Medical school researchers found that prostate cancer tumors in black men have a genetic variation that may make them more aggressive and resistant to drug treatments.

Researchers said the study, which was published Friday in the journal Nature Communications may help explain why black men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at higher rates and often have a worse prognosis than white men, according to a release.

Norman Lee, professor of pharmacology and physiology said he started the project to study disparities in prostate cancer from a genetic perspective.

Why is it that the African American population has a higher incidence of prostate cancer and a worse prognosis compared to those of European American descent? Lee said in a release. In trying to understand the genetic basis, we found that part of it may have to do with differential RNA splicing.

Lee and his team found that tumors present in black men varied from those found in whites because the tumors generate different proteins. These proteins can make the tumors more aggressive, according to the release.

The team also found that these types of proteins can lead to drug resistance.

We found that the protein isoforms expressed in African-Americans with prostate cancer do not always respond to targeted therapies, whereas these drugs were found to be effective in European Americans with prostate cancer and do end up killing off the cancer, Lee said in the release. This is a mechanism for drug resistance.

Lee said future research should examine the impact of genetic variations in other types of cancer to gain insight into why certain cancer treatments may be ineffective.

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What promised to be an exciting summer for the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education and the Fort Smith area got even more exciting last week.

The school, set to welcome its inaugural class at the end of July, announced plans for a second college a $15 million, 60,000-square-foot College of Health Sciences.

The new college is expected to be ready for classes in 2020 and will be home to several disciplines, including a master of nursing program, a physician assistant program and a post-baccalaureate masters program, ACHE President and CEO Kyle Parker said at a news conference Tuesday.

The schools expansion will mean wonderful things for this area. Weve already seen tremendous growth at Chaffee Crossing, including the recent opening of a Mercy clinic across from the medical school and ongoing plans for businesses at the Warehouse District. Now, Fort Smith is poised to brand itself as a top-notch location for health-care education, with the hope that these future doctors will remain in our area and provide services to what Parker called the most medically under-served area in the United States.

The school has worked hard to make things a little easier on its new students. The Residents, the schools student-housing apartments, are integrated with the school, so if a student is sick, he or she can watch class from home. The school is also paying for all utilities for the apartments. In addition, ACHE announced plans to expand the apartments by 80 units to accommodate students attending the new college when it opens in 2020.

ACHE also also plans to develop a 228-acre neighborhood withassistance fromFort Smith, Barling and the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, Parker announced. The neighborhood will feature restaurants, grocery stores, apparel stores and more while generating $25.9 million in taxable sales, in addition to 1,900 new housing units planned within the next decade or so.

In other words, the possibilities are endless at Chaffee Crossing and the ACHE. The future is now.

FCRA Executive Director Ivy Owen said he was overwhelmed with pride and joy to hear the expansion announcement, pointing out that the students who stay in the area when they graduate will offer an economic boost to the area, as will the extra generated sales tax.

According to the ACHE, 64 percent of its first class of students comes from the colleges service area of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. Forty-three percent of the students are from Arkansas, and 23 percent are first-generation college graduates in their families, the college previously stated. The remaining group of students comes from outside the area, as do a number of the schools professors. What a thrill it is for us to have people from throughout the country come to our neck of the woods to be part of the ongoingdevelopment of Fort Smith into a health-care hub.

Were excited to see the progress and are delighted with the economic and health-care prospects on the horizon. We cant help but feel the rest of the state must be envious of our area because of what the ACHE does and will do for this region. We are fortunate the college decided to call Fort Smith home, and were eager to see how its development plays out in the coming years. It's only going to get bigger and better.

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Editorial: Medical school's expansion boosts area - Times Record

There has been a lot of public debate over the last few weeks over the role scientists are playing during the coronavirus crisis. In the space of just a few weeks, the likes of Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, and Patrick Vallance, the governments chief scientific adviser, have become household names.

As Covid-19 spreads around the world, scientists are taking a prominent role in advancing public knowledge about the virus by advising world leaders, providing expert comment in the media and urgently researching new ways of tackling the pandemic. We are lucky here in the UK: the scientists we have at the moment are as good as it gets. Whitty is a professor of epidemiology this is what he does.

But as this crisis deepens the role of researchers will become even more fundamental as many are now being called upon to join the NHS frontline. Thankfully, we understand within the community that research can go on hold. Whats more, much of it has to because of social distancing.

We have taken the decision to release all our clinical staff from academic and research responsibilities at UCL, where I am head of the medical school, as part of a national effort to staff hospitals. These are medically trained staff, who work across the faculties of population health, medical, life, brain and engineering sciences. I expect we will see the same measures enacted soon nationwide. The medical community needs to do everything possible in response to this epidemic.

In nearly 35 years as a doctor, the coronavirus pandemic is like nothing I have witnessed a global crisis, which will likely overload the health service in every country if it hasnt already done so. By this, I mean, health services will be overwhelmed by the demand put on them by the number of patients requiring treatment. I fear we have to see doctors and nurses working double, or even triple shifts. Many, themselves, will of course get sick, and will have to self-isolate, further compounding the problem.

My work at UCL requires me to look after the largest group of biomedical scientists in Europe. Two weeks ago, I started a regular, albeit occasional, clinical service as a consultant respiratory physician at Londons University College hospital alongside this. I always enjoy leaving the desk work behind and returning to my roots as a clinician. As things progress, I am in no doubt that I will spend more and more time on the frontline.

My first week working in the wards was unremarkable. But by week two last week everything had changed. The ward became eerily quiet. Very few patients were referred to the respiratory team as we prepared for the expected influx of patients infected with the Covid-19 virus. Patients were moved to different wards or different hospitals, personal protective equipment arrived and the infectious diseases team grew overnight.

Then, the patients with Covid-19 started to arrive. As expected some were well, some poorly and new unexpected challenges emerged. Can a patient who is a contact of a patient with Covid-19 have an MRI scan? How can we get a patient home if their carer(s) are unwilling to look after them?

We live in unprecedented times, at least for my generation of 50-something doctors. We are three-four weeks behind Italy and the full force of the pandemic is about to break in the UK which it is thought will not peak until mid-June. The horrific images that we see from Italy are likely to play out here. Of course I might get ill myself, but this is a challenge faced by everybody. Ideally, I hope I will be fine, but if I get it, I get it. I will self-isolate and hope I am fine.

The demand for beds and intensive care facilities, the difficult decisions with limited resources and the pressure on staff, will all build over the coming weeks and months. I have heard that many colleagues have offered to volunteer and have received numerous positive messages from our hospital colleagues. The government has said it will provide training for anyone who feels it is necessary.

Our senior students will also be given the opportunity to help and dozens of other highly skilled scientists working in our labs with relevant transferable skills will also be freed up. But UCL is not mandating this, it will be down to individual choice.

Whatever may happen over the coming weeks and months, I have never been so pleased that we have a joined-up public health structure, a top down NHS, dedicated and loyal staff from across the clinical field and the brightest and best-informed people advising the government on the way forward. Everyone is now stepping up in this new healthcare environment: health professionals doing what they do best. We are professionals, this is what we do. This is our moment. We have to step up and deliver.

Prof David Lomas is vice provost (health), UCL and head of UCL medical school

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I'm the head of a medical school. But doctors like me are going back to the frontline - The Guardian

On the morning of March 8, Francesca Tamburelli was in her apartment in Heidelberg, Germany, when she learned that part of Italy was entering lockdown due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Upon hearing the news the 25-year-old, who graduated from medical school just last summer, quickly boarded a bus to her hometown of Turin. Within a few days, she was working in a hospital in Cremona, a city in the epicenter of Italys outbreak, where nearly 500 patients suffering from COVID-19 are treated. Other than internships and volunteer work in Tanzania, its her first professional experience in a hospital.

Tamburelli is one of the many young doctors in Italy responding to the calls recently put out by local administrations to meet the shortage of medical staff in hospitals experiencing unprecedented levels of pressure. Italy is one of the worst affected countries by the coronavirus; over 86,000 people here have so far tested positive, and more than 9,000 have died. In the most severely hit cities like Cremona, entire hospitals have been converted to centers for the exclusive treatment of COVID-19 patients. Every doctor, whether they specialize in dermatology or gynecology, is drafted in to deal with the virus.

On her first day on the job, Tamburelli was assigned to the pulmonology ward, which treats patients with serious respiratory problems not yet requiring intensive care. After four days she was moved to the neurology department, converted to a ward where COVD-19 patients are in less critical condition. I am learning a lot every day, but even specialists with 20 years of experience are learning. Its a new experience for everyone, she says. The hospital hierarchical structure has changed suddenly: now its the pulmonologists and anesthesiologists who are at the top.

Although her hospital hasnt yet suffered from the shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) seen in many other medical facilities, she is taking a risk, like the majority of doctors in this moment. In total, nearly 6,500 doctors and nurses in Italy have contracted the disease. I know theres a strong chance that Ill be infected too, says Tamburelli. Its not easy thinking that I dont know when Ill see my family and my boyfriend again, but they support me and I know Im doing the right thing.

Tamburelli is staying in a hotel with a former university classmate, Ornella Calderone, originally from Messina, in Sicily. Calderone, 32, has a degree in biology and one in medicine. Until last week she was studying for the entrance exam to specialize as a surgeon while working several temporary jobs. After applying to help at the worst-hit hospitals, she received a call within two hours. It was an unknown number and I realized immediately that my life was about to change. In the two days before arriving at the hospital she studied like crazy, she says, looking for practical information and updates on procedures she had never seen done live, such as ventilation. She is now on the pulmonology ward, one of the hospitals most critical. I cant say that I felt prepared to set off immediately, but since I arrived in Cremona there hasnt been a single second when Ive felt I wasnt in the wrong place, says Calderone.

Not every recent graduate feels ready for the front lines. Paolo Rubiolo, 26, completed his studies in medicine at the University of Turin just last week and says he is now thinking about how he could best help out. I dont feel Im ready to work on the hospital wards, he admits. I think Id be more useful in helping provide services that have been disrupted due to the emergency, such as primary health care or medical care for the elderly who have problems other than the virus, he says.

But the front lines are where the doctors are most needed. Apart from the government decree allowing hospitals to contract doctors just out of school, the Civil Protection Agency recently put out a call to create a task force of another 300 volunteers. Doctors Without Borders is providing support to hospitals in areas most in need, and reinforcements are also coming from other countries. Experts and supplies have arrived from China and Russia, while last week a brigade of 52 doctors and nurses from Cuba landed in Lombardy. In the parking lot in front of Cremona hospitals main building is now occupied by a field hospital run by the medical staff of a U.S. Christian organization.

It is easy to compare this scenario with that of a war, talking about trenches and heroes, says Samin Sedghi Zadeh, 29, who has been working on the pulmonology ward in Cremona for the past three weeks. But I dont like this comparison. War is something we bring on ourselves, this is an emergency that we are all trying to get out of together. Sedghi Zadeh was born in Italy to Iranian parents, and earned his medical degree in Turin a year and a half ago. Until the crisis began, he was employed as a doctor at an e-commerce company. He says hes now glad to have the opportunity to be helpful in the public health system.

The three young doctors, Sedghi Zadeh, Tamburelli and Calderone, are technically only contracted to work for one month. But all think their contract will probably be renewed at least until the end of the emergency whenever that is. Afterwards theyre all ready to go wherever the need is greatest. The experience we are accumulating could be useful in other places in Italy or in the world, and I dont think any of us will back out, Sedghi Zadeh says. When you are a doctor, youre not an Italian, French or Greek doctor. You are a doctor and you go where you are needed.

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Young Medical Graduates Find Themselves on the Front Lines of Italy's Coronavirus Fight - TIME

While the most wide-ranging and significant benefits related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security(CARES) Act for medical students and residents are related to student loans, there are other provisions that could be of use.

Heres a look at benefits within the CARES Act that could be helpful to medical students and residents.

Direct deposits of $1,200 for single taxpayers and $2,400 for taxpayers who are married filing jointly are available as a result of the bill. As are additional credits of $500 per child. On the individual level, the full payments are available to anyone making $75,000 a year or less. For couples, that number is $150,000 a year or less.

Not factoring in spousal earnings, at an average salary of around $60,000, according to a 2019 Medscape survey, most medical residents are eligible for the full amount.

To qualify for payments, you need to have filed a tax return in either 2018 or 2019, even if you earned no income. For medical students, that likely means you are eligible if you filed taxes. The only exception is that if a medical student is still listed as a dependent on their parents tax return they are not eligible for the tax rebate.

A handful of the provisions in the CARES Act could potentially aid medical students.

Additional financial aid: The Cares Act calls for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants that can be used as emergency aid. Those additional grants are disbursed at an institutions discretion and can assist graduate students, including medical students, who have unexpected expenses or are unable to meet a financial need. However, it is unclear how widely available these grants are. For medical students looking to learn more, your best bet is to reach out to your schools financial aid office.

Work study flexibility: If students were enrolled in a federal work-study program, they are able to continue to access those funds, even if they are unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those funds should remain available to medical students, as agreed upon, until the qualified emergency has ended.

Continuing education at affected foreign institutions: For medical students paying for their education with federal loans at medical schools outside the country, one common stipulation is for those funds to be available, the student must be physically on campus. With many international medical schools going to remote learning during the pandemic, students will be able to continue to be eligible for, and receive, their federal loans despite temporarily switching to online learning.

The bill has several financial considerations that could be impactful for residents.

Employer loan assistance: Under the Cares Act, residents who may receive some sort of loan assistance from an employer will get that aid provided to them tax-free on a temporary basis. Under the provision, an employer may contribute up to $5,250 annually toward an employees student loans, and such payment would be excluded from the employees income. Payments made by the employer can go to the employee directly or to the lender. Additionally, payments can cover both the principal and interest of the qualified student loan.

Child-care assistance: States have discretion to give health care sector employees subsidies for child-care by allowing them to receive reduced cost child-care at a participating provider of their choice.

National Health Service Corps flexibility: The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program offers medical school scholarships for students who are willing to work in underserved areas as residents. The program currently has more than 13,000 clinicians. Residents that are part of the National Health Service Corps program, who volunteer tohelp care for COVID-19 patients can do so within in a reasonable distance of the site to which the resident was originally assigned, and count the total number of hours served toward their commitment.

The AMA has developed aCOVID-19 resource centeras well as aphysicians guide to COVID-19to give doctors a comprehensive place to find the latest resources and updates from the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionandtheWorld Health Organization. The AMA has curated a selection ofresources to assist residents and medical students during the COVID-19 pandemicto help manage the shifting timelines, cancellations and adjustments to testing, rotations and other events.

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COVID-19 relief bill: What residents, students need to know - American Medical Association

When Ed Hellman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon in Indianapolis, was learning to be a doctor he wasnt focused on the business of medicine.

When he was in medical school, it was about medicine, he says. When he was doing his residency, it was about orthopedics.

But times have changed and Hellman is now a physician leader at OrthoIndy, a very large orthopedic practice. The organization includes a physician-owned and operated hospital, OrthoIndy Hospital, which specializes in orthopedics, as well as numerous clinics, physical therapy locationsand an urgent care center.

Its a very complex group, says Hellman, who is a member of the Board of Directors and a physician owner in the hospital.

RELATED: AMA pushes medical schools to offer more training on health economics

Like many doctors, when Hellman graduated from medical school in 1985, he says there was absolutely no focus on the business side of medicine. But for doctors today who want to be part of an organizations leadership, theres a need to know more beyond just clinical practice, he says.

So, Hellman went back to school to get an MBA or masterin business administration degree. And hes not alone.

Stephanie Page, M.D., a hospitalist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, also got her MBA. Like Hellman, she got her degree from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business which has a Physician MBA programset up specifically for doctors. Its a program designed for mid-career doctors who want to make changes in the healthcare field.

Page says she got absolutely zero training on the business side of medicine when she was in medical school. She didnt want to do a program that was completely online, so Page traveled once a month from Boston to Indianapolis where she spent a two-day weekend in classes.

As a physician who works in a hospital, Page says she isnt involved in running a physician practice but she wanted a greater understanding of the financial workings of the healthcare system. Being able to talk the samelanguage as hospital administrators,she can bring the clinicians voice into discussions.

RELATED: More doctors seek MBAs to navigate the business of medicine

I see myself as a clinician first, she says. But to represent my fellow clinicians I felt I had to learn more of the lingo.

She liked the fact she was in a physician-focused program where projects immediately related back to healthcare.

Its important that doctors understand finances and recognize the cost of care, she says. Doctors need to choose wisely when they order tests for patients and business training can help provide better care at lower costs.

Most doctors would rather not have to worry about the business of running a healthcare organization and would prefer to focus on taking care of patients, saysAaron Hattaway, M.D., a Florida radiologist, who is a current student in the physician MBA program and expects to graduate in May.But intodays world, you better learn it, he advises. Its what runs the world.

RELATED: How the Mayo Clinic involves doctors in action learning-based leadership

Hattaway now has a leadership role in Brevard Physician Associates, a physician-owned and operated Florida group practice where he is the chief financial officer. The practice specializes in anesthesiology, emergency medicine and radiology and has more than 100 doctors, 125 mid-level practitionersand 75 support staff.

If physicians want to be part of leadership in a healthcare organization, they need to have an understanding beyond what they learned in medical school, says Hellman.

In his organization, its not just running a practice. Were also running a hospital. Were dealing with insurance companies, he saysabout the complexity of medicine.

While medical schools once provided little if any training on business, that has started to change.

The American Medical Association last year adopted a new policy that calls on medical schools to incorporate additional training on health economics into theircurricula.

Thegoal is to ensure physicians are taught crucial health systems science topics such as cost-effective use of services, practice management24and risk management in a way that fits into their overall medical education.

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Doctors go back to school to learn the business of medicine - FierceHealthcare

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New construction will inspire discovery, collaboration, faculty recruitment at School of Medicine

Washington University in St. Louis will begin construction in March on an 11-story, 609,000-square-foot neuroscience research building on the School of Medicine campus. The project initially will bring together more than 100 research teams focused on solving the many mysteries of the brain and the bodys nervous system.

Washington University in St. Louis will begin construction in March on what will be one of the largest neuroscience research buildings in the country. Located on the School of Medicine campus, the 11-story, state-of-the-art research facility will merge, cultivate and advance some of the worlds leading neuroscience research.

The 609,000-square-foot facility and interconnected projects initially will bring together over 100 research teams focused on solving the many mysteries of the brain and the bodys nervous system. Those teams, comprising some 875 researchers, will come from a wide array of disciplines, including the medical schools neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry and anesthesiology departments.

Washington University is one of the premier institutions in the world in neuroscience research, with faculty known for their contributions to the understanding of normal brain development, how nerve cells communicate, neuroimaging, neurological diseases such as Alzheimers disease, and surgical treatments for cerebral palsy, among other contributions, said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. With this new building, we are able to offer the neuroscience community a central home and a laboratory environment that can inspire entirely new concepts that allow us to grasp a much deeper understanding of the brain and have a global impact on health and science.

The School of Medicine has a long history as one of the worlds foremost centers for neuroscience research, including as a leading institution in the study of Alzheimers disease. Its scientists have identified key molecules involved in sculpting nervous system development and triggers of neurodegenerative diseases, mapped connections from brain region to brain region, and developed pioneering surgical treatments for nerve injuries, among other groundbreaking discoveries.

David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor, said the new facility will open the door to bold new research initiatives and partnerships.

Understanding the brain is key to addressing some of the most devastating afflictions that affect mankind, Perlmutter said. So many of us have been touched by the inexorable decline of our loved ones due to diseases and conditions such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, brain trauma, glioblastoma and severe mental illness, and we have learned that the development of effective therapies has proven formidable. As scientists, we believe that a deeper understanding of cognition and emotional regulation can help us address major public health problems such as obesity, substance abuse, depression and suicide.

The initiative will increase synergy and facilitate greater collaboration between scientists in the medical schools neuroscience-focused departments and researchers in related disciplines, especially those whose work requires close collaboration with neuroscientists.

This rendering shows a view from the west of the planned neuroscience research center.

Collaboration across disciplines will be key to advancing our understanding of this new frontier in medicine, Perlmutter said. For example, new studies have recognized the importance of the microbiome and its interaction with our immune system in shaping the development and function of the brain. Work on synaptic connections in the nervous system is also critical to the development of machine intelligence and socially interactive robots that could solve many of the most important challenges of modern society. This building will be dedicated to advancing our global leadership position in solving these very big problems with imagination and rigor.

The new research center also is expected to inspire health-minded entrepreneurial pursuits and synergy with visionary business developers situated within a stones throw of the new research center. The building and related construction, which will be built at an expected cost of $616 million, will sit at the eastern edge of the Medical Campus, in the 200-acre Cortex Innovation Community, one of the fastest growing business, innovation and technology hubs in the United States and home to numerous biotech startups founded by Washington University faculty, staff and students.

We are constructing the building at the intersection of Cortex and the Medical Campus to encourage efforts by Washington University neuroscientists to transform their research into innovations that can move rapidly to improve medical care and quality of life for people with neurological conditions, said Jennifer K. Lodge, PhD, the universitys vice chancellor for research.

Among Washington Universitys achievements in the field of neuroscience, two Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been won by scientists at the university. In 1944, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Gasser won the Nobel for their work studying nerve fibers. They showed that the conduction velocity of nerve impulses is faster in thick nerve fibers than in thin fibers, and identified numerous other properties of sensory and motor nerves. And in 1986, Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini won the Nobel for discovering chemical growth factors essential for cell growth and development in the body. In the 1950s, they discovered nerve growth factor, a protein crucial for building networks of nerves.

The School of Medicine has a longtime, deep commitment to understanding, treating and preventing Alzheimers in particular. In the U.S., 5.8 million people are living with the disease, with the number projected to rise to nearly 14 million by 2050. Alzheimers and other dementias cost the U.S. a staggering $290 billion in 2019, and the cost is predicted to climb as high as $1.1 trillion by 2050, according to the Alzheimers Association.

The new center is intended to complement and build on The Brain Research Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative (The BRAIN Initiative), an extensive effort launched in 2013 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to revolutionize our understanding of the brain and brain disorders. Despite tremendous advances in neuroscience, the causes of numerous neurological and psychiatric conditions remain unknown. Like The BRAIN Initiative, Washington Universitys leadership understands how critical that information will be to figuring out how to effectively counter these diseases and help the many people suffering from them. In fact, several research projects led by Washington University investigators are funded by The BRAIN Initiative and will find a home in the new neuroscience building.

The medical schools faculty have long been lauded for the collaborations they develop across the university, and the new research facility is intended to boost and significantly drive such efforts. The building will feature research neighborhoods and a shared area on each floor to spur conversation and collaboration. The neighborhoods will be organized around research themes among them, addiction, neurodegeneration, sleep and circadian rhythm, synapse and circuits, and neurogenomics and neurogenetics that bring together people with common interests from multiple departments. The first researchers are slated to move into the building in 2023. While the initial construction will accommodate more than 100 research teams, additional shell space could be built out later for another 45 research teams.

This rendering shows a view from the southwest of the planned neuroscience research building.

The additional space created in this building represents the next step in the schools strategic plan to increase its research base by more than 30% over the next 10 years. The school is currently ranked fourth among U.S. medical schools in NIH funding and aims to leverage the breadth of its basic and clinical research assets, together with existing and new industry partnerships, to enhance its core mission in discovery and development of new treatments.

We have been very successful at attracting top-notch researchers and their teams to the School of Medicine, and this continues to be a chief goal, Perlmutter said. The focus on neuroscience in this building is also integral to our aspirations across the Medical Campus to utilize the paradigm of personalized medicine and to address the problems of aging and degenerative diseases.

Added David Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology: A key goal for the neuroscience center is to take what we discover in our laboratories and get it out into the public sector so patients, and society as a whole, can benefit. This building and the collaborations it will grow will position us to achieve meaningful breakthroughs in science and medicine.

An internationally renowned expert on the causes of Alzheimers disease, Holtzman and his team helped develop antibodies aimed at preventing dementia by reducing deposits of the Alzheimers proteins amyloid beta and tau in the brain, and have advanced the understanding of how sleep and apolipoprotein E the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimers contribute to brain injury. Holtzman also is involved in a project led byRandall J. Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology, to develop a blood test that can measure levels of amyloid beta and other proteins in the blood with the goal of diagnosing Alzheimers before symptoms develop.

The new neuroscience facility to be located at 4370 Duncan Avenue extends the School of Medicines reach eastward. As part of the construction, the university will add to its network of elevated, connected walkways, known as the Link, to reach the neuroscience research hub, and also will build a utility plant. In addition to the facilitys labs and research-focused areas, the new building will have event space, a large seminar room and a food-service area, as well as an 1,860-space parking garage. The architectural firms Perkins and Will, and CannonDesign are the projects designers, and McCarthy Building Companies will oversee construction.

Neuroscience research is a synergetic enterprise that depends on the expertise of people in many fields, Holtzman said. By bringing together so much knowledge, talent and passion, this new facility will make it considerably more likely that people will have the kinds of water-cooler discussions that lead to interdisciplinary game-changing ideas and projects. Im very excited to see what we will do.

Neuroscience research highlights

Washington University researchers:

Through ongoing research, they are:

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Washington University to break ground on major neuroscience research hub Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington...

Lastyear, some 182 million viewers tuned into watchAmerican football, a high-impact sport that evidence indicates has lifelong health consequences for players.

But when the television set goes off, a lot of people forget about us, says Pro Football Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, who played 20 seasons as an offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976-95 and whose son, Matthew Slater, is a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, a three-time Super Bowl champ and an eight-time Pro Bowler.

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But they are not forgotten at the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, which since 2014 has been gathering comprehensive data on the health concerns of former NFL players. Currently more than 4,100 former players are enrolled in what is now the largest study of living former players to date. The goal of the study a program composed of multiple research initiatives is to yield insights to improve the health and well-being of former and current players and to develop interventions to mitigate the conditions they face. Ultimately, the findings may also help illuminate conditions that affect other athletes and even non-athletes.

The study is led by former players and family members in partnership with dozens of physicians and scientists across Harvard-affiliated academic health centers. It is an independent study funded entirely by the National Football League Players Association.

Through an initial questionnaire completed by former professional players, the study investigators identified four areas of health that are critical to former players: neurocognitive health, cardiovascular function, sleep, and pain and physical function. These focus areas are consistent with previous research that suggests professional football participation may amplify the risk for neurocognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, and sleep apnea.

Starting this year, a major focus of the study has been to delve both deeper and wider into these concerns through in-person assessments. When this program is complete, a total of 120 former players will have undergone three days of head-to-toe testing, brain and body imaging, sleep studies and other evaluations.

Concussions and their impact on the brain are a focus of headlines and much research. But this study is about so much more, explains Aaron Baggish, director of in-person assessments for the study, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Were focusing on the entire player, not just the brain, to help us to develop a roadmap of the overall health and wellness of a former football player, he said.

Because player health is complex and cant be reduced to a single injury or condition, the study encompasses various organ systems and aspects of health that, over time, could be affected by a career in football.

Ive had more than 2,000 teammates through the years and a lot of them have issues, said Slater, who along with 50 other former players and family members serves as an advisor to the study. We expect the physical issues because of the nature of the game, but there are other cognitive and mental issues as well, which directly affect our lives.

Roadmap of overall health

Research conducted thus far by the studys core group of researchers, using data from the former players questionnaire, have already homed in on some of the health concerns. Theyve reported that the early-life weight gain typical of football players has a role in the increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, neurocognitive impairment and chronic pain. Theyve associated concussion symptoms with testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction. And theyve reported that the former NFL players were six times more likely than the general public to report having serious cognitive problems, including confusion, memory loss, anxiety, and depression.

Those recruited for the in-depth assessments, which take place at Harvard-affiliated hospitals, range from former football players who say they have no current health issues to those who report having at least three afflictions out of the top four. Assessments are led by Baggish and 17 Harvard co-investigators, whose expertise encompasses neuropsychology and cognition, pain, endocrinology, sleep medicine, cardiology, neuroscience, pain and physical function, and advanced imaging.

Some of the pivotal insights that researchers are hoping to glean include: How does the health of former players compare to men of the same age in the general population? Are former players aging differently than those who didnt play a contact sport? How do different diseases interact in these former athletes?

To get to the bottom of these questions, the Harvard investigators created a comprehensive battery of tests. First, they piloted their assessments with 10 men who did not have experience playing professional football half were healthy, and half had conditions similar to those reported by the former players. The formal in-personal assessments commenced in April 2019 and since then, 27 former NFL players have come to Boston, one or two each week, to undergo the intensive testing.

By bringing people into Boston, we can leverage the strength and resources of our amazing clinicians and hospitals, Baggish said.

Co-investigators involved in the in-person assessments are based at Mass General, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Network, and McLean Hospital.

Working in various capacities to support the health of athletes, Baggish serves as team cardiologist and physician advisor for numerous athletic organizations, including the New England Patriots and the U.S. national soccer and rowing teams. He is also the medical director of the Boston Marathon and serves on the International Olympic Committee. Baggish has been involved in the Football Players Health Study from the start, which he said was a logical extension of the Harvard Athlete Initiative he launched about 13 years ago. For that, he has been studying changes in the hearts of college athletes those who played football, a sport remarkable for its demand for strength and bursts of power, as well as those involved in rowing, a sport that requires exceptional endurance.

Now Baggish is also studying the hearts of current and former professional football players. He and colleagues recently reported in JAMA Cardiology that linemen, who are encouraged to gain weight, begin to develop high blood pressure and sleep apnea. They also experience thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle and arteriesand they tend do so early in their careers, as early as while playing college football.

Thorough look under the hood

The first of three days of individual assessments starts at 7:30 a.m. at Mass General with a blood draw, bone density scan, glucose tolerance and other baseline tests. Next comes lunch, followed by an olfactory assessment.

For the next three hours, the former player undergoes two different brain scans, one of which looks for signs of accumulating amyloid beta plaques and tau protein, which have been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative conditions and brain injury.

Some of the most prominent features of traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy in football players have been the presence of amyloid and the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, explained Georges El Fakhri, who leads the brain scanning of the former players at Mass General, where he is HMS professor of radiology and director of the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging.

Tau and amyloid are also hallmarks of Alzheimers disease, but as El Fakhri points out, Like real estate, its all about location. Where you have tau determines a lot about how afflicted you are. The patterns of tau in the brains of Alzheimers patients are different than those observed thus far in former football players.

He and his colleagues did the first large-scale studies of tau using an experimental tracer to look for it in the living brain. We now have lot of new markers for both normal and accelerated brain aging, so this new research has been a boon for usto studychanges in the brains of former football players, said El Fakhri.

In his other research, done in collaboration with investigators at HMS, Mass General and Brigham and Womens, El Fakhri is conducting the same brain imaging studies in hundreds of people of all ages from the general population.

This effort is to help football players, but I think too, it will contribute to understanding the whole picture of whats going on in the brain, he said.

The second day begins with memory and cognitive testing, followed by a brain MRI and a liver MRI. It ends at 7 p.m. after a brain stimulation and brain wave assessment. But even sleep does not go unobserved. After a dinner break, study participants spend the night in a boutique hotel, with sensors applied to their heads, chest and legs to collect overnight data from brain waves, sleep stages, number of awakenings, oxygen levels and leg jerks.

This level of sleep vigilance is justified because former football players report having problems, including insomnia and sleep apnea. Research shows that sleep apnea and fragmented sleep contribute to increased rates of heart disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes, said Susan Redline, who is co-leader of the sleep studies. Redline is the Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Medicine Epidemiology program at Brigham and Womens.

Many of the health concerns experienced by former players are related to sleep both directly and indirectly. There are close interrelationships between pain and sleep as well as cognition and sleep, Redline said.

In other studies, she and her colleagues have shown that the drops in oxygen that occur in sleep apnea are associated with accelerated cognitive decline.

With the sleep studies, researchers hope to identify new sleep-related markers that may signal the presence of sleep apnea or to too little time in the REM phase of sleep. These markers could be used to diagnose and better treat underlying problems more rapidly.

Day three features three hours of comprehensive cardiovascular testing, led by Baggish. The assessments end with an exit interview.

We help former players understand any clinically relevant findings they can take home to their doctors, said Baggish. We feel very strongly that is our responsibility to give them something tangible to take home.

After all the data are crunched and the puzzle pieces fitted together, the team will work to quantify the magnitude of the health problems and, eventually, develop new ways to prevent and treat these conditions.

The fact that we have men who are willing and interested to go through all these assessments is really setting the stage for an incredible partnership between scientific and athletic communities, Baggish said.

The guys want answers

Helping current and future players is a big reason why Jackie Slater said hes stayed involved. I have a son playing and Im concerned about his long-term health, he said.

He points to changes in the NFL that now include concussion protocols so players arent sent right back onto the field after big hits to the head. Never in my wildest imagination did I think Id see that happen, he said. It took studies like the ones were doing here.

Slater and his fellow former football players have a personal interest in understanding whats happening to them, but he said it feels great to be involved in a study that will help everybody.

The guys want answers, he said. And we are true partners on Harvards quest to find them."

Read more here:
After the Game Is Over - Harvard Medical School

Graduate medical education is critical to the training of physicians. Residencies are where most new medical school graduates train for the specialties they have chosen.

By the time a residency is completed, a physician should be ready to practice without supervision and lead a team in taking care of patients. It isnt easy 80-hour weeks are often the norm but often a residency is the last step in making their career dream come true. For some, the road doesnt end there. Because of the complexity of some areas of medicine, additional graduate medical education (GME) in the form of fellowships is required.

At the UNLV School of Medicine, Dr. Kate Martin, associate dean of graduate medical education, currently oversees 20 post-graduate training programs with 321 residents/fellows. The overall program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Dr. Martin and her staff do everything from helping keep residents/fellows healthy to dealing with funding mechanisms for post-graduate education.

She previously served as afamily medicine residency program director and director of community engagement in the school. A graduate of the UNR School of Medicine, where she also completed her family medicine residency, Martin went on to complete a teaching and learning fellowship with the USC Keck School of Medicine and as well as aNational Institute for Program Director Development fellowship with the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors.

A 2002 UNLV summa cum laude graduate who earned her bachelors degree in biology, Martin was UNLV's 2016 Honors College Alumna of the Year.

Today, she says because of her staffs two-year team effort, two more fellowships were added by the ACGME in 2019 one in pediatric emergency medicine and another in geriatrics. This means we can recruit new fellows to start in July 2020, she said. We are also currently applying for accreditation to start a fellowship program in forensic psychiatry and adult endocrinology.

How important are new fellowships to the people of Southern Nevada? According to a recent report by the Nevada Health Workforce, they are critical, given that many physicians stay to practice where they finish their GME training. The authors wrote:

One key finding of this report is that 35 of the 43 physicians pursuing additional training (81.4%) are leaving the state for fellowship and subspecialty training that does not exist or is in short supply in Nevada. This finding suggests that the development of fellowship programs in Nevada holds the potential for increasing the number and percent of GME graduates who ultimately remain in Nevada to begin practice.

At present, about 50 percent of those who complete residencies/fellowships in Southern Nevada stay here.

Martin pointed out that during her tenure the ob/gyn, psychiatry, critical care medicine, and critical care surgery GME programs have expanded as the result of funding provided by Nevada governors office of science, innovation and technology.

Here, Martin expands on the importance of graduate medical education.

GME is the next step after someone graduates medical school in order to become a practicing physician. Without it, you can't prescribe medications or treat patients. You need to complete a residency/additional training to obtain a medical license and be able to practice.

GME programs average three to five years in length, but sometimes are much longer, depending on the specialty and additional fellowship training pursued. For example, a cardiologist spends three years doing an internal medicine residency, then another threeyears in a cardiology fellowship, then possibly another one to two years in a second fellowship to become an interventional cardiologist who performs angiograms to open blocked arteries when someone is having a heart attack.

Sponsoring institutions that participate in GME, such as UNLVs School of Medicine, have a mission, according to the ACGME, to improve the health of the public, specifically to reduce health disparities. People from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups should have the opportunity to live long and healthy lives like everyone else. GME helps level that playing field through the vulnerable populations it reaches, elevating their quality of care, while training the next generation of physicians.

Starting a new residency or fellowship program requires funding, lead time, and community support. University Medical Center (UMC) is our primary teaching hospital, serving as the home base for nearly all of our GME programs. UMC is the largest financial supporter. GME funding is complex. Although UMC receives partial financial assistance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the hospital makes up the difference to pay resident and fellow salaries and benefits. We have recently increased our involvement with the Veterans Administration Health System and the U.S. Air Force to sponsor some resident and fellow positions, and we also receive support from several other community partners.

With the right funding, we could grow graduate medical education in Southern Nevada on a larger scale and bring even more specialties to the area with the goal that these new doctors would remain to practice in our community.

I should also point out that, in order to get there, it takes at least two years, as this requires a team of people to come together and submit an application to the ACGME. Faculty are needed in the chosen specialty to lead the program, including a program director, and additional physicians to teach the residents, along with administrative support for the program. These are the minimum ACGME requirements, so that is where we start from. The possibilities are really only limited by our passion to meet the communitys health care needs.

Residents take and study for yearly in-training exams throughout residency to prepare for the test they will take at the end of their training in order to become board-certified in their chosen specialty for instance internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry. (The in-training exam is a practice version of the board certification exam, so they study regularly for this. They also take licensure-related exams, called Step exams, to complete a series, i.e. Step 1, 2 and 3, which they start in medical school. Step 3 is the last step and that is taken during residency, so that is another exam that they study for, in addition to their clinical work.)

Residents and fellows are evaluated throughout the year based on the following six core competencies determined by the ACGME:

The evaluation system uses milestones that the residents and fellows must achieve in order to get to the next level and be promoted within their program, and ultimately graduate. All of this relies on feedback from their attending physician faculty, staff members, patients, and peers.

Most new residents and fellows are selected through the National Resident Matching Program. (Some fellowship programs do not participate in this, but nearly all residency programs and most fellowship programs do.) Medical students submit their applications in the fall of their fourth year of medical school, travel for interviews typically in the fall/winter months, then submit a rank list of where they would like to go. Programs submit a rank list of the applicants they want to recruit. The results are released in mid-March on Match Day, when everyone finds out where they are going to be for residency on July 1. On Match Day, the GME office goes to work to start on-boarding the next class of new residents and fellows.

I would like to see every specialty and subspecialty of adult and pediatric medicine offered in our GME programs in Southern Nevada. Our community has grown to deserve (and should demand) this level of care and medical expertise.

It depends on the program, but the application numbers have gone up in recent years due to increased competition. Fourth-year medical students typically apply to at least several programs (ranging from four to eight), but some can apply for many more.

The ACGME specifies that faculty must be board-certified (or have equivalent qualifications) in their specialty or subspecialty field, so they are held to that standard for competency. The residency and fellowship program faculty have a passion for teaching, often years of experience in an academic setting, but all have some alignment with our mission of education, research, and clinical service in a GME setting.

Per ACGME requirements, residents may work no more than 80 hours per week with one day off in seven, averaged over a four-week period. The GME office and residency/fellowship programs monitor work hours closely and make schedule adjustments to stay in compliance.

Yes, and so we are working on bringing more fellowships online and are already expanding our current programs in psychiatry, ob/gyn, critical care medicine, and critical care surgery.

The GME team provides support through their individual roles. In addition, the GME office serves as a safe space for residents and fellows to bring concerns and have issues addressed that may be going on within their programs or the institution at-large. Our office also provides assistance with processing of loan deferment requests, acts as a liaison with HR, sponsors several subcommittees on topics important to the residents/fellows, such as well-being, space/learning environment, and policy creation/review.

We also carry out the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) meetings, which bring the core residency program directors, program coordinators, and residents together to discuss important accreditation, program, and institutional issues every other month. The GME office hosts an annual resident/fellow research day, a chief resident retreat (for the new/incoming senior-level residents), and institution-wide orientations for new residents and fellows each year. We have an annual program director retreat for the faculty as well. The GME office also funds residents and fellows to travel around the country to present their research at national conferences.

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What's After 4 Years of Med School? Graduate Medical Education - UNLV NewsCenter

Students and staff at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell cut and shaved their hairdos for dollars during their annual celebration of St. Baldricks Day held on Feb. 26, a charity event in support of the St. Baldricks Foundation and pediatric cancer research. The Zucker School of Medicine team exceeded its fundraising goal of $10k with $12,459 in contributions.

During the event, a total of fourteen participants either cut and donated their long locks for the cause or braved the complete head shave like Zucker School of Medicine faculty member Shannon Knutson.

Hair is hair, it will grow back, said Knutson, instructor of anatomical and structural sciences. I want to do this to stand with people who are undergoing cancer treatment; they dont have a choice about keeping or losing their hair. I am glad to be able to show support in this way.

In their eighth year of fundraising for St. Baldricks, Zucker School of Medicine hosts a pre-shave event in advance of Hofstra Universitys official campus-wide celebration to take place on Apr. 8, marking the universitys 12th year of participation in the charity. In 2019, Hofstra raised more than $28k for St. Baldricks with the Zucker School of Medicine contributing the largest amount to the campus collection pot.

Im a medical school student today because of my experience working with kids with cancer at Sunrise Summer Camp on Long Island, said top fundraiser, Gabrielle Pollack, a first-year medical student at the Zucker School of Medicine and St. Baldricks team leader. For me, this event is a great way to stay involved and give back.

The act of head-shaving is meant to show solidarity with kids fighting cancer, many of whom lose their hair during treatment. St. Baldricks Day shave participants raise funds leading up to the charity event which is donated to support pediatric oncology research. The medical school also participates in Children with Hair Loss, a nonprofit organization that offers human hair replacement to children at no cost.

Its not too late to donate to St. Baldricks! Please show your support and help us help kids with cancer by visiting St. Baldricks-Team Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine.

Submitted by the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

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Zucker school of medicine raises over $12K for kids with cancer - Community News - The Island Now

Forty-eight leaders in medical education, medical care and public health along with leaders who use the arts and creative arts therapies in health care, and heads of state and federal arts agencies met at the Inova Shar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia Thursday and Friday, Jan. 16 and 17.

They came together to identify and develop strategies for using the arts to address three priorities identified in a 2019 leadership summit; burnout among health care providers, public health disparities and research.

This gathering was assembled by the National Organization for Arts in Health, working in partnership with Inova Schar Cancer Institute and the Hamilton Garbulinska Foundation and opened by Dr. John Deeken, president of the Institute and medical director of Inova's Head and Neck Cancer Program. Fresh on the minds of many was the recent World Health Organization report on the value of the arts in keeping people healthy and assisting their recovery from illness, injury, and trauma. (Lake Placid News Dec. 12, 2019, "WHO Endorses the Arts ... for Health").

From left are Linda Jackson, director of Arts in Health, Metro Health, Cleveland; David Leventhal, founding director of Dance for PD at the Mark Morris Dance Company; and Dr Jennifer Jose Lo, medical director at the Boston Public Health Commission.(Provided photo Naj Wikoff)

Burnout in medical care, medical education and public health is at a crisis point and is impacting patient safety and quality of care. The National Academy of Medicine defines burnout as a syndrome characterized by high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. According to the 2019 Medscape National Burnout and Depression Report, the burnout rates for male physicians is 44% and over 50% for female physicians. Within some specialties, such as physical medicine and rehabilitation, the average is 52%. Emergency and family medicine rates are 48%, and public health is at 30% (representing the low end).

The most significant contributors to burnout are too many bureaucratic tasks, too many hours at work, increasing computerization of practice, and lack of respect from colleagues and staff, an outcome, in part, from increased siloing within the field. Another is that many physicians enter their profession already stressed out while in medical school; the burnout rates have been reported as high as 74% with the average at 50%. Long hours of studying, coupled with depersonalization during the education process, the stress of clerkships and awareness of their accumulating debt, contribute to medical student burnout.

According to a study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trust, the majority adults think public health priorities should be reducing cancer, and the environmental pollutants they feel cause it, along with the addressing growing opiate crisis and the negative effects of Juuling (vaping), especially on the young. While these are all major issues of critical importance, public health's overarching purpose is to address the social determinants of health - the dynamics that lead to health inequities and along with improved health outcomes.

A way of looking at it is to address immediate threats to public health while changing the root causes of those threats. The root causes are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status or, according to the World Health Organization, the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.

An example of a social determinant is Lake Placid's housing crisis, which is leading to the death of longstanding family neighborhoods. Because fewer people who work for the town, school district, local shops and restaurants can afford to live in Lake Placid, they seek housing in Saranac Lake, Wilmington and beyond. The added time driving to work takes away from time to be with their families and participating in healthy activities. In addition, commuting expenses increases their cost of living and reduces the amount of funding they have for healthy foods, and so forth.

The stress of having a harder time making ends meet may result in such unhealthy behaviors as increased smoking and the consumption of alcohol. These behaviors can lead to increased medical expenses, increased chances of heart diseases, and premature death (the average is 41% of Essex County residents die prematurely).

On the research end of the Leadership Summit, the priority established by attendees was developing a research agenda as a means of directing and encouraging research that addresses medical health, medical education and public health priorities.

The team drilling into medical burnout agreed to build a database that will include examples of best practices for using the arts to build resiliency and address burnout among medical practitioners. Also, they will seek funding to create a series of small videos of clinicians sharing the importance of the arts as part of their well-being and clinical practice, and, to organize presentations at the National Academy of Medicine and other lead gatherings of medical and nursing providers and medical educators.

As an example, emergency physician Dr. Jay Kaplan, medical director for care transformation for LCMC Health System and past president of the College for Emergency Physicians, said, "When patients come to us, they come with their pain and anxiety. I have a choice to make when they do that. Do I connect and empathize with them, or do I keep them at a distance? My choice, for the most part, is to make that connection. When I make that connection, I'm going to pick up some of their pain and anxiety. Unless I do something, I will keep some of that in my body such as getting sick or burned out. The arts have been valuable in terms of helping me transform that energy into something that's positive and helps me stay healthy."

The public health team focused on two health disparities: isolation and race equity. Dr. Jennifer Jose Lo, medical director at the Boston Public Health Commission, facilitated a subgroup on race equity, and Jill Sonke, director of the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, led the subgroup on isolation.

Dr. Lo said that her teams' goal is to identify and analyze how the arts can increase dialogue around race equity.

Initially, they will organize a national survey to determine the variety of ways that the arts programming is being used to address race equity along with the character of the programs; how they are being organized. The second part of their effort is to develop a marketing initiative to educate public health officials and others on how the arts can be utilized.

"We want to find out what are the barriers to using the arts to increase dialogue around race equity," said Dr. Lo. "We recognize we can't do this in-depth across the nation, so we agreed to identify a community/region that includes rural and urban to test out this strategy, one where we can have robust community engagement, where community members are part of the conversation. One of the things the arts can do is improve dialogue and communication. The public health group did not shy away from challenging topics, specifically race, race equity, and race relations, and community building around isolation and loneliness. Those are very difficult conversations. It was very exciting to work and build on that."

"This was a very active, integrated and informative session," said David Leventhal, founding director of Dance for PD at the Mark Morris Dance Group. "The attendees decided to focus and drill down on some very important issues. This was one of the most successful strategic planning meetings I've attended."

I came away with many insights that I hope to share with our arts, medical and public health leadership. The National Organization for Arts in Health will be publishing a report in about four months that will be available on its website.

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ON THE SCENE: Taking on medical burnout and other health challenges - LakePlacidNews.com | News and information on the Lake Placid and Essex County...

Last year, I received an email from a freshman who wanted to work with my policy groupnot a freshman in college, but a freshman in high school. I had to wonder: Why would a 9th grader want to spend his free time doing cancer drug policy research?

I suspect that his drive arose from the ever-growing arms race in medical training. Nowadays, it is common for a medical school applicant to have three or more publications. A residency candidate may have a patent. A fellowship applicant might have given not one but two oral presentations at a national meeting.

Academic medical faculty like to joke that if we were applying in today's world, we would not be admitted to medical school. Like all good jokes, it rings true. Students are more accomplished than ever: more research, more volunteering, more clubs, more committees, more travel, more activities, more shadowing. And they achieve this at ever-younger ages. What we did as fellows, they now do as students.

It makes me think about myself as a high school freshman. Medical school was not on my horizon. Emailing a professor to inquire about research opportunities was beyond my comprehension. I bagged groceries at a Kroger grocery store. I spent most of my time with friends. I read a lot of books. I didn't think about health policy. I thought about girls.

Studying violin at Julliard is more intriguing than playing guitar at a bonfire.

When I was a college student, I didn't start a nonprofit foundation. I wasn't the president of a club. I didn't learn Mandarin while volunteering in Beijing. I was too dumb to patent anything. (And by that, I mean that I was too dumb to know that the patent system is so broken that even a shred of an idea is patentable.)

In medical school, when my classmates signed up for summer research, I traveled to Europe. My first peer-reviewed publication was as an intern. It was only in fellowship that I realized I was interested in academics. If anything, I feel I am ahead of folks in my generation, and yet someone pursuing medicine who was born in the 1990s is probably 10 years "ahead" of me.

First, it is stressful. I pity the freshman in high school who thinks that working with my team is what he or she should be doing. It saddens me to think that they must be missing some of what it means to be young: friends, relationships, parties, and even disappointment, longing, boredom, and solitude. The chance to be alone for long stretches. The freedom from having to do anything. If you are oversubscribed as a teenager, you cannot truly experience these essential experiences. No one will ever write a bildungsroman about an oversubscribed freshman aspiring to go to medical schoolthere's no story there.

Motivation must be intrinsic or one is doomed.

Second, our lives become increasingly calculative as we get older. In life, one way to group our actions is by motivation into two broad categories: actions we take out of intrinsic pleasure and actions we take for a secondary purpose (calculative).[1] The medical school "arms race" underway in today's schools means that more of kids' time is spent pursuing things done for a secondary purpose. (And let me assure them: There will be plenty of that as they age.) Youth is an opportunity to experience things simply to experience them. Years later, these are the experiences that forge character and personality.

Third, doctors are socioeconomically disconnected from average Americans,[2] and these activities broaden the gap. I went to high school in the industrial Midwest, and the hardest job I have ever had was in that Kroger grocery store. My back and feet ached at the end of 8 hours. I had to navigate local politics, with its petty rivalries, cruel managers, and kind souls. I was exposed to real work. People from all socioeconomic classes were my colleagues and customers and friends. I still feel that working a physical, minimum-wage retail job in your youth is a vaccination against professional burnout (though, admittedly, not one with 100% efficacy).

The blame for this arms race rests squarely with our selection committees. Students adapt to the standards we set, and we have become enamored with dazzling CVs that are full of calculative, and sometimes even snobbish, activities. Volunteering in a foreign hospital is more glamorous than bagging groceries. Lab work with an R01-funded principal investigator is more coveted than cooking at a fast-food restaurant. Studying violin at Julliard is more intriguing than playing guitar at a bonfire. The neatly formatted boxes of the American Medical College Application Service form do not ask how many hours you walked around the mall with friends or if you ever had your heart broken.

And we have incentivized these accolades with little understanding of whether they create better physicians in the long term. Most of the studies we have test whether selection metrics correlate with other, short-term measures of student performance during school.[3,4] These results may change when you look further out. For instance, my colleagues and I analyzed whether publications at the time of fellowship application were a predictor of future publications. This metric is commonly prioritized to select fellows with "research potential," yet we found that the metric was little better than a coin flip. I fear that robust prediction modeling (if ever done) would reveal that nearly all of the hallmarks of a "great candidate" in 2020 cannot predict who will (a) do something meaningful in their career, (b) be kind and just, (c) fight for the underdog, (d) demonstrate empathy and listen, (e) work hard and constantly try to improve.

Instead, I speculate that today's metrics more strongly predict candidates who will (a) specialize in orthopedics or other coveted fields, (b) have a laser focus on achieving high Step 1 scores, (c) publish more papers and be involved in more clubs and activities prior to fellowship (still calculative), (d) publish fewer papers after one's final fellowship, and (e) experience professional burnout.

I speculate on "burnout" only because a life spent seeking and receiving external validation beginning at the age of 14 may lead to disappointment as a practicing physician, where accolades and external validation are infrequent and where motivation must be intrinsic or one is doomed.

At this point, the arms race has acquired a life of its own. Inertia is propelling us toward a scenario in which middle school students will be pipetting in Howard Hughes Medical Investigators' laboratories.

As faculty, we must be honest with those who wish to join our ranks. When I wrote back to the freshman who wanted to work in my lab, after inquiring about his life and confirming that he was indeed oversubscribed, I urged him to consider careers outside of medicine. I urged him not to do research and recommended some books I read at his age that shaped my thinking. Like so much honest feedback, I could tell that he was not happy with me.

It could be that high school freshmen seeking to work with health policy professors become the best doctors, but I doubt that. Instead, I hope, for their sake and ours, that it's the kids who waste their time, wander, and make mistakes who grow up to be physiciansthe kind we need.

And, of course, only when they are ready.

Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, is a hematologist-oncologist and associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. He studies cancer drugs, health policy, and evidence-based medicine. He is the coauthor of the book Ending Medical Reversal and author of the forthcoming book Malignant: How Bad Policy and Bad Evidence Harm People with Cancer.Follow him on Twitter: @VPrasadMDMPH

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Stopping the Med School 'Arms Race' - Medscape

Serving the underserved.

There is a continuing shortage of primary care physicians in this country, creating an urgent need for more family practitioners, general internists, pediatricians and obstetrician/gynecologists in many communities. The shortage of African-American, Hispanic, and others underrepresented medical professionals in inner city areas is particularly acute.

Over forty years ago, City College decided to make a difference by developing the most unique physician training programs in the nation The CUNY School of Medicine. Since its founding in 1973, The CUNY School of Medicine has recruited more underrepresented populations into medicine, increased medical services in underserved areas, and increased the availability of primary care physicians.

Our innovative program fast tracks a Bachelor of Science degree and an M.D. degree in seven years. Graduates of our 28-month P.A. Program leads to a M.S. degree and eligibility to take the national certification examination.

CSOM student Loren Moon and faculty mentor Dr. Yoshioka, were joined by their team in presenting their research during theCUNY School of Medicine Research Dayheld on November 14 in the Great Hall. Over 30 posters were on display with students eagerly sharing their projects and discoveries with those in attendance from all over the CCNY campus. Many of these research projects were sponsored by Lipkin, Rudin and Davis scholarship funds.

Clickherefor more pictures.

Second year medical student Alana Parker introduced Dr. Jane Zucker, Assistant Commissioner at the Bureau of Immunization, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, at theMini-Medical School on November 14. Dr. Zucker spoke to a crowded room of faculty, staff, students and neighbors from the Harlem community on the impact of influenza and the importance of the flu vaccine.

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CUNY School of Medicine

Now that you have done some work experience and decided that you want to study Medicine, you will need to start thinking about choosing aMedical School.

There are 33 medical schools in the UK, and no two are exactly alike. Choosing which ones to put down on your UCAS form can be a daunting task. Ultimately, the goal is to find the best fit for you.

This page provides the headline information on choosing a Medical School, before offering a step-by-step guide on what you need to do. Dont forget to use all the subpages to make the most of the section.

Applying for 2019 entry? See all 2018 Medical School Open Days>>

There are three different course structures in Medicine. Please click on the links to read more detail about each.

There is also a fourth option, called Case-Based Learning (CBL). Similar to PBL, CBL is used by many international Medical Schools and is now starting to appear in the UK in universities like Cardiff, for example.

We answer the question What Is CBL? on our PBL page.

The key with course structure is first to understand the differences between them, and second to reflect on which system best suits you.

Foundation Courses at medical schools are designed to prepare you for a medical education. They might also be referred to as a pre-clinical year.

They can be a useful way into Medicine for those who didnt get the grades required, who studied the wrong subjects, who are coming from overseas, or who didnt get an offer the first time.

Read more about Foundation Courses on our dedicated page.

Different universities place different levels of importance on the UKCAT.

You can learn more about this by visiting the dedicated guide we have created for UKCAT, as well as by using the Medical School Comparison Tool.

You will know your UKCAT score by the time you apply to Medical School, so that should be a major consideration.

You can find out which universities use the BMAT by visiting the dedicated BMAT page.

Unlike the UKCAT, the BMAT will be sat after your application is submitted. So you might want to hedge your bets by applying to no more than two BMAT universities when choosing a medical school.

Grades are very important to study Medicine. Your GCSEs and A-level grades will ultimately dictate which Medical Schools to apply to. To view the entry requirements for every UK Medical School, please see our Medical School Comparison Tool.

Importantly, with the new Linear A-level system there has been increasing confusion over how applicants grades will be assessed. Please see our AS level Admissions Policy Updates table to see how every Medical School in the UK will consider AS levels for 2016/2017 applications.

When you eventually interview at Medical Schools, you will stress that the course itself is the primary reason for applying there, rather than the location of the university.

However, the reality is that location is important. Some of you will want to stay close to home. Others probably want to get as far away as possible! Just remember to choose wisely as you will be away for up to 6 years.

You can pick only one of Oxford or Cambridge, but not both. So, for some high achievers, that will be the first dilemma.

Of course, academic excellence is a prerequisite. Both institutions use a traditional course structure, based around a tutorial system.

If you are considering applying to Oxbridge for Medicine, we recommend visiting both and getting to grips with the differences between the two.

But first, make sure that you have read all about them.

This means you get a BSc (or a near equivalent), usually between your third and fifth year.

At some universities, like UCL and Imperial, this is compulsory. At others, it depends on your preference (and your grades).

The availability of Intercalated Degrees is charted on our Medical School Comparison Tool.

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The Guide to Choosing a Medical School - The Medic Portal

(Grand Canyon West Photo)

Snow at the Grand Canyon, a new free tuition program for University of Arizona medical students and a French-inspired restaurant moving into Scottsdale.

Here are some stories that headlined the news cycle, both locally and nationally, over the weekend.

The Grand Canyon is undoubtedly one of the most scenic natural habitats on the planet.

Can Arizonas beloved tourist attraction get even more gorgeous?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we think she looks especially nice with a dusting of snow to highlight her features.

Check out the photos, courtesy of Grand Canyon West, of the national park and its Skywalk observation deck during this weeks winter storm and see what you think.

The University of Arizona is taking on the states doctor shortage and student debt crisis with a new free tuition program for medical students.

The university announced Friday that its medical schools in Tucson and Phoenix will offer free tuition to in-state students who commit to practicing primary care in a designated Arizona community for at least two years.

In addition to the dire need for more primary care physicians in the state, the issue of student debt is a major roadblock for many people who have the potential to be great doctors, Dr. Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for UArizona Health Sciences, said in apress release. It keeps many individuals from even applying to medical school.

Foodies, get your December plans in order.

Expanding its reach to the Valley for the first time, French-inspired Zinque is planning to open its doors early next month.

The location will sit in the new luxury wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall, with the cafe and wine bar set to open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night gatherings.

Three outfitter guides have been banned from northern Arizona forests after being convicted of illegally operating commercial businesses.

Forest officials say the guides didnt have the required authorization or permits.

The three guides were sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay up to $460 in restitution and up to $1,000 in fines. They also must remove any advertisements for tours on national forests within Arizona.

Officials say Mark Truesdell of Sacred Sites Journey, Georgina Rock of Air B&B Experience and Kurt Raczynski of Inner Journeys have been banned from the Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott and Apache-Sitgreaves national forests for a year.

The Glendale Police Department was investigating after an officer-involved shooting left a police K9 and the suspect dead Friday night, authorities said.

The incident occurred around 5:20 p.m. in the area of Grand Avenue and the U.S. 60, according to the El Mirage Police Department.

El Mirage officers were attempting to apprehend 38-year-old Joe Ruelas, who was wanted for aggravated assault. When they attempted to arrest Ruelas, he fled from the scene holding a handgun.

The police officers gave chase with a K9, Koki. The K9 was sent to apprehend Ruelas, who shot and killed Koki. The officers returned fire at Ruelas, who ran out of site.

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Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from Nov. 22-24 - KTAR.com

Efforts to better communicate with patients also drive much of Dr. Flanagans Impressionism course. One particularly original exercise sees students partner up to paint. One student is given a postcard with a famous Impressionist painting on it, while the other student, who cannot see the card, stands at a canvas with a paintbrush in hand, and must ask their partner questions about the painting in order to reproduce it. The painter becomes like the physician whos taking a history and trying to get information from the patient, Dr. Flanagan says. They experience firsthand how much easier it is to gain information when you ask open-ended questions, when you stop and let that patient tell their story.

At many schools, programming around the arts is also happening outside of the classroom. Yale has its Program for Humanities in Medicine, which promotes interaction among the medical school and other schools at the university, while also supporting student-run organizations and eventslike Rocks art tour and a series of drawing sessions started by one of his classmates, Sue Xiao.

Yale med student Nientara Anderson says her involvement in an on-campus interdisciplinary group and other artists initiatives has helped widen her perspective on important issuesperspective that will ultimately make her a better doctor.

I noticed in my first year of medical school that we were talking about things like race, mental health, sexuality, and we werent really reaching outside of medicine and asking people who really study these things, Anderson says. I see art as a way, especially art in medicine, to bring in outside expertise.

Rock agrees, stressing that a sense of criticality, more than anything, is what I would hope that the arts and the humanities bring to the medical profession. He points to incidents of unconscious bias, where preconceived notions about things like how a certain disease presents or where an individual lives can negatively affect a doctors decision making. There are a lot of apparent assumptions in Western society that can be extremely problematic and very dangerous when aligned with the power that a physician has in the clinic, operating room, or emergency department, he adds.

Dr. Taylor notes that at Columbia, students are similarly receptive to taking humanities courses. The application to medicine is very obvious, we dont have to tell our medical students why theyre doing this, she says. And visual art, it seems, has a special role to play.

Dr. Schwartz suggests that visual art is somewhat unique in what it can offer to medical professionals. For me, the greatest asset with visual art in particular, when it comes to teaching medical students, is just that it gently takes us out of our comfort zone, he says. It gives us a great opportunity to have these stop and think moments. Doctor or not, we could all stand to have more moments to stop and think.

Casey Lesser

See the article here:
Why Med Schools Are Requiring Art Classes - Artsy

There are over 130 U.S. medical schools that award the MD to graduates. These schools train students in allopathic medicine. (A smaller number of schools train students in osteopathic medicine and award the DO to graduates). Allopathic schools train tomorrow's MDs with a common (and rigorous!) core curriculum. But beyond that core, no two schools are exactly alike. Each offers its own unique academic focus, teaching methods and research opportunities.

Medical school takes 4 years to complete, but to become a doctor you'll also spend 37 years in residency.

The first two years of medical school are a mixture of classroom and lab time. Students take classes in basic sciences, such as anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology and pharmacology. They also learn the basics of interviewing and examining a patient.

Traditionally, students take four or five courses in various disciplines at the same time. However, some schools focus on a single subject for a shorter block of timesay, three or four weeksthen move on to another. Other schools take an interdisciplinary approach to pre-clinical coursework, in which each class focuses on a single organ, examining all the anatomy, pharmacology, pathology and behavior relevant to that system. At the end of the second year, you'll take USMLEStep 1.

Third and fourth year medical students do rotations at hospitals and clinics affiliated with their school, culminating with taking (and passing) USMLE Step 2. Students doing rotations assist residents in a particular specialty such as surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine or psychiatry. During this time, you'll probably feel like a cross between a mindless grunt and a skilled apprentice. You'll interact with patients and perform basic medical procedures along with any tasks the resident doesn't want to do.

While some rotations, such as Internal Medicine, are required at all programs, others have more unique clerkship requirements. The length of time you spend in a rotation depends on the hospital's focus or strength. At some schools, the surgery rotation is three weeks long; at others, it is three months. The character of the hospital will also color your experience. If the setting is urban, you can expect increased experience with trauma, emergency medicine, or infectious disease, as well as exposure to a diverse patient population.

Clinical rotations will not give you enough expertise to practice in any specialty (that's what a residency is for). They will give you a breadth of knowledge and help you consider potential career paths.

You can train to be a primary care doctor at any medical school. But programs that emphasize primary care tend to include more patient contact, coursework in patient handling, and longer clinical rotations in general fields. Many are actively involved in the surrounding communities, offering volunteer opportunities in the clinical care of indigent populations.

If you're looking to pursue a career in academic medicine or biomedical research, you should look for schools with strong research programs. You will not have the same opportunities, facilities, mentors or funding at a school focused on training primary care physicians.

If you want to complement your MD with advanced coursework in another discipline, some schoolsespecially those affiliated with a larger universityallow students to register for classes in other departments. Many also offer combined degree programs.

Med students who make it through all four years (and don't worry, most do) will be the proud owner of an MD. But your education doesn't end there. You still need to pass the board exam and spend between three and seven years as a resident in a teaching hospital.

Our admissions experts know what it takes it get into med school. Get the customized strategy and guidance you need to help achieve your goals.

Med School Admission Counseling

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What to Expect in Medical School | The Princeton Review

Spencer Long graduated from the University of Nebraska with a 3.79 grade-point average and a degree in biological sciences.

He passed the MCATs and was accepted to medical school.

His father is a doctor. Both grandfathers were doctors. His mother is a chemist. His twin brother, Jake, also a Nebraska graduate, is studying to be a doctor.

And that leads to the overwhelming question: What is Spencer Long doing in uniform for the Washington Redskins, risking broken bones, torn ligaments, concussions and long-term cognitive problems, in order to be the teams starting center?

I love the game, and youve got to do it while you can, while youre young, said Long. I had goals I wanted to accomplish in this game. I dont want to stop.

Thats the first question. The second question is how does a football player in a nationally renowned program such as Nebraska have the time to study something as demanding as biology?

Check out the majors of some players at some of the most academically notable universities, and youll find a plethora of far less demanding courses of study.

Not that theres anything wrong with that.

The thing is, athletes often are directed into subject areas that wont conflict with practice and training.

Biology, with its mandatory labs, is one of those majors with conflicts.

That the Long brothers Jake was a tight end at Nebraska earned biology degrees is a credit to them and the Nebraska football program.

Our staff at Nebraska was pretty good at making sure academics came first, said Long. You had to have them in line in order to get on field to play.

That was one thing. The other was taking all labs and hard classes when I was young, before I had a huge team impact. I took all my stuff that was most time consuming in my freshman and sophomore years before I really became a starter.

I dont know if we even planned that. It just kind of happened. It worked out really well. Buy the time I got developed and started starting in my third year, I had gotten most of my night labs and hard classes out of the way, like organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry often is the line of demarcation for future medical students. Apparently, its headache-inducingly difficult and can turn potential medical school students to other disciplines.

Physics was the hardest subject for me, said Long. Organic chemistry was something I could do a little better. It wasnt that easy. Im not saying that. But it wasnt something I particularly struggled with. Physics was. Im kind of a pictorial learner and drawing organic chemistry problems. .. . I think, I was a little better at that than trying to figure out buoyancy or something like that.

Long, 6-foot-5, 318 pounds, wasnt feeling too buoyant Tuesday afternoon. He got sick and left the afternoon practice early.

Physics are in his past, and now Long has to figure out opposing defenses.

He has to get to the line, look quickly at whats in front of him and make a decision on any changes that must be made in the blocking schemes. It sounds simple, but it requires years of preparation, followed by hours of study.

Long takes work home with him several nights a week during the season. Its either that or stammer in meetings when offensive line coach Bill Callahan calls out defensive formations and Long must reply with the necessary adjustments almost instantaneously.

Coaches dont like stammering when immediate decisions must be made and communicated to the four other offensive linemen.

Its also a time when a 3.79 GPA in biology is of little help.

Football is different than school, said Long. Its Xs and Os. Its like chess. It took me a long time to become football smart, and that just came with study and experience. Its not like somebody whos a genius in classroom is going to walk in and go OK, I have a football mind now. It just doesnt work that way. Its a totally different concept.

Meanwhile, medical school has gone from a certainty to a concept.

Long, 26, has found a lucrative work situation hell make almost $1.8 million this year on top of the $2.1 million hes made for his three previous seasons.

Possibly, Long said of attending medical school. Its always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. It depends on how long I play.

If I end up playing for double digit years or something like that, Ill reassess it. Med school is a big commitment.

Either way, the smart money is on Long to make the right call, on and off the field.

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WOODY: Redskins' center takes Long view on football, medical school - Richmond.com

University of Vermont medical students in the school's new Larner classroom, built to facilitate the active learning environment. Andy Duback/Courtesy of Larner College of Medicine hide caption

University of Vermont medical students in the school's new Larner classroom, built to facilitate the active learning environment.

For students starting medical school, the first year can involve a lot of time in a lecture hall. There are hundreds of terms to master and pages upon pages of notes to take.

But when the new class of medical students begins at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine next week, a lot of that learning won't take place with a professor at a lectern.

The school has begun to phase out lectures in favor of what's known as "active learning" and plans to be done with lectures altogether by 2019.

Ironically, the man leading the effort loves lectures. In fact, William Jeffries, a dean at the school, wrote the chapter on lectures in two prominent textbooks on medical education. But he's now convinced they're not the best way to learn.

Jeffries spoke with All Things Considered about the thinking behind this move. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why are lectures bad?

Well, I wouldn't say that they're bad. The issue is that there is a lot of evidence that lectures are not the best way to accumulate the skills needed to become a scientist or a physician. We've seen much evidence in the literature, accumulated in the last decade, that shows that when you do a comparison between lectures and other methods of learning typically called "active learning" methods that lectures are not as efficient or not as successful in allowing students to accumulate knowledge in the same amount of time.

William Jeffries, a dean at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, is leading the push to end lectures for medical students. Courtesy of UVM Larner College of Medicine Photography hide caption

William Jeffries, a dean at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, is leading the push to end lectures for medical students.

So is it because we don't show up or because we're sleeping through lectures?

There's a lot of that, yes. It turns out that the lectures are not really good at engaging the learners in doing something. And I think that's the most important part of learning. We're finding out a lot from the neuroscience of learning that the brain needs to accumulate the information, but then also organize it and make sense of it and create an internal story that makes the knowledge make sense.

When you just tell somebody something, the chances of them remembering it diminishes over time, but if you are required to use that information, chances are you'll remember it much better.

Give us an example of a topic taught in a traditional lecture versus an "active learning" setting.

A good example would be the teaching of what we would call pharmacokinetics the science of drug delivery. So, how does a drug get to the target organ or targeted receptor?

A lot of the science of pharmacokinetics is simply mathematical equations. If you have a lecture, it's simply presenting those equations and maybe giving examples of how they work.

In an active learning setting, you expect the students to learn about the equations before they get there. And when you get into the classroom setting, the students work in groups solving pharmacokinetic problems. Cases are presented where the patient gets a drug in a certain dose at a certain time, and you're looking at the action of that over time and the concentration of the drug in the blood.

So, those are the types of things where you're expecting the student to know the knowledge in order to use the knowledge. And then they don't forget it.

Have you had pushback to this move?

Certainly, we've gotten some pushback, but what I tell the average clinical faculty member is: "OK, if you like doing appendectomies using an old method because you like it, and you're really good at it, but it's really not the best method for the patient, would you do it?" Of course, the answer is always no. And then you turn around and say, "Well this method of teaching is actually not as good as other methods. Would you do that?" When confronted with a question like that, medical faculty typically tend to understand and agree.

Will this be the norm at every medical school in 10 or 20 years?

I hope so. [The] University of Vermont is not the only medical school that's recognized the value of active learning methods. A number of my colleagues around the country are leading similar efforts because of the incontrovertible evidence that active learning methods are superior to lectures.

See more here:
University Of Vermont To Phase Out Lectures In Med School : Shots ... - NPR

Two years ago, the brother of actress Mindy Kaling published a confessional book describing how he posed as an African-American in order to gain admission into medical schools whose rigorous academic standards made his acceptance as an Indian-American virtually impossible. With affirmative action back in the news recently thanks to a (misreported) New York Times story about the Trump Justice Department potentially investigating claims of discrimination against whites (in truth, the possible inquiry was about alleged unfair treatment of Asian students), Vijay Chokal-Ingam appeared on CNN to discuss his experience. After summarizing how he overcame a subpar GPA by presenting himself as black, "JoJo" ripped affirmative action as codified racism and said he hopes President Trump will put an end to the practice, which he provocatively compared to Lincoln's abolition of slavery:

Trump has actually supported affirmative action policies, but Chokal-Ingam reasons that the president's conservative judicial picks and DOJ will undermine and eventually kill off what he calls legalized racial discrimination. Reacting to the news that for the first time ever, a slim majority of Harvard's incoming freshman class identifies as non-white, Chokal-Ingam expressed skepticism over the statistic. Borrowing Trump's famous (and deserved) derisive nickname for Elizabeth Warren, he cited the "Pocahontas factor," speculating that some significant number of students likely laid claim to dubious racial statuses in order to increase their chances of getting into the prestigious university.

On the question of race-based affirmative action vis-a-vis college admissions or corporate hiring, I have long abhorred the current regime -- which was once much more defensible -- as outmoded and unjust. Why should a wealthy Latino student from Beverly Hills or an affluent black student from Greenwich receive special advantages over a dirt poor white kid from Appalachia, whose family has been ravaged by the opioid epidemic? And why is it okay to make things substantially harder for some people of color (Asians) than others? Reaching these decisions based on skin color is antithetical to Martin Luther King's dream of a colorblind society. Race-based affirmative action should be stamped out; socio-economic affirmative action should replace it. It's simply undeniable that advantaged students from well-to-do communities have many more resources available to them than their underserved peers, creating a systemically uneven playing field. Offering a leg up to applicants who hail from from substantially less privileged families or communities is fair. I'd add that diversity of experience and thought are more valuable and enriching than "diversity" as defined purely by skin color. Plus, it's likely that a ripple effect of socio-economic affirmative action would also encourage some racial diversification, so long as certain communities remain disproportionately disadvantaged.

I'll leave you with this statistic, via Gallup last summer. While many in the media freaked out over the Times' misleading report, most Americans would be quite pleased to see racial presences and factors banished from the college admissions process -- including a majority of blacks and a super-majority of Hispanics:

In total, fully 70 percent of Americans believe race should not be a factor in admissions decisions, favoring a "merit only" rubric. As ever, the elite media and their liberal social circles are extraordinarily out of touch with much of America.

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Watch: Dude Who Pretended to be Black to Get Into Medical School Wants Trump to Abolish Affirmative Action - Townhall