No. 401, February 2007
Editor: Kathleen Watson, M.D., drwatson@umn.edu
Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu
In this issue:
NEWS
STUDENTS
FACULTY
EVENTS, GRANTS, and more
LITERARY INSPIRATION
NEWS
MED 2010: Defining the competencies and other news
The major initiative for MED 2010 groups for the next few months is defining the competencies, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of physicians and physicians in training. These are to be defined on three levels: for students entering medical school, those moving from pre-clinical to clinical learning experiences, and those receiving the M.D. degree. At a meeting Jan. 25, Linda Perkowski, Ph.D., said, "there is no formulaic way to develop competencies," so this MED 2010 initiative will take concerted and coordinated efforts. In other MED 2010 news, the e-portfolio project is well on its way, after a one-day retreat, the professionalism work group also had a retreat recently, and learning communities are on track to be launched this fall.
Rural Health Scholars will be among the MED 2010 initiatives featured on the Duluth campus this month, during an atrium exhibit of posters, Feb. 5-9. A reception and discussion about the work so far takes place 4-5:30 p.m. Feb. 7. On Feb. 13, Perkowski and Kathleen Watson, M.D., will lead a discussion regarding the evolution of MED 2010 and seek ideas about how it will work on the Duluth campus, noon-1:30 p.m., room 130.
Senior Associate Dean search update
On Feb. 1, 2007, the final candidate for senior associate dean makes his presentation. The senior associate dean is the academic leader of the of the Medical School - Duluth campus, responsible for faculty recruitment and advancement, medical school education, research, finances, and, as applicable for this primarily two-year campus, clinical programs. Soon afterwards, the search committee will recommend finalists to Dean Deborah Powell, M.D. Currently serving as interim senior associate dean is Gary Davis, Ph.D., who previously led the Department of Behavioral Health.
Successful first Pre-Medical Forum, Jan. 11-13
More than 200 aspiring doctors from Minnesota and nearby states took part in "The Heart of Medicine," the first annual Pre-Medical Forum Jan. 11-13, at the University of Minnesota Medical School, hosted by Student National Medical Association's Twin Cities Chapter. Our medical students Sunil Evan Saith and Marissa Lightbourne were among the team that led and organized the forum. A highlight for attendee Charles Hollins of Chicago was meeting current medical students and his fellow pre-medical students. "Everyone was from different walks of life, different schools and cultural backgrounds," he wrote in an e-mail, "but we all shared the same goal, which is the pursuit of excellent medicine for mankind." Activities included talks, Q & A sessions, and hands-on workshops led by Medical School faculty and staff members, including Jasjit Ahluwalia, M.D., M.P.H., Jon Hallberg, M.D., Helene Horwitz, Ph.D., Mary Tate, Anne Taylor, M.D., Kathleen Watson, M.D., Anthony Weinhaus, Ph.D., and Paul White, J.D. Kudos to Saith, Lightbourne, and our other medical students who put on this event to encourage those interested in working in medically underserved communities.
STUDENTS
Year-two students: Scheduling and Transition Day
Second-year students going into clinical clerkships, rotations, and courses will be able to access the scheduling system starting March 1-2, and then again March 5-9. Transition Day this year takes place April 2. It's required for year-two students before they enter the clinical arena.
New travel awards for students
In partnership with the U of M Learning Abroad Center, International Medical Education and Research office has developed a one-month summer internship program for up to five medical students to take between their first and second years. Jose Suarez, M.D., Ph.D., a distinguished alumnus of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, is the founder and Executive Director of Fundacion CIMAS del Ecuador, a non-profit organization focused on the study of the environmental, developmental and medical problems of Ecuador. Travel awards for up to five students will be available for this program. Contact IMER, imer@umn.edu or (612) 725-7933, for more information.
Alfred F. Michael Medical Student Students Research Colloquium, March 12, 2007
The fifth annual Medical Student Research Day takes place Monday, March 12, 2007. Students enrolled in Medical School are invited to submit an abstract of their work. All abstracts submitted will be displayed in poster form on the afternoon of March 12. It will be the responsibility of the student and his or her faculty mentor to prepare the posters; poster display boards and easels will be provided. The student presenters, faculty and guests are invited to attend a reception in the afternoon, followed by a lecture honoring the student research experience by Robert Darnell, M.D., Ph.D. Darnell studies degenerative brain disorders that are provoked by an immune response to certain cancers. For more information, contact the Medical School Dean's Office at 612-626-3287 or rsrchday@umn.edu.
Calling all students: For future issues, we'd love to hear your news about volunteer efforts, research work, or medical experiences in new environments. Send an e-mail to Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu.
FACULTY
Best Practices Institute: Excellence in the Health Professions, May 17-18, 2007
Now in its second year, this free faculty development opportunity is provided by all six University of Minnesota Academic Health Center schools and colleges, featuring presentations by their education leaders, as well as national speakers. The institute will have four main education themes:
1. Teaching and Learning Strategies
2. Evaluation and Assessment
3. The Learning and Technology Platform
4. Community-based Learning
In addition to five plenary sessions, the two-day program will provide opportunities for skill-building in small group workshops and sharing of ideas among educators who teach in the health professions. Details are now being posted on the institute Web site, www.BPinstitute.umn.edu, where registration starts in mid-February. Announcements will be sent by e-mail via the Medical School Faculty list serve, as well as by other vehicles. Early registration is recommended: last year's institute was attended by more than 120 people, and some popular sessions filled up quickly.
Fellowship opportunity in human rights for faculty and students.
The University of Minnesota Human Rights Center encourages residents of the Upper Midwest -- including students, health professionals, and others -- to undertake practical experiences or internships in human rights organizations. The fellowship program is designated to support social justice activities worldwide. The fellowship placement should provide both training for the individual and assistance to the host organization. Several doctors, medical students, nurses, public health professionals, and others have received fellowships through this program in previous years. The deadline for 2007 is 4 p.m., Monday, Feb. 26, 2007. For more information on this opportunity and an application form, please contact http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/center/uppermidwest/
Civic engagement at the U: A discussion Feb. 19
Civic engagement should be as important as career development in the University's commitment to its students: that will be the topic for a conversation among students, faculty, staff, and community members, starting at 2:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 19, at Cowles Auditorium in the Humphrey Center on the University's West Bank. Speakers include distinguished scholars Richard Bernstein (New School for Social Research), Mark Bauerlein (Emory University), and Nicholas Wolterstorff (Yale University). They also will discuss philosophical assumptions behind the call for civic engagement. Respondents will be Petra Duecker (Senior, English, Philosophy and Political Science), Liz Beaumont (Assistant Prof., Political Science), and Vic Bloomfield (Associate Vice President, Office of Public Engagement). For further information, please contact Matt Kaul at 612-378-1935, kaul0038@umn.edu. This event is sponsored by the Office of Public Engagement, Office for Student Engagement and Leadership, MacLaurin Institute, Program in Human Rights and Health, and the proposed Institute for Diversity, Ethics, and Peace.
Support for the Duluth community
Rallied by the Department of Family Medicine in Duluth, faculty, staff, and students of the Medical School - Duluth campus in December gave $760 to Duluth's Churches United in Ministry organization, which includes 39 congregations. Thanking the Medical School, Jim Soderberg, CHUM's Executive Director said that the gift helps his organization care about people by addressing hunger, homelessness and issues encountered by low-income people.
Dean's Report available in print and online formats
MED 2010, education in global health, the contribution of imaging to understanding of mental illness, Medical School researchers' contribution to advances in genetics, and continued leadership in transplantation are among the topics in the 2006 Medical School Dean's Report. It's available online as a PDF, from a link on the home page (www.med.umn.edu). In addition, printed copies are available from Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu.
LITERARY INSPIRATION
From Body Language: Poems of the Medical Training Experience, edited by Neeta Jain, Dagan Coppock, and Stephanie Brown Clark; 2006.
Auscultation
Beyond the stacks
of textbooks studied
among the piles of journals
read and not
pulsing in those
glove-numbed hands
inside the stiff white coat
starched to armor
noosed in the caduceus
drumming deep within
the black coils
between the endless rounds
the endless dyings
still beats
a poet's heart
and it pounds again
and pounds again
now that you have
finally clutched
this instrument
to your own chest.
--Jerald Winakur