Safed medical school to place students in northern hospitals as doctors' assistants

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Students at the medical school in Safed will work as doctors' assistants and serve patients in northern hospitals as part of a new program launched by the school, Haaretz has learned.

Safed medical school, the country's fifth medical school, which opened in November as a branch of Bar-Ilan University, will place students in hospitals as doctors' assistants beginning next year. Students will work from 4 P.M. to 11 P.M. in Poriya Hospital in Tiberias, Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed and Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya. They will admit patients into the wards, but treatment will be administered by doctors.

Health Ministry director general Ronni Gamzu has notified hospital directors in the north that the ministry will support the project with a sum of NIS 1 million, about half the estimated cost. Gamzu wrote that this sum is significantly higher than what has been given to similar programs enabling students to take part in hospital activity in the central region. "There is no such [funding] in Sheba [Medical Center] and Ichilov [Hospital] together," Gamzu wrote.

However, the ministry is still looking for ways to finance the program, and ministry officials said "the issue is still under debate."

According to Ran Tur-Kaspa, dean of faculty in Safed, "The students will be called doctors' assistants, admit the interns to the wards and later present the cases to the doctor on evening duty, who will decide what treatment to give the patients."

Only students who complete their clinical training in internal wards will be employed as doctors' assistants.

The faculty had considered canceling a program intended for Israeli medical students abroad, who are set to begin their clinical training in northern hospitals in about a year, as these hospitals are already training students with bachelor's degrees, Tur-Kaspa said. "But following discussions we decided to continue the program that helps Israeli medical students abroad to return to Israel for their final study years," he said.

Some 50 out of 300 Israeli medical students abroad who have applied to the Safed medical school have been admitted for next year's studies. These students are planning to return to Israel for their last three years of study.

The registration process for the four-year program for students who hold a bachelor's degree is still underway.

Within four years, 200 doctors are expected to graduate from the Safed medical school. By 2015, 150 doctors are expected to graduate each year.

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Safed medical school to place students in northern hospitals as doctors' assistants

MU medical school dean resigns as school is under investigation

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The dean who was hired less than three years ago to fix problems at the University of Missouri School of Medicine has resigned as the school faces a federal fraud investigation.

Dr. Robert Churchill will leave the university in October to prevent further distractions surrounding the investigation of two of the school's radiologists, according to MU officials.

The radiologists, Dr. Kenneth Rall and Dr. Michael Richards, were dismissed Friday as part of the shake-up after an internal audit found the doctors illegally billed Medicare for services performed by resident doctors in training.

A law firm conducted the audit for the university after the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City notified the school in November 2011 of its investigation into potential Medicare fraud. Rall stepped down as radiology department chairman in December, but stayed on as a professor.

"We were shocked and disappointed to learn about this, because any kind of fraud is entirely inconsistent with our health system's values, our mission, and our commitment to patient care," said Dr. Harold Williamson Jr., vice chancellor of the University of Missouri Health System, in a statement.

Both radiologists have clean records with the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, which licenses and regulates doctors.

Department of Justice spokesman Don Ledford said the agency doesn't discuss pending investigations.

In what it calls the early stages of its own investigation, school officials said they have not turned up any evidence that radiology patients were harmed.

Resident physicians are allowed to read patients' X-rays, but cannot bill Medicare for the procedure unless the images are also analyzed by a supervising doctor.

"We believe these two doctors sometimes claimed that they had actually completed this second review without actually looking at the image," Williamson said in the statement.

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MU medical school dean resigns as school is under investigation

PFINGSTEN: Class of 2012 salutatorian has big plans

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Considering his roots, Caleb Ashbrook's plan to enlist in medical school and then the Navy makes good sense: One grandfather served with the Marines in Vietnam, and the other was a Medical Corps veteran and ophthalmologist who started a nonprofit to provide eye surgeries for the poor around the world.

As one of this year's most accomplished seniors, Ashbrook, 18, will take the stage as salutatorian next week to welcome thousands of people to Fallbrook High School's 2012 commencement.

I sat down with Ashbrook in the bleachers at Warriors Stadium on Monday as he explained that his 4.5 grade-point average has been the result of a lifelong dream and more than a little competitiveness.

"I've known that I wanted to go into the medical field from a really young age, so I kind of knew that if I wanted to get into a (good) university, that's what I needed to do," he said, adding with a grin: "I also like being able to say I'm number one or two" in the grade books.

At every high school, each class of graduates delivers a few shining examples of academic and athletic accomplishment, and Ashbrook certainly fits the bill.

As an athlete, he played on the soccer, golf and cross-country teams, overcoming a recent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

His academic record is spotless ---- expect nothing less from a kid whose mother runs her own kindergarten ---- and he is wrapping up a term as the student representative to the school board.

Recalling a few late-night board meetings, I asked Ashbrook if he had fallen asleep yet, and he laughed knowingly.

"During the financials, it gets pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie," he said.

But it has been an interesting year to be sitting at the table, he added: "There's been some interesting stuff going on with all the cuts. They had to make, like, $2 million in cuts ---- I'd never wrapped my head around how much money this school has to deal with. I didn't even know how much we cost."

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PFINGSTEN: Class of 2012 salutatorian has big plans

Humble genius earns medical degree at 21

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June 3, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- He was an accomplished pianist at age 9. Now at 21, Sho Yano is the youngest medical school graduate in the history of the University of Chicago.

Sho earned his degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine and is about to enter a residency in pediatric neurology.

"It feels like a nice little accomplishment," Sho said. "I want to go on and do something bigger. I don't want to act like there is some particular reason I should make a great discovery versus any of my classmates so far."

Sho is a genius whose I.Q. is beyond what an I.Q. test can measure. He was reading at 2, composing music at 5 and as a very focused 9-year-old, entered Loyola University.

"I came to college to study, not to hang out or date," he said in 2000 when he entered Loyola.

Studying is exactly what he did. Sho said academics were easy; dealing with discrimination was the real learning experience.

"I ran into things like people shouting 'go back to elementary school' on campus," Sho said.

Being socially accepted at such a young age was easier while getting his PhD and medical degree at the University of Chicago.

Sho has always been a role model for his younger sister Sayuri. She is 15 years old, an accomplished violinist and attends John Hopkins University.

The Yano siblings say the pressure to do great things comes from within.

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Humble genius earns medical degree at 21

Former child genius graduates from medical school at age 21

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A former child genius and Los Angeles resident who entered medical school at the age of 12 is graduating this week as the youngest student to receive a medical degree from the University of Chicago.

Born in Portland, Ore., Sho Yano, 21, has an IQ above 200 and spent most of his early years in California attending the Mirman School for Gifted Children in Los Angeles for a few years and getting home-schooled by his mother.

Yano, who has already completed his Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology, was composing music by age 4, and scored 1,500 out of 1,600 possible points on the SAT by age 8. At 9, he attended Chicagos Loyola University, where he graduated in three years, summa cum laude, but still played with his pet rabbit and delighted in reading childrens books, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Yano was admitted to the University of Chicagos Pritzker School of Medicine after he met with double the usual number of staff, the Tribune said. Several other medical schools had rejected his application, citing lack of maturity.

Although he was the subject of gossip and teasing in college, classmates at Pritzker have accepted him as part of their class. Peers and faculty told the Tribune that Yano is a "sweet" and "humble student who loves Bach and quoting Greek literature.

"Despite his age, Sho's the oldest soul in our class," one classmate told the Tribune.

He has a black belt in tae kwon do and is a noted pianist. But in the end, he said in 2003, he chose medicine because he wants to help people. He will spend his next five years doing a residency in pediatric neurology.

"I'd love to make a great contribution, he told the Tribune. We'll just have to see where life takes me, but really, I haven't done anything yet."

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Former child genius graduates from medical school at age 21

21-year-old youngest MD from Univ. of Chicago

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CHICAGO A 21-year-old Chicago man who began college at age 9 and medical school three years later is about to become the youngest student ever awarded an M.D. by the University of Chicago.

Don't miss these Health stories

Sometimes, a funny thing happens when Dr. Roberta Pagon looks directly into the sun. She sneezes. Not just once though, but usually three times.

Sho Yano, who was reading at age 2, writing at 3 and composing music at 5, will graduate this week from the Pritzker School of Medicine, where he also received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology.

Yano earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University at age 12, finishing in three years and graduating summa cum laude, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday. The average age of students entering medical school in the U.S. is 23, and there were schools that refused Yano admittance because of his age. School officials worried that the rigors of medical school would hinder Yano's ability to have a normal adolescence.

"I never understood that," Yano said. "Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging than being totally bored?"

The University of Chicago admitted Yano in 2003.

"I remember interviewing him ... this nice, polite, 11-year-old boy, dressed in a little suit," said Dr. Joel Scwab, a professor of pediatrics who was on the admissions committee. "He was never going to be among typical 11-year-olds, where his mother would drive him to Little League. He was going to be a doctor."

The school made some accommodations because of Yano's age. Unlike most students, who begin their Ph.D. training after their second year of medical school, Yano began his after his first year. That way, he was about 18 when he began his second year of studies toward his M.D., which includes interacting with and examining patients.

Yano, who is an accomplished pianist and has a black belt in tae kwon do, told the paper he hopes his graduation will silence those who questioned his developmental aptitude when he entered medical school.

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21-year-old youngest MD from Univ. of Chicago

Medical school journey tests ACU grad's faith

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Eric J. Shelton/Reporter-News Abilene Christian University graduate Kate Huggins was recently accepted into the University of Tennessee's medical school.

Throughout her year-plus odyssey to enroll in medical school, Kate Huggins' faith was challenged continually.

After the 2011 Abilene Christian University graduate received the news she had been accepted into Texas A&M her first medical school of choice she learned the university had overfilled its class by 80 students.

To soften the blow, Texas A&M officials offered incentives to students who were open to deferring for a year, including a "significant tuition scholarship." Since Huggins graduated from ACU when she was 21, she was open to waiting a year.

"I decided to take this option and move to Tennessee to explore my relationship with my boyfriend, who is attending medical school at University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn.," said Huggins, who took her GED to graduate a year early from Abilene Christian Schools.

"I moved to Memphis and after a few months of living there, had decided that I would like to stay if I could. I spoke with the dean of admissions at the University of Tennessee and he encouraged me to sort out the issue with the dean of admissions at A&M."

Huggins, now 22, spoke with the dean at A&M and he agreed to let her apply to Tennessee without losing her spot at A&M within a set time frame. Besides the fact that Tennessee's medical school had 20 fewer spots than A&M's 200-student school, Huggins took a leap of faith by applying on the final day applications were being taken.

"Against huge odds including being told there was 'absolutely no way' by an adviser that Tennessee would accept an out of state med student she applied on the last possible day," said Huggins' father, Dan.

Kate Huggins added: "I had come so far, I was under so much stress that I thought there was at least a very slim chance."

But the allotted two-month time frame came and went without Huggins' hearing from Tennessee. She would now forced to give up her A&M acceptance and "waited in faith" to be accepted at Tennessee.

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Medical school journey tests ACU grad's faith

He's the real-life Doogie Howser! Meet the 21-year-old who started college at nine and is set to graduate from medical …

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By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 08:16 EST, 4 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:34 EST, 4 June 2012

A 21-year-old Chicago man who began college at age nine and medical school three years later is about to become the youngest student ever awarded an M.D. by the University of Chicago.

Sho Yano, who was reading at age two, writing at three and composing music at five, will graduate this week from the Pritzker School of Medicine, where he also received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology.

Yano earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University at age 12, finishing in three years and graduating summa cum laude, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday.

Then and now: Sho Yano in 2000 (left) when studying at Loyola University and today (right)

The average age of students entering medical school in the U.S. is 23, and there were schools that refused Yano admittance because of his age.

School officials worried that the rigors of medical school would hinder Yano's ability to have a normal adolescence.

'I never understood that,' Yano said. 'Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging that being totally bored?'

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He's the real-life Doogie Howser! Meet the 21-year-old who started college at nine and is set to graduate from medical ...

Major announcement at MU's medical school

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Readmore: Local, Health, Education, Community, News, Mizzou, Mu, University of Missouri, University of Missouri Medical School, Mu Med School, Mu Medical School, Mizzou Medical School, University of Mo, University of Mo Medical School, University of Mo Med School, Med School, Medical School, Columbia Mo Medical School, Columbia Mo Med School, Major Announcement, University of Missouri Health, University of Mo Health, Columbia Mo Health

(From left to right) Dr. Michael Richards, Dr. Robert Churchill, Dr. Kenneth Rall

COLUMBIA, MO -- Updated, 1:25 p.m.: Possible billing fraud in the Department of Radiology in the University of Missouri School of Medicine prompted the university to hire an outside law firm to investigate in November of last year. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Kansas City had told the university that a federal investigation was underway.

Harold A. Williamson Jr., M.D., vice chancellor of the University of Missouri Health System, announced Friday that health system officials are making substantive changes in the School of Medicines Department of Radiology as the result of an internal university investigation.

In addition, Williamson announced that Robert Churchill, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine, has officially announced his plans to retire and will leave the university in October.

"As the result of our investigation, we believe that two radiologists, Dr. Kenneth Rall and Dr. Michael Richards, violated Medicare and hospital rules by certifying that they had performed services that were actually performed by resident physicians," Williamson said.

"We were shocked and disappointed to learn about this, because any kind of fraud is entirely inconsistent with our health systems values, our mission, and our commitment to patient care," said Williamson, who has served as a physician at MU for 30 years, including 10 years as chair of MUs nationally recognized Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Williamson said the top concern of health system officials throughout the investigation was the possible impact on patients.

"Although we are in the early stages of the investigation, we have reviewed millions of lines of computer data and conducted lengthy interviews with many medical professionals. Thus far we have found no evidence that patient care was compromised," Williamson said.

Health system officials made the preliminary findings public today because "the finding of fraudulent billings was troubling enough that we felt we needed to act immediately," Williamson said.

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Major announcement at MU's medical school

Distinguished Scholars Program Launches at University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute

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CLEVELAND, June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute has launched a new program aimed at supporting physician-scientists seeking to move their research into therapies that will improve patients' lives. Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, formerly at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, has been named the first Harrington Distinguished Scholar (Early Career Award). Dr. Narla's research includes the identification and characterization of key genes and pathways involved in human cancer development and progression, and the development of novel drugs to target these genes in various cancers.

The UH Harrington Discovery Institute, launched in February, is the not-for-profit academic medical engine of the Harrington Discovery and Development Project - a first-of-its kind, $250 million initiative that also includes a mission-aligned for-profit commercialization and development company. Aligning these entities, for the first time at an academic medical center, provides a comprehensive model to advance discoveries into development and create novel drugs and therapies for patient care.

Through the Harrington Distinguished Scholars Program, a physician-scientist is chosen to practice medicine at UH Case Medical Center and to hold a faculty position at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Physician-scientists with potential breakthroughs are able to tap into grant funding and a peer network of innovators and mentors within the UH Harrington Discovery Institute's infrastructure to support their discovery efforts. Over the next decade, the UH Harrington Discovery Institute will recruit 10-20 physician-scientists of outstanding promise and with a determined interest in advancing the treatment of patients.

"We will be bringing physician-scientists with a wide range of experience to UH Case Medical Centerthose who have already made exceptional contributions to their research field and others at the beginnings of their research and patient care careers who show extraordinary promise," said Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, the Institute's Director and Director of the Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Dr. Narla's research involves a previously unrecognized signaling network of genes that is disrupted in lung cancer. This network can be turned on by a novel combination of two drugs previously approved by the FDA and that may also help to regulate lung cancer progression. The research has just been published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a prestigious journal for physician-scientists. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.

"My training as a physician-scientist did not prepare me to move clinical discoveries from my laboratory toward commercialization," said Dr. Narla, a medical geneticist at UH Case Medical Center who specializes in the care of high risk cancer patients.

"The added guidance and resources that come with being a Harrington Distinguished Scholar will enable me to bring my discoveries to patients more quickly," added Dr. Narla, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Institute of Transformative Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Scholar-Innovator Grants In addition to the Distinguished Scholar program, UH Case Medical Center has recently launched a grant competition to physician-scientists across the country. The Harrington Scholar-Innovator grants will offer to support the translation of research from laboratory to early development stages.

Up to 10 physician-scientists each year will be supported with Harrington Scholar-Innovator grants of up to $200,000 over two years. Guiding the selection of the grant winners are seven prominent physician-scientists who have recently joined the UH Harrington Discovery Institute Scientific Advisory Board, among them Dr. Stamler.

"These grants are intended to ensure that physician-scientists can advance their discoveries and their careers that are dedicated to furthering University Hospitals Case Medical Center's mission: To Heal. To Teach. To Discover," added Dr. Stamler.

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Distinguished Scholars Program Launches at University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute

Distinguished Scholars Program launches at UH Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute

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Public release date: 1-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Janice Guhl janice.guhl@uhhospitals.org 216-844-3825 University Hospitals Case Medical Center

Cleveland, Ohio University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute has launched a new program aimed at supporting physician-scientists seeking to move their research into therapies that will improve patients' lives. Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, formerly at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, has been named the first Harrington Distinguished Scholar (Early Career Award). Dr. Narla's research includes the identification and characterization of key genes and pathways involved in human cancer development and progression, and the development of novel drugs to target these genes in various cancers.

The UH Harrington Discovery Institute, launched in February, is the not-for-profit academic medical engine of the Harrington Discovery and Development Project - a first-of-its kind, $250 million initiative that also includes a mission-aligned for-profit commercialization and development company. Aligning these entities, for the first time at an academic medical center, provides a comprehensive model to advance discoveries into development and create novel drugs and therapies for patient care.

Through the Harrington Distinguished Scholars Program, a physician-scientist is chosen to practice medicine at UH Case Medical Center and to hold a faculty position at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Physician-scientists with potential breakthroughs are able to tap into grant funding and a peer network of innovators and mentors within the UH Harrington Discovery Institute's infrastructure to support their discovery efforts. Over the next decade, the UH Harrington Discovery Institute will recruit 10-20 physician-scientists of outstanding promise and with a determined interest in advancing the treatment of patients.

"We will be bringing physician-scientists with a wide range of experience to UH Case Medical Centerthose who have already made exceptional contributions to their research field and others at the beginnings of their research and patient care careers who show extraordinary promise," said Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, the Institute's Director and Director of the Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Dr. Narla's research involves a previously unrecognized signaling network of genes that is disrupted in lung cancer. This network can be turned on by a novel combination of two drugs previously approved by the FDA and that may also help to regulate lung cancer progression. The research has just been published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a prestigious journal for physician-scientists. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.

"My training as a physician-scientist did not prepare me to move clinical discoveries from my laboratory toward commercialization," said Dr. Narla, a medical geneticist at UH Case Medical Center who specializes in the care of high risk cancer patients.

"The added guidance and resources that come with being a Harrington Distinguished Scholar will enable me to bring my discoveries to patients more quickly," added Dr. Narla, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Institute of Transformative Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Scholar-Innovator Grants

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Distinguished Scholars Program launches at UH Case Medical Center's Harrington Discovery Institute

University Hospitals Case Medical Center Experts Present at ASCO Annual Meeting

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CLEVELAND, June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --In a Phase 2 study presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), clinical researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center developed a more effective way to treat gynecologic cancers, shortening radiation treatment time from five weeks to three days.The new method, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), has been used on other types of cancer, but University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the first treatment facility to apply it to gynecologic cancers.

"Unlike traditional radiation therapy, SBRT uses focused radiation beams and targets well-defined tumors," says Charles Kunos, MD, study co-author and Director of Gynecologic Radiation Oncology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "The highly specific nature of the procedure not only shortens treatment time, it limits the effect of the radiation on healthy tissues."

Dr. Kunos will present the study's findings during a general poster session on gynecologic cancer at ASCO on Sunday, June 3 from 8:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine will present new research findings in 29 presentationsat ASCO, taking place June 1-5 in Chicago.

"The breadth and depth of this innovative cancer research presented at ASCO is truly outstanding," says Stan Gerson, MD, Director of the Seidman Cancer Center at UH Case Medical Center and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. "Our faculty members are making tremendous advances in hematology and oncology which is reflected in their being chosen for oral and poster presentations."

Other presentations of note include:

Sunday, June 3

General Poster Session: Gynecologic Cancer

Association of smoking with pulmonary recurrences among women with intermediate- to high-risk early-stage endometrial adenocarcinoma.

Abstract #5089: 8:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

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University Hospitals Case Medical Center Experts Present at ASCO Annual Meeting

Medical school entry test fails to widen access to profession

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The Irish Times - Friday, June 1, 2012

SEN FLYNN, Education Editor

THE NEW entry and selection test for entry to medicine known as the Hpat has done little to widen access to the profession, according to a draft review for the Higher Education Authority.

The review also concludes that students who can afford to take expensive preparatory courses for the Hpat (Health Professions Admission Test) outperform others despite claims the exam presents a level playing field for all students. More than 50 per cent of Hpat candidates take commercial coaching courses, the review states.

The review by the medical schools and other experts concludes that students who repeat the Hpat perform significantly better.

In all, one-third of successful applicants in the past two years were actually repeat candidates, with many of them dropping out of other much-coveted college courses. More than 85 per cent of students who repeated the exam improved their scores.

The findings are unlikely to be welcomed by the Department of Education, which has promoted the Hpat as a new-style exam where compared to the Leaving Cert there is less reliance on rote learning.

But medical schools will be under pressure to make changes before the 2013 exam next February.

Education sources say possible changes include:

* Hpat scores will be valid for a period of one year only;

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Medical school entry test fails to widen access to profession

Maybe medical school debt isn’t the problem

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The high cost of medical school often gets tossed around as a key reason why doctors dont go into primary care jobs, instead choosing specialties such as radiology and surgery that prove more lucrative. When physicians graduate with an average of $161,290 in debt, its hard (Melissa Cannarozzi/The Washington Post) to see money not factoring into career decisions.

While this narrative makes sense, theres one major flaw: It doesnt seem to be true. Aaron Carroll flags a story in the San Francisco-area Bay Citizen, where a local health-care authority established a loan forgiveness program. If doctors committed to practicing primary care in the area, for at least four years, all of their loans would be forgiven.

The program has been around for a decade now and no one has signed up. Not a single doctor has volunteered for the opportunity to have all of their educational debt relieved. In San Mateo County, at least, debt didnt seem to be the big obstacle for doctors pursuing primary care careers.

This doesnt seem to be specific to one area of California. National data on medical student debt find that those with a high debt burden are actually more likely to go into the less lucrative primary care fields than doctors who hold no loans at all.

For private schools, odds of choosing primary care increases as debt increases, with those having no debt (and no scholarships) less likely to choose primary care, researchers at the Robert Graham Center concluded in a 2009 report.

Why do those with a higher-debt burden go into lower paying medical fields? Debt-free doctors, the thinking goes, come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and tend to have higher expectations for their eventual salary.

For those who come from a less advantaged background, and do take out loans, the calculus might be a bit different. You have people who are willing to tolerate up to $200,000 in debt to become a doctor, Robert Phillips, director of the Robert Graham Center, said in a recent interview. To him, it suggests that doctors who have already made a huge financial commitment to becoming a physician arent as concerned with their eventual salary.

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Maybe medical school debt isn’t the problem

Ross University School of Medicine Signs Affiliation Agreement to Enhance Clinical Education with Kern Medical Center

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NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) and Kern Medical Center (KMC) in Bakersfield, Calif. today announced a 10-year affiliation agreement to allocate, on an annual basis, a significant number of core clinical rotation slots to RUSM students. The affiliation, which will allow RUSM students placed at KMC to complete all of their third-year clinical rotations there over 48 consecutive weeks, is the largest clinical affiliation arrangement in RUSMs history.

Kern Medical Center, established in 1867, is a 222-bed acute care teaching hospital owned and operated by the County of Kern. As the major healthcare provider serving a community of approximately 650,000 residents, KMC is an integral part of the local community. KMC provides care for more than 16,000 inpatients annually, and experiences 43,000 Emergency Room visits per year. In addition, KMCs three federally qualified health centers serve 100,000 outpatients per year.

This is a landmark development for Ross for many reasons, especially for the opportunity to work closely with an institution that shares our commitment to serving the local community, said Joseph Flaherty, MD, dean and chancellor of RUSM. RUSM students who complete their rotations at Kern will not only benefit from learning from Kerns great faculty and residents, but also gain an appreciation for the important role these community hospitals and their physicians play in the lives of local families.

All of KMCs core residency programsInternal Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatryare accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). KMCs affiliations with the University of California at Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine and University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine ensure a significant depth and breadth of teaching resources, in addition to KMCs 65 full-time faculty physicians.

Paul Hensler, FACHE, chief executive officer at KMC, said that RUSM is a partner that shares Kern Medical Centers academic vision. The affiliation, he said, is geared to looking after the long-term sustainability of the local physician workforce. California in general and the San Joaquin Valley in particular are medically underserved. We believe that building a robust working relationship with RUSM will enable us to provide a superior clinical rotation experience with the potential to attract physicians to our community, said Hensler.

Enrique Fernandez, MD, senior associate dean for clinical sciences at RUSM, said the new affiliation is great news for current students, seventeen percent of whom are from California. Many of our students have already set a goal of returning to their home communities to practice medicine. This partnership will enable many of them to complete their clinical clerkships in California as well, he said.

As part of the agreement, RUSM and KMC will offer scholarships to accepted RUSM students from Kern County, via the Kern Medical Center Foundation.

About Ross University School of Medicine

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) was founded in 1978 and is a provider of medical education offering a Doctor of Medicine degree program. Students begin their foundational studies in Dominica, West Indies, and complete their clinical training in teaching hospitals throughout the United States. RUSM graduates obtain more US residencies than graduates of any other medical school in the world.

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Ross University School of Medicine Signs Affiliation Agreement to Enhance Clinical Education with Kern Medical Center

First endowed medical school chair created in Ga. to focus on sexuality and religion

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ATLANTA The Morehouse School of Medicine is creating what is being called the first endowed chair on sexuality and religion at a U.S. medical school.

The Atlanta medical school on Thursday announced it raised $2 million for the endowed chair, and it will begin a one-year national search to hire someone to fill it.

The chairperson will develop ways to train physicians and theologians on a wide range of sexual health issues that include contraception, rape prevention, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The chair will report to Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. Surgeon General who issued a controversial report on sexual health in 2001. Satcher is now a Morehouse administrator.

A spokeswoman for the Association of American Medical Colleges said she was not aware of a similar endowed chair anywhere else.

Satcher and others at Morehouse previously coordinated national panel discussions on sexual health that involved organizations ranging from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The medical school, founded in 1975, has an enrollment of about 300. It is separate from Morehouse College, a historically black university located across the street.

The medical school previously created an endowed chair for mental health issues, which was co-funded by entertainer Bill Cosby and child psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint. Satcher occupies that position.

The new chair is named for two Florida-based benefactors the Rev. Marta Weeks, an ordained Episcopal priest, and the Rev. David Richards, a retired Episcopal bishop.

The chair will teach at Morehouse but will also be expected to work with other medical schools and religious academic institutions to help shape curricula elsewhere.

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First endowed medical school chair created in Ga. to focus on sexuality and religion

Duke-NUS Medical School Marks Second Graduation

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The second class of DukeNUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS) students marked the completion of their fouryear Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) training today. Mr. Heng Swee Keat, Singapores Minister for Education, graced the schools pregraduation celebration held in the auditorium of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. The distinguished Professor Sydney Brenner, Nobel Laureate in Medicine 2002, was the event's keynote speaker.

This cohort of DukeNUS graduands will further receive training as postgraduate year one doctors who will provide clinical care as vital members of the healthcare team. They may be trained under the Residency Programmes in specialties such as Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Paediatrics and Psychiatry, among other fields.

Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, said: With its intensive focus on research and its unique feature of taking in graduate-entry students from a variety of academic backgrounds, but who share a common passion of serving others, Duke-NUS produces doctors with a diversity of insights and perspectives, and brings together different strengths and expertise to continually innovate and improve on the healthcare provision for Singaporeans.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President, said: Today, we celebrate with pride the remarkable accomplishments of Duke-NUS Class of 2012. Over the last four years, these students have been immersed in the Duke-NUS culture of excellence, boldness and imagination; and they have benefitted greatly from the innovative clinical and research training. The rigorous training and exposure will enable our graduands to make a real difference to patients, our community and society. We are confident these graduands will become role models for future generations of clinicians and clinician-scientists who will transform medicine through research and innovation. My heartiest congratulations to the Class of 2012!

It is clear that the innovative approach to medical education, clinical and basic research embodied by Duke-NUS is producing an extraordinary calibre of clinician-scientists who are uniquely equipped to become the healthcare and research leaders of the future, said Dr. Victor J. Dzau. Never before has there been as great a need for clinician-scientists who can not only engage in discovery science, but can translate discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic and improve the health of patients and the community. I have great pride and expectations for the class of 2012. Dr. Victor J. Dzau, Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University, and CEO, Duke University Health System, was in Singapore to grace the hooding ceremony.

I am proud to see that our graduands are starting a new chapter in their lives. They will work as critical members of clinical healthcare teams, to bring hope and relief to patients and their families. We hope they will continue to let their passion for medicine and their spirit of inquiry and curiosity drive future discoveries in patient and disease management, said Professor Ranga Krishnan, Dean of the DukeNUS.

Duke-NUS had five annual intakes since its M.D. programme started in August 2007. Since then, the school has admitted more than 240 post-baccalaureate students into its Americanstyled, researchoriented, four-year medical school programme. These students come from a diverse range of local and international undergraduate institutions. These include: National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Peking University, Chinese University in Hong Kong, University of Mumbai, University of Philippines, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Duke University, Harvard University, and others.

The DukeNUS graduands will receive a joint Duke and NUS M.D. degree at the NUSCommencement Ceremony on 7 July 2012.

In addition to its 240-strong M.D. cohort, the school has over 20 students in itsPhD programme track. This track enables research-oriented medical students to leverage on their biomedicine knowledge to spur translational research aimed at developing better patient treatment, strategies and technology.

Duke-NUS Class of 2012 - Graduation Celebration & Hooding Ceremony, May 26, 2012

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Duke-NUS Medical School Marks Second Graduation

Medical school cleaners secure London living wage

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Medical school cleaners secure London living wage

7:40am Tuesday 29th May 2012 in News By Alexandra Rucki

Campaigning cleaners were celebrating after securing a pay increase up to the London living wage.

The cleaners for St George's Hospital Medical School, housed within St George's Hospital, Tooting, have been running a campaign for increased pay through posters, leafleting and petitions.

They will be paid a new hourly rate of 8.30 per hour from August 1, an increase from their current wage of 6.08 an hour after UNISON signed a deal with contractors Ocean Contract Cleaning Ltd.

However, trade union Industrial Workers for the World (IWW) have said the cleaners could face having their hours cut, which would make the pay rise futile.

UNISON have denied signing anything agreeing to cuts, with a spokesperson accusing IWW of being an anarchist group.

A protest to raise awareness of the issue was staged by IWW outside St George's Hospital last Friday, May 25.

Cleaners, medical students and families took part to raise awareness staff were being paid below the London wage.

A spokesperson for UNISON said: "We managed to secure the London living wage for hospital staff, but never for the teaching school.

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Medical school cleaners secure London living wage

Pitt cuts medical research incentive

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May 27, 2012 12:06 am

By Steve Twedt/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The life of a medical researcher can be both rewarding and solitary, with the rewards often coming in breakthrough scientific discoveries made after long hours alone in a laboratory.

Beginning July 1, medical research will be slightly less rewarding -- at least financially -- for faculty at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine.

In a memo sent to department chairs, directors and faculty at the school this spring, the dean, Arthur S. Levine, cited economic conditions as the reason the school will reduce an incentive payment based on researchers' outside grants from 10 percent to 8 percent, while also instituting a $50,000 minimum in outside grant money for researchers to qualify for the incentives.

"As you know, we find ourselves in difficult financial times and need to take such actions as these to maintain operational viability," stated the memo, a copy of which was provided to the Post-Gazette.

The amounts that the researchers will lose will vary widely, since it is a percentage of whatever grants they receive, although Dr. Levine downplayed its significance in a phone interview.

"We're talking about tiny amounts. This isn't going to be a threat to anybody," he said.

The real story, he said, is the larger funding picture and specifically the sluggish national economy that is drying up funding for basic research.

At one time, at least 35 percent of grant applications to the National Institutes of Health were funded, said Dr. Levine, who worked at NIH before coming to Pitt. Currently the grant success rate is 17 percent, and he expects it may fall to 12 percent or 13 percent next year. "We're all victims of the same bad economy."

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Pitt cuts medical research incentive

Israel curbing Arab enrollment in medical schools, activists say

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JERUSALEM Israeli medical student Mohammad Hijazi seems the ideal candidate to alleviate the country's looming doctor shortage.

He graduated first in his high school class, scored in the top 5% of Israel's version of the SAT and rounded out his resume by founding a grass-roots organization that encourages blood donation.

"And it works," said Hijazi, 25, who is now pursuing a medical degree in Poland.

High enrollment in medical schools has long been a rare success story for Israel's 1.6 million Arab Israelis, who complain of discrimination by the government in many spheres of their lives.

Nationwide, an estimated 19% of medical school students are Arab, according to a 2009 parliamentary study. The ratio is in line with Israel's Arab population, which is about 20%, and is impressive considering Arabs account for just 9% of the total number of university students and about 6% of government employees.

Arab activists say the rising number of Arabs in medical schools over the last two decades has alarmed Israeli officials and led to an effort to restrict enrollment.

For the last six years, most medical school programs have required that applicants be at least 20. School officials say the rule was adopted to ensure a greater maturity among applicants. Critics, however, say it chiefly affects Arabs because most Jewish students begin college after a compulsory two- or three-year stint in the military; most Arabs don't serve in the military.

Rather than wait two years after graduating from high school to begin their studies, many Arab Israeli students opt to enroll in colleges in the West Bank or abroad, or choose a different field of study. (Unlike in the U.S., doctor-training programs in Israel begin at the undergraduate level.)

"The rule has the effect of discouraging Arabs from enrolling in medical schools," said attorney Sawsan Zaher of Adalah, an Israeli group that works against discrimination of Arabs.

Medical school officials dispute that assertion.

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Israel curbing Arab enrollment in medical schools, activists say