 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
         |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| navigate: home: magazine: fall 2003: article | |
|
HEALTH CARE Medical Center gives public a taste of med school By Celena E. Kusch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In the United States, health costs total about 14 percent of the Gross National Product. More than one-third of the U.S. population suffers from chronic diseases, at a cost of nearly $750 billion a year. It is no surprise that health issues are on the public’s mind. To respond to the public’s desire for more health and medical information, faculty members and the Continuing Education Office at the Penn State College of Medicine at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center have developed an in-depth Mini-Medical School for community audiences. According to Dr. Luanne E. Thorndyke, associate dean for Professional Development and associate professor of medicine, students come from within a 30-mile radius of the school and include high school students, teachers, school nurses, staff from the Medical Center and people in the community. The program has been held for four years and is very popular with the public. More than 300 people attended the Mini-Medical School this spring alone. The purpose of the program is to present biomedical topics of public interest, to educate the community about clinical science and to demonstrate the value of medical research and academic medical centers. “What distinguishes Penn State’s Mini-Medical School from other community health education offerings is that the Mini-Medical School incorporates basic science, clinical application, as well as medical research. This is different from other community programs that just provide an information update about a clinical problem,” Thorndyke explained. “At Penn State, we are careful to select speakers and topics that will bring in all three areas—from basic biology, pathology and pathophysiology to clinical treatments and future research directions,” she said. “The Hershey faculty who are chosen to teach at the school are clinicians, clinician-researchers and basic science-researchers who are skilled in communicating complex medical concepts to a general audience.” Penn State’s Mini-Medical School was modeled after a program started 10 years ago by Dr. Bruce Fuchs, director of the Office of Science Education at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program was designed to help legislators understand the NIH and the value of medical research in changing clinical practice. Thorndyke noted that a similar goal also guides the Penn State Mini-Medical School. “One of the important aspects of the program is to educate the public about the tremendous value of having a medical school in their own backyard that can translate benchmark research to bedside treatments. The Hershey Medical Center is here in the community not only providing excellent patient care, but also doing important research and teaching a new generation of students to be medical researchers and clinicians,” she said. “The program is held at the Medical Center itself, so that participants can experience being a student at a medical school. We believe it is important for them to be on-site at the Medical Center,” Thorndyke added. Through the Mini-Medical School, students participate in an eight-week series of evening presentations. The courses include a book of handouts and culminate in an annual commencement ceremony. Teachers who participate receive Act 48 continuing education credits. Student participation in the program is free, with support for program costs underwritten by an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. Medical Center faculty members volunteer their time as members of the planning committee and as instructors. Approximately 20 faculty volunteers deliver presentations for the school each year. Dr. Thomas J. Weida, associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and director of the University Physicians Group-Fishburn, serves as director of the Mini-Medical School. “The fact that the Mini-Medical School has an all-volunteer faculty is truly impressive,” Weida stressed. “Our physicians recognize the need for getting information out to the public, and they enjoy having the chance to tell the community about what they do. It’s also a lot of fun to participate in the Mini-Medical School. The students are enthusiastic and ask great questions. It’s a wonderful way for faculty to demonstrate their support of our institution.” The planning committee for the school is made up of several faculty members and staff in the College of Medicine’s Continuing Education Office. Each year, the committee builds the curriculum from topic suggestions on student evaluations in order to ensure the program is responsive to community interests. Planners also take into account local expertise at the Medical Center, so presentations can demonstrate depth in both clinical and research applications. This year’s topics included several sessions on bioterrorism and nuclear risks, as well as sessions on evaluating credibility and reliability of medical content on the Internet. “The Mini-Medical School is tailored to the public, and there was intense interest in the bioterrorism segment of the program,” Thorndyke noted. Beyond faculty presentations, the program has included hands-on skill training in the past, and plans are to include more hands-on opportunities in the future. This year’s presentations also incorporated some patient perspectives. Thorndyke emphasized the community’s embrace of this program, saying, “The members of the community who come very much appreciate the program. One student wrote a letter of thanks to the Office of Continuing Medical Education thanking them for their help in accommodating her access needs. The student recently received knee surgery and was in the middle of physical therapy at the time. The commitment of this student and the community as a whole to go out of their way to attend the sessions really speaks to the value of the program and the connections we are forging between the school and the public.” Weida agreed, adding, “The program is very popular. Most people have an interest in health issues, and the draw and reputation of our institution have made the program a regular part of the community. About 20 of our students are four-year veterans of the program. They have gone through the commencement ceremony every spring since the Mini-Medical School began.” Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine and chief executive officer of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, presides over the Mini-Medical School commencement each year. “One of Penn State’s strengths as a University is our active engagement with the communities around us,” Kirch said. “The Mini-Medical School has been an exceptionally positive way for the College of Medicine to connect to its community in Hershey and beyond. For faculty and students alike, it has proven to be an extraordinarily rewarding experience.” Building on the success and popularity of the Hershey-based program, Thorndyke has begun plans to bring the program to the State College area. Planners also hope to involve more faculty in the future. A continuing education service of the Penn State College of Medicine and the Continuing Education Office | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mini-Medical School faculty volunteers During the 2003 Mini-Medical School at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, nearly two dozen Penn State College of Medicine faculty volunteered their time to plan the program and to provide in-depth lectures on hepatitis C and liver transplants, bioterrorism and nuclear risk, cervical and prostate cancer, medical informatics, obesity, childhood leukemia and child abuse, and health policy. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contributors included:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
