June
2009, Volume 7.5
Delaware Mini Medical School concludes
Spring 2009 session.
Under the
leadership of Albert Rizzo, MD, Delaware
Academy of Medicine Programs Chair, the first Delaware Mini Medical School was
launched on April 22, 2009. The six-week public lecture series, jointly
sponsored by the Delaware Academy of Medicine and Christiana Care Health System, was
conducted by Academy members Arun Malhotra, MD; James Lenhard, MD; and Mitchell
Saltzberg, MD, in addition to University of Delaware
faculty including William Farquhar, PhD; Mary Ann McLane, PhD; Raelene Maser,
PhD, MT; and David Edwards, PhD. Also featured were Natalie Outslay, MS, Pulmonary Associates; Janet Tighe,
MA, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; and
Mitchell Glass, MD, pharmaceutical research and development consultant.
A concept that
began more than a decade ago, mini medical schools are community education
programs now offered by nearly 100 medical schools, universities, research
institutions, and hospitals in at least 36 states across the country. The
program is intended to educate the public about the advances in clinical
medicine and scientific research being conducted nationally. The program
is open to adults and high school students interested in science, medicine,
health, and the body, although no science background is necessary to
attend. There are no exams, assignments, or stress of actual medical
school.
Conducted
Wednesday evenings April 22 through May 27 at Arsht Hall on the Wilmington
Campus of the University of Delaware, the series offered topics and interactive
discussion in pulmonary medicine, renal medicine, infectious disease, diabetes
and metabolism, and cardiology, as well as a look at the future of medical
education. Participants were provided with presentation handouts and
class supplies. Following each presentation, participants were invited to
write questions on note cards, which were then addressed by the speakers and
are being posted on the program’s website, www.delawareminimed.org, for the
benefit of the general public. Nearly 100 people attended each weekly
session, with more than 40 people attending all six concurrent sessions.
There was no cost to attend the series.
Participants
delivered overwhelmingly positive comments from the first session to the
last. “This is a great community educational activity,” related one
participant. Another shared, “The program was excellent!” And
another, “What a great service to the community!”
Academy
leadership was equally pleased with the results. “Feedback from the
community has been extremely gratifying,” said Academy president Barry Kayne,
DDS. “The mini medical school has made a difference in the well-being of
the community and has cast a very favorable light upon the Delaware Academy of
Medicine.”
The planning
committee for mini medical school includes Drs. Kayne and Rizzo, along with
Michele Schiavoni, Senior Vice President, Development/External Affairs with
Christiana Care Health System; Timothy Gibbs, Executive Director, Delaware
Academy of Medicine; and Tracy Miller, Director of Medical Education, Delaware
Academy of Medicine.
Tentative
plans are underway to offer the second mini medical school in Lewes, along with
a simultaneous series in Dover, in Fall 2009, and we are activity seeking
financial underwriting for this important educational series for the public. If
you are interested in supporting this program, or know of a potential
underwriting source, please contact Tracy
Miller or Tim
Gibbs.
The series
will see a return to New Castle County in Spring 2010. Participants in
the first mini medical school series provided a multitude of suggested topics
for future mini medical school sessions, including stem cell research, cancer
prevention and treatment, sexual health and dysfunction, assisted reproductive
technologies, transplantation and bariatric surgery.
Excitement
for continuation of the series resonated with participants of the first series,
many of whom said they would eagerly travel to Lewes or Dover for additional
sessions, in addition to attending the Wilmington series next Spring.
“I’m looking forward to the sessions downstate,” noted one gentleman on his
evaluation. “There is so much that is new and needs explanation.
Play it again, Sam!”
Our deepest
thanks to the presenters and to Christiana
Care Health System for their support and promotion of Delaware Mini Medical
School
Susan
LaValley, Consumer Health Librarian, published in the Journal of Consumer
Health on the Internet
Susan
LaValley, MLS, one of the Delaware Academy of Medicine’s three consumer health
librarians has had an article published on “Delaware Health Source” , a consumer
health library program. It is always a distinct honor to have a member of the
staff recognized in this manner, and acknowledges the importance of the work
our consumer health librarians do in the community.
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A
visible and versatile consumer health information service can potentially
complement already existing health-related services and programs. By
emphasizing outreach to library populations and nonlibrary populations,
consumer health librarians and community partners
can facilitate the acquisition of health literacy skill.” |
Please contact mkugler@delamed.org if you would like a
reprint of this article sent to you. Due to copyright restrictions we are
unable to include the article with this newsletter.
Daniel
J. Preston reprint on “Blow-out Patch Repair of Hernia with Steel Cloth”
donated by Dr. Michael Rhodes to the Academy Archives and History Collection
One of the leading physician
donors to the Delaware Academy of Medicine, Dr. Daniel J. Preston, after whom
one of the Academy’s largest endowments is named, was born in 1909. After
taking an undergraduate degree at Pennsylvania State College, he attended
Temple University School of Medicine, where he trained in surgery under Dr. W.
Wayne Babcock. He interned at Pennsylvania Hospital in the mid-1930s, and
taught surgery at Temple for three years.
Dr. Preston moved to
Wilmington in 1940, and served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II. After the war, he worked as a general surgeon
until his retirement in 1974. During his career, he was chief of surgery at
Wilmington General Hospital and Delaware Hospital from 1953 to 1970. Later he
was chief of surgery at St. Francis Hospital. In 1959, Dr. Preston and his
wife, Amy, traveled to Uganda and spent three months working at the Freda Carr
Hospital there. Among his other professional achievements was the introduction
of a new hernia repair technique using stainless steel wire mesh.
Dr. Preston was a leading
member of many local medical organizations, including terms as president of the
Delaware Medical Society and the New Castle County Medical Society. He was also
a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the International
College of Surgeons, and a member of the Southeast Surgical Congress and the
Pan-Pacific Surgical Society.
In May, the Academy was
contacted by staff from Dr. Michael Rhodes office inquiring as to whether the
Academy would be interested in adding this item to our collection. It is a fascinating
look at what was regarded as state-of-the-art surgical procedure in 1958. We
invite you to stop by and see this fascinating addition to our collection.
You can visit http://www.delamed.org/history_collection_main.shtm
to read more about some of our collections acquired over the years. While we
are limited in our capacity to take on new items into the collection, we do
encourage you to contact
us if you have items you would like to donate.
To
Dr. Michael Rhodes, we extend our sincere thanks for this important
contribution to our collection.
Update
on DelMIRA
The Academy’s
DelMIRA
program (Delaware Medical Information Resource Alliance) has seen considerable
growth over the past year. For those who
may not know about the program, DelMIRA is an Academy initiative that is
supported with grant monies from the Delaware Health Fund. Created to address the disparity in access to
evidence-based point-of-care information resources at
Because the
program is funded by the state, funding to continue the program into FY10 is in
jeopardy. To encourage continued
support, a “Save DelMIRA” page has been created on the
DelMIRA web site. This page contains a
customizable form letter
that people can send to their legislators discussing the importance of the
resources available through DelMIRA, and urging legislators to do what they can
to save the program from further cuts.
There is also a link to search for your local legislator. To give your support, please visit the Save
DelMIRA web page.
All
individual members of the Academy have access to DelMIRA resources. For more information about how to access or
use the resources, please don’t hesitate to contact Robb Mackes, DelMIRA Project Manager for
more details.
Update on Delaware
Health Source
The Delaware
Health Source is a service of the Delaware Academy of Medicine and the Delaware Division of Public
Health. Through this service, specially trained librarians work with
Delaware citizens to find answers to health questions. For most people, finding answers to health
related questions isn’t easy. The fact is that between the internet, books,
magazines, TV, and radio, there is almost too much information. It’s difficult
to find answers that are current, reliable, and focused on just what you need
to know. That is where the Delaware Health Source can help. We search through
the information and deliver just what is needed – so individuals can make
informed decisions about their health care. We focus on each person’s concerns
using databases, journals, and other resources with the latest information
which may not be available to the average consumer. Most importantly, we weed
out information that doesn’t apply to the individual’s situation and narrow it
down to focus on the answers that are needed. The service is completely confidential
Another program operated by Delaware Health
Source is Go
Local, an internet-based searchable database of health and wellness information,
which is hosted by the National Library of
Medicine. Go Local is, literally, localized information which is searchable
by location, providers, facilities, and services and disease and health issues.
Delaware
Health Source is underwritten by a grant from the State of Delaware Tobacco
Fund Settlement and, as with all programs, is in jeopardy due to the economy.
Your support is needed to maintain this program and we encourage you to contact
your local representative!
Delaware
Cultural Competency Education Series
The
Delaware Division of
Public Health (DPH), in partnership with the Delaware Nurses Association, Delaware Academy of Family Physicians, NMA,
and the Delaware Academy of Medicine, developed and sponsored the Delaware
Cultural Competency Education Series. A
recommendation of the 2007 Delaware Healthcare Disparities Taskforce
report, this educational series was created specifically for “Creating a Culturally Sensitive Healthcare Environment”
in
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Dr. Ana Nunez |
Marcos Pesquera, RPh,
MPH |
On
May 22nd, the Delaware Academy of Medicine hosted a session at Christiana Care Health System, Stanton.
Presenting were Dr. Ana Nunez, director of the Center of Excellence and Women’s
Health Education Program and Associate Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine (formerly
MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine) and Marcos Pesquera, R.Ph., MPH, Executive
Director, Center
on Health Disparities Adventist HealthCare, Inc. Both presenters provided
information on the interventions and practices healthcare systems and providers
should adopt that will result in the elimination of healthcare disparities in
our communities. Dr. Nunez also shared the need to establish programs that will
increase the cultural sensitivity, diversity awareness, and linguistic services
capacity of healthcare professionals.
Upcoming
Events we encourage you to participate in…
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Join our
colleagues at Christiana Care Health System when they webcast two OR Live
total knee replacement surgeries, back to back, demonstrating different
techniques. The surgeries will be performed by Alex B. Bodenstab, M.D., and
Steven M. Dellose, M.D., and the event will be narrated by Leo W. Raisis,
M.D., medical director of Christiana Care's Center for Advanced joint
replacement at Wilmington Hospital. To learn
more, click here.
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Delaware
Cultural Competency Education Series June 22, 2009 - Wilmington (8:00am - 10:00am) Topic: Cultural Competence in Pediatric Care Main Hospital Entrance – 3rd Floor Lecture Hall Speakers: Michelle Gourdine, MD |
GOING GREEN – SAVING GREEN$
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Tim
Tim Gibbs, Executive Director
Delaware Academy of Medicine
Stanton Campus of Christiana Care
John H. Ammon Medical Education Center
4765 Ogletown-Stanton Road
Suite L10
Newark, Delaware 19713
302-733-3919
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