Medical Schools

AMA-SMS to look at mistreatment in residency

The AMA Section on Medical Schools will hold a session on mistreatment in graduate medical education during its meeting on Nov. 9 in Hawaii, in conjunction with the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. Learn more about the meeting and register now for the section meeting, which is free to attend.

The issue of mistreatment in medical education and practice has been the subject of a number of recent articles. New York Times' columnist Pauline Chen, MD, for example, described the bullying culture of medical school in a recent piece. A blog post from a faculty member of the Pritzker School of Medicine, the University of Chicago, discusses student mistreatment and aggressive "zero tolerance" initiatives undertaken at the institution to address the problem. Meanwhile, a two-part perspective in Academic Medicine looks at the nature and causes of disrespectful behavior by physicians and ways to create a culture of respect.

In addition, data on medical student mistreatment from the latest Graduation Questionnaire of the Association of American Medical Colleges find that nearly half of medical students have reported mistreatment, versus less than 20 percent on previous surveys (the question was revised this year).

Judges needed for Research Symposium in Hawaii

Attending the AMA Interim Meeting in Hawaii? Then please consider being a judge at the AMA's 10th Annual AMA Research Symposium, on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Judges are needed for both the podium presentations (to take place from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.) and poster presentations (5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.). Judges who volunteer may be asked to judge one or both events, depending on availability. A reception will follow from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The event is divided into three segments (for medical students, resident/fellow physicians and international medical graduates) and categories. Judges should select a segment(s) and the top two or three categories they would like to judge:

Segment 1: Medical students, eight categories:

• Biochemistry/cell biology
• Cancer biology
• Clinical outcomes and healthcare improvement
• Immunology/infectious diseases/inflammation     
• Neurobiology/neuroscience
• Public health and epidemiology
• Radiology/imaging
• Surgery/biomedical engineering

Segment 2: Resident/fellow physicians, two categories:

• Clinical Vignette
• Clinical Medicine (Includes quality improvement, health policy, clinical research and medical education)

Segment 3: International medical graduates (ECFMG-certified candidates awaiting residency), four categories:

• Clinical Vignette
• Clinical Medicine            
• Health Policy and Medical Education
• Basic Science

To learn more and volunteer, email Katherine Torres-Hertz or call (312) 464-4742 by Oct. 5.

Medical student section at Indiana University wins AMA award

Earlier this year, the AMA medical student section at Indiana University School of Medicine was awarded the AMA Medical Student Section School of the Year Award. This annual award is given to a local AMA section that makes significant contributions toward membership, community service, innovation, and collaboration with other student groups and colleagues, among other focus areas. The local section will receive $500 toward future endeavors.

Among the special events at the school were a cell phone collection for soldiers and an education event for children to increase their interest in life sciences. Read more in the winning application.

Medical student section event at Texas A&M wins AMA award

New this year, the AMA's Section Involvement Grant (SIG) program will select one AMA medical student section every month as recipient of the "Event of the Month" award. At the end of the school year, all monthly awards will be showcased at the AMA Annual Meeting and will be voted on by students for one "Event of the Year" winner.

The July "Event of the Month" winner is Texas A&M University College of Medicine, College Station campus, for its AMA First Years Recruitment Event. The AMA's SIG program provided funding for appetizers at the event, which was held during orientation before classes started, resulting in an excellent turnout among the first-year class.

Through the SIG program, the AMA Medical Student Section provides an opportunity for local AMA medical student sections to:

• Educate students about the AMA and provide an opportunity for students to get more involved.
• Help put AMA policy into action by providing a service to medical school campuses or communities.
• Engage in activities that focus on AMA's top priorities.

Cultural competence vital for med students: report

A joint report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Schools of Public Health calls for the nation's medical students and public health students to be educated in ways that help them become more culturally competent practitioners. The report's recommendations are unique in that they bring together for the first time resources from both medicine and public health.

"This report is an invaluable resource for institutions as they educate and train tomorrow's health professionals," AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, said in a news release.

The AMA's new strategic direction features a renewed focus on accelerating change in medical education. Learn more about this focus.

News and notes

• Plans for a new medical school at California Northstate University are on hiatus, but the school hopes to begin enrolling students in July 2014, reports the Sacramento Business Journal.
• A recent Minnesota Public Radio report described the University of Minnesota's rural program, through which medical students learn in rural communities for nine months during their third year of school.
• An architectural review of Columbia University Medical Center's planned medical and education lauds the building's focus on collaboration and problem solving across the health care team (Washington Post).
• A new study finds that more than 60 percent of medical schools offer some education in electronic health records, but the level of access varies. Just 27 percent of survey respondents said students were allowed to view and write patient notes and enter patient orders to be co-signed, reports American Medical News.
• A recent article in the Village Voice newspaper describes the latest salvo in an ongoing "turf war" between an offshore medical school in Grenada and New York City medical schools.