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By Nancy Kinnally
July 29, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- Dr. Bruce Berg has been selected to head the Florida State University Regional Medical School Campus – Sarasota, which will begin accepting medical students next year.
As assistant dean for the Sarasota campus, Berg will be responsible for overseeing the clinical education program for those FSU medical students assigned to Sarasota for the third and fourth years of medical school.
“I’m excited about the possibilities for this new FSU clinical campus,” Berg said. “I believe that there will be wonderful opportunities for the students, the local physicians and the community of Sarasota. Everyone will benefit from the medical education that will take place here.”
After practicing pulmonary medicine in the Sarasota area for 19 years, Berg began working on patient safety and quality improvement initiatives for Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he has served as chief medical information officer since 1998 and as patient safety officer since 2001.
“Dr. Berg has played a critical role at Sarasota Memorial in the area of medical informatics, an evolving field that is heavily emphasized in our curriculum,” said College of Medicine Dean J. Ocie Harris, M.D. “He will help take us in the direction we are wanting to move with medical information technology and its ability to enhance patient care and reduce medical errors.”
Eight third-year students will be assigned to the Sarasota campus beginning in July 2005, while fourth-year students from the college’s other regional campuses will be able to complete elective rotations with local physicians beginning in January. Enrollment at the campus will gradually increase to 40 students.
The FSU College of Medicine has established an advisory board for the Sarasota campus. Founding members are: G. Duncan Finlay, Jr., M.D., CEO, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System; Douglas R. Luckett, COO, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota; Sandra K. MacLeod, M.D., medical director, Sarasota County Health Department; Adam Bright, M.D., president, Sarasota County Medical Society; as well as medical school administrators Alma Littles, M.D., and Mollie Hill.
The FSU College of Medicine is in its fourth full year of operation and has 173 students enrolled. It opened its first three regional campuses in Orlando, Pensacola and Tallahassee in July 2003.