The Wayne State University Multiple Sclerosis Program/Harper University Hospital MS Clinic presented nine papers at the annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, in Madrid, Sept. 27 through Sept. 30. This was the most papers from any single center from North America.

ECTRIMS is the largest international meeting focused on multiple sclerosis and related disorders. The annual attendance was 5,000 this year, with representation from all continents.

WSU's papers included both investigator-initiated studies as well as multi-center trials. This is the first year in the 22 years of the Congress history that Wayne State University was the top ranking center. The top 10 North American Centers were:

1. Wayne State University (9)
2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver (8)
2. SUNY at Buffalo (8)
3. Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institutes of Health (7)
4. Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (7)
5. University of California, San Francisco (7)
5. Cleveland Clinic (7)
6. Johns Hopkins Medical Center (6)
6. Mayo Clinic (6)
6. University of Texas,. Dallas (6)

 

Omar Khan, M.D., WSU associate professor of neurology, is director for Experimental Therapeutics & Clinical Research, WSU Multiple Sclerosis Center; director of the WSU Multiple Sclerosis Neuroimaging Laboratory; and director of the Harper University Hospital MS Clinic.

Mark your calendar for a one-hour presentation Monday, Nov. 13, to improve your work life. The School of Medicine 's Office of Faculty Affairs invites you to learn about faculty career management strategies from Janet Bickel, well known in academic medicine for partnering with organizations to improve career and leadership development as well as with individuals to build their careers and executive skills.

Are you a faculty member working to advance in your career?

The second presentation, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., “ Strategic Career Management Skills,” will be oriented toward junior faculty.

Many faculty lack preparation both for maximizing the opportunities presented by a faculty appointment and for taking responsibility for their career development. This session focuses on the following particularly key areas:

• Understanding the opportunities and the realities of career-building in academic medicine
• Formulating professional development goals and strategies for continuing growth
• “Managing Up”: Improving their relationship with their boss
• Expanding their professional network
• Avoiding career derailers

Widely respected as an expert in these areas, Ms. Bickel has spoken and consulted at more than 100 academic health centers and universities as well as with dozens of professional societies and other organizations.

Since the 1994 initiation of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellowship Program, she has served on its faculty and as learning community advisor and on its advisory and selection committees. She is an adjunct Assistant professor of medical education at George Washington University School of Medicine.

During the 25 years before creating Janet Bickel & Associates, she held positions of increasing national leadership at the Association of American Medical Colleges, including Associate Vice President for Medical School Affairs. She established an Office of Women in Medicine, creating a series of professional development seminars attended by more than 4,000 women faculty, and led AAMC's first faculty management and development programs.

Are you responsible for recruiting, advancing, and retaining faculty?

The first presentation, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., is entitled, " Bridging Generational Differences to Improve Medical Education, Faculty Recruitment and Leadership Development."

Now more than ever, faculty recruitment, engagement and retention depend on institutional attention to generational differences in values and preferences. This interactive session will offer tools and support to senior faculty and departmental leaders to increase their effectiveness as developers of faculty, including:

• Responding effectively to differences in career expectations between Baby Boomers and Generations X and Y
• Addressing gender and ethnic differences in career development
• Analyzing strategies in place at other academic health centers for updating faculty rewards and mentoring practices as well as for facilitating leadership development
• Improving mentoring across generational, ethnic and gender differences
• Maximizing the impact of mentors in the limited time available

 

These events will be in Morse Auditorium, on the fourth floor of Harper Univesity Hospital. Take the elevators across from the cafeteria, near Medical Records.  

For more information, please contact Linda Roth at lroth@med.wayne.edu.

 

The WSU School of Medicine will recognize the dedication of its partners in health care with its annual Pathfinders in Medicine Awards Saturday at the Detroit Institute of Art.

Established in 2000, the black-tie dinner honors outstanding vision and leadership in medicine, progressive scientific research and efforts that promote the availability of quality health care within the community. This year's ceremony will honor the CEOs of hospitals affiliated with the School through the Southeastern Michigan Center for Medical Education.

The black-tie event will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception and will progress through an awards ceremony and strolling dinner. Guests will also have an opportunity to view exhibits on display.

The Pathfinders dinner is the premiere fundraising event for Wayne State University School of Medicine. Money raised on this night directly funds the scholarships that help make medical school possible for many talented individuals.

If you'd like to attend, please contact Sue Helderop at 313-993-4179 or sheldero@med.wayne.edu

Honorees will include:

• John Ruckdeschel, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute;
• Kenneth Matzick, Beaumont Hospitals;
• Jeffrey Collins, Bon Secours Cottage Health Services;
• Michael Duggan, Detroit Medical Center;
• Nancy Schlichting, Henry Ford Health System;
• Michael Wheeler, John D. Dingell V. A. Medical Center;
• John Graham, North Oakland Medical Centers;
• Gerald Fitzgerald, Oakwood Healthcare System;
• Elliot Joseph, St. John Health; and
• Joseph Swedish, Trinity Health.

Join WSU School of Medicine Dean Robert M. Mentzer, Jr., M.D., for a special Town Hall meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 17, to discuss ongoing contract negotiations between WSU and the Detroit Medical Center . The meeting will be at 5 p.m., in Scott Hall. For more on the status of contract talks, please see Dean Mentzer's letter below.

Dear Colleagues,

Since the first of this month, I have received many questions about the status of the School of Medicine 's negotiations with the Detroit Medical Center. I am writing to provide you with a brief update on our continued talks, and to invite you to join me for a session on Tues., Oct. 17 at 5:00 p.m. in Scott Hall's Blue Auditorium to answer your questions, face to face.

As you are aware, the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will be conducting an on-site institutional review of our GME programs on Nov. 14. The ACGME knows that the contract supporting the joint graduate medical education programs expires on Dec. 31, 2006, and has not yet been renewed. The immediate and rightful concerns of the ACGME are the stability of our training programs and the well being of the residents and fellows for whom we share responsibility.

On Oct. 1, the School of Medicine and the DMC notified the ACGME that good faith negotiations were underway and would continue until an agreement was reached. Wayne State University and the School of Medicine remain committed to continuing good faith negotiations to ensure the continuity of programs sited at our downtown home, and within the scope of our longstanding affiliation with the DMC.

As I have affirmed on many occasions, the School's commitment to the city of Detroit and its partnership with the DMC are central to our mission, and will remain so. Although the School of Medicine relies upon longstanding and essential partnerships with numerous healthcare institutions to train one of the nation's largest medical school classes, our education, research, and clinical care programs are inextricably linked to the city of Detroit and its unique demographics.

WSU's more than 700 faculty physicians are responsible for approximately 65 percent of DMC's revenues, and deliver about 80 percent of all care delivered to the DMC's uninsured and underinsured patients. About 30 percent of all practicing physicians in Michigan received all or part of their medical training at WSU/DMC. Of the city of Detroit 's 690 primary care physicians, 350, or 40 percent, are WSU/DMC resident physicians-in-training.

Detroit is the School of Medicine 's home: WSU has committed to capital investment of $200 million over the next five years in two new facilities on its downtown campus — the Richard J. Mazurek, M.D. Medical Education Commons and a new state-of-the-science multidisciplinary research building that will house the University's evolving Center for Clinical and Translational Science. In fact, these facilities will be catalysts for centering regional education; and clinical translational research activities at our downtown site.

As you may know, the School's student body is the most diverse in the nation; we graduate more African-American and Arab-American physicians than any of our 125 peer United States medical schools, and rank among the top five for training African-American physicians who go on to become university faculty. Our interdisciplinary research programs are targeted to the diverse metropolitan population that we serve and are recognized as national models of excellence. These programs include cancer, maternal and child health, and healthcare disparities, and are the foundation of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the WSU Center for African-American Urban Health. The School and the DMC collaborate on these and many other programs.

In summary, I assure you that Wayne State University and its School of Medicine are steadfastly committed to each of the following:

• Continuing our valued relationship with the DMC;
• Expanding our presence in the city of Detroit;
• Upholding our mission of delivering the highest quality patient care supported by education and research;
• Educating our students and training our residents and fellows in the best possible teaching environments;
• Recruiting and retaining leading physicians to teach our students and serve our community;
• Providing care to the region's uninsured and underinsured

As talks with the DMC continue to evolve, it is important that you are updated with accurate information. To that end, I will be hosting a forum on Tues., Oct. 17 at 5:00 p.m. in Scott Hall's Blue Auditorium. Please join me then for a briefing, followed by a question and answer session.

I look forward to seeing you on Oct. 17.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Mentzer, Jr., MD
Dean, School of Medicine
Senior Advisor to the President for Medical Affairs
Wayne State University

The National Institutes of Health have awarded Wayne State University a grant to support the strategic planning process for a clinical translational science award.

The CTSA program is a key initiative of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The program's strategic goal is to reshape clinical research to accelerate medical discovery and improve people's health.

“This University-wide initiative is a first milestone in successful competition for a full CTSA award, which is a goal of the Wayne State University strategic plan as well as the School of Medicine 's ‘Vision 2011,'” wrote Dean Robert M. Mentzer in a letter to the WSU community earlier this week.

WSU is well positioned to fulfill the NIH's mandate that CTSA institutions engage the broad community that they serve. WSU will continue to collaborate with its key partners, including the Detroit Medical Center , Henry Ford Health System, John D. Dingell V.A. Medical Center, Karmanos Cancer Institute and the hospitals of the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education.

Michael Diamond, M.D., director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, is the grant's principal investigator and is leading the effort to plan for the CTSA application. Dr. Diamond will brief the School of Medicine community on ongoing efforts in coming months. For more information, please watch for news in Prognosis.