Med school awaits accreditation results

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For the last 22 months, the University of Minnesota Medical School has been gearing up for its accreditation review.

The last time the Medical School was accredited was in 2004. A medical school that has already been accredited usually goes through the process every eight years.

The school conducted a self-study review to see if the program met the Liaison Committee on Medical Educations standards for function, structure and performance.

The LCME oversees medical schools in the U.S. and Canada to make sure they are meeting the generalized standards.

Its an outstanding process that helps us understand ourselves a little better, said Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education Kathleen Watson.

During an on-site visit by the LCME last week, the school was reviewed based on institutional setting, the educational program for the M.D. degree, medical students opinions, faculty and educational resources.

There were six groups involved in the self-study process, including a group of students.

More than 60 medical students from the Duluth and Twin Cities campuses were a part of the LCME Independent Student Analysis committee.

A survey conducted by the student committee asked students about their experiences in the Medical School to evaluate courses, teaching, exams and grading, said Heather Grothe, a fourth-year medical student on the committee.

The results were given to the Medical School, and Grothe said changes were made to fix unspecified problems.

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Animal activist group files complaint against Primate Center

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Harvard Medical School yesterday denied an allegation launched by an animal rights group that it failed to report another monkey death at its New England Primate Research Center.

In a March 20 letter to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Michael Budkie, executive director of the Ohio-based animal rights organization Stop Animal Exploitation Now, says that a whistleblower connected to the center revealed details of a non-reported death at the facility.

Budkie said the whistleblower told him that a monkey died about seven months ago after a center employee performed a fairly routine medical procedure.

This can only mean that this procedure was clearly botched, and that the negligence which caused this cost the animal his/her life, Budkie wrote.

Budkie called for a thorough investigation of the death and for Harvard to be fined the maximum amount allowed by law. Individual violations of the Animal Welfare Act are punishable by fines of up to $10,000.

USDA spokesman Dave Sacks said yesterday that the complaint will be investigated in accordance with standard procedure.

We will do so by sending an inspector to this facility in the near future to conduct an inspection, he wrote in an email, adding that inspections are always unannounced so the exact date cannot be disclosed.

Suffice it to say, that because of the recent incidents at Harvards primate research center, it will be soon, he wrote. We will continue to closely monitor this facility by visiting more frequently as a way to monitor Harvards progress and ensure the welfare of the animals there.

Harvard self-reported a death at the facility that occurred on Feb. 26 the same day details of a separate monkey death came out in a USDA inspection report.

Four monkeys have died at the facility in the past two years, and three of those deaths have occurred since September. Fred Wang, who became interim director of the center in September, stepped down from the post shortly after the fourth death was announced, citing personal and professional reasons.

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Theorem Clinical Research Announces Rosenfeld as Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, Medical Device and …

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KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Theorem Clinical Research, a full-service contract research organization (CRO) that provides core clinical research and development services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Evan Rosenfeld, M.D., J.D., F.C.L.M., as vice president of medical and scientific affairs, Medical Device and Diagnostics.

Rosenfeld has more than ten years experience within the medical device and diagnostic industries as both an attorney and medical director.

Evan has a very dynamic background, stated Theorem Clinical Research Chief Executive Officer John Potthoff. He initially worked as a lawyer for medical device clients and then moved into chief medical officer roles within these companies after graduating from medical school. Evan understands this industry from both the legal and strategic leadership perspective, and he will be a great asset to our company.

A cum laude graduate of Harvard University, Rosenfeld also graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He later obtained his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University.

Rosenfeld previously served as the medical director and senior consultant for regulatory and clinical affairs at Emergo Group Inc. At the same time, he founded MDJD Consulting and worked as an independent consultant providing medical, clinical and regulatory analysis, insights and strategic recommendations.

Rosenfeld has also worked as the chief medical officer/senior vice president of regulatory affairs at Microtransponder Inc. and as chief medical officer/vice president of medical and regulatory affairs at Bioness Inc.

Currently, he holds active physician licenses with the Texas Medical Board and the Medical Board of California. A fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine, Rosenfeld also holds membership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bar, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Bar, the District of Columbia Bar and the State of Illinois Bar.

About Theorem Clinical Research Theorem Clinical Research is one of the industrys leading full-service, contract research organizations (CRO). Before launching in 2011, Theorem Clinical Research operated for nearly two decades as Omnicare Clinical Research under the Omnicare Inc. parent company. A global organization with 1,000+ employees located throughout 27 countries, Theorem Clinical Research provides core CRO services for Phases I-IV, but with niche business units in the areas of technical services, medical devices and pharmaceutics with speed, flexibility and attention to detail to drive a high-quality performance. For more information, visit http://www.theoremclinical.com.

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Theorem Clinical Research Announces Rosenfeld as Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, Medical Device and ...

Saskatchewan's only medical school gets probation warning to shape up

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SASKATOON - Saskatchewan's medical school is being warned to shape up or be put on probation.

The committee that accredits Canada's medical schools has sent a warning letter to the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine.

"This action indicates that there are areas of non-compliance that will, if not corrected promptly, seriously compromise the ability of the faculty to deliver a quality medical education program," wrote the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools.

The letter was dated July 2011, but was only now made public on the CBC Saskatchewan news website.

It notes that the warning of probation is confidential and said the school is not required to notify students.

Dr. William Albritton, dean of the college, said in an interview Thursday that faculty and students were told about the letter.

There are 130 standards applied to medical schools. Albritton said a fact-finding visit last year found the college is "weak or deficient" on 10 standards.

"The weaknesses were that our faculty didn't provide timely feedback to the students. You're expected to do this within a couple of weeks of the ending of the rotation," said Albritton.

"And busy people in a busy practice tend to delay those kinds of things. They don't see them as being quite as important as they actually are."

Albritton said instructors getting written standardized teaching and grading objectives is a problem. There's also concern around adequate student space for study, lounge and lockers at the Regina campus.

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Medical school graduates getting jobs

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University of Connecticut School of Medicine fourth-year students celebrated a successful Match Day on March 16, as 98.8 percent of students secured residencies around the country through the National Residency Match Program.

Only one student out of 88 failed to attain a residency, putting UConn well above the national match average of 95.1 percent. Dr. David Henderson, associate dean of medical student affairs, was said to have told the students in a UConn Today press release, This is, from an institutional perspective, a most excellent March Day. With nearly a 99 percent match rate, its about as close to perfect as you can get.

There was a 15 percent increase in students matched in primary care residency programs including internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics. Compared to last years total of 35 percent, this year 50 percent of students attained matches.

The remaining 50 percent of students receiving residencies through Match Day entered such programs as emergency medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedic surgery and general surgery.

For current students, prospective medical students and faculty, this Match Day was very impressive. Thats a huge statistic; thats something huge for UConn, not just for the faculty and administration but for the students. Its good for current students but its also something good for future students to see, because it eases concerns about the work. Students can know theres an incentive at the end and their hard work will pay off. said Orest Paslavski, a 4th-semester biomedical engineering major and prospective medical student.

Fifty-six of the 88 students received placements in the Northeast, and 27 students will remain in Connecticut. Henderson said in UConn Today, The students worked really hard and accomplished a lot these past several years and were very pleased with the results.

Match Day is a yearly practice at medical schools across the nation that matches students with residency programs and fills available training positions at teaching hospitals around the country. This Match Day marks the 60th anniversary of the National Resident Matching Program, which was started in 1952. The next step for matched students? Working for their matched hospital after graduation.

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Medical school graduates getting jobs

Rowan’s Medical School In Camden Gets $1M+ Scholarship Donation

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(Rowan University interim president Dr. Ali Houshmand, left, with Lawrence and Rita Salva and Cooper Medical School founding dean Dr. Paul Katz, right. Photo provided)

By Michelle Durham

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) Officials at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University received a tremendous gift last week: more than $1 million, earmarked for scholarships to students of the new medical school.

The donation was made to the Rowan Foundation by Comcast Corporation Senior Vice President Lawrence Salva and his wife, Rita.

Salva is a Rowan University alumnus.

A million dollars will flow into an endowment that will permanently fund, annually, four-year scholarships to one or more students, he explains. (An) additional $55,000, combined with earnings from the endowment, will fund the initial grant of $100,000 in scholarships to the initial charter class.

That first class begins August 2012.

Dr. Paul Katz, dean of the medical school, says the average medical student has $160,000 of school debt by the time he or she graduates.

Anything we can do to allow students to have less of an impact on the career decisions they make based on finances is great, he tells KYW Newsradio.

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Mount Sinai School of Medicine Awarded Reaccreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education

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Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, announced today that the school has received reaccreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the premier authority responsible for accrediting all Medical Doctor (MD) programs in the United States and Canada. Mount Sinai was reaccredited for the maximum term of eight years.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 19, 2012

Medical schools must demonstrate compliance with LCME standards in five areas: institutional and educational programs, medical students, faculty, and educational resources. Only LCME-accredited institutions may receive federal grants for medical education and participate in federal loan programs. Through accreditation, the LCME assures medical students and graduates, members of the medical profession, health care institutions, and the public that MD programs meet the highest educational standards and that graduates of these medical schools have complete educational experience sufficient to prepare them for the next stage of their training.

We are very pleased to have met the high standards of the LCME in securing reaccreditation for our MD program, said Dr. Charney. Considering how much of a challenge this designation has been for medical schools across the country, we are proud of the hard work and dedication of David Muller, MD, Dean of Medical Education, and our faculty, staff, and students, in achieving it.

The accreditation process consists of a rigorous self-assessment, a four-day site visit from a panel of LCME reviewers, and completion of a student survey, which is then reviewed by the LCME panel. The self-assessment is completed over a two- to three-month period during which the medical school must compile a comprehensive database from the findings to be evaluated by the LCME reviewers.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine created a steering committee and several task forces, which were responsible for each of the five areas of review. Led by Dr. Muller, preparations for the site visit began nearly two years ago and involved the participation of hundreds of faculty, staff, and students.

The entire Mount Sinai student body was surveyed, which helped inform the reaccreditation process. Seven committees of nearly 175 faculty staff and students met weekly for four months to prepare for the site visit. The steering committee issued a bi-weekly communiqu and held monthly town hall meetings throughout the process to keep the greater medical school community informed. Seventy-five representatives from all areas in the medical school met with the site visitors during a four-day visit, resulting in a successful program reaccreditation.

Seeing so many of our faculty and students collaborating to make this process a success has been a privilege, said Dr. Muller. I am delighted that the LCME has recognized Mount Sinai School of Medicine for our commitment to excellence in education.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center

The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Established in 1968, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of the leading medical schools in the United States. The Medical School is noted for innovation in education, biomedical research, clinical care delivery, and local and global community service. It has more than 3,400 faculty in 32 departments and 14 research institutes, and ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and by US News and World Report.

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Mount Sinai School of Medicine Awarded Reaccreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education

Medical school leads the way in licensing fees

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WORCESTER Led by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the states public university system raked in $40 million in licensing fees in 2010.

The UMass system ranked 13th among 183 institutions participating in the 20th annual survey of licensing fee revenues by the Association of University Technology Managers. This was the second consecutive year UMass placed in the top 15. UMass was one of only two New England universities in the top 15, with MIT. The 2010 data are the latest available.

Licensing fees are generated when institutions charge companies to use their patented research discoveries.

The fees are a small part of the hundreds of millions of non-taxpayer dollars that annually come into the system supporting basic and clinical research.

The research dollars are expected to increase after the medical school opens the Albert Sherman Research Center, a $400 million building set to open later this year.

Our ability to generate $40 million from faculty discovery and innovation is a testament to the great quality of the UMass faculty on all five campuses, UMass President Robert L. Caret told trustees recently. Of the $40 million, $37.6 million was generated by discoveries at the medical school.

Although research is often federally funded, patents usually become the property of universities under provisions of the Bayh-Dole Act, passed by Congress in 1980 and named for the sponsors, Sens. Birch Bayh and Bob Dole.

The $40 million in fees was actually less than the university received in 2009, which was about $70 million. It was a $30 million payment for an anti-diarrhea antibody developed at UMassBiologics that pushed UMass into eighth place nationally that year. It beat out both MIT and Harvard University.

The simple fact is we are one university, and we like to present ourselves that way, said James P. McNamara, executive director of the medical schools Office of Technology Management. The state transferred UMassBiologics operation from the Department of Public Health to the medical school in 1997.

The fees are split among those whose inventions or discoveries generated the fees, and the university, which uses it to support research, pay administrative costs and obtain and defend patents. Mr. McNamara recently successfully defended a UMass patent in Germany.

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Envelope, please: UT Houston med students, future docs across U.S. learn their fate on Match Day

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With four years of medical school nearly behind them, more than 200 excited students at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School found out on Match Day Friday where they will begin the next phase of their medical training.

Match Day is an annual event that occurs simultaneously across the country as students are matched with residencies with the aid of computer technology and the National Resident Matching Program. At UTHealth, students, friends and loved ones gathered Friday morning in Webber Plaza.

This is the moment weve all been waiting for, said Katherine Lusk, president of UTHealth Medical Schools Class of 2012.

The tight-knit class forged friendships during Hurricane Ike, which struck the Gulf Coast right before the students first big exam. Since then, together they have learned what it takes to be physicians dedicated to excellence in patient care.

In the months leading up to Match Day, the students interviewed with residency programs across the country. Anesthesiology, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and general surgery are among some of the most popular areas of medicine that members of UTHealth Medical Schools Class of 2012 have selected for residency training. Many of them would like to stay in Texas for that training.

Our students are truly second to none and always do very well in the match, said Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, M.D., president ad interim of UTHealth and dean of the UTHealth Medical School.

Surrounded by family, friends and faculty, the students open envelopes to reveal the location of their residency. Will it be Houston? Will it be someplace else?

Here are stories from a few of the students who participated in this years match:

Lisa Osterhout, 29, had promising careers as a marketing executive and graphic artist, but she discovered that the volunteer work she was doing on weekends was far more rewarding that her weekdays promoting popular rock bands and creating 3D special effects. She was already contemplating a career move when, in 2004, she suddenly became sick. Two surgeries, encouragement from family and friends and news reports about the Indian Ocean tsunami ultimately led to her decision to become a physician committed to public service. In the summer of 2005, the Pearland native returned to The University of Texas at Austin, where she had previously earned a degree in marketing, to complete her pre-med coursework. Medicine allows me to integrate the creative aspects from my previous work while focusing on service, she said. Since enrolling at the UTHealth Medical School, she has served as executive director at the H.O.M.E.S. Clinic in Houston and founded a sustainable project to improve health in childrens homes in Kenya. She plans to do her graduate medical training in pediatrics.

When Irving Basanez arrived on the UTHealth campus in 2008 at the age of 19, he was the youngest student ever admitted to the Medical School. Basanez - who moved with his family from Veracruz, Mexico when he was 8 years old to live in Pharr, Texas - finished high school in three years and pushed himself to finish college in the same length of time. During his first year of medical school, he became interested in otolaryngology and decided he wanted to do his residency training in the ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialty. He also became interested in global health issues and participated in a number of mission trips, including one to Nigeria where he donated his own blood to save a woman from bleeding to death. Like his fellow classmates who are participating in Match Day, he doesnt yet know the location of his residency, but he does know where he would ultimately like to establish his medical practice. Ive had such great mentors here. I want to pay it forward and encourage and mentor students with an interest in ENT and global health, Basanez said. And I would like to come back and practice in the (Rio Grande) Valley. Now 22, Basanez jokes, Medical school has aged me.

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Envelope, please: UT Houston med students, future docs across U.S. learn their fate on Match Day

Seeing the future

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WORCESTER The group of University of Massachusetts Medical School students who gathered late yesterday was as varied as the paths before them. The students will not graduate until June, but yesterday was Match Day, the day they learn where they will do their residency.

Students at medical schools across the country opened their envelopes at the same time. At UMass, the group of 116 students included a couple who will marry today, a veteran who plans to return to combat zones as a doctor and a man who left his home in Sudan at age 11 as one of the Lost Boys.

Timothy J. Menz, who is originally from Braintree, and Tania Visnaskas, originally from Chelmsford, are making a weekend of matches. The two met in fall 2007, their first year of medical school, became friends and dated.

He proposed on Valentines Day in 2011 and yesterday she jumped into his arms as they learned they were both bound for Brown University-affiliated hospitals, he to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence for pediatrics and she to Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket for family medicine.

Today, the couple will get married in Haverhill.

It was like two months after we started dating that I said I would marry him tomorrow, Ms. Visnaskas said. Tomorrow took about three years.

Theyre planning a New Hampshire getaway after the wedding, followed by a trip to Disneyworld in a couple of months, because we didnt think it was legal for a pediatrician not to have gone to Disney World, Mr. Menz joked.

Elsewhere in the crowded lobby yesterday, Micah B. Blais of Holden was celebrating his acceptance into a residency at Harvard University-affiliated hospitals to start his career in orthopedic surgery. Mr. Blais, 32, studied information systems while at West Point, but after two tours of duty with the Army in Iraq, which he concluded as a captain, he decided to pursue medicine.

While deployed, he saw the relationship the doctors were able to maintain with the soldiers and the Iraqi civilians, he said. In between the tours he started in 2004 and 2007, he took a couple of night courses to qualify for medical school. The military is paying for his medical training, and he plans to work in combat zones.

In the meantime, however, he and his wife, Kim Anderson, are looking forward to the birth of their first child and will move closer to Boston.

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Seeing the future

Match Day 2012, EVMS style

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031612-match day 1097

Forget basketball brackets—March Madness at EVMS is all about Match Day 2012. 

 

Match Day, March 16, was the day senior medical students learned where they will complete their training after medical school. Students across the country tore into their envelopes at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to find out their matches, but none where as stylish as EVMS.

 

In true  “I love the '90s” fashion, Ninja Turtles took the stage with boy bands, Bay Watch lifegaurds and Vanilla Ice. Wrestling giants Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, threw down their championship belts and were joined in celebration by the Adams Family and Men In Black. See photos of the event.

 

Residency encompasses the three (or more) years of training that is required before medical school graduates can become practicing physicians.

 

More coverage of EVMS Match Day:
Virginian-Pilot article

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Medical students find out residencies at Match Day

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Twins William and Raphael "Rafi" Karkowsky have always shared life's best moments.

That was true again Friday when the brothers and best friends learned where they would begin their careers as doctors.

They were among nearly 16,000 medical students nationwide who opened Match Day letters and learned where they would conduct postgraduate study. More than 95 percent of students were matched with residency positions, the highest rate in 30 years, according to the National Resident Match Program.

The students enter medicine as health care reform could transform the industry and medical schools grapple with the expected shortage of doctors in years to come.

The brothers both wanted residencies in internal medicine, an increasingly popular choice among medical students, given the growing focus on primary care.

Raphael was on the phone with his girlfriend as he opened his letter among a small group of friends at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He was matched in internal medicine with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, his third choice after Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston and Cornell University in New York.

"It was my favorite program, but not my top choice, so I'm actually happy with it, because the computer knew better than me where I should end up going," Rafi said. "It worked out for the best."

William took a deep breath before he and his wife, Hasya Pearlman, opened his letter together as his parents watched. The University of Maryland School of Medicine student was paired in internal medicine with the University of Chicago, his first choice. He beamed and kissed his wife repeatedly and seemed at a loss for words.

"I am pretty happy," he said later. "I got my first choice."

The 59-year-old Match Day program is designed as a fair way to assign students to residencies, where they will further their training for the next three to seven years.

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Medical students find out residencies at Match Day

Marshall University medical school reaches 100 percent milestone

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Every single graduating medical student from Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine has been placed in a residency program. University officials said Friday that's the first time ever 100 percent of the class has matched.

The National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) pairs graduating seniors with graduate medical programs across the country where they will train for the next three to five years.

"For the first time in the history of the School of Medicine, 100 percent of our students have matched in their chosen medical specialties, exceeding the average of 95 percent that we've had for the last five years," said Dr. Marie Veitia, associate dean, student affairs.

In all, 64 seniors learned their residency placements at noon Friday when they and their counterparts nationwide opened envelopes containing their residency decisions.

A little more than 67 percent of graduating seniors will enter fields defined as primary care in West Virginia - family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, internal medicine/pediatrics, and pediatrics - continuing Marshall's mission of educating physicians for the nation's rural areas. Additionally, about one-third of the class will remain in West Virginia, according to a news release from Marshall University. Of those, 17 will train at Marshall.

"We are delighted that a significant number elected to remain at Marshall while others matched in primary care and highly competitive fields of medicine such as emergency medicine, radiology, and anesthesiology at schools across the country," Veitia said. "Marshall students matched at programs at Duke, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, Emory and three outstanding programs in California."

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With ALS, mentor to USF medical residents is now a patient

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By Patty Ryan, Times Staff Writer Patty RyanTampa Bay Times In Print: Saturday, March 17, 2012

TAMPA Ten years ago, when Dr. Michael Flannery became director of the internal medicine residency program at the University of South Florida's medical school, he made a commitment. Each day, he would say a rosary.

Last summer, he added a new prayer: If there's anything I need to do or to know, tell me.

He had been having premonitions of his own death. His body was beginning to validate them.

Flannery had seen the muscle weakness and spasms in patients. He knew what the symptoms might mean. As he searched for a more hopeful diagnosis, he kept his fears to himself. Then, one day in August, he and his wife learned the worst:

Flannery, 51, who has devoted his life to healing and the making of healers, has a terminal disease for which there is no cure ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

He has three children, including a boy just 11. He knows he can't change the course of the disease, which could paralyze him and keep him from breathing on his own. He can only influence the memories that his family will make together until then.

And so, after the diagnosis but before others knew, he told his wife, "Let's go out and celebrate."

This is Michael Flannery. He goes to Biloxi to volunteer after Hurricane Katrina. He opens a free clinic in Pasco County. He gives educational scholarships, six a year ranging from $500 to $1,000, to future doctors, nurses and pharmacists. One is earmarked for hospital janitors who want to go back to school.

Over 21 years, he has trained hundreds of new doctors.

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Tufts Medical Students Match in Record-High Numbers in Family Medicine

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Newswise BOSTON (March 16, 2012) Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) matched 22 medical school students, or 12% percent of its graduating class, to residency programs in family medicine. This is the largest number of matches ever in family medicine at Tufts, more than double the average percentage of the previous three years, and approximately four percentage points above the national average of students matching in family medicine.

Health-care reform is occurring at the fastest pace since the introduction of Medicare in the 1960s, and increasing the number of primary care physicians is key to achieving the nations goal of improving access to care, improving the nations health, and controlling health-care costs. The Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies predicts that there will be a shortage of 45,000 primary care physicians in the next decade. The Massachusetts Medical Societys 2011 Physician Workforce Study reported severe physician shortages in internal and family medicine, both primary care specialties, for the sixth consecutive year.

In response to the physician shortage, TUSM expanded its class size in 2009. That same year, TUSM partnered with Maine Medical Center on a program that provides students with experience in rural practice as well as training in a major tertiary medical center. Earlier this year, Tufts announced the launch of a new physician assistant, or physician-extender, program to assist physicians in providing access to care.

Another core step was redeveloping our curriculum to focus students on taking a patient-centered approach, a core value of primary care. In this patient-centered model, students begin interviewing patients in the community in their first week of medical school and progress on to a year-long apprenticeship with a primary care physician. This mentorship model introduces students to primary care earlier than most medical schools. Students are mentored by these faculty physicians, learn how to interact with patients, and obtain a first-hand experience in primary care, said Amy Kuhlik, MD, dean of students at TUSM.

In addition to the hands-on training in local communities, the curriculum changes also include a six-week rotation in family medicine for all students. Students train in doctors offices, community health centers, and academic teaching practices throughout New England. Students return to the classroom one day a week for innovative exercises such as interviewing patients with physical disabilities and patients on the autism spectrum and receiving direct feedback from those patients.

Students in the third year participate in workshops on health-care systems and reform; information mastery, or the art and science of efficiently accessing state-of-the-art and evidence-based information while caring for patients; treatment of underserved patients; physician wellness; and motivational interviewing, which involves coaching patients to discover their own motivations to make better decisions about their health, said Wayne Altman, MD, director of medical student education in the TUSM department of family medicine

Tufts students who choose family medicine are interested in making a difference in the communities that they serve and improving health-care outcomes in populations. Graduates from Tufts will attend some of the top programs in the country including our own Tufts Family Medicine program at Cambridge Health Alliance, which will help to address the physician shortage in Massachusetts, as well as at programs from Maine to California, said Randy Wertheimer, MD, Jaharis Chair of Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Chief, Department of Family Medicine, at Cambridge Health Alliance.

The Tufts University Family Medicine Residency program at Cambridge Health Alliance, widely regarded as one of the best in the country, has pioneered a model program that relies less on training residents in hospitals and instead emphasizes outpatient training where family physicians are most apt to work.

The match, conducted annually by the National Resident Matching Program, matches medical school students with residency programs at US teaching hospitals.

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Medical students matched with their residency programs, many to stay in La.

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Posted on March 16, 2012 at 5:54 PM

Meg Farris / Eyewitness News Email: mfarris@wwltv.com | Twitter: @megfarriswwl

NEWORLEANS - At the exact same time, at every medical school in the country, graduating seniors got an envelope announcing where they will spend the next five years of their lives training in an internship and residency program.

On Friday, graduates from LSU Medical School and Tulane Medical School each gathered at locations near the Morial Convention Center with their families to see if they got their first choices for the hospital and specialty they want to train in.

Amidst cheers from all the medical students, faculty doctors called out each student name by name.

One senior opened his envelope in front of our cameras, and saw he was going to Oregon.

"That was my first choice. I got my first choice for everything. So I've got to go talk to my family," he said running off in excitement.

At the LSU Medical School match, 108 out of 171 graduating seniors will stay in Louisiana to get their residency training. LSU doctors say the promise of a new teaching hospital is critical.

"It's just like a carpenter. You need a hammer and a nails to build a house. I need a first class hospital so these students can train and become the doctors that are going to take care of you and me," said Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of the LSU Medical School.

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Researcher at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Receives Grand Challenges Tuberculosis Biomarkers Grant

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Newswise NEWARK, N.J. -- The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) announced today that Dr. David Alland, professor of medicine, chief of infectious diseases, and director of the Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging Pathogens at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, will receive a tuberculosis (TB) biomarkers grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations Grand Challenges in Global Health program, an initiative which seeks to overcome persistent bottlenecks in creating new tools that can radically improve health in the developing world.

With the grant, awarded through the Foundation of UMDNJ, Dr. Alland will pursue an innovative research project to identify and validate TB biomarkers, titled Permeable Magnetic Nanoparticles for point-of-care tuberculosis diagnosis.

The Grand Challenges TB biomarkers program provides funding for groundbreaking research into TB biomarkers for the development of a low-cost, simple to use tool that can quickly and accurately diagnose TB in developing countries.

There is an urgent need to break through barriers in biomarker research in order to develop a highly-sensitive point-of-care diagnostic to improve identification of active TB cases, said Chris Wilson, director of Global Health Discovery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We hope these innovative ideas lead to effective and affordable TB diagnostics that can make an impact on one of the worlds deadliest infectious diseases.

Dr. Allands project is one of ten Grand Challenges TB biomarkers grants awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Diagnostic assays are important components of tuberculosis (TB) control programs. Numerous methods exist that can rapidly detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in patient sputum (and potentially in other clinical samples). However, a major limitation common to virtually every one of these methods lies in the difficulty of extracting MTB from the clinical sample. This project will develop a simple, rapid and sensitive method to magnetically extract MTB from any volume of sputum that can reasonably be produced by a patient. MTB extracted with this method will be suitable for detection by many downstream technologies that can be adapted to point of care detection. This project will overcome a major roadblock in TB diagnostics, enabling many innovative diagnostic platforms to be applied to detecting this disease.

About Grand Challenges in Global Health The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recognizes that solving our greatest global health issues is a long-term effort. Through Grand Challenges in Global Health, the foundation is committed to seeking out and rewarding not only established researchers in science and technology, but also young investigators, entrepreneurs and innovators to help expand the pipeline of ideas to fight diseases that claim millions of lives each year. We anticipate that additional grants will be awarded through the Grand Challenges program in the future.

About UMDNJ and the Center for Emerging Pathogens The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is New Jerseys only health sciences university with more than 6,000 students on five campuses attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and New Jerseys only school of public health. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple locations throughout the state.

The Center for the Study of Emerging and Reemerging Pathogens is a collection of interdepartmental laboratories located in the Medical Science Building at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark.

These laboratories share a new facility containing many pieces of top of the line/state-of-the-art equipment, used in scientific research. The facility comprises modern rooms dedicated to different purposes such as cell culture equipped with carbon dioxide incubators and a Biological Safety Cabinet, dishwashing and autoclaving (two dishwashers, two drying ovens and two autoclaves for sterilization), darkroom, PCR room, common equipment room containing gel dryers, ultracentrifuges, a lyopholizer, a tabletop centrifuge, & a scintillation counter.

Read more from the original source:
Researcher at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Receives Grand Challenges Tuberculosis Biomarkers Grant