Representatives from some of California’s largest physician groups recently shared their most pressing concerns regarding geriatric care at the annual meeting of SCAN Health Plan’s geriatric advisory board in Long Beach. The geriatric advisory board was formed in 2004 to help guide the senior-focused health plan in its approach to member-centered programs and services, to bring innovative ideas from the field, and to provide SCAN leadership with broad perspective into pressing geriatric health policy issues. One member of the SCAN geriatric advisory board is Kenneth Brummel-Smith, M.D., Charlotte Edwards Maguire, professor of geriatrics and the founding chair of the Department of Geriatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine.

FSUCares will send groups of students to far-and-away places to assist the less-fortunate population by supplying basic necessities. Six students, two faculty members and one resident will travel to Filipinas, Panama, while McAllen, Texas, and Immokalee, Fla., will see host to four students and two members of faculty.

The first National Medical Students for Life of America (Med SFLA) Bioethics Symposium and Tour will visit Florida State University College of Medicine Friday. Organizers did not provide a starting time for the event. Dominique Monlezun, national coordinator for Medical Students for Life, will be speaking with Dr. John Bruchalski, a former abortion provider and founder of the pro-life Tepeyac Family Center in Virginia. He is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost medical experts on pro-life health care.  

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Baltimore School of Law said Tuesday that they would forge an unusual formal collaboration aimed at fostering a stronger relationship between doctors and lawyers so they may better understand the evolving health care landscape. There are many schools that have medical-legal programs aiming to educate future lawyers on health care issues. Most of these programs are housed in one school or the other for the benefit of those students, said Marshall Kapp, director of the Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine & Law, which was created last year and appears to have a similar form and mission to the planned Hopkins-Baltimore center.

PRESS RELEASE Some of the biggest names in evolutionary medicine will be in Tallahassee Feb. 25 and 26 for an international conference at The Florida State University. Register for the conference and find a complete schedule at  www.bio.fsu.edu/FowlerII/ . For a map of the Florida State campus, go to  http://map.campus.fsu.edu/index.aspx .

PRESS RELEASE If it’s spring break, don’t look for the students of FSUCares on a beach or at a bar. This year, like every year since the Florida State College of Medicine welcomed its first class in 2001, these students will be giving out medical supplies and treatment — and getting a cultural education in return. For more about FSUCares, visit  http://www.med.fsu.edu/students/FSUCares/default.asp.

The Florida State University's 16th annual Dance Marathon, a 40-hour charity event in which students stay on their feet for 20-hour shifts, ended Sunday, February 13th. More than 1,500 dancers participated in the event, raising more than $486,000 for the Children's Miracle Network. The more than $2.8 million raised over the years has also helped Shands Children's Hospital and FSU's College of Medicine.

PRESS RELEASE The Florida State University College of Medicine on Friday will host “Sexuality and Aging,” an event geared toward senior citizens

PRESS RELEASE Making health-care choices for another adult is a role no one really wants but anyone might get. A new publication for Florida residents just made that role a little easier. The booklet, “Making Medical Decisions for Someone Else: A Florida Handbook,” is based on one created in 2006 by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging.  View the completed handbook

Dr. Jason Rocha has joined Baptist Medical Group's orthopaedic trauma team. Dr. Rocha is a trauma specialist offering emergency treatment for patients confronted with life-changing, limb-compromising orthopaedic injuries. Dr. Rocha completed his medical training at the Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee.

Natasha Demehri, FSU College of Medicine Class of 2012, discusses ways to develop lasting approaches to sustainable healthcare

Multi-year strategic initiatives between the Naples Children and Education Foundation, Collier Health Services (CHS), and the Florida State University's College of Medicine has had a considerable impact on the quality of and access to medical care for the children of Collier County.  Now, more than half of the community's children are served, and, with foundation funding, CHS renovated the Isabel Collier Ready Medical Center in Immokalee into a pediatric and maternal health center.  Video News Story  [wmv]

Vero Beach is helping prepare a new generation of doctors. This week Steven Moore, a fourth-year medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine, is beginning a rotation of learning and practicing neurology with Dr. James Shafer. Moore's experience is part of a unique program to give medical school students a more intensive hands-on education in what its like to take care of patients. Doctor Shafer is one Vero Beach doctor taking part in a network of community-based instruction that's the result of FSU's vision for its College of Medicine.

The Florida State University College of Medicine BRIDGE Program helps less fortunate students achieve their medical school dreams

Nick Cummings, third-year medical student at Florida State University, receives Reiki, the transference of healing energy, for the first time. [pictured]

 The prestigious teaching award is given by the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation based on scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and dedication to family medicine.

Researchers are beginning to see a previously unknown benefit of testosterone – as a shield against anxiety. They’re wondering whether the greater amounts of this hormone in males could help explain why men are afflicted by anxiety only half as much as women are.

One way to address the shortage of medical residency programs in Florida is to create your ownprogram. The College of Medicine and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare have teamed up to do just that.

 Diagnosing head injuries, unfortunately, is an inexact science. The same blow to the head might cause drasticallydifferent outcomes in two people who otherwise appear very similar. Also, there is not enough good research about what happens inside the brain when it’s exposed to a concussive blow. That’s where the College of Medicine’s unique educational model and burgeoning research program intersect.

Jimmy Moss' story seems more the stuff of Hollywood than real life, yet Moss is as real as can be. Built like an NFL linebacker and blessed with an engaging personality, Moss [recently earned] his medical degree at Florida State University. In June he [began] a three-year residency in internal medicine at the esteemed Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

“Even though I’m a family doc by training and practice,” Van Durme said, “I take a whole lot more pride when I canget somebody to be a general surgeon in rural Florida than putting one more family doc in the suburbs of Orlando.”

The study on intimate education revealed that around 1,605 parents of primarily white, school-aged children in Minnesota found that kids should get this knowledge from their parents while another percent of parents felt that they should learn about the intimate education at school. Apart from this, most parents are confirmed that their kids already know about the intimate education with the help of their friends and the usage of the latest technology. Also featured in  Health Behavior News Service  [pdf] Also featured in  The Times of India  [pdf] Also featured in  Bloomberg Businesweek  [pdf] Also featured in  ParentDish  [pdf

Professor Lynn Romrell believes nothing can replace having a well-educated physician making decisions based on a thorough understanding of the human body.

Though you can’t know exactly what medical school is like until you’re a med student, a weeklong immersion will give you a pretty good idea.

With each new region of the body, students are assigned to a new team – and patient. They’ll work with at least 15 other students over the course of the summer and will get to know all of the cadavers. They’ll also get to know each other quite well, and that’s part of the course’s design.

Hand-picked from more than 3,000 applicants, 120 new medical students arrive each May filled with confidence – until they report to the anatomy lab. No amount of previous success can prepare them for the anxiety and emotional upheaval of their first medical school experience.

There’s healthy competition amongFlorida’s medical schools, but ultimately they’re all looking out for the present and future health of our state. In fact, you might not know that they collaborate and cooperate extensively through the Council of Florida Medical School Deans.

 Robert Watson figured he'd never again wear UAB clothing- inculding the jacket-length white coat he'd worn as an intern. Most of us would have left it behind. For Watson, though, this was not just anyold jacket. In the pockets were reminders of his first year as a physician. 

Janine Edwards, Ph. D., chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, is a leading expert in one of the things that help the College of Medicine attract diverse and talented students.

Richard Nowakowski may be gone from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, but clearly he’s not forgotten. In September, in fact, he was one of four winners of the university’s fi rst Credo in Action awards, the highest awards it gives.

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Paradigm is a program that a College of Medicine professor helped create in Oregon years ago. Now the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine & Law at the medical school is coordinating efforts to implement POLST in Florida. 

 Diagnosing head injuries, unfortunately, is an inexact science. The same blow to the head might cause drasticallydifferent outcomes in two people who otherwise appear very similar. Also, there is not enough good research about what happens inside the brain when it’s exposed to a concussive blow. That’s where the College of Medicine’s unique educational model and burgeoning research program intersect.

Traditionally, the physicians most likely to practice in a rural area are those who grew up in one. So through its pipeline programs, the College of Medicine seeks out and nurtures potential physicians in places such as the Panhandle.

When Philip Burke was in sixth grade, his teacher’s husband – Marianna physician Richard Goff – talked to the class about careers in medicine. Last year, Burke worked every Tuesday at Goff’s family-medicine practice, which gave him a chance to see the same patients multiple times.

“Even though I’m a family doc by training and practice,” Van Durme said, “I take a whole lot more pride when I canget somebody to be a general surgeon in rural Florida than putting one more family doc in the suburbs of Orlando.”

When your mother was younger and healthier, she did the smart thing and filled out an advance directive. Part of the reason was that she didn’t want her physicians to use extreme measures to keep her alive when she became seriouslyill. Life went on.

Before he allows new students in the anatomy lab, Professor Lynn Romrell wants them to know more about the people who donated their bodies to support medical education. So he reads them some of the letters he has received from family members over the years.

Students are taught from the beginning that how they react to the course will depend, in part, on their own circumstances.

In May, during the College of Medicine’s commencement ceremony, she learned that a mentorship program in the newlyestablished Resident Division of the American Medical Women’s Association had been named for her. As one of Florida’s first female pediatricians, and as a key benefactor to Florida State University in general and the College of Medicine in particular, her infl uence as a role model is immeasurable.

Long before she was instrumental in the creation of the College of Medicine, Myra Hurt was a researcher. She still is. In August, Hurt – now senior associate dean for research and graduate programs – was elected chair of the Florida State University Council on Research andCreativity for this academic year.

In the fall of 2001, this school began with 30 students. Four years later, 27 of them graduated. The next year, 36 graduated. Then 48, 58, 73, 94. Slowly but surely, the College of Medicine has been climbing toward its goal.

“We’ve all been basking in the glow of what you’ve accomplished in the last 10 years, and you should have your buttons just bursting with pride about that,” Darrell Kirch said at the medical school’s capstone anniversary event.

The most provocative sign you’ll fi nd in the College of Medicine’s Thrasher Building may be “No Food or Drink in Classroom.” Yawn. Next door, though, in the medical school’s Research Building, is a collection of signs that are alternately sobering and mystifying. Here to help decode them is Myra Hurt, senior associate dean for research and graduate programs.

American patients often prefer American physicians. Female patients often prefer female gynecologists. Spanish-speaking patients often prefer physicians who speak Spanish. It’s not about prejudice; it’s about comfort. Research indicates, and our hearts tell us, that we often feel more at ease when our doctors resemble us.

Immokalee is an inland melting pot of farm workers from around the world, and its population of roughly 25,000 nearly doubles in the peak agricultural season. If you’re seeking a cross-cultural experience, this is themother lode.