|
 
Kellogg Eye Center: Compassionate, Concerned, Consistently Outstanding
 Medicine at Michigan’s cover story, “In
the Service of Sight” (Spring
2003), prompts me to share my own first-hand experiences with the work of Kellogg
Eye Center. I am a faculty member of the U-M Medical School in the Department
of Medical Education. My research interest focuses on the relationships between
health care professionals and patients, and the impact of those relationships
on patients’ perception of care.
Two years ago I learned that I had sebaceous cell carcinoma. Over the course
of a year I had six major operations as well as a number of minor procedures.
My treatment provided me with multiple opportunities to interact with the physicians,
nurses and clerical staff at Kellogg. The care I received was, without exception,
superb. Dr. Christine Nelson was the surgeon who performed the operations,
assisted by Dr. Randy Mauffray. In addition to providing excellent clinical
care they were very supportive of me personally as I went through a difficult
time. Their concern and compassion were obvious and they were readily available
to me by phone or e-mail whenever I had questions or concerns.
I also had the opportunity to get to know many of the nurses in the pre/post-op
area at Kellogg. Again, the nurses were, without exception, concerned and supportive
and were clearly excellent clinicians. After about the third operation I began
to feel, and was treated, like a member of the family.
I also have frequent opportunities to interact with the clerical staff in
the outpatient clinic where Drs. Nelson and Mauffray see patients. A number
of times I developed acute problems and presented myself at the outpatient
clinic without an appointment in hope of being seen. I never once felt that
the clerical staff was annoyed by my unscheduled visits. Their attitude was “Let’s
see what we can do to help.” Each time, they paged and made phone calls
until they were able to find Dr. Nelson, Dr. Mauffray, or another physician
who was able to see me.
I have never experienced or observed health care that was so consistently
outstanding. It would be difficult to overemphasize how much the compassion
and concern expressed by everyone at Kellogg contributed to my optimism, confidence
and recovery. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of the faculty
and staff at Kellogg who work so hard and so consistently to deliver a quality
of care which, in my experience, is unsurpassed anywhere.
Robert M. Anderson, Ed.D.
Professor and Senior Research Scientist
Department of Medical Education
Medicine for a New Millennium…or Old?
I read with interest Dean Allen Lichter’s letter
to readers (Fall 2002)
concerning the revision of the Medical School’s curriculum. A superficial
impression is that this curriculum appears to be similar to that utilized at
Western Reserve School of Medicine during the 1950s. It was systems-based in
the basic science years and included the longitudinal following of a family
by medical students from the first year to graduation.
On another subject, if the entrance of students into psychiatry residency
is too low (Letters, Fall 2002), perhaps it is time to consider a combined
neurology/psychiatry program again.
Thomas F. Scott
(M.D. 1958)
Huntington, West Virginia
To the issue of curriculum revision, Joseph C. Fantone, M.D., associate dean
for medical education, responds:
While some aspects of the curriculum return to proven methods, the scope
of the revision at the University of Michigan Medical School is much more
broadly
based than the historical models at what is now Case Western University. The
school’s faculty recommended integration of not only the biomedical sciences
but also social, cultural and behavioral issues in a patient-based context.
Increased emphasis on the development of communication and clinical skills
and active learning methodologies are also major components of the curriculum
revision. The Family Centered Experience is focused on enhancing students’ understanding
of the impact of social, cultural and behavioral factors influencing patients’ and
family members’health. The original Case Western model focused primarily
on following a woman during her pregnancy, delivery and first years of life
of her infant, with more focused objectives.
Regarding the relationship between the separate disciplines of neurology and
psychiatry, Michael D. Jibson, M.D., Ph.D., director of psychiatry residency
education, and Michelle B. Riba, M.D., associate chair for education in the
Department of Psychiatry, reply:
The evolution of neurology and psychiatry as independent clinical
disciplines has been driven primarily by the unique perspectives of the two
fields. Originally
based in the concept that there were separate “hardware” and “software”problems
that could be identified and treated by separate mechanisms, both fields
have come to appreciate that the brain and its functions are not so readily
separable
into physical and experiential categories. So why not abolish the distinction
in the fields and combine the disciplines again?
A number of luminaries in the field champion exactly that, and in the
laboratory the distinctions between the fields blur to extinction. But in
the clinic we
have learned through our experiences as separate disciplines that there are
legitimate differences in the perspectives of the two fields. Psychiatry’s
comfort with the subjective experiences of mood and perception, with interpersonal
functions, and with the myriad patterns of thought and behavior that constitute
personality contrast strikingly with the neurologist’s skills at symptom-lesion
correlation and maintenance of the physical and functional integrity of the
nervous system. Depressive disorders, anxiety, psychosis and personality disorders
unquestionably have biological correlates and probably have biological underpinnings,
but they are not variants of strokes, seizures and neuropathies. It is that
fundamental difference that makes it so advantageous to maintain the integrity
of the two separate fields.
Making the Difference with Horace Davenport
Thank you very much for the very interesting article on Horace Davenport (Looking
Back, Spring 2003); the medical students that he has lectured over the years
hold him in very high esteem. There is no doubt that he was one of the more
colorful and renowned teachers that we were privileged to have known and learned
from.
The quotes we best knew him for were his often-repeated phrases, “Near
as makes no difference .… ” and “If you don’t wear
a white coat the patients can’t tell the difference between you and the
TV repairman!” Both were always delivered with style and just the right
amount of attitude. Not only was he an excellent teacher to be sure, but he
also knew that he was on stage and he never failed to entertain as he taught.
The man is one of a kind. Thank you, Dr. Davenport!
Rich Serra
(M.D. 1977)
Durham, North Carolina
Red Hiss Marches On
The article on the Department of Medical Education’s 75th anniversary
which profiled Roland “Red” Hiss (“A
Long and Illustrious History of Leading the Way,” Spring 2003) missed an important point:
Back in the early 1950s there was a fellow named Roland Hiss in the percussion
section of the Michigan Marching Band.
Thomas F. Higby
(M.D. 1958)
(Michigan Marching Band 1952-53)
Fowlerville
Survival Flight Turns 20
Photo: Bill Wood |
In 1983, Michigan's first hospital air ambulance lifted off from the University
of Michigan Health System's medical campus. Today, 25,000 missions and 20 years
later, Survival Flight continues to provide air and ground emergency triage
and care to critically ill or injured patients around the clock, making it
one of the top air ambulance programs in the nation.
Dean's Ride to Dexter
Dean Allen S. Lichter leads some of the participants
in this year's Dean's Ride to Dexter as they take off from Fuller Road near
the U-M Hospital. This was the second year for the cycling trip, held Sunday,
June 29th, which allows members of the Medical School community and their
families to get some exercise and spend time together socially. The approximately
65
riders traveled along the scenic Huron River to Dexter-Huron Metropark, where
they took a break for lunch before heading back along the same 10-mile route.
Corrections
The Spring 2003 issue of Medicine at Michigan inadvertently omitted
the M.D. degree of David Zacks, M.D., Ph.D. (“In the Service of Sight”).
The same issue’s article on the Medical Education Scholars Program (“Focusing
on Leadership”) misidentified John Frohna, M.D., as chief resident
in the Department of Pediatrics, a post he held in 1994-95. Frohna is currently
a clinical assistant professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine
and
of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases.
|
