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

No. 406, July 2007

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

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

In this issue:

NEWS

STUDENTS

FACULTY

NOTICES

LITERARY INSPIRATION

NEWS

MED 2010: developing competencies

In its current stage, MED 2010 leaders and groups are striving to take concrete steps to realize the University of Minnesota vision for a competency-based education. That vision is to develop medical education programs across the undergraduate, graduate, and professional continuum supported by clearly defined competencies appropriate for each developmental stage. This process is demanding and, by its nature, takes time and deliberation. The first step in our competency development process for medical students involves interdisciplinary teams who develop competencies that reflect what every student should know by graduation. Next, the Oversight Group will determine the framework for review of all competencies and select members for ad hoc competency review teams. The competency review teams include content experts and users who will review the competencies, indicating approval or suggesting changes. Competencies and their accompanying assessment strategies then will be mapped to specific areas of the learning continuum.

CAIMH summer program

This summer, 17 American Indian students are studying about the field of medicine at the Medical School -- Duluth Campus. The Center of American Indian and Minority Health program includes pre-matriculation medical students, undergraduate college students, and high school students exploring careers in medicine. During their six-week 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 and by encouraging, mentoring and advising them. Last year, the summer program had 56 participants but loss of federal funding forced cutbacks.

Summer Internships in Medicine

Now in its fifth year, the Summer Internships in Medicine program has attracted 67 medical students to small town and rural Minnesota (as well as to one site each in South Dakota and Michigan). The internship often is based in a hospital or clinic, and the students gain insights into the lives of health-care professionals in small communities. They also receive a stipend from the communities. Once the students have completed their internships, which can last from two to six weeks, they write a piece reflecting on their experiences. "It's helpful for them to decide on a specialty," says Ray Christensen, M.D., who administers the program.

New recruiter is old hand

Newly hired to recruit graduate students for the basic science departments is Jon Gottesman, Ph.D., who earned his doctoral degree in experimental psychology at the U in 1982 and has worked here ever since in a variety of roles, from post-doctoral research to teaching in Physiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Gottesman's goals are to increase the numbers and the quality of students applying to our graduate programs in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics; Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics; Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology; Neuroscience; and Pharmacology. For more information, contact him at gotte001@umn.edu, 612-624-1181.

STUDENTS

Student Council invites participation

The new Student Council year is officially underway. Currently, Council is planning goals and dividing into workgroups including community service, technology, communication, and others. To learn more, please visit the Student Council web site at https://www.student.med.umn.edu/stuco/. Council would also like to invite students to participate in meetings which are held the first Thursday of each month at 6:15 p.m., in Mayo B-646. Ideas or issues that you would like Council to address? Please e-mail the Executive Secretary at sayl0039@umn.edu.

Three Minnesota medical students receive MAP International Medical Fellowships

University of Minnesota medical students Esther Kao, Colleen Kniffen, and Nathaniel McLean have received three of the 31 fellowships offered nationally by Medical Assistance Program (MAP) International. With the aid, Kao writes, "I plan to spend 8 weeks at the Selian Lutheran Hospital in the Arusha region of Tanzania. I'm interested in learning more about tropical diseases and the delivery of health care in Tanzania in urban and rural settings. To prepare...I am doing an independent study of tropical medicine which also includes participating in a two-week course at Johns Hopkins entitled 'Child and Public Health in the Tropics.'" In spring 2008, Kniffen will travel to the same hospital, whose chief physician is U of M alumnus Mark Jacobson, M.D. Congratulations and bon voyage to all.

Recent grad Perko makes a difference in Uganda

Ross Perko, M.D., who graduated in May and entered a residency in pediatrics, already has made a difference in children's lives in Uganda while on an exchange there. In a story in the May 20 Mesabi Daily News, his drive to help children at the Mulago Hospital in Kampala and a local orphanage was described. When the orphanage's chickens were stolen, depriving the children of eggs, he asked his hometown friends to help. (Watch Perko's video.) They gave $7 for a chicken many times over, the paper reported, and the money helped pay for food and toys for the children as well. Perko plans to return to Uganda for two weeks in January 2008.

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

LaValleur and Minenko receive TEL fellowships

Two of the five 2007-2008 technology-enhanced learning (TEL) faculty fellowships were awarded to Medical School faculty members June LaValleur, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., and Anne Minenko, M.D. TEL faculty fellows each received $20,000 to be used toward release time for program commitments. The program helps instructors develop the knowledge and skills requisite for being faculty leaders in TEL. LaValleur's project is "Development of an Electronic Archive of Medical Images to Enhance Interactive Patient Scenarios for Use in Teaching Residents and Medical Students Obstetrics and Gynecology." Minenko received funding for a "Proposal to Seek, Develop, Assemble and Pilot Rheumatology Appropriate Educational Technologies to Harmonize with Clinical Experiential Learning."

Christensen: Rural Health Hero

Ray Christensen, M.D., was honored as a Rural Health Hero in Duluth June 19. "You don't receive an honor like this without the assistance of many deserving people working by your side," said Christensen. Looking toward the future, Christensen said that his job isn't done. "I have always felt my calling was to provide health care access in rural America personally, to work on policy that improved access, and to do what I could to help select and excite young people about living and serving rural America."

Schlievert honored

Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., has been voted by students as Year One Distinguished Teacher of the Year for 2007. Schlievert's achievement will be recognized at the fall Faculty Assembly. Schlievert is a member of the Department of Microbiology.

Froberg honored

The Association of Clinical Scientists, an organization with members from the international clinical science community, named M. Kent Froberg, D.V.M., M.D., its Clinical Scientist of the Year at its national conference held in Hershey, Penn. Froberg is a pathologist at the Medical School -- Duluth campus.

NOTICES

Medical Bulletin available online

Keeping up with University of Minnesota Medical School news just got easier. Now you can sign up to receive the latest Medical Bulletin headlines--with links to all the current stories--via e-mail. It's simple to subscribe at www.mmf.umn.edu/mb/subscribe. You can always view the entire Medical Bulletin, as well as past issues, online at www.mmf.umn.edu/bulletin.

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

Life
            a lazy buzz,
then
            the quick sting.
A long inward breath
            Then
The sudden
            Exhaling.

--Excerpt from "Death Mask" by Edward Field