The University of Auckland is investigating how a man who was denied a place at its medical school was able to attend classes.

The man is alleged to have dissected cadavers, donated for medical research, among other assignments.

A medical school spokesman said the man participated in the second and third year of the six-year medical course.

Over the two-year period he evaded lecturers by not putting his name to anything, he said. An anonymous person reportedly emailed 3News claiming the student was to work in a hospital environment as a third-year student.

That would allow him to work with patients and confidential information, the person said.

The university is believed to have issued a trespass notice against the man.

Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Professor John Fraser said, in a statement, the university was "extremely concerned to discover that a person who applied for entry into the medical programme in 2010 and was unsuccessful has since been attending classes".

"Because of the size of the medical class, and by not submitting assessments or sitting tests, the individual was able to deceive classmates and teachers.

"Ultimately the presence of this person was detected when an assignment was submitted that did not match any name on the class list.

"This individual is not a student and is not on any class list. This person has not been given any confidential or restricted training material, and has not, to our knowledge, ever been able to examine any patients or received confidential patient information."

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University investigates fake medical student

Special to The Chronicle-Journal

Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 08:00

Puppeteering 101 may not be a class offered in medical school, but perhaps it should be. As part of a large medical conference held in Thunder Bay over the past week, medical students and professionals from all over the world had the chance to tour the pediatric surgery ward at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The tour on Saturday included a visit with Sam Purple, a puppet that . . .

(For full story and picture, see today's newsprint edition of The Chronicle-Journal).

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Puppet helps out medical experts

Raising the stakes on a proposed property tax increase, the University of Texas has declared that its approval next month by Travis County voters is essential for establishing a medical school in Austin.

For us, this is a yes or no proposition, said Steven Leslie, UTs executive vice president and provost, in a memo to faculty and staff members that was obtained by the American-Statesman. Without a complete and reliable source of new funding, we will not be able to start a medical school.

Taxpayers in other Texas communities have helped finance medical schools and teaching hospitals through various means, but the proposal by Central Health, Travis Countys hospital district, differs in two important ways.

One, voters must first approve a 63 percent increase in their property taxes for health care, going from 7.89 cents to 12.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. No other medical school in Texas has hinged on raising local property taxes.

Two, a specific amount of the estimated $54 million a year in new tax revenue $35 million would be permanently earmarked for services provided to needy patients by the medical schools faculty and residents, who are physicians in training.

The tax is the final piece of a plan that has been under discussion for several years but that has not coalesced until recent months.

Building and operating the medical school for the first 12 years would cost $4.1 billion, according to UT-Austins cost estimates. The UT System Board of Regents has committed at least $25 million a year in endowment proceeds, plus $5 million a year for eight years to buy equipment. The nonprofit Seton Healthcare Family, which already spends $45 million to sponsor an academic education program, has tentatively committed $250 million to build a new teaching hospital to replace University Medical Center Brackenridge, which Central Health owns and Seton operates.

If Proposition 1 passes, the average Travis County homeowner would pay an extra $107.40 in 2014, for an average health care tax bill of $276.79. That prospect has aroused opposition from those who say UT should pay the full cost of its medical school.

Saying you have to pay a property tax for us to build a medical school is unprecedented in Texas history, said Don Zimmerman, campaign treasurer of the Travis County Taxpayers Union political action committee, which formed to fight the ballot proposition.

But proponents and others say it reflects changing financial and political realities.

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Health tax increase a ‘yes or no’ vote on medical school, UT says

By Jonnelle Marte

How a spoonful of bullying, plus a heaping pile of debt, helps turn students into doctors.

By the time most medical school students are assisting in hospitals shadowing the doctors they aspire to someday become many are well-accustomed to being pushed around, yelled at, or called derogatory names.Such incidents arent new, but with the med student population only growing (admissions are up 17% since 2002, with schools working to address a projected shortage of 90,000 doctors by 2020), cracking down on the problem has becoming a matter of increasing urgency. Especially in cases of more severe abuse: A survey conducted this year by the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, 33% of students said they were publicly humiliated at least once during medical school, 15% said they were the object of sexist remarks and 9% said they were required to run errands for doctors.

And a study released this year by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that despite several efforts by the school to hold bullying awareness workshops for third-year students (who bear the brunt of the mistreatment, because thats when they begin working in hospitals with medical residents and doctors) and to warn residents and teachers about the consequences of such actions, the abuse has persisted, with more than half of students surveyed between 1996 and 2008 reporting some form of mistreatment. Part of the problem, says Joyce Fried, assistant dean at the school of medicine, is that even though the school takes steps, such as waiting until after grades are awarded before launching investigations, to prevent retaliation toward students who come forward, many are still afraid to do so.

What should you look for in picking a primary-care doctor? The industry expects some movement among patients and doctors due to full implementation of the federal health overhaul. Anna Mathews has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.

For its part, the AAMC is trying to keep an eye out for abuse: When students finally graduate from medical school, the AAMC typically sends them a questionnaire, which it recently updated to ask more specific questions about bullying. Additionally, president Darrell Kirch posted a letter to the AAMC website in September expressing concern that exposure to bullying could negatively impact a doctors future interactions with patients.

Student advocates say they also worry that such treatment often squelches a students desire to enter the field or worse yet instills a sense of fear among young doctors that could prevent them from challenging colleagues when errors are made or from trying new approaches to improve care. Theyre overworked and treated unkindly by people who are supposed to be teaching them, says Diane Pinakiewicz, president of the National Patient Safety Foundation, adding that those doctors often go on to mistreat other students when they begin to teach. Were trying to break the cycle.

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10 things medical schools won’t tell you

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - A groundbreaking ceremony occurred Friday morning for the new Western Michigan University medical school.

The school has been granted preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the national accrediting body for educational programs leading to the MD degree.

"This is an important step because we now have the go-ahead to recruit students for our first class to begin in August 2014," Dr. Hal B. Jenson, MD, MBA, told the ceremony's crowd.

The medical school is a collaboration involving WMU and Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals -- Borgess Health and Bronson Healthcare. It has been in planning since 2008.

In December 2011, William U. Parfet, chairman and CEO of MPI Research in Mattawan, donated the 320,000 square-foot building to WMU to be used by the new medical school.

In March 2011, WMU received a gift of $100 million for the medical school from anonymous donors.

The seven-story building at 300 Portage St. in Kalamazoo is located at the heart of the new W.E. Upjohn Campus. A $68 million renovation and expansion project is scheduled to be completed by May 2014, with 30,000 more square feet to be added to the building.

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WMU School of Medicine building stat sheet (pdf)

WMU School of Medicine future floor plans (pdf)

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Ground broken for WMU medical school

The following is the view of The Saginaw News Editorial Board on the plans for Central Michigan University's medical school campus in Saginaw.

Central Michigan Universitys medical school presence in Saginaw is no longer a pipe dream.

With more than $16 million raised in the $25 million campaign for two Saginaw locations, CMU officials say the pieces are in place to start construction next fall and have students here in 2014.

The partnerships with Covenant HealthCare and St. Marys of Michigan, along with affiliations with 17 hospitals throughout Mid-Michigan, can only mean good things for the future of healthcare in the area.

CMU medical students will spend the last two years of medical schooling locally, practicing at our facilities. Not only will we help train the future doctors of America, but school officials expect many of them will make this region their home and continue to offer quality health care to local residents. The school will also provide an opportunity for Michigan residents to attend medical school in their home state officials say preference will be given to Michigan applicants.

CMU officials were in town last week to update business leaders on the project and allay fears that it wouldnt happen.

The project didnt have the most stellar start when CMUs former president Michael Rao left the university less than a year after it was announced and the medical schools first choice for dean resigned the position.

We believe there has been so doubt that this was going to become a reality, said Kathleen Wilbur, CMUs vice president of development and external affairs, during a meeting with The Saginaw News Editorial Board It is more than reality at this point.

And with drawings of the two Saginaw buildings in hand, accreditation underway and more than half the money raised for the campaign, the momentum is building. It is time now for the community to throw all we have into this and make it happen.

With about $10 million left in the fundraising goal, wed love to see governments in the entire region work with CMU to secure grant funding and private donors step up to the plate to bring in the money.

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Our View: Community needs to show support for Central Michigan University Medical School in Saginaw

by Michael Vincent D. Cajulao

ZAMBOANGA CITY Hundreds of residents of Tumalutap Island received medical assistance and school supplies last October 7, during a civic-action outreach program initiated by Task Force Zamboanga (TFZ).

The program was also done in collaboration with Department of Health IX, Zamboanga City government, national line agencies, non-government organizations, and the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines.

Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, Task Force Zamboanga chief, said in an activity report that the main objective of the activity is to uphold and promote humanitarian services in areas classified as economically unstable in terms of income generation and capability to pay medical services.

A total of 246 individuals benefitted from the medical checkup and consultation, 70 of whom also availed of the free tooth extraction.

The group also distributed 355 ball pens and pencils and 355 pieces of notebooks for the school children, 150 pairs of new slippers, 130 pieces of toys for the kids, and two bundles of assorted used clothing.

Pascual also turned over boxes of medicines to Brgy. Chairperson Carsoma A. Abunawas for distribution to the residents.

The activity is part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP), which seeks to forge partnership with the residents in maintaining peace and security and help spur development in their area.

Pascual, in a previous interview with PIA, said part of IPSPs strategies are community outreach missions, aid in looking for livelihood opportunities for those in depressed and conflict areas, and implement paradigm shift on the thinking of soldiers.

We are trying to inculcate in the minds of our soldiers that gone are the days when we are only visible during war. We are here also as partners of the communities by delivering basic services and help them look for livelihood opportunities to help them alleviate their living condition. We want our soldiers to also be sensitive to the needs of the communities, Pascual said.

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Underprivileged residents receive medical attention, school supplies

Alzheimer's expert Steven T. DeKosky will continue hospital work, research post-retirement By Audrey Waldrop | Oct 11

University Medical School Dean Steven T. DeKosky announced last week he will step down July 31 after five years at the helm of central Virginias primary medical facility. DeKosky, who has gained international attention for his work on Alzheimers disease, will continue to treat patients and conduct research as a faculty member.

An ex officio member of the Board of Visitors Medical Center Operating Board, DeKosky defended the Medical Schools ability to attract research funding at last months Board meeting. He explained to the Board that funding sources such as the National Institutes of Health had channeled resources into later-stage research as opposed to the kind of basic research the Medical School specializes in.

Roughly 56 percent of the Medical Schools operating budget comes from grants, contracts and recoveries from facilities and administrative costs. The remainder is divided between endowment payoffs, donations, tuition and state funds.

DeKoskys discussion of the Medical Schools financial viability followed University President Teresa Sullivans presentation of the then-recently released U.S. News & World Report college rankings in which the Universitys lowest scoring category, at 53, was financial resources. Medical Center Operating Board Committee Chair Edward Miller was not available to comment.

Sullivan praised DeKoskys accomplishments during his time as dean.

Steve oversaw significant growth in our medical student class and transformation of our curriculum, Sullivan said in a University press release. He maintained research funding during a time of significant decreases in funding nationally, and increased the clinical capacity and access.

DeKosky has expressed interest in opening the Medical School to more clinical research in line with the National Institutes of Healths funding priorities. I hope we continue to move forward as an academic medical center across our mission of education, research and clinical care over the next nine months and beyond, DeKosky said in a press release.

John Simon, the Universitys executive vice president and provost, is expected to appoint an interim dean from within the Medical School to succeed DeKosky at the end of July. He will lead an international search to select the next permanent dean.

Simon said in an email Thursday he and his team will look for someone with strong leadership and the ability to partner with the health system leadership and work with the various constituencies in the school to further implement the strategic plan.

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Medical School dean to retire next year

CARBONDALE — Brehm Preparatory School is hosting by way of videoconference the 2012 Harvard Medical School/Dyslexia Foundation Conference.

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Brehm hosts Harvard video-conference

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Three-year data from the Zilver PTX Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease from Cook Medical demonstrate 70.7 percent primary patency in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) at 36 months for patients treated with the paclitaxel-eluting stent. This compares to 49.1 percent patency for patients with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and provisional bare metal stent placement in the 479-patient study.

In addition, the paclitaxel coating was shown to reduce the restenosis rate by 53 percent in a head-to-head comparison of provisional paclitaxel-eluting versus bare metal stent placement.

Michael Dake, M.D., professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University Medical School and medical director of the Cath/Angio Laboratories at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California, presented the study findings yesterday at the Vascular InterVentional Advances (VIVA) 2012 conference in Las Vegas, Nev.

These data, from the largest clinical study ever conducted on peripheral stenting, clearly show a sustained drug effect for paclitaxel-eluting stents versus bare metal stents after three years, said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medicals Peripheral Intervention clinical division. We are proud to have pioneered this important technology.

Zilver PTX is neither approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor available for sale in the United States. Dr. Dake, the global principal investigator for the Zilver PTX trial, is a paid consultant to Cook Medical regarding the research and development of medical devices.

About Cook Medical

A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving more than 40 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company that has created more than 10,000 jobs worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Cook Medical’s Zilver® PTX® Trial Shows Sustained Patency after Three Years

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The former CEO of Massey Energy has given Marshall University's medical school $300,000 to fund scholarships over three years.

Don Blankenship gave the money to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in memory of his late mother, Nancy Marie McCoy, according to a Marshall news release. The school received the first $100,000 last month.

"The demographics of Southern West Virginia mean that there will be a continuing and increasing need for high quality local doctors," Blankenship said in the release. "I am fortunate to be able to contribute in a small way toward fulfilling this need, while at the same time honoring my mother's memory, helping my alma mater, and helping these gifted students to achieve their dreams of becoming doctors."

"We are grateful to Mr. Blankenship for his support of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and specifically his commitment to helping our students," said Linda Holmes, Marshall's director of development and alumni affairs. "His generous gift will go a long way in assisting our students achieve their dreams."

Don Blankenship gave the money to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in memory of his late mother, Nancy Marie McCoy, according to a Marshall news release. The school received the first $100,000 last month.

"The demographics of Southern West Virginia mean that there will be a continuing and increasing need for high quality local doctors," Blankenship said in the release. "I am fortunate to be able to contribute in a small way toward fulfilling this need, while at the same time honoring my mother's memory, helping my alma mater, and helping these gifted students to achieve their dreams of becoming doctors."

"We are grateful to Mr. Blankenship for his support of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and specifically his commitment to helping our students," said Linda Holmes, Marshall's director of development and alumni affairs. "His generous gift will go a long way in assisting our students achieve their dreams."

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Ex-Massey CEO funds Marshall medical scholarships

Plans to shift many LSU residency programs to private hospitals will result in a better ratio of patients per resident, medical school officials told students Tuesday. (Photo by Times-Picayune archive)

LSU medical school officials told students and faculty Tuesday night that changes to resident training under way as part of the budget slashing at the state's public hospital system will eventually make the programs more attractive to prospective residents. At a "town hall" meeting at the medical school in New Orleans, Dr. Larry Hollier, chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center, said the shrinking of the public hospitals in recent years has led to residents having too few hospitalized patients to treat under the supervision of attending physicians.

But plans to shift many residency programs to private hospitals will result in a better ratio of patients per resident, he said. Hollier said that even before the most recent cuts, which were announced last week, the number of patients in the public hospitals had shrunk to unacceptably low levels. "The only reason that residents still got such good training is because of the work of the faculty," he said.

Hollier said when he was a resident at Charity Hospital, there were 1,500 beds available, but the number of beds hadshrunk to 550 before Hurricane Katrina. With the latest budget cuts, there will be 150 beds at the Interim LSU Public Hospital, better known as University Hospital, whichtook over providing care for the indigent in New Orleans afterthe closure of Charity Hospital following the storm.

The popularity of Louisiana's programs to train new doctors is considered critically important, as many physicians choose to stay in the state where they complete their residencies.

The most recent cuts to LSU's seven hospitals in south Louisiana were the result of a reduction in the federal Medicaid dollars sent to the state. Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration directed a large share of the cuts at the LSU hospitals, which state officials said would provide an opportunity to remake the system that has traditionally provided the health care safety net for the uninsured.

Dr. Frank Opelka, the newly appointed head of the LSU health system, said he and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein are working on agreements with private hospitals to take over some services that have been reduced or eliminated.

But legislators who learned the details of the $152 million cut last weekhave questioned whether the reductions will result in the most vulnerable uninsured patients going without necessary medical care as hospital beds disappear and some LSU clinics close or limit hours. State officials have provided few details about what the partnerships with private hospitals will look like, saying those plans are largely still in the works.

Hollier said about half of the patients treated by the LSU hospitals and clinics are covered by Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. As residency programs move to private hospitals, doctors in the LSU-run clinics will have better availability for insured patients needing surgery or other hospital-based care, he said.

Some in the audience asked whether the uninsured would be left out as a result of the budget cuts and more residencies moving to private facilities. "I feel like we are abandoning our population," said one woman, who identified herself as a second-year medical student.

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LSU budget slashing could work in our favor, medical school officials tell students

Foes of a tax increase for a proposed medical school, teaching hospital and other health-related projects in Austin are far behind supporters in raising money to get their message out to Travis County voters.

Political action committee reports filed this week show that the Travis County Taxpayers Union PAC has raised just $2,343 to fight Proposition 1 the property tax increase proposed by Central Health for the Nov. 6 ballot compared with $293,088 from supporters of the Keep Austin Healthy PAC.

Medical school supporters, led by state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, have backing from a variety of groups, including businesses, physicians and Democratic Party organizations. One of the largest donors to the PAC was Watsons campaign committee, which donated $36,725, most of it for polling data.

A broad cross section of the community is supporting this, said Clarke Heidrick, a member of the Central Health board. He added that he donated $1,000 to pro-Proposition 1 campaign, which will show up on a future PAC report. His law firm, Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody donated $5,000 during the five-week fundraising period that ended Sept. 27.

Central Health is asking voters to raise the tax rate from 7.89 cents per $100 of assessed value to 12.9 cents, a 63 percent rate increase. The increase would bring in an estimated $54 million and cost the average Travis County homeowner an additional $107.40 in 2014, for a total average tax bill of $276.79 for health services.

Don Zimmerman, treasurer of the anti-Proposition 1 campaign, said he was disappointed in his groups showing, even though he knew fundraising would be tough.

I was hoping to have least $5,000 and we didnt even make half that, said Zimmerman, a former Republican candidate for state and county offices.

He loaned the campaign $1,000, which is not counted as a donation. Zimmerman also paid his company, ZimWin Communications, $1,000 to distribute about 50 campaign signs against the tax.

Keep Austin Healthy reported spending $84,619 on advertising, yard signs and contract labor.

Other large donations came from the Real Estate Council of Austin, which gave $50,000; the Downtown Austin Alliance and Luminex Corp., which gave $25,000 each; and Wells Fargo Bank, BuildASign LLC and Daniel Graham (owner of BuildASign), which gave $10,000 apiece.

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Supporters of tax increase for medical school in Austin raising far more money than opponents

BERTHOUDRound Three in the fight over medical marijuana in this Larimer County town of 5,000 is set for Wednesday night, with a forum featuring two notable anti-pot experts.

Speakers include Tom Gorman, director of the Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and Dr. Christian Thurstone. Thurstone is medical director of one of Colorado's largest youth substance abuse treatment clinics and an associated professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver, where he researches youth substance abuse and addiction.

Both are coming at the request of Dwayne White, a Berthoud grandpa who launched an effort to rid the town of its lone dispensary, Herb's Medicinals.

"I've got eight grandkids in Berthoud and last week a teenager was over at the school trying to line up customers to buy marijuana," White said. "This is something I don't want my kids to be around."

Berthoud and Herb's Medicinals became a hot destination for medical marijuana users this year, after Fort Collins banned dispensaries in city limits. White says that has led to an outbreak of drug-related crime in the town, an allegation backed by a Berthoud police report that says pot-related police calls are up 57 percent since the dispensary opened.

"This is a small town and these are cases we didn't see in the past," Berthoud Police Chief Glenn Johnson said.

Round One in the pot battle happened this spring when White and others began gathering signatures for a ballot issue aimed at putting Herb's out of business.

Enough signatures were gathered 468 when only 413 were needed to place Question 300 on the ballot. That ushered in Round Two, a pro-medical marijuana town forum in September.

A Herb's patient spoke about how medical marijuana made dealing with his colon cancer bearable. Another speaker was Dr. Alan Shackelford, a Harvard-trained physician who advocates the use of medical pot.

Erik Williams who is the campaign spokesman for Herb's said residents will back the business at the ballot box.

Link:

Medical marijuana fight fires up in Berthoud

In December, Mattawan-based MPI Research donated a 330,000 square-foot facility at 300 Portage St. to the university.

WMU named the facility the W.E. Upjohn Campus in June, honoring the founder of the Upjohn Co. and the great grandfather of MPI's chairman and CEO William U. Parfet.The facility, widely known as Building 267, was once part of the Upjohn, Pharmacia and Pfizer downtown campuses.

A public ceremony is set for 11 a.m. at the building at 300 Portage St. Officials will unveil renderings and reveal details about the project, which is being built and renovated by engineering firm S/L/A/M Collaborative.

WMU will lease the building to the School of Medicine, which is a private 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation and a collaboration involving Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals, Borgess Health and Bronson Healthcare. The medical school is expected to welcome its first class in fall 2014.

Over the past year, employees and staff at Michigan State Universitys Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies merged with the School of Medicine. The WMU Board of Trustees approved the university borrowing up to $30 million to renovate, furnish and equip the facility, which the university expects will cost $68 million.

WMU received a $100-million gift designated for the medical school from an anonymous donor in 2011.

In July, Western Michigan University School of Medicine Clinics earned approval from the Joint Commission for complying with national standards for health care quality and safety as a primary care medical provider and was also granted "candidate school status" this summer by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The school now hopes to achieve preliminary accreditation, which allows the medical school to begin recruiting students by the end of the year. The university plans to have the new school fully accredited before it graduates students, who would begin classes in 2014 and graduate in 2018.

Visit MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette later this week for an update on the WMed's curriculum and progress from founding dean Dr. Hal Jenson and for coverage of Friday's groundbreaking.

Original post:

Western Michigan University to break ground on medical school renovations Friday

SACRAMENTO Talented students who dream of becoming physicians but worry about the high cost of attending medical school have a new and promising opportunity at the UC Davis School of Medicine. The school has been awarded a four-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to provide scholarships to economically disadvantaged medical students.

UC Davis plans to use the new funding to provide $15,000 scholarships to more than 40 students each year who are interested in becoming primary care doctors in medically underserved communities.

"We are at a crucial time in health care," said Fred Meyers, executive associate dean, whose responsibilities include overseeing the teaching and community engagement missions for the medical school. "More than 5.5 million Californians live in medically underserved areas, places that have too few primary-care providers, higher-than-average infant mortality rates and high poverty rates. This new grant enables UC Davis to help reduce health disparities by encouraging and supporting the development of more primary-care physicians who represent diverse backgrounds."

Meyers said that UC Davis is determined to improve the quality of health care through innovations in clinical practices and a focus on the unique health needs of the communities its medical students will serve when they become physicians. He noted the school's emphasis on developing interprofessional teams to deliver patient- and family-centered care includes having physicians who can be role models of cultural inclusiveness.

"We know there are many academically qualified and talented students from diverse backgrounds who could become great physicians if they didn't have to worry about the financial challenges to getting a medical degree," said Tonya Fancher, associate professor of internal medicine who is overseeing much of the new grant program. "These scholarships address one of the major barriers to pursuing an advanced degree in medicine. The funding also allows UC Davis to expand its physician-training pipeline by increasing our student outreach and retention efforts."

The current cost of a four-year medical degree at UC Davis, including housing or food, is approximately $244,000. Students have an average debt of $139,000 after four years in school. About 100 students per year graduate from the School of Medicine.

UC Davis School of Medicine is known for graduating a high percentage of graduates who choose to practice medicine in rural and other underserved areas of the state. Many of its newly minted physicians eventually practice in Northern California. The school's curriculum features three community-oriented programs or tracks that focus on medically underserved areas of the state: rural, urban inner city and the San Joaquin Valley.

"Underserved communities are unable to provide optimal care for their residents," said Fancher. "Part of the reason is the lack of physicians. The Central Valley, for example, has some of the lowest rates of primary-care physicians in the state. Our goal is to increase that number and make sure they better reflect the populations they serve."

In addition to student scholarships, the school's retention and outreach initiatives for current and potential medical students include programs ranging from middle and high school presentations about health-care professions, to test preparation and pre-med advising for college undergraduates, to an array of educational support and counseling services that help students complete medical school and achieve success during residency and clinical practice.

HRSA's Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program was established through the Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1990. Participating academic institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients based on reasonable determinations of need. For more information about the UC Davis School of Medicine, visit http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/medschool/.

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$2.5M boosts scholarships for medical students

Alabamas professional organization representing the states osteopathic doctors said it cannot support the creation of a new medical college in Auburn.

Members of the Alabama Osteopathic Medical Association (ALOMA) said construction of a new medical college in 2015 on the heels of another one slated to admit students in Dothan beginning next year could dilute the quality of medical school applicants in the state and create a glut of students looking to complete medical school requirements at locations throughout Alabama.

ALOMA President-Elect Dr. Brent Boyett said the organizations concerns were expressed in a letter sent to Gov. Robert Bentley, Auburn University President Jay Gogue and the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

Basically, we wanted them to know our concerns and that we could not support an additional school in the state of Alabama at this time, said Boyett, whose practice is located in Hamilton.

Dothans Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine is scheduled to admit its first class next year. Meanwhile in August, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Virginia announced plans to construct a branch in Auburn. If the college is accredited, it should begin admitting students in 2015.

The final two years of a four-year Osteopathic Medicine track consists of residency in a hospital or other medical facility. Assuming classes of 150 per year, the Auburn school would mean doubling the number of students seeking residency from 300 to 600 by 2017.

We just wouldnt have enough rotation sites to accommodate these physicians and the real limiting factor in osteopathic medicine is real good clinical rotation sites, Boyett said.

A lot of this is just inexplicable to me. We were absolutely shocked when we heard of the announcement. Either they know a lot more than we do or we know a lot more than they do, Boyett said.

ALOMA is not the only organization to oppose the branch.

Dr. Neal Canup, State Director of Medical Education for the Alabama Medical Education Consortium, expressed opposition in a letter to state newspapers recently.

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Doctors' group opposes Auburn medical school

By Poon Chian Hui The Straits Times Sunday, Oct 07, 2012

GIVEN the shrinking supply of cadavers here, the upcoming medical school at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will provide 3-D models of the human body on iPads to allow students to learn about anatomy.

The plan is to set up a central database of 3-D models of real-life patients.

NTU's Institute for Media Innovation (IMI), which is teaming up with the medical school to produce software for the tablet, will be recruiting local patients for the project.

For a start, it will focus on reproducing 3-D models of the lower limbs, said IMI director Nadia Thalmann, who created a virtual heart model back in the 1980s that paved the way for simulation surgery today.

This will be done by getting 2-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the patients to provide details of muscles and other structures. The patients will then be scanned with motion-capture technology. All these will be put together to yield a virtual representation of the muscles, tendons, joints and cartilage.

"The internal anatomy is as different as people's faces," Prof Thalmann said. "With patient-specific data, medical students can learn how to treat cases differently, depending on the person's age, amount of fat and how his skeleton moves."

Set to open next year, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine will also use the iPad as an "essential teaching and learning tool", said its senior vice-dean Martyn Partridge, adding that the provision of the device is still being worked out by the school.

"Putting such technology onto an iPad enables the student to visualise, learn and revise wherever they are."

Applications for the first batch of 50 students will open at the end of the year.

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Med students get a feel of human body on iPad

EAST LANSING -- Fifth grade is a time for pizza parties and whoopee cushions, but for fifth-grader Ethan Ruhland, it was a time to write a letter to himself and map out the rest of his life.

His mother, Gemma Ruhland, still has that letter and read it just last week. Some of the goals are different -- Ruhland had his sights on Harvard Medical School at the time -- but many are the same.

"He said he wanted to be a doctor so he can help people," said his mother, a nurse for a group of oral surgeons in Bingham Farms. "That hasn't changed. He's always been a kind-soul kid."

Football was a passion then and remains so for Ruhland, a Michigan State fifth-year senior center. Football would have won over medicine when Ruhland was an MSU freshman and thought he had to pick between the two.

Now medical school is just months away. But first, Ruhland will start the most important stretch of his football career Saturday at Indiana.

Years of balancing extreme demands has reached a culmination of sorts for the 6-foot-5, 290-pound Lake Orion High product. Before embarking in earnest on a career he first mentioned in second grade, Ruhland has a shot to experience some of what he envisioned for his playing career.

He is expected to start at center in place of Travis Jackson, who was lost for the season with a broken leg in last week's loss to Ohio State. As the season goes on, Ruhland will be in a three-man competition for two spots -- center and left guard -- with Jack Allen and Blake Treadwell.

"We're all kind of the big cheese coming out of high school," said Ruhland, who was ranked the No. 29 offensive guard in the nation for the class of 2008 by Rivals.com. "So you want to play. But I definitely, for the majority of my time here ... there's always frustrations, whether it's with yourself, the way you're playing.

"But it's all for the betterment of the team. Whatever I can do. And this is an opportunity. It comes at the expense of one of my best friends getting hurt, but I need to step up."

Ruhland has started one other game, last season against Minnesota with Jackson ailing. He has been in the playing rotation since he was a redshirt freshman in 2009 but has not had the kind of steady role that may now await him.

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Ruhland is MSU's new starting center, before heading off to medical school

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -

UC Riverside officials, students and community leaders today will celebrate the UCR School of Medicine as officially open to prospective students.

The campus received word Tuesday that the Liaison Committee on Medical Education -- the national accrediting body for programs geared to medical degrees in North America -- had given preliminary approval to UCR's proposed courses.

The decision paves the way for the university to begin accepting applications for its charter enrollment of 50 students in the fall of 2013.

"This is momentous ... for Inland Southern California and for UC Riverside," said UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White.

An informal celebration in recognition of the accreditation milestone is planned for 5:30 p.m. at Rivera Plaza, adjacent to Hinderaker Hall.

The LCME withheld accreditation approval in 2011, when it became clear the state would not be making annual funding available to UCR because of California's gaping budget deficit.

However, over the last year, the university has secured tens of millions of dollars in private donations, government grants -- including $20 million from Riverside County -- and UC system appropriations, enabling it to move ahead with opening its doors next fall.

"Working together, the community and the UCR campus simply persevered because expanding access to healthcare is one of the most pressing issues for Inland Southern California," UCR Medical School Dean Dr. Richard Olds said.

"This milestone enables us to ... begin expanding and diversifying our region's physician workforce."

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UC Riverside celebrates medical school opening