26 students make pre-entry program a success

Another successful year of the Medical School's Pre-Entry Program came to a close Friday, Aug. 7. This annual five-week program began with Dr. Andrew Harper, the director of the program, welcoming 26 incoming first-year medical students July 6.

This pre-matriculation program is coordinated through the Office of Educational Programs by Wai-San Johansson.

The pre-entry students spent the past five weeks gearing up for their first year of medical school, studying biochemistry, gross anatomy, and physiology/ neuroscience, led by the first-year course directors Dr. William Seifert, Dr. Len Cleary, and Dr. Norman Weisbrodt, with the contribution of many other faculty members recognized for their teaching expertise.

The students also had a preview of Introduction to Clinical Medicine with a session in the Surgical Clinical Skills Center and several other specialized topics. Additionally, the program offered a few social engagements, including dinners at Drs. Ian and Patricia Butler's home.

“We wish these students all the best in their medical careers,” Johansson said.

For more information regarding the Pre-Entry Program, please contact Wai-San Johansson, program coordinator, at 713.500.7869.

Postdocs celebrate with “first day”

The National Postdoctoral Association has slated Sept. 24, 2009, as the first “National Postdoc Appreciation Day.” To mark this special day at the Health Science Center, Dr. Philip Clifford will present a seminar to postdoctoral fellows and their mentors on Individual Developmental Plans (IDPs).

Clifford is the associate dean for postdoctoral education and professor of anesthesiology and physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is a charter member of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) and continues to serve on the NPA advisory board and serves as a principal advocate of the NPA agenda. He is a co-author of the Individual Development Plan for postdoctoral fellows, developed as part of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s Science Policy Committee on Training and Careers.

Following Clifford’s seminar, a workshop for the postdocs will be held on analyzing career goals and objectives and preparing a formal IDP. His visit also will include meetings with Health Science Center administrative stakeholders and the UT Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

That evening, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs together with Baylor College of Medicine and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center will host the 4th Annual Postdoktoberfest at the TMC Commons to coincide with the day’s events and celebration of appreciation to postdoctoral fellows.

The UTH-Postdoctoral Association is a proponent for the establishment of IDPs for all postdoctoral fellows. An IDP is a significant mentoring tool used to identify the postdoc’s learning and developmental goals and is jointly develop by the primary investigator and the postdoc. This plan contains training, education, and development activities (formal and informal) to acquire the competencies needed to meet IDP goals. Formulating an IDP benefits not only the postdocs but also the mentor, as most funding agencies now require a mentoring plan to be included in the grant applications.

Faculty, administrators, and postdocs are encouraged to attend the day’s events. The lecture will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in MSB B3001. Postdoctoral fellows are invited to attend a lunch workshop at noon that day.

— Leslie Beckman, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Medical School opens new nursing mother’s room

In an effort to promote a family friendly work environment, the Medical School has opened a new nursing mother’s room in the basement of the Medical School Building.

This facility helps students and employees return to their Medical School duties while caring for their babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mothers exclusively breast feed their children for the first six months of life.

The nursing mother’s room —complete with hospital-grade breast pump, small refrigerator, and sink— replaces the room that was available in the Jesse Jones Library building. The new location is in the basement of the Medical School Building, MSB B.619, adjacent to the blue elevators.

The room is available via key-access only, which may be obtained from Alma Rosas, receptionist in the Dean’s Office, MSB G.150.

Free CME course offered on geriatric issues

The Medical School’s Geriatric and Palliative Medicine Program is offering a free 1.5-day workshop, Care of the Hospitalized Aging Medical Patient (CHAMP) next month.

CHAMP was designed by the University of Chicago to teach non-geriatric faculty how to incorporate geriatric teaching at the bedside with students, residents, and other learners in the hospital setting.

Topics include delirium, depression, and dementia; medications and the elderly patient; goals of care; falls; end-of-life issues; and symptoms and pain management.

The free workshop is scheduled for Sept. 10–11 in MSB B.605 and MSB 3.001. Visit the CHAMP Web site for more information. To register, e-mail Rhonda Bailes with name, address, contact information, clinical specialty, and hospital affiliation.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston designates this education activity for a maximum of 11.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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