With the opening of a new center in Tallahassee, patients will have the advantage of genetics in diagnosing diseases they are likely to have and in planning the best treatments. Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare's Clinical Genetics Center will provide genetic services for both pediatric and adult patients. Medical director, Dr. Lea Kristin Parsley is dedicated to improving treatment through genetic testing — and dedicated to this area. A native of North Florida, she was with the FSU College of Medicine, then went to Denver for training with the goal of coming back to North Florida to offer genetic services.

Florida State University, in partnership with other agencies, plans to promote the use of community-based arts in a rural area that is scarce of art to improve access to health care, community involvement, health literacy and education, and disease prevention. "Our hope is that through the different art programs we will increase access to health care, as well as enhance the community's heath and health literacy," said Javier Rosado, assistant professor of Florida State's College of Medicine.

Marshall B. Kapp, director of the Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, discusses the state’s initiative to adopt a policy for the POLST – short for Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment.  

Mary Daly and Matt Scherer are intereviewed about The Great American Smoke Out.
The Great American Smoke Out is an event to encourage smokers to quit smoking for this one day, in turn free counseling with a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, free nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum or lozenges) will be provided. 
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Bio-technology companies looking for the next great idea rely increasingly on the talent and innovations of university researchers, so much so that today's Ph.D. scientists are more likely to work in industry than in academia. "The point here is that science has changed," neuroscientist Richard Nowakowski told the audience at Tuesday's symposium on "The Business of Life Sciences." Today, only about 15 percent of U.S. scientists with doctorates remain in academia. The rest work in some industry somewhere, said Nowakowski, chairman of biomedical sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine.

The shortage of primary care doctors, it's a national trend hitting close to home. Three million Floridians have inadequate access to basic health care. Training doctors locally is a step in the right direction. 
"The statistics nationally would suggest that the majority of students who do residencies will stay within 50 to 75 miles of their program," says Dr. John Fogarty, dean of FSU College of Medicine. 
In August, Lee Memorial Health System partnered with the FSU College of Medicine, forming a family medicine residency program. Watch video [wmv] Watch video [rv]

Neighborhood Health Services will benefit from $100,000 worth of free marketing help in the coming year, assistance the local nonprofit hopes will increase awareness of its various programs. Faculty and students from the Florida State University College of Medicine care for NHS patients.

Florida State University's medical school has cashed in once again, thanks to the university's annual Dance Marathon. The Dance Marathon and Children's Miracle Network at Shands Children's Hospital at the UniversityofFlorida on Tuesday presented a check for $232,630 to FSU's College of Medicine.

Children throughout Gadsden and Leon Counties will get additional assistance in health care thanks to funds raised by a group of people who have caring hearts and rhythm. Who knew dancing could be so caring and lucrative? The Dance Marathon at FSU and Children's Miracle Network at Shands Children's Hospital is presenting a check to the College of Medicine. The check is for $232,000 for the benefit of children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.  Watch LIVE Broadcast - WCTV Watch 11PM Broadcast - WCTV

PRESS RELEASE Dance Marathon at Florida State University and Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida will present a $232,000 check to the Florida State University College of Medicine for the benefit of children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.

The proceeds are part of the record $487,000 raised in 2011 by Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy on the Florida State campus. Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Children’s Hospital at UF distributes part of the money raised to the Florida State College of Medicine for use in pediatric outreach programs.

PRESS RELEASE Affectionately known as the mother of the Florida State University College of Medicine, Senior Associate Dean Myra Hurt has used her leadership skills to make numerous contributions to education, science and research in Florida.

Hurt was recognized for her efforts this week when she received the FL CURED Jim King Leadership Award in Tampa

Florida State's 10-year-old medical school has successfully been reaccredited, which means it will continue to receive federal grants and its students will be eligible for federal loans. FSU's College of Medicine becomes the first new medical school of the 21st century to be reaccredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

The FSU College of Medicine has been granted a maximum eight-year accreditation by the sanctioning body of U.S. medical schools. Florida State becomes the first new medical school of the 21st century to be reaccredited.

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Marshall Kapp, director of the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law at Florida State University, comments on the sentencing of Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group hedge fund founder. A defendant’s health condition is one factor that judges can consider when handing down sentences. A 2005 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that federal judges adhere to specific sentencing calculations, which can be influenced by other factors, such as a defendant’s health.

The Florida State University College of Medicine has been granted a maximum eight year accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the sanctioning body of U.S. medical schools.

The van’s paint job said “Florida State University College of Medicine,” but the eight students who piled out at the Neighborhood Health Services clinic were law students. These law students are trailblazers in a new clinic at FSU College of Law’s Public Interest Law Center called the Medical Legal Partnership. “The idea is that you have lawyers and doctors and law students and med students having a meeting of the minds and working together collaboratively on their same patients and clients,” said program Director Wendy Adelson. “We are going to have grand rounds, where medical students will come to the class and where they will interact and discuss whatever joint problems their clients are facing.”

Two prestigious awards were given out Tuesday, Aug. 30, when the Fort Pierce regional campus of the Florida State University College of Medicine gathered its faculty members for a night of appreciation and academic updates. One, titled Guardian of the Mission, is for a physician whose activities have furthered the college’s mission: to “educate and develop exemplary physicians who practice patient-centered health care, discover and advance knowledge and are responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, minority and underserved populations.” The other award, Outstanding Community Faculty Educator, is for exemplary achievement in meeting student educational needs, working collaboratively, dedication to the curriculum principles and enthusiasm for teaching.

Dr. Jonathan Appelbaum, director of internal medicine education at the Florida State University College of Medicine, tells us about the white lies they hear the most, and why it’s OK — and important — to fess up

In 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 6.7 million grandparents acting as caregivers for children under age 18. Ashley Webb, who runs a program for this special demographic at the Tallahassee Senior Center, said that number is only growing. In 2000, one out of every 12 grandparents was acting as a primary caregiver to their grandchildren, she said. In 2010, that number had jumped to one in 10. Webb coordinates the Grandparents as Parents program, which meets monthly and offers support to grandparents in the form of health consultations, referrals to additional community resources and tips on how to be a new parent — again. Dr. Alice Pomidor, a professor in the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University, emphasized the importance of a support system for grandparents raising a second set of children.

Teams of bikers worked up a sweat for Parkinson's disease at Sweat Therapy in Midtown. The event was a 6 hour, non-stop Cycle-a-Thon put on by 14 FSU College of Medicine students. More than 200 riders participated, including 15 patients with Parkinson's disease. The main goal was to promote awareness and raise funds to help fight the disease. All proceeds will help fund research at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Foundation's NeuroScience Center.  View the interview with event organizer, Jilliane Grayson. View the WTXL video.

From its inception 124 years ago, Florida A&M University has made its mark producing significant numbers of graduates in fields such as business, allied health and pharmacy. Now, the university seeks to help reverse the lack of routine dental care available in Florida's poor rural and underserved communities by opening its own dental school. The proposal has gained the support of two critical health partners: Florida State's College of Medicine and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and its foundation. Dr. John Fogarty, dean of FSU's medical school, said the college could partner with FAMU in many ways: identifying minority students interested in dental careers, possibly sharing facilities, such as labs, and possibly offering its biomedical faculty to teach.

The Florida State University Colege of Medicine is featured in this article about medical schools who extend patient contact through all four years to keep students focused on what matters.

The proposed new internal medicine residency program at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare cleared a major hurdle Wednesday. 
The federal body that funds residency programs nationwide, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that the program will receive funding for 39 slots. 
Plans to launch the internal medicine residency program, a joint effort between Florida State University's College of Medicine and TMH, were announced last August. It would be the second residency program in the area, with a family medicine residency already established at TMH.

Almost every physician in the U.S. will face a malpractice claim during his or her career, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "It's a tremendous problem in terms of the psychology of physicians and medical practice," said Marshall Kapp, director of the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law at Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, Fla. "It's also an enormous burden in terms of the impact of how doctors relate to patients. It makes doctors more wary and less willing to engage patients as friends than as potential adversaries."  

Marshall Kapp, director of the Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, comments on the story of Armond and Dorothy Rudolph of Alameda, FL. The Rudolphs, married for 69 years, decided to refuse food and water to end their lives.

This article also appeared in the International Business Times  [pdf]  http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/200219/20110818/elderly-couple-evicted-after-refusing-food-drink.htm

Three Immokalee High School students had the unique opportunity to experience what it’s like to attend medical school, thanks to The Immokalee Foundation and the Florida State University College of Medicine Summer Institute, a highly competitive program managed by FSU College of Medicine Outreach and Advising Office.

Southwest Florida will soon be training doctors in its local hospitals. Lee Memorial Health System and Florida State University College of Medicine unveiled plans for a medical residency program in Fort Myers. It will be the first of its kind in Southwest Florida and the only one between Tampa and Miami.

Lee Memorial Health System is joining forces with a major university to keep future doctors here in Southwest Florida. The argument is simple: more students graduating medical school are looking for work elsewhere. There aren't enough residency programs in the state to offer the needed training. In fact, not one hospital in Lee, Collier or Charlotte County has a residency program. But, all that is about to change. The Florida State University College of Medicine is joining Lee Memorial Health System to create the residency program. The medical partnership will welcome its first class of residency in July of 2013. The program, which will focus on primary care, is the first in the area.  Watch video [wmv]

Lee Memorial Health System announced a partnership with Florida State University Monday afternoon for a medical residency training program for family practice physicians.

The Lee Memorial Health System is launching a residency program for family physicians with Florida State University to better address a persistent shortage of primary-care doctors in the region. The residency program will be based at Lee Memorial Hospital and could admit its first class in July 2013.

PRESS RELEASE e Florida State University College of Medicine and the Lee Memorial Health System Board of Directors today announced plans to create a family medicine residency program in Fort Myers.

The program, expected to produce six new family practice physicians a year when at full capacity, will be the first allopathic residency program south of Tampa/St. Petersburg along Florida’s southwest coast. Among the fastest growing regions in the state, the area is in need of more physicians to take care of a population that grew by more than 40 percent in Lee County between 2000 and 2010.

Despite looming budget cuts and everdeclining insurance reimbursements, Lee Memorial Health System is moving forward on a new family medicine residency program. It's a leap of faith for a hospital system that believes the program will be a medical necessity for this region's rapidly aging population. "We need primary care physicians. Florida is actually exporting physicians today," said Richard Akin, chairman of the system's elected board of directors. "We need them to stay in our community." The system, in cooperation with the Florida State University College of Medicine, expects to take its first residency applicants next year.  

Parents, take note: A simple sack lunch may increase the risk of foodborne illness for the young children who bring them into daycare and school, according to a new study. Dr. Michael Muszynski, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, called the results of the study "concerning, since even lunches packed with multiple ice packs reached unsafe temperatures that would encourage the growth of bacteria that cause food-related illnesses."  

PRESS RELEASE On Monday, August 8, 2011, the Florida State University College of Medicine and Lee Memorial Health System will unveil plans for a doctor training program intended to create more primary care physicians for Southwest Florida.

Dr.Wendy Myers, president and chief executive officer of Florida Health Care Plans Inc. and clinical assistant professor at the Florida State University College of Medicine was named an Influential Woman in Business by the Volusia/Flagler Business Report.

The Florida State University College of Medicine's Summer Institute program, which began in 2003 as part of an outreach effort to recruit minorities into the College, offers high-school-aged students of diverse backgrounds an opportunity to experience what it’s like to be both a doctor and medical student. This summer, a total of 62 students are enrolled in the program from across the state. 

The Volunteers in Medicine Clinic has taken on an increasingly important role as a teaching facility for students pursuing health care careers. The student program at VIM Clinic has been an unmitigated success, said Medical Director, Dr. Howard Voss. “It makes me very hopeful about the future of health care.” VIM Clinic is participating in a community-based teaching model with the Florida State University College of Medicine. Third-year medical students are mentored one day a week in a health care facility and over the course of a year, get to know their patients. “The students have a unique opportunity at VIM to do initial evaluations and follow-ups on new patients,” Dr. Voss said. “They see the fruits of their medical practices as the patients heal and improve.”

The Florida State University College of Medicine's Summer Institute program, which began in 2003 as part of an outreach effort to recruit minorities into the College, offers high-school-aged students of diverse backgrounds an opportunity to experience what it’s like to be both a doctor and medical student. With more than 60 participants each summer, the program aims to introduce graduating students to the medical profession by offering problem-based learning, seminars hosted by the College of Medicine's faculty and opportunities to shadow local physicians specifically chosen based on an applicant's interests.

Medical schools around the country are creating video games with the expressed goal of improving medical education. At Florida State University College of Medicine, students in geriatrics clerkships play ElderQuest, a role-playing game in which players work to locate the Gray Sage, a powerful wizard in poor health that each player must nurse back to health.

A first-time collaboration involving health-care professionals at Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Gadsden County Schools is taking root at Havana Middle School. The official name of the school-based clinic is the Havana health and Wellness Training and Service Center.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Florida State University's College of Medicine are working well together on two residency programs, both aimed at keeping new doctors practicing in this area. FSU's medical school was founded a decade ago on the premise that it would focus on rural and medically underserved areas such as those in North Florida. It is not an easy mission to fulfill, yet residency programs are known to be a big factor in where a physician decides to settle.

Mary Dailey was Florida’s first certified tobacco treatment specialist, but receiving the training she needed wasn’t
easy. So after Dailey traveled to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to receive her certification, sheand Andree Aubrey, director of FSU College of Medicine Area Health Education Center, saw the need to create a
certification program in Florida.

Florida State University's College of Medicine is giving aspiring doctors a chance to see the medical world before medical school. The Summer Institute — or "mini med school" — reaches out mostly to local high school students from rural communities, giving them a head start on becoming the doctors of tomorrow.

Ahead of Natasha Spencer is a residency at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. She will spend 
the next four years as an ob/gyn, studying and learning, preparing for the day she can take her 
talents to underserved communities. Behind Spencer is a rough childhood in a Tampa community where high school students were as 
likely to drop out as they were to graduate. Luckily, Spencer, a 26-year-old who graduated from FSU's College of Medicine three weeks ago, has an 
extremely supportive family and a network of influential friends who are as impressed with her as 
she is with them. And of course, having Super Bowl XXXVII champion Derrick Brooks in your corner doesn't hurt.

Ewa Bienkiewicz, assistant professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences, is one of four chosen to receive a Florida State University GAP award. For more information about the GAP Program at Florida State University, visit  http://www.techtransfer.fsu.edu