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Physician Workforce
Update
Tram Construction
Update
Regionalization
Update
Martin Fuss to
Join Radiation Medicine
Science Education
OHSU Student Group
Receives National Award
Linda Hays Passes
Away
Global Health Initiative
Sharon Anderson
Receives Service Award
SOM Student Wins
ACP Run
Radiation Medicine
Awards
CeDMA Awards
2006 SOM Graduate
Program Awards
New SOM Faculty
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June SOM News
AAMC Calls for
Workforce Expansion
On June 19, 2006, the Association of American
Medical Colleges (AAMC) issued a press release
calling for a 30 percent increase in U.S. medical
school enrollment by 2015, a doubling of the
15 percent increase recommended in February
2005. Citing growing evidence of a national
physician shortage, the AAMC suggests boosting
enrollment at existing schools and creating
new allopathic medical schools. The recommended
expansion would result in an additional 5,000
new M.D. students annually.
The AAMC's Center for Workforce Studies cited
the following factors in making the recommendation:
- U.S. population increases of 25 million
people each decade;
- a doubling in the number of people over
65 between 2000 and 2030;
- Americans' rising expectations for, and
the increasing availability of, effective
health care services that will keep people
healthy and active as they grow older;
- an aging physician workforce: one of every
three active doctors is over age 55 and likely
to retire by 2020; and
- a new generation of physicians who may
choose to work somewhat less than their predecessors.
The AAMC's analysis of the data concluded that
if these trends continue, the number of doctors
will peak by about 2020 and then drop just as
the Baby Boomers begin to reach age 75.
To accommodate additional U.S. M.D. graduates
in teaching hospital residency training programs,
the AAMC policy continues to call for the removal
of the cap on the number of residency positions
funded by Medicare. Other key recommendations
in the new AAMC workforce policy include:
- studying the geographic distribution of
U.S. physicians to help identify strategies
to address the paucity of physicians in many
areas;
- increasing the National Health Service Corps
awards by at least $1,500 per year to help
meet the need for physicians who care for
underserved populations and address rising
medical student indebtedness;
- examining ways to develop a formal, voluntary
process for assessing medical schools outside
the U.S. that primarily enroll Americans,
and a mechanism that could oversee the U.S.
clinical training of medical students enrolled
in foreign medical schools; and
- actively assisting medical education and
training in other countries, especially those
in less developed countries.
The association acknowledges that improvements
in the efficiency of healthcare delivery and/or
advances in medicine may lower the overall number
of doctors that the U.S. is projected to need
in the future. The current recommendations and
ongoing monitoring and analysis by the AAMC Center
for Workforce Studies will allow the nation to
respond to changing needs. The center will provide
updated forecasts every two years or so. If the
best available data indicate any changes in the
U.S. physician supply, the AAMC will reassess
its current position.
A copy of the AAMC's revised physician workforce
position can be found at
click here
The OHSU School of Medicine has incrementally
increased its entering class size from 100 matriculants
in 2001 to 120 in 2006, the maximum number of
first-year medical students we can educate on
the Marquam Hill campus. By 2008, regional campuses
will afford the opportunity to further expand
the entering class size.
Tram Construction
Progressing Rapidly
 Public attention turned literally overnight
from the cost of the tram to the rapid progress
being made toward completing it when the massive
first section of the 196-foot intermediate tower
appeared June 13 on its pedestal next to S.W.
Macadam Avenue. Construction crews had worked
through the night erecting it, and virtually
every media outlet in the city took note of
it. The tower's final section will go up in
early July.
The lower tram terminal adjacent to the OHSU
Center for Health & Healing is nearing completion.
The roof is up, the ropeway saddles are in place
and the drive machinery has been installed.
On Marquam Hill the 200-foot concrete elevator
and stair-core tower – the most time-consuming
component in the construction of the upper tram
terminal – has been topped out and erection
of the steel superstructure soon will be under
way. The tram cabins are due to be shipped from
Switzerland next month. At around the same time,
Dopplemayr, the tram manufacturer, will begin
the installation and tensioning of the four
track ropes and one circulating haul rope that
will carry the cabins up and down the hill.
When it's up and running in December, the tram
will efficiently speed riders between the Center
for Health & Healing in the South Waterfront
– the largest earth-friendly building
in Oregon and one of the greenest buildings
of its kind in the world – to the top
of Marquam Hill. The tram will remove traffic
from city streets, eliminating an estimated
two million vehicle miles annually, saving 93,000
gallons of gasoline per year and reducing greenhouse
emissions by more than 1,000 tons.
Following is the link to the PDOT site with
up-to-date information and photos of tram construction:
click here
Regionalization Update
Regionalization of medical education, one of
the five strategies in the SOM Strategic Plan,
is now well into implementation. Numerous trips
to Eugene and Corvallis by SOM deans have resulted
in plans to have OHSU medical students at both
the University of Oregon and Oregon State University
in fall 2008.
The prototype satellite site in Eugene, developed
in partnership with the University of Oregon
and the PeaceHealth System, Oregon Region, with
Sacred Heart Hospital, is quickly coming online.
Some third- and fourth-year medical students
have clerkships in Eugene this summer and the
building (owned by Sacred Heart and adjacent
to the University of Oregon campus) that will
house the regional program in Eugene is being
readied for occupancy.
Martin Fuss to Join Radiation Medicine
Dr. Martin Fuss has accepted the position of
Professor and Director of the Image-Guided Radiation
Therapy (IGRT) program in OHSU's Department
of Radiation Medicine beginning on August 1,
2006. Dr. Fuss is a recognized international
leader in the rapidly evolving area of IGRT.
His training encompasses both diagnostic and
therapeutic radiology.
Dr. Fuss was a member of the German Heavy Ion
Project radiation oncology team that conducted
the first clinical treatments with charged heavy
particles in Europe. He was one of the pioneers
in using an IMRT system to deliver IMRS over
multiple couch angles, and an early investigator
in the planning and delivery of SBRT using an
IMRT system.
In conjunction with Dr. Cristina Fuss, Martin
Fuss helped to pioneer the clinical use of ultrasound-based
image guidance techniques for abdominal cancer
and childhood cancer radiotherapy. Dr. Fuss
invented new clinical applications for this
technology that allow assessing the location
of a tumor within the body right before radiation
therapy is being delivered. Development of this
treatment technique has enabled safer radiation
treatment for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma,
a liver cancer for which currently no standard
treatment alternatives exist.
Dr. Fuss implemented one of the first SBRT programs
in the United States. Patients who are unable
to undergo surgical resection for the treatment
of small, early stage lung cancer and lung metastases,
and/or inoperable liver metastases can receive
high-dose radiotherapy to these lesions instead.
Office of Science Education Opportunities
The Office of Science Education Opportunities
is hosting a welcome session for high school
and undergraduate interns to meet peers and
learn about various campus programs and resources.
All OHSU mentors and students working on campus
as interns are invited to attend.
Please note these dates and times: West Campus
on Friday, June 30, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Primate
Center, Malinow Meeting Hall; Marquam Hill Campus
on Wednesday, July 5, 3:30 - 5 p.m., BICC Gallery.
If you are mentoring a high school or undergraduate
student this summer, either on your own or through
any program (e.g., CURE, ASE, NSI Summer Fellowship,
OIDD Summer Youth Employment Program, Partners
in Scientific Inquiry), please email Susan Shugerman
(
shugeman@ohsu.edu ), director of Science
Education Opportunities, with the name and grade
level of the student(s). This will greatly assist
in tracking mentoring activities on campus.
Please refer to the instructions for Visiting
Scientists and Other Affiliates at
http://www.ohsu.edu/cc/pandp_vis.shtml to
insure you complete the necessary steps for
hosting a student over the summer. Some of these
requirements should be completed before the
visitors' arrival on campus (such as the Background
Disclosure form). If your student is under the
age of 18, please refer to "Requirements for
Hosting Minors" at
http://seo.ohsu.edu/index.php?mw_name=minors.php.
OHSU Student Group Receives National Award
The Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG),
with 160 medical student members, has received
the 2006 "Program of Excellence" Award from
the American Academy of Family Physicians. This
is the ninth time the group has been honored
since the inception of the award in 1997, an
honor unique to OHSU's group. The award is given
annually to ten medical schools to recognize
outstanding community service and student support.
The 2005-06 FMIG student leaders were Julie
Mitchell and Miriam Sparkman, both second-year
medical students. Faculty Advisors to the FMIG
are Anita Taylor, Associate Professor of Family
Medicine, and Kathy Chappelle, Assistant Professor
of Family Medicine.
Linda Hays Passes Away
Linda Hays died on May 22, 2006, after suffering
a cardiac arrest. For over 33 years, Linda was
a vibrant and beloved member of the OHSU community.
In 1972, she accepted a position with University
Medical Associates, a precursor of OHSU Medical
Group. Eight years later, she joined the staff
at University Ophthalmic Consultants, now the
Casey Eye Institute; in 1987, she moved to the
Department of Anesthesiology where she worked
for the duration of her career.
The family suggests that memorials be made to
the OHSU Wendell C. Stevens, M.D., Memorial
Fund. Dr. Stevens was Chair of Anesthesiology
when Linda joined the department, and this fund,
which supports humanitarian missions to medically
underserved areas of the world, was very important
to her.
Global Health Initiative
In January 2006, a survey concerning the present
and future state of global health at OHSU was
written by the Global Health Alliance student
group in co-ordination with other interested
parties. An invitation to participate in the
survey was sent to every person with an OHSU
email address and included an introduction from
President Peter Kohler. The survey was divided
into two parts, one for faculty and staff and
one for students, and included sections on interests,
experience, research, curriculum, and the development
of global health at OHSU. The Department of
Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology
gave permission to use their Survey Monkey license.
The purpose of the survey was to perform a resource
analysis and needs assessment to gain a better
sense of the areas of global health that are
currently being pursued at OHSU, as well as
ways the University could better support those
engaged in global health activities. The newly
formed multidisciplinary Steering Committee
for Global Health will be using the survey information
for setting priorities for a Global Health Center.
Over 700 people took the survey, including 132
faculty, 378 staff, and 195 students. The majority
of respondents were affiliated with either the
SOM or SON, with wide representation of programs,
departments, and centers within those affiliations.
Following are some highlights of the survey:
Functional Interest:
- More than 3 in 10 students, faculty and
staff were interested in clinical research
(42%, 43%, 32%), health communication/education
(57%, 41%, 45%) and direct medical relief
work (61%, 45%, 38%).
Topical Interest:
- More than 4 in 10 survey respondents from
all 3 groups chose Maternal and Child Health
as one of their top interests.
- There is also considerable interest in
Health and Human Rights as it was the first
or second most commonly selected interest
by students (63%), faculty (28%) and staff
(57%).
Student Experiences:
- Nearly 3 out of 10 student respondents
(27.3%, n=42) have had some international
experience while at OHSU.
- Ninety-seven percent (n=152) of students
expressed interest in the development of multidisciplinary
international experiences organized through
OHSU. The vast majority (n=121) would like
experience in direct medical service while
49 respondents expressed the desire for a
health policy component.
Future research:
- Forty percent of faculty (n=42) indicated
that they have plans to apply for research
funding related to international/global health
issues in the future.
- Recommendations by which OHSU could support
faculty and staff in securing funds and carrying
out research included developing a global
health resource center/improved networking
and linkages with others working internationally,
emphasis on creating a formal campus-wide
culture of collaboration and networking; creating
a database of available grants, timely dissemination
of information concerning grant opportunities;
providing internal support for grant writing
pertaining to global health; and offering
support for meeting international IRB reviews,
mechanism and understanding for subcontracts,
and FWAs with international agencies and universities.
- Recommendations by which OHSU could support
students in pursuing global health activities
included developing the following:
- A centralized database with all projects
on campus relating to research involving OHSU
researchers, physicians and/or students.
- Scholarships for students doing international
work or research.
- Student workshops and mentors.
- Affiliations with organizations doing international
health research.
- Better integration among OHSU's programs
and schools, with SOM and SON students collectively
engaged in education opportunities and equitably
solicited for presentations and RA positions
for projects.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.ohsu.edu/gha
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