the MEDICAL EDUCATOR VOL 3, No 9, January 2002    COM wants faculty makeup to mirror that of community “There is only one justification for universities, as distinguished from trade schools. They must be centers of criticism.”  —Robert Maynard Hutchins, 1899-1977,      chancellor, University of Chicago MUSC’s College of Medicine has been undergoing some self-criticism lately, and, with regard to diversity, has taken steps to change its current state.  Last October, the Medical Educator profiled Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H., appointed as associate dean for admissions to assist in the recruitment of minority students. Her counterpart for faculty recruitment is Aljoeson Walker, MD. As associate dean for minority recruitment, Walker, M.D., will assist the university in the “identification and recruitment and play a role in the retention” of minority faculty members. “We want to mirror our community, which is South Carolina,” Walker said. “The College of Medicine has over 700 full-time faculty, of which one-third are minorities. An example of a diversity issue is that thirty-two percent of South Carolinians are African-American, but there are only about 15 full-time faculty members who are African-American.” Having a more diverse faculty, Walker said, is a priority for the College of Medicine. “Clearly, I think the dean’s office, in its appointment of myself and others, has a strong interest in this area,” he said. “It’s a big part of the changes they want to see, and they have empowered us to help make that happen.”  No complete strategy has been determined, Walker said, but planning is well underway. “A number of things have been batted about, among Dr. (Thad) Bell (associate dean for minority affairs), Dr. Deas, Dr. (Jerry) Reves (dean, College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs) and others,” he said. “We’re working to come up with a forum and identify where the needs are. I think in the next few weeks we’ll have a plan of attack.”  A native of Durham, N.C., Walker earned his bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College in Atlanta and his M.D. at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Following his training at MUSC, where he was chief resident in Neurology, Walker joined the faculty in 1994. Walker, who holds dual faculty appointments in neurology and ophthalmology, said he will have to perform some “fancy scheduling” in order to fit in his additional duties. “I’ll have to change how I may want to do some routine things,” he said, “but it’s manageable and it’s worthwhile to do.” The current financial climate in which MUSC and other academic medical centers find themselves adds a degree of difficulty to this mission, Walker admitted, but the College of Medicine was undaunted in its pursuit of its goal. “It could interfere with the process—the identification, recruiting and hiring,” Walker added, “but if there’s a will, there’s a way.” Charleston site of SGEA annual meeting The College of Medicine will play host to its sister institutions across the South in March during the 2002 SGEA Annual Meeting. The Southern Group on Educational Affairs is comprised of medical schools in the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Southern Division, which ranges from Texas and Oklahoma to West Virginia and to Puerto Rico. The meeting will be held March 14 - 17 at the Westin Francis Marion Hotel at the corner of King and Calhoun streets. This year’s theme is “Promoting Lifelong Learning from Ideas to Results.” Sessions will include undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education and continuing medical education. Amy Blue, Ph.D., associate dean for curriculum and evaluation in the College of Medicine, said the four-day event would allow MUSC faculty to meet with their colleagues at other institutions and share information on their respective educational and research programs. Further, the $220 registration fee would be waived for any MUSC faculty member who attends the meeting, although the March 15 dinner at the South Carolina Aquarium  would still require payment. Among the highlights of the meeting will be the poster and exhibit viewing March 14. Approximately 95 peer-reviewed and highly-rated submissions -- twice the number of last year—will be on display, Blue said. Several MUSC faculty members will be making presentations during the meeting, as well as one relocated faculty member, Linda Austin, M.D., host of National Public Radio’s “What’s On Your Mind?” program and director of medical media and staff psychiatrist at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, ME. The downturn in national travel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is slowly returning to normal, and, Blue said, a good turnout is expected for the meeting. Below is an abbreviated outline of the meeting schedule: Thursday, March 14  Preconference Workshops  1. AAMC Curriculum Management & Information Tool (CurrMIT)  2. Campus tour of MUSC  3. Research/Preparing Manuscripts   4. Competencies Across the Continuum  5. Curriculum Design 101: “Ready, Aim, Fire!” —A Systematic Approach to Instruction  6. Poster Session I Friday, March 15  Steering Committee Meeting  Conference Registration  Poster Session I (cont.)  Continental Breakfast  Welcome  Plenary Session: Lifelong Learners -- Are They Born or Can We Develop Them?  Concurrent Sessions  Promoting Professionalism in the Curriculum  The Professional Development of Student  What Can You Do to Create an Excellent Learning Environment   Small Group Discussion  How Can Peer Teaching and Mentoring Promote Proactive and Collaborative Learning and Professional Development Among Medical Students?  Lunch Roundtables (various topics)  Concurrent Sessions  Fostering Lifelong Learning Skills  Changing CME: Process Improvement in the Practice Setting  Improving Research Measurement Skills  Small Group Discussion  Operationalizing Lifelong Learning in the Curriculum  Concurrent Sessions  Innovations in Faculty Development  Funding: Be Careful For What You Ask—You Just Might Get It!  Practice-based Learning and Improvement Across the Continuum: What, When and How Shall We Teach It?  Small Group Discussion  Is the Act of Teaching A Scholarly Activity? If Not, What Else Is Needed?  Dinner, South Carolina Aquarium Saturday, March 16  Poster Session II  Continental Breakfast  UME Section Meeting  CME/GME Section Meeting  Business Meeting  Concurrent Sessions  Current Trends in Undergraduate Medical Education  Accept, Revise, Reject: Reviewing Educational Research Manuscripts  Content Full Spirituality and Medicine—Teaching for Substantive Integration  Small Group Discussion  General Competencies—The Role of the GME Committee  Concurrent Sessions  Issues in Graduate Medical Education  Inpatient Teaching—Then and Now  Using Team Learning Principles to Enhance Interaction in Large Enrollment Classes  Small Group Discussion  Lifelong Learning and Professionalism in Medicine Students Sunday,  March 17  Poster Session II (cont.)  Breakfast  Roundtable Discussions  SIG Meetings  Plenary Session  Linda Austin, M.D. —Problem: Finding as a Stimulus for Lifelong Learning  Concurrent Sessions  Perspectives in Preclinical Education  Teaching Strategies That Develop Integrative Learning Skills  Small Group Discussions  Basic Science Educators and the AAMC  An Integrated Curriculum to Teach Lifelong Information Management Skills: Moving Beyond the Journal Club     Continuing Medical Education The following conferences are sponsored by MUSC. All conferences are to be held in Charleston  unless otherwise noted. February 23, 2002 Liver Disease and Transplantation Symposium Lightsey Conference Center March 8 - 9  Pediatric Neurosurgery Update for Primary Care Mills House Hotel 14 - 16 2nd Annual Office Practice of Primary Care Mills House Hotel 14  - 17 AAMC SGEA Annual Meeting Westin Francis Marion Hotel 25 - 27 OB/GYN Spring Symposium Charleston Place Hotel 25 - 26 12th Charleston Pulmonary and Critical Care Symposium Charleston Place Hotel April 10 - 14 Society of Academic Continuing Medical Education Spring Meeting Doubletree Guest Suites 25 - 27 Postgraduate Course in Surgery Mills House Hotel May 16 - 19 Ophthalmology Update Kiawah Island Resort 23 - 25 New Drug Update Embassy Suites Hotel Convention Center 24 - 27 Medicine in the Vocal Arts Mills House Hotel May 29 - June 1 ENT Magnolia Conference Mills House Hotel   Teaching Tips Principles of Clinical Learning from Franklin Principles of Clinical Learning from Franklin Medio, PhD, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at MUSC. (continued from last issue) PRACTICE An individual is more likely to learn when provided the chance to actively practice the skills or thought processes.  These are two major areas of learning through practice: Technical, Psychomotor Skills Teaching tip –  TEACH SKILL STEP-BY-STEP, Provide feedback during first attempt Clinical Thinking Teaching tip –  PROBE FOR THOUGHT PROCESSES,  Ask problem-solving questions. CLIMATE An individual is more likely to learn and continue to learn in a supportive and positive learning climate.  There are two aspects to creating a positive climate: Personal Rapport Teaching tip –  KNOW YOUR LEARNERS,  Establish mutual trust, support and respect. Learning Environment Teaching tip –  RECOGNIZE AND CAPITALIZE ON “TEACHABLE MOMENTS” Clarity An individual is more likely to learn when they have a clear understanding of the learning objectives and performance expectations.  Two methods to enhance learning are: Focus Attention of Learners Teaching tip –  SHARE GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTATIONS,  Set mini-objectives Limit Key Points During a Teaching Encounter Teaching tip –  “LESS IS MORE,”  Highlight important points to improve comprehension Feedback An individual is more likely to learn if provided with "instructive" comments on what is done correctly and what can be done to correct errors. There are two general types: Formative Feedback (Guiding) Teaching tip --  FOCUS ON THE PERFORMANCE, NOT THE PERSON, Comment often The Medical Educator is produced by the Office of Public Relations

 

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