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MEDICAL EDUCATOR
VOL 3, No 8, September 2001
New policy to provide 'optimal learning environment'
Nick, a medical student, typically left his assigned ward every day to
run personal errands. The residents began asking the other students
where he was. One resident told the other students that Nick was
not fulfilling his role as a clinical associate and that he was going to
get a bad recommendation from the house staff.
* * * * *
Robert and Meredith were medical students on the same team, rotating
through Medicine. They both followed the same intern. Robert, Meredith
and the intern finished their rounds, then Meredith walked off to
get some coffee. The intern turned to Robert and said, “Now that
she’s gone, have you heard any good women jokes?”
* * * * *
Paul was rotating through the ER. He had heard that the ER was
a good place to develop crucial skills, such as drawing blood and placing
intravenous catheters. He was disappointed, however, because his resident
never let him do any of these tasks. Then one day, a violently agitated
HIV-positive prisoner was presented to the ER. The resident smiled at Paul
and sent him off to draw the patient’s blood on his own, stating, “You
can draw that blood -- this one’s all yours.”
* * * * *
The preceding vignettes come from an exercise by the Association
of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) concerning the appropriate treatment
of medical students by faculty, staff, residents and other medical students.
What some may consider normal behavior, others may not. To clarify conduct
issues within the College of Medicine, a committee worked over the summer
to develop a written standard of conduct for everyone to follow.
The policy’s development stemmed from an AAMC conference that Candace
Gillespie, director of student affairs, attended last year. One workshop
dealt with the appropriate treatment of medical students. When Gillespie
returned to MUSC, she discovered the College of Medicine, nor any of MUSC’s
six colleges for that matter, had a written document pertaining to standards
of conduct other than federal guidelines dealing with sexual harassment.
Amy Blue, Ph.D., assistant dean for curriculum and evaluation, said
prior to the policy’s development, the college had an ombudswoman who helped
students with virtually any problem. With the advent of the policy, however,
comes a complete set of guidelines spelling out what constitutes inappropriate
conduct, from neglect to sexual harassment,and remedies to address it.
Following Gillespie’s return from the AAMC conference, a committee
was formed to formulate the policy and implement it. In addition to Gillespie
and Blue, other committee members were Robert Sade, M.D., professor of
surgery and pediatrics; Debra Hazen-Martin, Ph.D., associate professor
of pathology and laboratory medicine and cell biology and anatomy; Donna
Johnson, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Franklin
Medio, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and director of graduate
medical education; Joe Good, J.D., university counsel; Marilyn Schaffner,
MSN, instructor in nursing; Libby Minton, clinical services coordinator;
Stella Onggako, student services program coordinator, Office of Diversity;
resident Shannon Honey and students Paul Bhella, William Lowrance, Marvaretta
Stevenson and Jamie Malcolm.
This committee first met in June, studying similar policies from other
institutions. It took only three or four meetings before a final draft
was produced. It was approved by the college’s Educational Policy Council
on July 19.
“Our resolve was to get it done and implemented, and make it very concrete,”
Gillespie said.
With the policy in place, the college’s administration felt informational
programs about the program should be targeted to faculty, staff and students.
“The policy’s no good without education,” Gillespie said. “The approach
to take was to make sure it just doesn’t become another piece of paper.”
Blue and Gillespie said educational efforts have begun. Department
chairs have copies of the policy and chief residents have been made aware
of it as well. Followup meetings will be held to further ingrain the policy
within the college, and incoming students will be introduced to it at orientation.
Blue said that although the problem exists at MUSC, an AAMC survey
shows that the situation is widespread.
“It’s a nationwide problem,” she said. “It’s not just us. Generally
speaking, over the years, we’ve been below the national average.”
“This policy requires everyone within the College of Medicine to act
professionally at all times, “ said Blue. “This allows the faculty, residents,
staff and students to operate within an optimal learning environment at
all times.”
The policy covers harassment of a sexual nature, discrimination and
harassment and other forms of inappropriate treatment, including public
belittling, a consistent pattern of neglect or lack of communication, and
taking credit for another individual's work.
There are three levels to resolve conflicts between individuals. The
first level directs the parties involved to resolve the conflict themselves.
Should that fail, a mediator would be brought in to facilitate the process.
The third and final level is the formation of a conflict resolution council
comprised of representatives from a number of groups, including students,
faculty, nurses, residents and administration. The council would be involved
only if the mediator is unable to resolve the problem. Vanderbilt University,
whose policy served as a model for the College of Medicine’s, has never
had to resort to its council, Blue and Gillespie said.
Joellyn McMillan, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell and molecular
pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, who served previously as the
college’s ombudswoman, has been appointed as mediator.
The policy will be put on the Web site at a future date for viewing.
COM hosting SGEA 2002 annual meeting
MUSC’s College of Medicine will host the Southern Group on Educational
Affairs (SGEA) 2002 Annual Meeting March 14-17.
The theme for the meeting is “Promoting Lifelong Learning: From Ideas
to Results.”
The conference will offer a variety of presentations, workshops, small-groupdiscussions,
posters and breakfast roundtable meetings.
Speakers include Karen Mann, Ph.D., professor and director, Faculty
of Medicine - Division of Medical Education, Dalhousie University, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada and Linda Austin, M.D., former MUSC faculty member.
The SGEA is a regional chapter of the Association of American Medical
Colleges. It is composed of 31 schools ranging from Texas to West Virginia
to Puerto Rico.
Interested persons are also encouraged to submit proposals for presentations,
or apply to be a reviewer or mentor.
Proposals must be submitted through the Internet only. The deadline
for receipt of the proposals is Dec. 1. The deadline for applications as
mentors and reviewers is Nov. 15.
More information about the conference and applications is available
at <http://www.musc.edu/sgea2002>.
“This is a great way for our local faculty to participate and learn,”
said Amy Blue, Ph.D., assistant dean for curriculum and evaluation for
the College of Medicine.
Core curriculum lecture series set
(To register, call Ginger Blanchard at 792- 9304)
October
5
Co-ownership During Your Residency: How to Own a Home Rather Than Rent
Richard Valentine -- Prudential
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
11
Managing Your Student Loan Debt
Sandra Rollins, Assoc. Dir.,
Student Financial Aid UMDNJ
4 - 6 pm
2-West Ampitheater
12
Managing Your Student Loan Debt
Sandra Rollins, Assoc. Dir.,
Student Financial Aid UMDNJ
Noon - 2 pm
TBA
19
Entering Practice: Mistakes You Don't Have to Make
Amy Faulkenberry, Docrates
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
25
Financial Planning: Are You Fiscally Fit?
Debra Pritchard
4 - 6 pm
2-West Ampitheater
26
Financial Planning: Are You Fiscally Fit?
Debra Pritchard
Noon - 2 pm
TBA
November
2
CDs, IRAs, Mortgages & Loans
Emmett Morgan, Regions Bank
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
9
Getting the Most Value for Your Home and Real Estate Investments
Kay Kennerty, Agent-Owned Realty
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
16
"Investments 101"
Lynn Anne Christiansen, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
30
2002 Tax Changes
Clyde Hiers, CPA
Noon - 2 pm
601 CSB
December
6
***Evidence-based Medicine
Dr. Barbara Tilley and Dr. John Heffner
4 - 6 pm
302 BS
7
***Evidence-based Medicine
Dr. Barbara Tilley and Dr. John Heffner
Noon - 2 pm
302 BS
***Any intern, resident or fellow who has not attended a previous session
on this topic is required to attend one of these sessions
7
Renting Vs. Buying a Home During My Residency; Which is Right for Me?
Craig Goldberg, Wachovia
Noon - 2 pm
Continuing Medical Education
The following conferences are sponsored by MUSC.
All conferences are to be held in Charleston unless otherwise noted.
October
4
Day of Discovery
Institute of Psychiatry Auditorium
25 - 26
Advanced ERCP Tutorial
MUSC
November
4 - 7
11th Annual International Soc. of Exposure Analysis Conference
Embassy Suites Convention Center
9 - 11
Neonatal Pharmacology Conference 2001
Embassy Suites Convention Center
November 30 - December 2
4th Annual Frontiers in Pediatrics
Westin Francis Marion Hotel
December
7 - 9
Achieving Excellence in GME
Mills House Hotel
January 2002
11 - 12
8th Annual Thomas A. Pitts Memorial Lectureship -- HIV/AIDS as an Epidemic
Gazes Auditorium
18 - 19
Contemporary Approaches to Palliative Medicine
Mills House Hotel
February
23, 2002
Liver Disease and Transplantation Symposium
Lightsey Conference Center
March
8 - 9
Pediatric Neurosurgery Update for Primary Care
Mills House Hotel
March
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
Teaching Tips
Continuing A “Teacher’s Dozen: Fourteen General, Research Based Principles
for Improving Higher Learning in Classrooms From Thomas Anthony Angelo’s,
Director of the Academic Development Center at Boston College
8. The ways in which learners are assessed and evaluated powerfully
affect the ways they study and learn.
9. Mastering a skill or body of knowledge takes great amount of time
and effort.
10. Learning to transfer, to apply previous knowledge and skills to
new contexts, requires a great deal of practice.
11. High expectations encourage high achievement.
12. To be most effective, teachers need to balance levels of intellectual
challenge and instructional support.
13. Motivation to learn is alterable; it can be positively or negatively
affected by the task, the environment, the teacher and the learner.
14. The interaction between teachers and learners is one of the most
powerful factors in promoting learning; interaction among learners is another.
Don't miss this
American Association of Medical Colleges 112th Annual Meeting
“Facing the Future” Nov. 2 - 7. Washington,
DC. For more information, go to <http://www.aamc.org>.
The Generalists in Medical Education 22nd Annual
meeting held concurrently with the AAMC meeting. “Medical Education:
Progress, Problems, and Priorities,” Nov. 3 - 4. Washington, DC.
For more information go to: <http://www.thegeneralists.org>.
The Medical Educator is produced by the Office
of Public Relations
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