Dean's Newsletter, College of Medicine, Fall, 2011

Steven J. Scheinman, MD Dean, College of Medicine

Steven J. Scheinman, MD
Dean, College of Medicine
Senior Vice President

I am happy to provide this update on a number of important developments in the College of Medicine in recent months. There will be an open faculty forum at 5 pm on Tuesday, September 20 in Room 103 of Weiskotten Hall which will be an opportunity for us to discuss these or any other topics.

Education

Clinical Update

Dean's Office

Research

Faculty Affairs

Update on Facilities

Student Affairs

Education

LCME Site Visit — Next Steps
Following the March LCME accreditation site visit to Upstate, the five members (two deans, two faculty members, and an LCME secretary) submitted a draft report to me, with the opportunity for us to offer corrections or concerns. We provided a detailed response, and the site visit chair and secretary accepted a number of these modifications. They also reduced the number of citations for potential noncompliance with standards. The site visitors identified two programs as strengths: the Office of Community Outreach and Global Health (now the Center for Civic Engagement), and the Clinical Skills Center. They identified several areas of concern related to curriculum governance and oversight, specifically that the current curriculum governance structure does not empower the Educational Policies Committee to make changes as needed and that the dean's authority over curriculum is not clear. The curriculum differences between our two campuses (e.g., a geriatrics clerkship and a urology clerkship, each on one campus only) have existed for more than 20 years and have not previously been cited. Concerns related to clerkships included: departmental delays in grade submissions; lack of consistent mid-clerkship formative feedback to students in several departments; and inconsistent identification and tracking of clinical diagnoses and level of student engagement in other departments. The final report will be sent to the LCME for their review at their October meeting.

Because of the concerns about the authorities of the EPC and the dean, I have charged a task force to look at curriculum governance. Task force members are Drs. Bryan Margulies, Joe Stein, Joseph Sanger, Thomas Welch, and Lynn Cleary. To address clerkship concerns, Dr. Cleary and Dean Rajesh Dav̩ from the Binghamton campus have had a series of meetings with department chairs and clerkship and program directors from both campuses. Dean Julie White has addressed several issues in Student Affairs (e.g., instruction of visiting students in policy and procedure regarding occupational exposure). There will be an update on the final LCME decision in the next newsletter, including the term and status of reaccreditation and requirements for interim follow-up reports or visits.

Update on the New Directions Curriculum Task Force
I have charged the New Directions Curriculum Task Force, chaired by Dr. Michael Iannuzzi, to examine the College of Medicine curriculum, starting with the fourth year and looking across all four years. They are thoroughly reviewing the curriculum, admissions and retention, student performance, residency match outcomes, LCME requirements, best practices at other schools, and other process and outcome data. The task force includes Drs. Ralitsa Akins, Ann Botash, Deb Bradshaw, Robert Cooney, John Epling, Michael Iannuzzi, Patricia Kane, Steven Knohl, Margaret Maimone, Christopher Ryan, Thomas Schwartz, Robert West, and Lynn Cleary, and students Aaron Stupple, Gabe Plourde, and another student to be named. Lisa Galllinger is providing administrative support and has placed meeting minutes and supporting documents on the intranet for those who are interested. More information is available at http://www.upstate.edu/committees/com/intra/new-directions.php
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Class of 2015 Arrives
There are 155 students in the new class of 2015. For the first time in recent history, we have a majority of men in the entering class (61%). The average age is 24. There are 132 class members from NYS (85%) and 16% are from traditionally under-represented populations. The average MCAT score is 31.29 and average GPA is 3.65 — both record highs. Twenty entering students have advanced degrees. Once again Cornell has the largest number of graduates in the class, followed as usual by Binghamton University. While we remain committed to a total COM enrollment of 640, we have admitted 155 rather than 160 students to be in a better position to manage the number of students entering the clinical years, which fluctuates with varying numbers of MD/PhD students, leaves of absence, and extended curriculum students. Return to top of page.

CME Website
The CME office has unveiled an enhanced website which features a schedule of all regularly held programs, including 50 grand rounds, tumor boards and journal clubs at Upstate and 16 affiliates in the region. The site's CME Calendar includes information on 28 programs over the next six months. More at www.upstate.edu/cme
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New Residents In Place
This summer, Upstate welcomed 163 new trainees to our residencies and fellowships.

Our total complement of residents and fellows is now 502, the largest in our history. Some positions reflect new realities, due to changes in resident work hours, and some of our rotations were adjusted to reflect new opportunities via our acquisition of Community General Hospital.

Of these positions, the great majority are supported by University Hospital (338, including 9 at Community General) and the Syracuse VAMC (95); the remainder are supported by Crouse Hospital (45), St. Joseph‰Ûªs Hospital (8.5), and other sources (24.5). Return to top of page.

Six Residents Recognized with Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award
Third-year students selected six residents to receive the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award, based on "commitment to teaching and compassionate treatment of patients and families, students and colleagues." Residents received a stipend from the Foundation and an award certificate.

2011 resident awardees include:

  • Dr. Robert Behm, Surgery, Guthrie Clinic
  • Dr. Nicholas Bennett, Pediatrics, Upstate University Hospital
  • Dr. Pratik Dalal, Internal Medicine, Upstate University Hospital
  • Dr. Matt Mittiga, Medicine, Upstate University Hospital
  • Dr. Pujan Shrestha, OB/GYN, Upstate University Hospital
  • Dr. Asalim Thabet, Pediatrics, Upstate University Hospital

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Clinical Update

A Single Hospital With Two Campuses
The acquisition of Community General Hospital by Upstate University Hospital took place as scheduled on July 7th. This remarkable accomplishment was made possible by extraordinary efforts of countless staff at both institutions. By completing this deal we have preserved a great asset to the community, and expanded University Hospital to a more appropriate size for an academic health center. The vast majority of Community General employees were offered and accepted positions in the new entity, and coordination of processes and policies at the two campuses has been proceeding rapidly.

As a single hospital with two campuses, patients can now be admitted to a bed on the campus that best meets their needs. (More commonly, this has been a patient from the downtown Emergency Department going to a Community bed, but patients have been moved in the opposite direction as well.) This process is being rolled out service by service to optimize logistics. Success is already being seen, as patient volumes at Upstate Community General have increased and are now ahead of budget.

DNV visited Upstate Community General campus for its first accreditation review and gave a very favorable evaluation. Several areas have been targeted for careful coordination and reconciliation, including making clinical information systems available to practitioners on either campus, reviewing policies for consistency, and developing teams for further consolidation.

Medical staff who complete training for Health-e Connections, the Regional Health Information Organization for Central New York, can access patient records from either campus through Health-e Connections web links, with patient consent. This should prove extraordinarily helpful if patients are moved between campuses. Return to top of page.

Hospital Quality
U.S. News and World Report has designated Upstate University Hospital as the best hospital in Syracuse, using a series of objective data. While this is gratifying, it's not a place to rest, as there are areas where continued improvement is possible. With the implementation of interdisciplinary teams over the last 18 months, many rates of complications have fallen substantially. We will be sharing best practices with staff from Community General in areas where each campus has been successful. New areas of emphasis for the coming year at University Hospital include: focusing on sepsis treatment to ensure patients receive appropriate resuscitation and monitoring; continued efforts to reduce hospital acquired conditions; and a broadened emphasis on reduction in the observed-to-expected mortality ratio. The latter will include a combination of measures to reduce complication rates as well as measures to ensure complete and accurate coding. Return to top of page.

Electronic Medical Record (EPIC) Update
Upstate will begin implementing EMR via its chosen vendor Epic for ambulatory systems in January 2102, and for inpatient systems in 2013. Eventually, Upstate will work in a totally electronic system, and sharing patient care information will be almost immediate for notes, documentation, and results.

As an integrated system to streamline patient information, Epic will help Upstate comply with coming regulatory and meaningful use requirements and perhaps qualify for financial incentives to offset some funding needs. Improved workflows, better tracking of outcomes, and less redundancy are also anticipated.

Epic will roll out in a series of "mini bangs" as a different service goes live each month. Several committees are working to implement Epic with representatives from all areas impacted by the system. While information will be flowing in the weeks ahead, to review training and get more information now, visit the Upstate ipage and click on Epic. Return to top of page.

Dean's Office

Changing Roles on Dean's Office Staff
With the departure of Meredith Price, formerly Director of Operations in my office and now Chief Administrative Officer at Upstate Community General Hospital, I have reconfigured roles in our office. MaryGrace VanNortwick is now Chief of Staff. Rick Gardner has returned in a broader role as Senior Associate Dean for Finance. Rick will take on many of Grace's previous responsibilities, including monitoring and analyses of both finance and space for the College and recommending policies. He reports to Grace, who oversees finance and space, as well as strategic analysis of initiatives, tracking their outcomes and facilitating implementation. Thus, Grace will be assuming the duties previously filled by Meredith Price and the position of Director of Operations will not be filled. This reconfiguration will serve the College well while reducing administrative staff. Rick and Grace are a team in whom a broad range of constituencies have full confidence, and I believe that their expanded roles will make good use of their talents. Return to top of page.

Research

Research Integrity Activities Launched
The institution is strengthening its attention to research misconduct. Dr. David Amberg, Professor of Biochemistry and Jacobsen Scholar, has been named Assistant Vice President for Research Integrity, working with Dr. Nancy Nussmeier, Associate VP for Research Integrity. He has updated our research misconduct policies and created standard operating procedures for such cases. Offices on the second floor of Weiskotten Hall will house the Research Integrity function, including a small conference room for hearings (2141) and a sequestration room (2141A). With Barb Humphries, he has created a new Research Integrity web site: www.upstate.edu/researchadmin/compliance/rio/ and can be reached via email at RIO@upstate.edu

Dr. Steven Goodman and Dr. Amberg have created extensive RCR education opportunities for the Upstate community this fall, starting with discussion on the revised research misconduct policies and new SOPs. Four upcoming Deans' Grand Rounds will be dedicated to the issue of research misconduct. Kristen Grace, MD, PhD of the federal Office of Research Integrity will speak on September 22, and also will present two workshops the following morning open to the entire Upstate community. Other speakers: Drs. Nancy Nussmeier and Dave Amberg, Oct. 13; David Wright, PhD, consultant to the ORI, Nov. 10, and Amy Campbell, JD, MBE of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, Dec. 1. Return to top of page.

Faculty Affairs

Faculty Promotions
Three faculty members were recently promoted in rank: Sherard Tatum, III, MD, Departments of Otolaryngology & Pediatrics, promoted to Professor in April; Xiuli Zhang, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, promoted to Associate Professor in April; and Ronald Szyjkowski, MD, Department of Medicine, promoted to Professor in June 2011. Please take the opportunity to congratulate Scott, Ziuli, and Ron. Return to top of page.

Reception for New Department Chairs
I will be hosting a reception on Monday September 19 honoring the new department chairs in the College. This will take place at 4:30 in the Weiskotten 9th floor cafeteria. The event will be casual and will provide an opportunity to meet the five chairs, and one interim chair, appointed in 2011. They are Dr. Barry Knox in Neuroscience and Physiology; Dr. Robert Silverman in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Gennady Bratslavsky in Urology, Dr. John Epling in Family Medicine, and Dr. Larry Chin in Neurosurgery. I will also take the opportunity to thank the three leaders who completed their service as interim chairs in Neuroscience and Physiology (Dr. Rich Cross), Urology (Dr. Imad Nsouli) and Neurosurgery (Dr. David Carter). Return to top of page.

New Faculty Orientation and Reception
New Faculty Orientation will be held Tuesday October 18 from 2-5 p.m. in the Doust Board Room. All faculty are welcome to the reception that follows at 5 p.m. in the 9th Floor Weiskotten Hall Cafeteria. Return to top of page.

Committee News
Faculty Development
In June, Dr. Howard Weinberger was honored for his 10 years of service, as he stepped down as chair of the Faculty Development Committee. For years, Howard created promotion workshops and seminars to help our faculty become better educators, and his leadership is greatly appreciated. The committee, with the same dedicated membership, will now be chaired by Dr. Joe Stein, and will move from being a subcommittee of the Educational Policies Committee (EPC) to being advisory to the Office of Faculty Affairs.

Appointments and Promotions
Dr. Mantosh Dewan, who has capably served as chair of the college‰Ûªs Appointments and Promotions Committee, ended his term over the summer. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Dewan for his effective and fair leadership in this important role. Dr. Patricia Kane begins her first term as committee chair this month, and Dr. Leslie Kohman becomes vice-chair. There are two new members of the committee, Drs. Burk Jubelt and Mary Lou Vallano. Return to top of page.

Mentoring Study Participants Sought
Faculty may participate in an effective mentoring study through the Pathfinder Project, led by researchers at the University of Rochester. This NIH-funded study compares mentor training to peer group mentoring of faculty and graduate students who are under-represented in the sciences (i.e., women, minorities, and the disabled.) Dr. Steven Goodman is the PI at Upstate, and Dr. Paula Trief is a co-investigator. If interested, contact Dr. Trief for more information. Return to top of page.

Update on Facilities

IHP Expansion
Anyone who has gone down South Crouse Avenue or has wanted to park at the IHP is aware that construction of the addition is well underway. Bids for the construction work came in under budget, which confirms that we will be able to build the 100,000 square-foot addition fully and without having to compromise on the amount of research space or its having a full vivarium, and with some funds remaining to purchase a finite amount of fixed equipment. The building is scheduled to be completed in mid- to late-2013. It will house interdisciplinary research related to diseases of the nervous system across several departments. Return to top of page.

New Academic Building In Planning Phase

proposed academic building

Capital funds of $36 million from SUNY are in place for our new academic building, anticipated to open in 2014. Priorities for the new building include an on-campus home for our College of Nursing, a 400-seat auditorium, and lecture space and specialized classroom space designed to accommodate new technology and a growing student population. It will also be home for the College of Health Profession's Dean's office and its Physician Assistant and Physical Therapy programs.

The first phase of planning is well underway. The building will be four or five stories tall and will sit directly behind the Weiskotten Hall Addition. Bridges with student gathering spaces will connect the building to University Hospital and the north and south ends of WHA. An artist's conception of the building is shown.

Plans are also being developed for an integrated simulation center for both clinical and educational programs and for teaching interdisciplinary team-based care. This center will not be located in the new academic building. Return to top of page.

Student Affairs

Student Success Cluster Formed
In June, Dean of Students Julie R. White, PhD, announced the creation of a new "cluster" within the Division of Student Affairs. The "Student Success Cluster" is lead by Sharon Huard, Associate Dean of Student Affairs and encompasses the following functions: Multicultural Affairs (and CSTEP); Academic Support Services; Disability Services; Career Development Initiatives; the new Mentors in Healthcare (MiH) initiative; and Residence Life. The clustering of these functions will allow for synergies among previously distinct functions. Since the cluster launched, more than 30 faculty members and students from under-represented minorities have volunteered to serve as mentor teams for our medical students via the new MiH program. Return to top of page.

"Refresh" of Advisory Dean System
Based on student feedback, the student advising system has been "refreshed". Student group meetings have been consolidated, a new Student Advisor role has been formalized, and Student Affairs has worked with students to make the content of advising presentations more contemporary and pertinent. This will complement but not replace the basic science and clinical Advisory Deans' roles. Return to top of page.

Student Affairs Welcomes Staff
Alvin Roberts, Education Specialist in Academic Support Services, is responsible for supervising and coordinating educational counseling and tutoring services. Alvin earned his M.S. in Human Resource Development and a Graduate Certificate in Student Development and Affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Brandon Mathieu, Student Activities Associate in the Office of Campus Activities, is responsible for event planning, education and training for over 30 student staff members, financial operations of 50 student organizations, and organizational support for several university-wide functions. Brandon earned his Master's degree from Syracuse University, and came to Upstate from the Campus Activities Office at the Culinary Institute of America. Return to top of page.

Medical Students Elected to National Honor Societies
Student members of two national honor societies have been elected to the Upstate chapters of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). Chapter sponsored activities include: student tutoring; academic reviews; a student clerkship liaison program; recruiting faculty for shadow opportunities; planning and delivering Student Research Day (in collaboration with student colleagues from other colleges); and a Commemoration Ceremony for patients who have died. Dr. Lynn Cleary is councilor for Upstate AOA chapter, and Dr. Michael Iannuzzi is advisor to the GHHS chapter.

AOA junior members selected in May 2011 are: Dana Amiraian, Kerri Aronson, Ryan Cuff (president), Christina DiBattista, Muhammad Faruqi, John Harrington (vice president for academic support), Mark Hodges, Nicholas Schott, Janhavi Shirali, David Strosberg, Aaron Stupple (vice president), Lindsay Tamborelle, and Christopher Weaver. AOA Senior members, elected in August 2011 are: Liliya Abrukin, Allison Barz, Amit Desai, Adam Gerber, Dylan Kellogg, Anna Klausner, Ryan LaFollette, Joshua Nelson, Anna Nichols, Rohit Repala, Brian Santacrose, and Jill Tirabassi.

GHHS members, selected in May 2011 are: Kenneth Angelino, Allison Barz, Munyaradzi Chimukangara, Gene DeCastro, Pamela Egan, Marcia Friedman, Carol Fries, Mikhail Gertsberg, Daniel Goldstein, Samuel Hykin, Matthew McGraw, Peter Osgood, Neetha Reddy, David Roofeh, Brian Santacrose, Peter Osgood, Neetha Reddy, David Roofeh, Brian Santacrose, Nicholas Schott, David Strosberg, Aaron Stupple, Lindsay Tamborelle, Zeah Venitelli, Christopher Weaver, and Carey Wilson. Return to top of page.