Willerson Receives Top Honor for Cardiology in Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico awarded its top honor for Cardiology, the Ignacio Chavez Medallion, to Dr. James T. Willerson, president of the health science center, in a recent ceremony in Mexico City.
The award, named for a prestigious cardiologist from Mexico, is given to those who have shown excellence in research and education in the field of cardiology. The award’s namesake founded the National Institute of Cardiology of Mexico in 1944 and was named lifetime honorary chairman of the International Society of Cardiology, among other accomplishments in the academic and clinical arenas.
“We have not had the honor to have a recipient of the caliber of Dr. Willerson — with his profound accomplishments in research — as an esteemed professor, a leader of the prestigious University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and medical director of and a world-recognized authority in the field of cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Heart Institute,” said Dr. Angel Gonzalez Camano, president of the Mexican Society of Heart Failure, and also vice rector, Research for the Mexican National Institute of Cardiology. “Dr. Willerson’s leadership at the helm of the premier journal for cardiology, Circulation, and the enhancements he made to the journal while maintaining an active medical practice are admirable and set the standard for physicians involved in this field and for future award recipients.”
After receiving the award, President Willerson presented on the latest advances in detection of vulnerable plaque to more than 300 cardiologists from Mexico. He was joined by Drs. Reynolds Delgado and Igor Gregoric in presenting the latest advances in heart failure treatments.
“I am honored to receive this award named after a true pioneer in the field of medicine. With his academic, educational and social accomplishments, Dr. Ignacio Chavez set the standard for which we strive,” said President Willerson, president-elect and medical director of the Texas Heart Institute.
“I have always enjoyed the close collaboration among peers and physicians from Mexico and Texas, especially the educational collaboration and exchange with many from Mexico and the Texas Heart Institute. I look forward to strengthening the historical interactions between the Mexican National Institute of Cardiology, the Texas Heart Institute and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in the future,” he said.
President Willerson added that he looks forward to strengthening the bridges between Texas and Mexico and is working toward the day in which the Texas Heart Institute and its research efforts can have a permanent location in Mexico to serve both Mexico and Latin America.
“The revolution in medicine is now. With developments in genetics and molecular research, all involved in this field are poised to make a dramatic impact in eradicating potential cardiovascular disease. The opportunity for a collaborative effort in that regard is now. I want to have the leaders in this field in Mexico as partners and will dedicate myself to seeing that achieved so all can benefit from such research,” he said.
-M. Raine
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FIRST-YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT COURSE DIRECTORS APPLY INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO LEARNING
In a novel approach to integrating first-year medical students’ basic science and clinical curriculum, first-year medical course directors have initiated a Clinical Applications course, aimed at connecting the information from the basic sciences curriculum to real-life clinical scenarios. This unique approach to medical education recently was recognized on the national level with a publication in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators.
Course directors William Seifert, Jr., Ph.D. (Biochemistry); Daniel Felleman, Ph.D. (Developmental Biology); Leonard Cleary, Ph.D. (Gross Anatomy); Roger Bick, Ph.D. (Histology); Joanne Oakes, M.D. (Introduction to Clinical Medicine); Jeffrey Actor, Ph.D. (Immunology); Rebecca Cox, Ph.D. (Microbiology); Nachum Dafny, Ph.D. (Neuroscience); and Norman Weisbrodt, Ph.D. (Physiology); and Wai-San Johansson, M.Ed, Elizabeth Green, and Allison Ownby, Ph.D., have created and sustained this approach for the past three years.
“Multiple third- and fourth-year students that I would see in the clinic would not understand why they were choosing a particular lab test,” Oakes said. “They were not synthesizing the information they had learned in their basic science classes in their first and second years with the clinical applications of the information. This course applies real world clinical problems to what the students are learning in their basic science courses.”
The course, which meets seven times per year, utilizes a team-based learning approach where teams of six students work together to solve a particular clinical problem using information learned in their basic science courses. The students prepare for the sessions with reading assignments, which they are then quizzed on individually and as a group at the session. The teams are then presented with clinical scenarios, often incorporating information from four or five basic science courses, which they solve as a team and justify to the other groups.
“This course is an attempt to integrate the basic sciences so that the first-year medical students see the relationships between each of the basic sciences as well as their relationships to the clinical aspects of medicine,” Seifert said. “It allows them to apply the basic sciences principles they have learned to clinical problems.”
“Disciplines such as physiology or anatomy have obvious connections to the clinical scenarios they will face later,” Actor added. “These sessions give the students the opportunity to put into global perspective and understand how other basic sciences courses, such as biochemistry, that do not have such an obvious connection are applicable to clinical scenarios.”
Dr. Norman Weisbrodt, from left, Dr. Jeffrey Actor, Dr. Bill Seifert, Dr. Len Cleary, Dr. Rebecca Cox,. Wai-San Johannson, Elizabeth Green, and Dr. Allison Ownby join forces to offer Clinical Applications course. Dr. Roger Bick, Dr. Daniel Felleman, and Dr. Nachum Dafny not pictured.
Click the photo above for a larger image.
So far the feedback from the students has been positive, and has indicated that the course has helped them better apply their basic science knowledge to clinical problems.
“The students appreciate their ability to learn on their own and apply that information to a particular case,” Actor said. “The team members are able to bring together all of their backgrounds and knowledge to teach each other to address clinical problems and understand the basic science reasons behind the diagnosis.”
“We have developed a strong coordination between all of the first-year course directors so we can look at the courses and see what needs to be eliminated and what gaps need to be filled. The course is a really unique application of team-based learning that involves all of the first-year course directors in such a way to integrate the basic sciences and clinical curriculum,” Seifert said.
-K. Mankiewicz
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Faculty Senate looks at benefit calculation changes
At their March 20 meeting, faculty senators learned how a change in how benefits are budgeted will affect the management of current and future grants. The reasons why the UT Health Science Center has moved from a flat rate to ranges to figure benefits was explained by Michael Tramonte, vice president for finance and business services.
“The federal government prefers actuals to figure benefits rather than a flat rate,” he said. The flat benefit rate was 21.8 percent.
The health science center has moved to a tiered system of ranges to calculate benefits for budgeting purposes, which are based on salary. This system will provide a more accurate picture of benefits for departments and budgeting entities as actual benefits will be expensed.
“With the flat rate, the Medical School was subsidizing the other schools because its aggregate benefit costs were less than 21.8 percent of its salaries,” Tramonte explained. “The benefit tiers have been created so that your budget will be in the ballpark.”
Faculty are advised to contact their departmental director of management operations for questions and benefit projections. A flat rate of roughly 9 percent will be budgeted for casual employees, less than half-time employees, and faculty incentive payments. The new system takes effect Sept. 1, 2008.
Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo’s report to Faculty Senate included the latest statistics of the Medical School’s residency match.
“Ninety-seven percent of our students matched, with 10 in orthopaedics, five in dermatology, and two in plastic surgery – all very competitive specialties,” he said.
On the presidential search front, Dean Colasurdo reported that visits by candidates would occur in April, and that a new president is expected to be announced in May.
Dean Colasurdo also reported that he was working with a group to focus on improving faculty morale and said the most effective interventions must be prioritized.
Senate President Dr. Jeff Actor also spoke about faculty retention and morale issues and said he was encouraged by the Dean’s level of involvement.
A comparison of both surveys on this topic revealed similar negative points; however, Actor commented that “we have the opportunity to work with the administration to turn it around.” He continued by saying, “If we are persistent, we can make a difference. And Dean Colasurdo is open to suggestions.”
Actor also pointed out that Faculty Senate has been working pro-actively on crafting ethics recommendations regarding physicians, students, and the pharmaceutical industry. This issue is currently being addressed by the Medical School and the UT Health Science Center.
-D. Brown
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