D., Joe Brocato, Ph.D., and Linda Perkowski, Ph.D.

New teaching format receives grant for further development

Duluth campus faculty Glenn Nordehn, D.O., and Fred Hafferty, Ph.D., received a grant from the University of Minnesota Duluth Office of Civic Engagement to further develop their Images and Cultures teaching format. Nordehn and Hafferty will use the grant to tailor the web-based software to be used for workshop sessions that bring together graduate students in helping professions with recovered meth addicts. Images and Cultures is a web-based learning format that uses topic-oriented photographs and writing to evoke discussion centered on issues of culture. The format brings together learners whose paths would not typically cross to share perspectives.

PEOPLE

Linda Reilly recognized

Linda Reilly was honored for her 35 years of service to the University of Minnesota -- one of only a handful of her colleagues to be so recognized -- at an Eastcliff reception last month. We are glad that her untiring efforts were celebrated; Reilly has contributed greatly to the lives of our students and to our school. Moreover, we are grateful that she continues to serve the Medical School with her expertise, her steadfastness, and her good cheer. Please join me in congratulating her.

Meet Brad Clarke, curriculum specialist

"When I read about the opening, it caught my eye as being a real challenge...something really different from what I've done in the past," says Brad Clarke, the pioneering curriculum specialist at the Medical School.  In his new position, he directly connects with the MED 2010 initiative; he is a key member of an Outcome Assessment work committee.  Clarke says it is important to understand how students learn today, as opposed to even the recent past. "With over two decades of experience in teaching and science, Brad will be available to faculty to share his expertise in education and instructional technology," says Linda Perkowski, the associate dean for Curriculum and Evaluation.  Clarke will be attending classes and sitting in on lectures when school resumes in the fall, to investigate the role of technology in today's learning environment.  "It doesn't replace the individual teaching," says Clarke, "but it is a powerful tool that helps students learn, and we need to take advantage of that."

Boulger elected co-chair of Rural Medical Educators Group

James Boulger, Ph.D., has been elected co-chair of the Rural Medical Educators group within the National Rural Health Association and is a member of the association's National Steering Committee. Boulger will have the lead responsibility for organizing the group's annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in May 2007. Among his responsibilities at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, Boulger is the Director of the Center for Rural Mental Health Studies.

Literary inspiration

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." -- John Lennon