No. 403, April 2007
Editor: Kathleen Watson, M.D., drwatson@umn.edu
Editorial Assistant: Allison Campbell Jensen, aac@umn.edu
In this issue:
NEWS
STUDENTS
FACULTY: Call for posters
EVENTS: April 19 awards gala
LITERARY INSPIRATION
NEWS
Match Day, March 15: Students and GME programs
"I want to welcome you to medicine's March Madness," said Dean Deborah Powell, M.D., to the fourth-year Medical School students and their families and friends on Match Day, March 15. Of the 225 medical students who will graduate this year, 112 of them (52.3 percent) placed in Minnesota residencies, with the majority continuing in University of Minnesota Medical School programs. While 42.3 percent of the class chose primary care specialties, other top specialties were emergency medicine (19 of the class matched) and obstetrics and gynecology (11). On the institutional side, Louis Ling, M.D., director of Graduate Medical Education, told the Education Council that our U of M programs "should be congratulated on doing really well."
"After the Match..."
On March 14, the Medical School's chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society hosted a retreat, called "After the Match...," attended by more than 150 fourth-year students. Dean Powell and popular teacher Tom Stillman, M.D., were speakers for the off-campus meeting, which included small group discussions of what it means to be humanistic physicians. This first-time event was organized by students for students and involved faculty members from both campuses.
USMLE Step 1 results: Above the national average
Our Medical School students, considered as a group, continued to pass the USMLE Step 1 at a rate that's above average. The percentage passing in 2006 was 96 percent, which surpassed the national figure of 93 percent. "We have solid performance on Step 1," said Linda Perkowski, Ph.D., associate dean for curriculum and evaluation.
Graduation questionnaire: 2006
More than 92 percent of the students were satisfied with the quality of their medical education, according to the summary of the 2006 graduation questionnaire presented to the Education Council last month. Diversity of patient population and faculty teaching were cited as strengths by students; areas for improvement included better integration of content between courses to minimize unplanned redundancy and high tuition.
Minnesota's Future Doctors to launch this summer
On June 20, our first cohort of Minnesota's Future Doctors will begin a five-week introduction to the medical profession at our Medical School. These 22 talented young people come from ethnic and other communities in Minnesota currently underrepresented in medicine. Minnesota's Future Doctors is pipeline program conceived in 2005 by medical students Gareth Forde and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who looked around their classroom and realized their classmates did not reflect the diversity of Minnesota. The program is sponsored by the Medical School, the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, and the Minnesota Medical Association. For more information, contact program director Jo Peterson, 612.625.7951 or jopete@umn.edu.
Ten years of Brain Awareness celebrated March 19
In honor of some 250 volunteers and 10 years of Brain Awareness Weeks, a celebration was held March 19 at the University of Minnesota Medical School's Duluth Campus. (The Twin Cities campus holds its Brain Awareness Week in April.) Gary Davis, Ph.D., interim senior associate dean on the Duluth campus, said: "I can't think of a better example of public service and public engagement than what you have done during Brain Awareness Week." This was a record year for community education via Brain Awareness Week, with students and faculty reaching with interactive presentations 5,700 fifth- and sixth-grade students in 64 schools throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
STUDENTS
New AOA members named
The newest members of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society were recently named. Please join me in congratulating Anthony Anderson, Nicholas Befera, Jeremy Cook, Christopher Hallemeier, Daniel Hoody, Forum Kamdar, David Polzin, Patricia Sorensen, Jennifer Strahle, and Aaron Tande. In October 2007, another 28 medical students are expected to be chosen for this honor society. For more information, go to http://www.meded.umn.edu/students/aoa/index.shtml .
MAPS event: Downs presents to U's potential medical students
On March 22, about 20 students from the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students heard a presentation on a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer from Levi Downs, M.D., of the Medical School's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health. Downs also is the Medical Director of the Women's Health Center. Student Ahkillah Davis was excited about and learned a great deal from Downs about human papillomavirus, a cause of cervical cancer. "I didn't realize that the age of sexual exposure can increase the chance of HPV [infection]." Student Joey Hanson was impressed by Downs's expertise on HPV as well as his approachability. Hanson was invited to attend the meeting, sponsored by Student National Medical Association, after participating in their fall pre-medical conference. Hanson said he became interested in medicine as a career about three years ago, when he had an epiphany while waiting to see a doctor. He realized "I liked giving advice and helping people, like the doctors did for me...[and I] could see myself doing what they do. It seemed so right I was surprised at this revelation." Our chapter of MAPS is designed to encourage U of M students to consider medical school; in addition, one local high school student attended the meeting.
Year-two students: Transition Day
Transition Day this year takes place April 2, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., in 2-650 Moos Tower. It's required for year-two students before they enter the clinical arena. Participants will repeat their oath and honor six residents who have been selected by year three and four students for humanism and excellence in teaching. Transition Day also was designed with substantial input from current year three and four students from both campuses and tends to be very practical. Among the highlights: presentations from clerkship directors, talks about blood-borne pathogens and surgical technique, a guide on how to be a superstar in the wards, a student panel and workshops on professionalism, simulators, what to expect on the patient-care unit, among other topics. Medical students who started on the Duluth students also can take a tour.
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
Day and LaValleur honored for teaching
June LaValleur, M.D., recently was honored with a national teaching award, the Martin Stone Award, for the advancement of medical education in ob-gyn, from the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This month, John W. Day, M.D., Ph.D., Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, will be honored with a University of Minnesota 2006-07 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education. Please join me in giving kudos to both LaValleur and Day.
U of M faculty awarded top prize for Undergraduate Medical Education Poster at CGEA meeting
Gwen Halaas, M.D., M.B.A., Kathleen Brooks, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.A., and Therese Zink, M.D., M.P.H., received first prize for undergraduate medical education for their poster, "Community Health Assessments: Bringing Value to Rural Communities, "on March 24th during the AAMC Central Group on Educational Affairs meeting in Indianapolis. Cited for their innovative work, they topped 43 other posters submitters on medical education at the meeting.
Elliott honored for outstanding service
Barbara Elliott, Ph.D., Department of Family Medicine, will receive a prestigious Outstanding Community Service Award from the University on April 11. Established in 1999 by President Robert H. Bruininks, this award recognizes members of the University community who have devoted their time and talent "to make substantial, enduring contributions to the community and to improving public life and the well-being of society." Five people from all University campuses were selected for the recognition this year. In his congratulatory letter to Elliott, Victor Bloomfield, the University's Associate Vice President of Public Engagement, wrote: "We very much value your contribution to the community and recognition to the University of Minnesota for your work in advancing adolescent health care, your involvement with the TeenLife Center, and many other contributions to community service. It is obvious that your work, while related to your academic field, goes above and beyond what the University considers to be high professional standards." Please join me in congratulating her on this honor.
Call for posters: Best Practices Institute, May 17-18, 2007
An interactive poster and social session is part of the free Best Practices Institute, <http://www.BPinstitute.umn.edu>. The session is scheduled for 4:45-6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17. It will provide faculty and students with an opportunity to present a study or a project related to one of the four education tracks being highlighted this year:
1. The Learning Technology Platform
2. Evaluation and Assessment,
3. Teaching and Learning Strategies, and
4. Community Based Learning.
For details about the poster submission criteria and application process, please visit http://www.bpinstitute.umn.edu/showtell/index.shtml.
Workshops for faculty and residents
Two medical educator workshops are offered this month. The last workshop this academic year in the "Help! There's a Medical Student in My Office" series is scheduled for 7:30-9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 26. This interactive session will examine the use of practical, effective techniques for providing feedback and assessment of students and residents across a range of clinical activities. The relevance to the MED 2010 curriculum will be explored. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.meded.umn.edu/meds/workshops/. And, a train-the-trainer session for chief residents who are interested in improving their own clinical teaching skills, and who are also willing to teach the educational skills they learn at this session to residents in their own departments, is scheduled for the morning of Monday, April 23. It is part of our Resident Educator Development (R.E.D.) program which is designed to improve the quality of teaching done by residents. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.meded.umn.edu/meds/red/.
"Journey to Safety," about immigrant women and domestic violence: April 16
Pangea World Theater performs "Journey to Safety", a play about immigrant women who are victims of family violence and their struggles with language and cultural barriers in the medical and legal systems, at 7 p.m., April 16, in Coffman Memorial Union theater. Admission is free. The 50-minute play is following by a panel discussion of the performance and the issues it raises. Sponsors include the University of Minnesota Medical School, Law School, and School of Nursing, as well as Brooklyn Center Police Department Community Liaison and other sponsors. For more information, contact Pangea World Theater, 612-822-0015.
Faculty and student award gala, April 19
Come honor our outstanding students and faculty at the Medical School and the Minnesota Medical Foundation awards celebration April 19, in the Mayo Auditorium. We will name the 2006--2007 recipients of Minnesota Medical Foundation awards recognizing achievements in teaching, research, leadership, community service, and academics. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m.; the awards ceremony is slated to begin at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Sue Clark at 612-626-0619 or s.clark@mmf.umn.edu.
Keeping our Faculties of Color Symposium, April 12-14
A symposium to promote diverse faculty takes place April 12-14. It aims to empower people as well as help to break down barriers to full inclusion; to share best practices for ensuring diversity from the academy, and from public and private sector organizations; to engage attendees in the development of action plans and strategies for their campuses; and to present scholarly research to frame issues of faculty diversity and provide approaches and solutions. The University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and Minnesota Private College Council are among the sponsors. Registration starts at $100 for students; go to http://www.cce.umn.edu/conferences/kof/ for more information or to register.
Dorscher joins Duluth American Indian Commission
Joycelyn Dorscher, M.D., director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health, has been named co-chair of Duluth's American Indian Commission. The commission guides the development of public policy, planning and services so that the American Indian community is represented in the process. "The work of the commission is very important to me," said Dorscher, "because we create a space and time where Native Americans can truly feel comfortable sharing their concerns, confident that they are heard and trust that we on the commission represent their voice fairly and strongly."
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
Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
-Langston Hughes