Medical Education Committee Minutes

March 21, 2002

To:

Members of Medical Education Committee

From:

David W. Nierenberg

Subject:

Minutes - Meeting held Tues., March 19, 2002 - 4:00 -5:30 pm, Borwell 758W

Members Present:

Katherine Bardzik, Todd Burdett, Jim Bell, Patty Carney, Duane Compton, Leslie Fall, Don Kollisch, Petra Lewis, Gene Nattie, Dave Nierenberg, Deb Peltier, Ginny Reed, Alex Reyentovich, Eric Shirley, and Justin Wheeler = 15

Members Absent:

Seth Crockett, Ethan Dmitrovsky, Tim Killoran, Ryan Knapp, Martha McDaniel, Kristen Redborg, and Marlene Sachs, = 7

Guests:

Steve McCallister, Mo Levin, Jeff Cohen, and Don St. Germain= 4

A. NEUROLOGY REPORT

I. Dave presented the reasons for exploring the status of Neurology in DMS education and clerkships:

  • 1. Year 3 changes;
  • 2. Recent changes in the Neurology section leadership;
  • 3. The request on the part of members of the Neurosurgery section to investigate the possibilities that they could include Neurosurgery as an alternative to Neurology as a required Year 4 clerkship;
  • 4. MEC routinely examines all required courses and clerkships taught at DMS.

II. Dave presented a summary of clerkship reviews the past two years, and also a summary of how much neurology is required at top 25 medical schools nationally.

III. Jeff Cohen expressed a desire on the part of the Neurology Department to make a commitment to engage more students in the subject of Neurology. He expressed the following as current problems with the existing Neurology program:

  • 1. Neurology is not routinely taught in internal medicine even though it's on the cutting edge of medicine;
  • 2. Neurology education needs to be upgraded in SBM; and
  • 3. Currently, 3rd Year students are not encouraged to participate in the care of neurology patients on the M2 service at DHMC, and there are limited such patients on the general medicine service at the VAMC.

IV. Mo Levin presented a report regarding the current status of Neurology clerkships:

General Description

4 week clerkship
Open to 3rd and 4th year medical students

Site information and maximum students per block

  • DHMC ward service - 3
  • DHMC consult service - 2
  • Regional service - 1
  • DHMC pediatric neuro -1
  • White River VA - 1
  • Manchester DHC - 1
  • New Zealand - 1

Expectations- ­ discussed on 1st day at orientation meeting:

  • 1. Neuro case presentations
  • 2. Chart notes
  • 3. Directed reading
  • 4. Conference attendance
  • 5. Neurological exam proficiency
  • 6. Completion of patient contact log
  • 7. Oral examination last day of clerkship

Neurology Conferences (targeted to cover 8 key areas for all students)

  • Neuroradiology
  • Neuro-ophthalmology
  • Neuromuscular
  • Epilepsy
  • Headache and Pain
  • Neuropathology
  • Intern-Student lecture series

Neurology Clerkship Evaluations

  • Of students:
    Supervising attending evaluation
    Supervising resident evaluation
    Oral exam (case vignettes)
  • Of clerkship experience:
    Formal student evaluation form
    Informal exit interview with ML

Other Electives in Neurology

  • Neurology Sub-internship
  • Pediatric Neurology elective
  • Epilepsy elective
  • Neuro-oncology/Neuroimmunology

Dr. Levin also distributed to the membership a "Welcome to Neurology" handout that all students receive upon entering the clerkship. (See Attachment A) and mentioned "Conferences for Students" handout that he has provided to be attached to the minutes (See Attachment B).

V. Dave opened the topic up to the floor for questions, comments, and suggestions.

B. COMPUTERS IN DMS EDUCATION

I. Dave made several announcements regarding progress towards utilizing computers in DMS education.

  • 1. A workshop on Interactive CDs will be held on May 6, directed by Joe Henderson;
  • 2. A PDA Fair will be held in mid- to late April;
  • 3. DMS Computing will try to bulk order software for PDAs;
  • 4. The goal of MEC is to gradually expand the use of tracking software on PDAs to help students and clerkship directors in all clerkships;
  • 5. A memo has been distributed to all DMS students encouraging them to purchase their own computers, preferably laptops (over desktops) for educational purposes; at present, this is recommended and not required; pros and cons of Macs vs PCs are presented in the memo; technical specs are included as well; and
  • 6. Laptops may eventually replace microscopes in some teaching labs, especially as glass slide collections continue to break or deteriorate and digital images become simpler to maintain.

C. AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEM (ARS)

Jim Bell inquired whether the Audience Response System (ARS) was currently functional. Dave confirmed it is, indeed, up and working.

Agenda for next MEC meeting on April 16, 2002 in 758W Borwell:

Reports of VIGs or Computers in DMS Medical Education

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