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August 12, 2004
In this issue: |
COM closes gap: Women are majority for first time |
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With a record number of 120 first-year students starting this week, the USF College of Medicine has for the first time in its history attained a total enrollment of more women than men. The school's total enrollment across all four years is now comprised of 443 students — 224 women and 219 men. This week's arrival of first-year students – 70 women and 50 men – tipped the gender balance of the USF medical school's overall enrollment. Women now account for slightly more than 50 percent of all USF medical students, up from 47 percent last year. |
COM Class of 2008 Stats |
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This incoming class is the second female-majority class recorded by the USF College of Medicine (the first was in 2002). The gap between the total number of men and women medical students at USF has been narrowing over the last few years but, until the arrival of this latest first-year class, men had always outnumbered women. "This mirrors the national trend of more women choosing careers in medicine," said Steven Specter, PhD, associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the USF College of Medicine. "Gender parity bodes well for the educational experience of medical students, and ultimately will benefit the practice of medicine." Following a three-week orientation course titled "The Profession of Medicine," the new medical students will be presented by faculty with their first white coats. The White Coat Ceremony, a milestone marking the students' entry into a career in medicine, will be held 1 p.m., Friday, Aug. 27, in the HSC Auditorium. Keynote speaker for this year's program is Kevin O'Brien, MD, clerkship director for Internal Medicine and recipient of the 2004 Humanism in Medicine Award. Return to top | |
Nursing building reaches apex |
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| "Companies donated their time, effort and materials to help us build this project today," Dr. Burns said to the staff and faculty who attended the ceremony. "This brings us closer to a day we never thought we would see. It brings us closer to our ribbon cutting ceremony." When complete, the new College of Nursing will have double the space and include several specialty centers, including a Center for Clinical Skills Assessment shared with the College of Medicine. It will help students learn new skills, as well as teach them how to react on the job. The state-of-the-art centers will include robotic patients programmed with scenarios to help students learn in a more realistic environment. The project started in September 2003 and is scheduled to be complete in 2006, after a total renovation of the existing CON building. Return to top | |
Community Links |
COPH maps East Tampa health indicators |
East Tampa residents want improved street lights, more opportunities for employment, a new medical facility, stores and a movie theater, less rental housing, and "a Starbucks." These are among preliminary findings of USF College of Public Health researchers working with East Tampa adolescents and families to identify neighborhood assets and needs that impact their health. The City of Tampa has made the redevelopment of the urban area known as East Tampa a top priority, and enlisted the help of USF faculty and students to do it. "Thirty-five thousand people live in East Tampa, yet the area has few services," said Kay Perrin, PhD, assistant professor of community and family health. "We want to help build up this community's infrastructure and strengths so that it becomes a better place to live." Dr. Perrin was recently awarded a one-year $20,000 East Tampa Health Partnership Grant from the HSC Office of Research. The project expands on the East Tampa asset mapping initiative begun this spring by students in Dr. Perrin's research methods class. The earlier mapping project, one of five funded by the USF Collaborative for Families and Children, brought together faculty and students from Architecture, Education, Nursing, Public Health and Arts & Sciences to work together on community-based research. The new grant is helping public health graduate student Keisha Cutler and doctoral student Danielle O'Connor conduct focus groups to gain more insight into the East Tampa health concerns perceived by adolescents, parents, relatives of adolescents, church leaders, teachers and health care providers. They will also interview men and women age 70 and older who have lived most of their adult lives in East Tampa. "The purpose is to link the focus group information, which gives a current snapshot of East Tampa, with the historical perspective of the elders to see how to bridge the gaps and reclaim the liveliness that was once abundant in the community," Dr. Perrin said. The researchers will also look at how environmental stressors may exacerbate health problems. "For example," Dr. Perrin said, "if the doctor recommends that a patient get out and walk to lose some weight and the community has inadequate sidewalks, no streetlights and a history of crime — then, the patient probably won't walk around the neighborhood. Patients might be labeled noncompliant when they actually may be concerned for their safety." The Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc., and the USF Collaborative for Families and Children are partners with COPH for the East Tampa Health Partnership grant. College of Nursing faculty and students have also contributed to the revitalization initiative. This spring, a nursing team catalogued East Tampa neighborhoods' health assets, including clinics, gyms, pharmacies, social service agencies and doctors' offices. The students created an East Tampa Health Resource Guide that has been shared with all the community representatives and continues to be updated. Return to top |
USF takes role in county's federally funded Family Justice Center |
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The Harrell Center of USF's College of Public Health is providing the research and evaluation for the Family Justice Center being established in Tampa as part of a major federal initiative. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced in July that Hillsborough County will receive almost $1.1 million as one of 15 nationwide recipients of President George W. Bush's Family Justice Center Initiative. The USF James and Jennifer Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence has been integral to comprehensive efforts in the Tampa Bay region to reduce domestic violence and is one of the 23 area providers that will make up the collaborative, "one-stop" array of centralized services to victims of family violence. "Whether it's obtaining a protection order, talking to an advocate, or meeting with a prosecutor, these centers will enable victims to get the assistance they need to put their lives and their children's lives back on track," said Diane M. Stuart, director of the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. The Hillsborough County center is projected to begin operations in spring 2005. In the interim, a task force will work to determine the specifics on how the center and its partners will work in concert. |
In the News |
| The USF Center for Biological Defense was featured in a July 10 Fox National News segment on the rise in university-based biodefense programs following 9/11. Center director Jacqueline Cattani, PhD, professor of public health, said the center's real world approach to bioterrorism research and education has helped Florida's first responders to collect suspicious samples faster and more safely. Thomas J. Mason, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the College of Public Health, commented in the July 16 Bradenton Herald on Florida regulators consideration of Superfund status for federal cleanup of a contaminated nuclear weapons site in Manatee County. The appointment of Stephen Klasko, MD, as USF's new dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences received national and statewide media coverage. Stories ran in the July 17 Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, Associated Press, Naples Daily News, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, MSNBC, the Miami Herald, WFOR-TV in Miami and WNEP-TV Ch. 16 in the Philadelphia market. An interview with Dr. Klasko was featured in the Aug. 3 St. Petersburg Times. A USF College of Medicine grant that will bring health screenings and education to University Community Area residents was featured in the July 17 Tampa Tribune. Medical students David Wilson and Leslie Passmore worked with the Area Health Education Center to obtain the grant. Peter R. Pavan, MD, USF professor and chair of ophthalmology, commented on the life-altering effects of age-related wet macular degeneration, a progressive disease that destroys vision, in the July 19 Tampa Tribune. The USF Suncoast Gerontology Center and USF Memory Disorders Clinic were mentioned July 20 in a WFLA News Ch. 8 broadcast about the investigational Alzheimer's drug Alzhemed. The USF sites will begin enrolling patients this fall for a study of the anti-amyloid drug. An HSC Area Health Education Center program that paired USF health professional students with the Citrus County Health Department was featured in the July 22 Citrus County Chronicle and the July 26 Citrus Times. The student interns helped coordinate the 8-week fitness camp to teach children about the importance of exercise and nutrition through games, crafts and field trips. Harry Van Loveren, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, was quoted in the July 23 Tampa Tribune on the treatment of a non-specific condition called chronic cervical spine syndrome. Barbara Langland Orban, PhD, chair of the COPH Department of Health Policy and Management, was quoted in a July 25 Tampa Tribune article on hospital expansion in the Tampa Bay area. Neuroscientist Paul Sanberg, PhD, DSc, commented for Fox-13 News July 27 on the Democratic National Convention speech by Ron Reagan, Jr., the late president's son, advocating embryonic stem cell research for Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders. Dr. Sanberg spoke about USF research using alternative stem cells, such as those from adult bone marrow and human umbilical cord blood, in the July 28 HealthDay News and in the July 27 rebroadcast of an earlier ABC Action News Ch. 28 interview. Kristi Weiner, PhD, clinical psychologist in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, was interviewed live July 28 for WTST Ch. 10's Life Around the Bay. Dr. Weiner discussed a study showing active children may be less prone to depression. Return to top |
HSC students awarded McKnight Fellowships |
| Three HSC students were recently awarded prestigious McKnight Doctoral Fellowships from the Florida Education Fund. Michelle Offutt and Sabrina Robinson, students in the College of Nursing, and Marilyn M. Williams, a student in the College of Public Health, are among the 30 students who will begin their studies fall semester at Florida universities as McKnight fellows. Offutt, a graduate of the baccalaureate and master's programs in nursing at USF, is a new student in the PhD nursing program. She works part-time as a nurse in the high-risk obstetrics unit at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital and as a nurse practitioner at Wound Healing Associates in Tampa. Robinson, a graduate teaching and research assistant at CON, will enter the BSN-to-PhD program in fall 2003. Williams is a research associate in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at COPH. Her doctoral research will focus on how hydrocarbons emitted primarily from motor vehicles and power plants affect Tampa Bay. The McKnight Fellowship is a top, selective award recognized as a model program nationally for helping to create more African-American PhDs. Each awardee receives up to $5,000 to help pay for tuition for each of three academic years and an annual stipend of $12,000. Return to top |
New assistant VP for development joins HSC |
| Stephanie Grinage joined USF July 1 as assistant vice president for Health Sciences Development. Working closely with leadership of the USF Foundation and the deans of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, Grinage will develop the case for philanthropic support and continue to evolve the professional development infrastructure that supports the USF HSC. Grinage was in development leadership for six years for the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, most recently as senior development officer and director of development. At ASU, she also served as associate athletic director and director of development and marketing for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. During ASU's Campaign for Leadership, Grinage led a team that raised a campus-best $77 million for what is now the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Before joining ASU Development in 1997, she was senior director of development and marketing for the Neurosciences Center of Excellence at the University of Illinois Medical Center, and executive director of the Illinois Eye Fund. There, she helped raise more than $85 million in the $1-billion Campaign Illinois. Return to top |
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Indian health officials visiting USF pledge to improve health outcomes in Maharashtra |
| USF's CHART-India recently hosted a delegation of Indian physicians and public health personnel for a two-week intensive workshop on HIV-AIDS prevention, management and treatment in resource-constrained settings. Among this group were high officials of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Maharashtra, including the Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Navin Kumar. The result was a pledge from the delegation to improve prevention and management of AIDS and HIV back home. The group also conducted field visits to Tampa General Hospital, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and the Hillsborough and Polk County Health Departments, where, they said, they were struck by the commitment and devotion of health care professionals working with HIV/AIDS patients. All participants were awarded a certificate of completion at an awards reception presided over by USF Provost Renu Khator. Other keynote speakers from USF included Dr. Michael Knox, Dr. Karen Liller, Dr. Boo Kwa, and Dr. Kiran Patel. CHART-India is an academic community partnership between the USF Division of Infectious Disease in the College of Medicine, the Department of Global Health in the College of Public Health, the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center and 10 major partners in India. The USF CHART-India team includes John Sinnott, MD, Eknath Naik, MD PhD, Ann Debaldo, PhD, Jeff Nadler, MD, Lynette Menezes, PhD, Todd Wills MD, Sagar Galwankar, MD, MPH, and Michael Knox, PhD. Return to top |
Dr. Susan McMillan to serve on NIH review section |
| Susan McMillan, PhD, FAAN, professor in the USF College of Nursing, was invited to serve as a member of the Center for Scientific Review for Nursing Science: Adults and Older Adults Study Section, which is part of the National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services. Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on these applications to appropriate NIH national advisory councils or boards, and survey the status of research in their fields of science. Members are chosen based on their own demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline, such as the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors. Return to top |
Dr. Frank Diamond on pediatric endocrine BOR |
| Frank Diamond, MD, USF professor of pediatrics, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society. Dr. Diamond, a member of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at All Children's Hospital, will serve a 4-year term, which began in May. The 780-member Lawson Wilkins Society, named after the world's first recognized pediatric endocrinologist, promotes "the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge about endocrine and metabolic disorders of the young from conception through adolescence." Return to top |
Two anesthesiologist honored at state meeting |
| At the recent Florida Society of Anesthesiologists Meeting in Palm Beach, Rafael Miguel, MD, chairman of the USF Department of Anesthesiology, was elected first vice-president of the group and given an FSA Presidential Award for "outstanding dedication and commitment to a job well done". Dr. Hector Vila, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology, was also presented with an award in special recognition for his work on office-based surgery. Return to top |
Faculty Affairs hosts fall program for new faculty |
| The HSC Office of Faculty Affairs is offering several programs for new faculty. They are: New Faculty HSC-Wide Orientation: 8 to 11 a.m. (continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m.) on Sept. 24 at the USF Alumni Center/Lifsey House, Traditions Hall. Promotion, Tenure and Evaluation for COM: Facilitator: Sept. 1, at 17 Davis, Pediatrics Conference Room - 2nd Floor; or Sept. 16, All Children's Hospital, Pediatrics Conference Room - 3rd Floor; or Oct. 5, USF Tampa Campus MDC 2301. All sessions are from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Protecting Your Intellectual Property and Commercialization: 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 8 in MDC 2301. The Basics - On Becoming a New Principal Investigator: 3 to 5 p.m., Oct. 20, in MDC 1004. Space is limited in all programs. Please register no later than 14 calendar days prior to program date. Contact Sandy Wirth in the Office of Faculty Affairs, 813-974-6494 or swirth@hsc.usf.edu to reserve your place or cancel a reservation. Return to top |
New course looks at medicine in the movies |
| HSC faculty and students are invited to attend a course that will examine how various medical scenarios are portrayed in the movies.Called "Medicine and Movies: Ethical Dilemmas and the Narrative Lens," the course is designed for students in the Master's Degree in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (MBMH) program, but is open to anyone else interested in exploring the ways in which film presents ethical dilemmas in modern medicine. The course may also be taken for continuing professional education credit. The cost is $99 for physicians for all four days or $50 for one day, and $50 for the general public for all four days or $25 for one day. The course is from Sept. 9 to 12 and will be in MacInnis Auditorium at Tampa General Hospital and adjacent meeting rooms. Among the invited seminar leaders is local movie critics Bob Ross from the Tampa Tribune and Lance Goldenberg from the Weekly Planet. Movies to be discussed (and some require advanced viewing) include Ikuru, Wit, Dirty Pretty Things, The Doctor, The Cider House Rules, Philadelphia, Barbarian Invasions, Miss Evers' Boys/Death and the Maiden, Super Size Me, Article 99, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Check out their website at www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/coph/film to register or for more information. Or call the MBMH office at 813-974-5300. Return to top |