Application Volume Up 55 Per Cent at U of Kentucky

As of Thanksgiving week, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine had already received almost 1,240 applications for fall 2007 enrollment. That number marks a 55 per cent increase over last year's application volume.

The UK College of Medicine enrolls 103 first-year M.D. students each fall.

Source: "Medical School Applications Increase by 55 Percent," Jill Laster, The Kentucky Kernel (Lexington, Kentucky), November 22, 2006

LSU Returns to New Orleans

Louisiana State University has reopened its University Hospital in New Orleans on a limited basis, marking the post-Katrina return of LSU residents and staff to the city.

The Hospital's emergency room, intensive care unit, and a restricted number of general medical care beds were scheduled to back in operation. 85 of the Hospital's orginal 575 beds are available.

LSU's hospital system is working with U.S. federal authorities to rebuild New Orlean's health care system. University Hospital will be the only training hospital in New Orleans until a new facility is build to replace Charity Hospital. Spokesmen for LSU's Health Care Services Division caution that a new facility is still years away, and that funds still need to be secured for the project. If and when a new training hospital is built, University Hospital will probably be turned over for clinical research.

Source: "Scaled Back Hospital Reopens," by Kate Moran, the Times-Picayune (New Orleans), November 17, 2006

U. of California Expanding Enrollment?

The University of California will soon announce a plan to expand its medical school enrollment by almost 1,000 students, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The plan calls for increased enrollment at the five existing UC medical schools and the creation of a sixth medical school at Riverside.

The plan also calls for increased enrollment in nursing, pharmacology, and veterinary medicine. State officials say the UC system needs to produce more graduates in all of these fields in order to keep pace with the demands of a growing and aging population.

The expanded medical school enrollment would take years to achieve. The target enrollment of 3,429 medical students each year -- a 34 per cent increase over the current enrollment of 2,564 -- would not be reached until 2020.

Source: "New Med School Part of UC Plan to Boost Health Care Graduates," by Tanya Schevitz, the San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 2006

U of Missouri Says PBL Curriculum Works

The University of Missouri - Columbia School of Medicine recently reviewed the effectiveness of the Problem-Based Learning curriclum it introduced 13 years ago and confirmed that its approach has been successful in preparing medical professionals to work in a field where the state of knowledge is constantly growing and changing.

The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum reduces the amount of time that medical students spend in lecture classes and discourages rote memorization of data. Instead, it trains students to understand and practice medicine in a clinical context.

Researchers found that Missouri students' performance on medical licensing exams improved significantly after PBL was introduced. Today, Missouri students' test scores on the basic science and clinical sections of the test are significantly above the national average. Researchers also concluded that students who were taught under PBL did better in their first-year residencies than earlier students had.

The PBL curriculum used by the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Medicine begins with two years of foundational studies, with each year being divided into four 10-week 'blocks.' Each block consists of an eight-week period for learning, a one-week period of assessment, and then a one-week period of rest. The blocks include instruction in basic science and in patient care. Students are assigned to study groups of eight which, under the supervision of a faculty member, use case studies to learn medical science and problem solving in a clinical context.

Third-year students are assigned to a series of clerkships in internal medicine, family medicine, child health care, and other required fields. Fourth-year students have elective rotations.

Source: “Problem-Based Learning Curriculum a Success for Medical School,” press release, University of Missouri – Columbia, October 31, 2006

California Court Tells MCAT to Follow State Disability Guidelines

A California court has ruled that the MCAT must follow state and not federal guidelines in determining the type of accommodations that disabled test-takers are entitled to. If the ruling stands, it may have ripple effects on MCAT administration and medical school admissions nationwide.

The ruling comes out of a class action suit filed on behalf of test-takers with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. The plaintiffs had asked the AAMC, which administers the test, for additional time to complete the MCAT. The AAMC refused, saying that the the test-takers' conditions were not extensive enough to qualify as disabilities under federal guidelines.

The court ruled that since the test was being administered in California, the AAMC had to follow California guidelines in determining which test-takers are entitled to special accommodations. Because California law uses broader language than federal law does to define disabilities, the ruling would force the AAMC to extend special accommodations to more test-takers than it does now.

Because it would not be practical to change MCAT administration in just one state, the California court ruling may affect the way that the MCAT is given nationwide.

Source: "Judge Challenges MCAT Rules," by Paul D. Thacker, Inside Higher Education, November 6, 2007

Pioneering Pediatric Cardiologist on U of Kentucky Admissions Committee

Applicants to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine may find their application being reviewed by a pioneering figure in the field of pediatric cardiology.

Dr. Jacqueline Noonan was already recognized as a leader in that speciality when she joined the faculty at the recently established UK College of Medicine in 1961. During her training at Boston Children's Hospital, she had observed and described a congenital cardiac condition she called "hypoplastic left heart syndrome." Later, while teaching at the University of Iowa, she identified another congenital heart condition that became known as Noonan syndrome.

Dr. Noonan went on to become a pillar of the UK College of Medicine and of the surrounding community. Now 78 and nominally retired, she still sees patients at local health clinics, teaches a class at the medical school, serves on a board overseeing medical research -- and helps to select admits for the College of Medicine.

The University of Kentucky Vice President for Health Affairs Michael Karpf told a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader that students are perennially taken by how approachable and supportive Dr. Noonan is. "People tend to just see this lady who works with first-year medical students and goes to clinics in Eastern Kentucky," Karpf told the paper. "Many don't realize how important she has been on the national and international scene as a cardiologist. She's a true pioneer."

- Source: "A Hero for Young Hearts," by Jim Warren, the Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky), November 3, 2006