Category Archives: Medical School

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

MMIC has named Laurie Drill-Mellum, MD, MPH as its first Chief Medical Officer.

In this newly created role, Dr. Drill-Mellum will work closely with MMIC’s Risk Management, Health IT, and Claim departments to develop integrated risk reduction and risk mitigation strategies. She will build a network of physician consultants that will work closely with MMIC clients to deliver risk strategies for physicians and hospitals throughout MMIC’s eight-state region. This physician-to-carrier partnership, which will lead to an integrated risk management strategy for MMIC clients across its entire region, is unique in the medical professional liability industry.

Dr. Drill-Mellum is a Board-certified emergency medicine physician. She is a current Bush Medical Fellow and recently completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. She will continue her work in emergency medicine part time, and is planning to open a clinic with an integrative medical focus.

According to Bill McDonough, MMIC’s president and CEO, Dr. Drill-Mellum will provide leadership and management from an experienced medical perspective, as well as analysis to help reduce patient injury, the likelihood of lawsuits, and the cost of managing claims. According to McDonough, “This role will serve as a vital link to help MMIC reduce liability costs and differentiate our quality of professional medical liability service. It will also serve as a bridge of support to customers in a time of need, helping them to manage internal and external change.”

Dr. Drill-Mellum holds an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Pomona College in California. She attended the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she also obtained a Master’s in Public Health. She is a graduate of the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Dr. Drill-Mellum has practiced emergency medicine at Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia, Minnesota since 1991. During her tenure, she has held roles as both Chief of the Medical Staff as well as Medical Director of the Emergency Department. She is also a Comprehensive Advanced Life Support Instructor.

Dr. Drill-Mellum is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Minnesota Medical Association, the Twin Cities Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the American and Minnesota Holistic Physician Associations. She has been on the Board of Directors for MMIC since 2008.

About MMIC Group, Inc.

MMIC Group, Inc. provides professional liability insurance and health information technology services to physicians, clinics, hospitals and other health care facilities and systems, primarily in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Founded in 1980, MMIC currently insures more than 14,700 health care providers and 430 hospitals and health care facilities. In July A.M. Best Company ranked it as the 20th largest medical professional liability insurer in the United States.

Visit link:
MMIC Names Chief Medical Officer

The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is arguably the most feared and least understood component of the medical school admissions process. To help demystify the test, below is some information about how the test is organized, how it's used in medical school admissions, and whether or not there is a disadvantage to having multiple MCAT scores.

[Read the top three reasons M.D. applications are rejected.]

? What is the test all about? To quickly break it down, the MCAT is composed of four sections: physical sciences, verbal reasoning, and biological sciences--each scored on a scale from 1 to 15--and a writing sample, which is scored from "J" to "T." The highest score possible is a 45-T.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the mean MCAT score for all 86,181 people who took the exam in 2011 was 25.1, with a standard deviation of 6.4 and a writing sample score of "O." However, the average MCAT score of those admitted to any allopathic (M.D.) medical school in 2010 was approximately 30. And keep in mind that the average for many medical schools is significantly higher.

? Is it relevant to medicine? The honest answer is both yes and no. If you ask most practicing physicians for help with calculating the magnetic force acting on a wire, or how they would synthesize a polysubstituted aromatic compound from a 3-carbon or less alkyl halide (things they needed to know for the MCAT), they would likely look at you like you have three heads. However, the test does help to reinforce the basic science foundation needed to succeed in medical school.

[Learn whether a postbaccalaureate medical program is right for you.]

? How is it used in the admissions process? Success on the MCAT has been shown to correlate with success on the first part of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE Step 1). The USMLE Step 1 is typically taken between the second and third year of medical school, right after you complete the preclinical aspect of your medical school education, and just before you begin your clerkships in the hospital.

This is a big deal because most medical schools require passing scores on the USMLE Step 1 before graduation, and it is a critically important part of the residency "match" process. Additionally, it serves as a common, objective measure between all applicants.

? Is there a disadvantage to having multiple MCAT scores? There can be, but it is situation dependent. Many successful applicants don't score commensurate with their abilities on their first MCAT exam. If they analyze their weaknesses, recalibrate their plans, and show a marked improvement the next time, it is unlikely that their decision to take the test a second time will be seen negatively. However, repeated MCAT examinations--three or more--without significant improvement can be a red flag.

[Check out three tips for retaking the MCAT.]

The bottom line is that the admissions committee needs to feel confident that you are capable of succeeding in medical school. If you work diligently during your undergraduate career, excel in your premedical requirements, and prepare intensely for the MCAT, you are setting yourself up for success in the medical school application process and beyond.

Mark D'Agostino, M.D., M.S., M.Sc. is a Brigade Surgeon in the United States Army. As a Marshall Scholar, he earned a master's degree in Biochemistry at the University of Nottingham Medical School, and a second master's in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics (LSE) and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). After graduating from Brown Medical School, he trained at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Read the original:
Demystifying the MCAT

11-02-2012 13:26 Love to all our med school brothers and sisters! DJ Vapor, Sound Engineer: soundcloud.com/dj-vapor Miles Mueller, Director of Photography: Vimeo.com/milesmueller Med students so hard, can't nothing deter us Rotations don't scurr us Finished two years of classes finally we're in the hospital like now it's surrus (Med students so hard) All day rounding Hours we work are astounding Wanna diagnose every patient on the census but we're new to this game and differentials are confounding (Med students so hard) Check the anion gap I'm like a ninja when I do a pap (Med students so hard) Rocking Tdap Everybody wishes they could tap Medicine is happenin', but surgeons get the best toys Bovies, bone saws, babcocks, Ortho boys (Med students so hard) We treat em, where the charts at, we need em Spend all morning writing notes like a boss, but nobody's gonna read em (Med students so hard) Meds immerse us, wash our hands and microbes curse us Our greatest care is patient care Hearts in the right place, no situs inversus (Med students so hard) catching babies, vaccinate against rabies Med mobster, treat zoster, helpin' all of my shingle ladies (Med students so hard) Chug caffeine, titrate Lantus like a machine, They say do a DRE, blushin' like Parvo B-19 Med students so hard, acronyms never end RCA, CVA, DKA Med students so hard, don't know em but we'll pretend tPA, PSA, AMA Patients ask me questions and I spike my cortisol Tachycardic, give us all metoprolol Feelin like C. diff, med ...

View post:
In Clinic (In Paris medical school parody) - Video

A man struggling with drug addiction feels a craving coming on, but his next therapy appointment is not for another week. Right away, his cellphone buzzes, offering a breathing exercise, a motivational message, or even just a distracting game. And his doctor can check on him remotely and alter the messages, if his stress is not alleviated.

For now, this telemedicine scenario is in the future. But in a small pilot program, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created technologies that will ultimately enable cellphones to automatically detect and intervene when a person suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse problems needs support.

RICH FLETCHER FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

In a paper published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, the researchers describe the first generation of the system, which includes wireless sensors that can measure stress symptoms and algorithms capable of crunching data from those sensors to detect patterns that suggest an emerging anxiety attack or drug craving.

“I’ve been doing technology all my life, but the next phase is to apply the technology to real-world problems that are hard,’’ said Rich Fletcher, an assistant professor of psychiatry at UMass Medical School and a research scientist at the MIT Media Laboratory.

Fletcher has cofounded a Cambridge company, Ashametrics, that sells wireless sensing devices, encapsulated in wrist, chest, or ankle bands, to researchers.

As technology has matured, professionals in two different worlds became interested in its potential to offer novel approaches to health care: engineers more used to tinkering with electronics and software and doctors looking for new ways to approach medical problems.

In 2005, Rosalind Picard, a professor at the MIT Media Laboratory, wrote about a future scenario in which evolving technologies, including wireless devices and sensors that can automatically track physical attributes, could be applied to real-world situations, such as helping support people fighting addiction. Those tantalizing possibilities also triggered the interest of Dr. Edward Boyer, a professor of emergency medicine at UMass. The researchers began to work together, focusing on the needs of veterans grappling with substance abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder

RICH FLETCHER FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

The cellphones and sensors can be used to collect and track data on a patient and help doctors intervene.

.

Fletcher, who has long been involved in designing and engineering wireless sensors, said that while the dream has been around for many years, recent technological improvements now make such a system viable.

Sensors in a wrist or ankle band and a smartphone would not supplant the critical role of a psychiatrist or therapist, Fletcher said, but augment their ability to deliver care and even give doctors a wider window into their patients’ suffering and progress. It could also increase the patient’s engagement in their treatment program.

In the initial study, male veterans with a history of substance abuse problems and post-traumatic stress disorder were recruited to test an early version of the device.

When the phone detected signs of stress from sensors embedded in ankle bands, it prompted the men with a message, asking them if they were OK. If the men said things were not going well, they would be asked if they were experiencing a craving, and what they were doing. People experiencing a craving would receive a supportive message.

Fletcher pinpoints two important areas of future research: studying which intervention messages are most effective in helping patients manage stress and improving the software’s ability to use sensor data to detect what users are feeling or experiencing.

Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said the technology is part of a wave of innovation in “m-health,’’ or the use of mobile devices in health care.

Such technology will be increasingly important because of the potential to provide continuous monitoring that could prevent serious health problems from developing instead of waiting until people know they need to see a doctor, Halamka said.

“The notion of health care reform is we’re going to be paid for keeping people well, as opposed to treating them while they’re sick,’’ Halamka said.

Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE. Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @carolynyjohnson.

Read the rest here:
Medical sensors could phone for help - The Boston Globe

Last year, while I was interviewing to get into medical school, one of my interviewers asked me: “What was the most difficult situation you ever faced, and how did you deal with it?”

I started talking. It was not the first time I shared this particular story – or even the first time it had come up during an interview – but as I became immersed in telling it, I felt tears coming to my eyes. Oh no, I thought. I stopped talking and looked at my interviewer. Embarrassed and unsure what to say, I went with, “um… I’m sorry.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “It’s OK,” she said gently, reaching for a tissue. “We can talk about something else.”

And we did.

Later, I called my sister. I was feeling something worse than embarrassment: guilt.

“I feel like I used [my situation],” I said. “And – I think my interviewer liked me more because of it. What if that helps me get in?”

It felt exploitative. I felt exploitative.

I had not gotten teary intentionally, of course. I had answered my interviewer’s question honestly. It seemed a natural reaction to the topic at hand.

I also cannot imagine I was the first to feel unease in response to that question. Not long after that experience, a fellow medical school applicant and friend of mine expressed a similar sentiment to me as I had to my sister. My friend had lost her father at a young age, and many schools asked her about it. She felt extremely uncomfortable discussing it at all, for fear she “use” an intimately painful situation for practical career gain. Losing her father had nothing to do with her decision to go into medicine, nor, she thought, her potential as a future physician.

Medical schools are looking for many things these days. They want to see that you are compassionate. They want to see empathy. They want to see that you can deal with challenges and stress – that you are experienced, emotionally mature, and will not splinter under pressure.

I fully support this ideal. Medicine is a field that requires two categories of attributes. You need to know how to solve problems and reason through information. And, you need to know how to relate to people.

But is there a way to find those qualities without making applicants feel exploitative?

I think there is an important distinction between probing for a relevant emotional history – and a contrived attempt to solicit depth. That is, sometimes an applicant’s answer to the “most difficult situation” question is directly related to her interest in medicine. There are many cases in which obstacles shaped someone’s choice to pursue a life of caring for patients or helped him develop the skills to do so. There, I can see the appeal of the question. It contributes to painting the complete picture of the applicant’s motivations and aspirations in medicine.

For others, the question is less relevant. This was the case for my friend and me. Enduring our difficult situations had nothing to do with our subsequent decisions to go into medicine. Our situations were simply incidents that happened to punctuate the narratives that are our lives.

That is why talking about them in the explicit context of trying to gain acceptance into graduate school felt sleazy.

I had another interviewer, who, after asking the same question, handled our conversation with less sensitivity. She wrote down my answers without once looking up. As though she was checking off criteria I was supposed to have to become a competent doctor. Check: there was hardship. Check: I dealt with it in a healthy way.

“And… how do you think that will impact your ability to take care of patients?” she asked next, as though reading off a template. I don’t know. Maybe it won’t. There are other things in my life, things I chose to do, that I think will impact my ability to take care of patients. Can’t you ask me something else?

To medical school interviewers: it is perfectly acceptable to pursue emotional depth. I do not think the “most difficult situation” question should be tossed completely. But if you choose to use it, please do so cautiously. Stay within the bounds of what is relevant and what the applicant wants to discuss. And, if that emotional line is crossed, please be aware that the tone of the interview has fundamentally changed. Please handle the interaction with the same sensitivity you are asking for from applicants who will very soon be on the other side, asking similar types of delicate questions to vulnerable patients.

“It’s OK. We can talk about something else.”

I wish she knew how much I appreciated that.

View original post here:
The hardest medical school interview question

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have built technologies that enable cellphones to detect and intervene when a person battling post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse needs support. In a paper published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, the researchers describe the system, which includes wireless sensors that can measure stress symptoms and algorithms capable of crunching data from those sensors to detect patterns that suggest an emerging anxiety attack or drug craving.

For more from BostonGlobe.com, sign up or log in below

To continue, please sign up or log in to BostonGlobe.com

Access the full articles and quality reporting of The Boston Globe at BostonGlobe.com

Sign up

Unlimited Access to BostonGlobe.com for 4 weeks for only 99¢.

Are you a Boston Globe home delivery subscriber?

Get FREE access as part of your print subscription.

BostonGlobe.com subscriber

View post:
Medical sensors could phone for help