Summary of 12-14-00 CME Minutes
Introduction of new fourth year student representative Eric Baden,
who replaces Sarah Dorsey currently in her residency in the 3 + 3 Internal Medicine
program.
Student CME request for an update on negotiations between the CWRU
School of Medicine and University Hospitals
Presentation on the Clinical
Research Scholars Program (CRSPs) at CWRU – Dr. E.R. McFadden, Jr., Director of
the General Clinical Research Center UH/CWRU
Two components of the program:
1) CRSP Jr., a program for
medical students, is currently in development with promise of support by the Dean, and 2) CRSP Sr., a program for fellows, is currently a
K30 funded program. The grant known as a
Clinical Research Curriculum Award (K30) is a $1 million grant ($200,000 per year over
five years) from the National Institutes of Health. Dr.
McFadden defined “Clinical Research” as “a continuum involving interaction
with patients, diagnostic clinical materials, patient-oriented data, or populations”
in numerous medical/health categories that he delineated.
CRSP Jr. is looking for 1) first-
and second-year medical students to spend one year in the laboratory of a successful
clinical research team with a designated mentor, and 2) house staff to spend a research
year. Medical students should have completed
their second year before entering the CRSP program. CRSP
Jr. can be taken as an extra year between the second and third years of medical school or
between the third and fourth. Students can
earn a combined degree. However, students
interested in clinical research opportunities but not wishing to take a year off from
their medical school studies can still have access to a list of clinical research
opportunities and related courses. CRSP Sr. is at the level of a fellowship. Current emphasis is on developing the CRSP Sr.
program and getting a Master’s.
Dr. McFadden discussed individual aspects inherent in the CRSP Jr. program:
1) Selection of CRSP scholars (which entails accepting between 2-to-5
individuals per year seeking a career in clinical investigation in an academic or related
environment), 2) Matching students/electronic clinical research database/mentors, 3)
Selection of research mentors, and 4) the Didactic program.
The aim is to develop (not dictate) a project with the
individual student. There is an option
for an M.S./M.D. combined program.
Dr. McFadden next focused on CRSP
Sr. (K30), which is a funded program. It
is a didactic program to teach clinical investigation to those who have completed their
training in Medicine, Dentistry, or Nursing and want a career in clinical investigation. CRSP Sr. is looking to accept from 5-to-10
individuals per year. Its curriculum spans
two years, including a two-week summer series and semester courses. The second year provides for the differentiation
into one of four specialty tracks: 1)
Disease mechanisms, 2) Clinical trials, 3) Health science research and outcomes, and 4)
Epidemiology prevention and promotion.
While CRSP Sr. is geared
to postdoctoral applications, we can put medical students into the summer and one or two
courses. The Introduction to Clinical
Research Seminar Series, the summer two-week 3-credit-hour course is open to all. During the two-year CRSP Sr. program, successful
completion of didactic material and a mentored research project along with a scientific
publication in a peer-reviewed journal leads to a Masters degree. For
further information on CRSP Sr. selection and admission criteria contact Dr. E.R.
McFadden, Jr. at (216) 844-8669 or erm2@po.cwru.edu. Submission of the CRSP Sr. application, with all
necessary accompanying materials, is due by April 1, 2001.
The program starts in July. Any
faculty member whose program is not represented within the CRSP umbrella is also
encouraged to contact Dr. McFadden.
Dr. McFadden’s purpose in coming to the CME meeting was to
secure a vote of confidence or encouragement that would aid him in soliciting further
support. Dr. LaManna sought and received a CME endorsement
for the Clinical Research Scholars Program at CWRU to go forward and to report back to the
CME on its progress. The CME views CRSP as
beneficial to medical students and enriching the curriculum.
Trends in Nine Years of Admissions
Data (1992-2000) – Dr. Albert Kirby, Associate Dean for Admissions, and Dr. G. David
McCoy, member of the Admissions Committee
Data presented began with the Class of 1996 entering in 1992 and ended with the current first year class,
the Class of 2004 entering in 2000. Snapshots of the selection process furnished data
on GPAs and MCAT scores. Bar graphs compared performance of 1) all national applicants to U.S.
medical school, 2) all accepts to national medical schools, and 3) all accepts to CWRU
School of Medicine. Overall, GPA for all
students tends to be increasing. CWRU MCAT
scores are getting higher. The Dean’s
Scholars program started in 1997 with the Class of 2001.
Dean’s Scholars receive $20,000 per year for four years based on
academic and personal achievement. In
addition, Dean Berger has allotted more money for the Medical Scientist Training Program
(M.S.T.P.). The increase in scores is coming
from our funded programs.
The largest number of our medical students comes from CWRU. The next largest number of students comes from the
Ohio State University, University of Michigan, this year Berkley, and the Ivy League, and
near-Ivy League schools.
In Dr. McCoy’s opinion, the product of the total GPA times the total MCAT
scores shows a strong correlation between USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 performance. The MN, or “Magic Number,” is the
product of the total MCAT times the total GPA. Caution
was expressed in translating students to numbers.
With respect to the Ohio population represented in our medical school
make-up, 60% of the first year class must be Ohio residents, since we receive Ohio
funding. CWRU is doing well with regard to
the Ohio applicant pool. CWRU would incur a
$4 million loss if we were to drop the Ohio subsidy.
Ohio students at CWRU pay the same tuition as out-of-state residents. The need to attract students here when they can go
to Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati medical schools for considerably
less money was stressed. We are limited in
exploring our out-of-state pool due to the Ohio quota.
The pool of underrepresented minorities is declining at a faster rate
nationally than at CWRU. Dr. Rubens Pamies
was very well received by African American applicants.
Dr. Robert Haynie has ably picked up on Dr. Pamies’ recruiting efforts.
One of the “top-ten” rankings that we consistently qualify
for is “most expensive” medical schools. It
is the financial packages that come out in mid-April that ultimately determine the
applicants’ choice of medical school.
This year for the first time we offered students in Michigan the
opportunity to interview at Henry Ford. Two/thirds
of Michigan applicants took advantage of the opportunity to interview at Henry Ford
instead of coming to CWRU. Dr. Peter Coggan,
Director of Medical Education at Henry Ford, commented that the staff enjoyed interviewing
the students, and he foresees an increase in CWRU enrolment of students from southeast
Michigan who will go on to spend their third year at Henry Ford.
See Curriculum Revision
Update
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