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 can
get 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 seriously
ill. 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 newly
established 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 and
Creativity 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.

While most medical school students spend their third and fourth years in large academic hospitals, Gondela, 25, is one of 19 third-year and 14 fourth-year Florida State University students making rounds through clinical rotations in doctors' offices and community hospitals across the Treasure Coast.

Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare are well on the way toward establishing an internal medicine residency program. TMH, which already offers a residency in family medicine for medical school graduates, announced its formal partnership with FSU in August. FSU is the institutional sponsor for the new program — the first new residency that the 10-year-old College of Medicine will sponsor.

The American Medical Student Association gave its stamp of approval to most medical schools, saying that they finally have instituted "strong" conflicts-of-interest policies. As Pharmalot notes, AMSA gave a perfect score to two schools: University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and Florida State University College of Medicine. And it hailed onethird of schools for their training students to recognize how industry marketing can affect their judgment and for teaching them to consider potential conflicts.

The majority of U.S. medical schools have implemented strong conflict-of-interest policies this year, according to the 2010 American Medical Student Association (AMSA) PharmFree Scorecard. The Scorecard finds that 79 of 152 medical schools (52%) now receive a grade of A or B for their policies governing pharmaceutical industry interaction with medical school faculty and students. Only two medical schools received a perfect score for limiting access of sales representatives – the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and Florida State University College of Medicine.

The FSU College of Medicine's Pediatric Interest Group (PIG) raised $795 at their annual "Dreams Come True" wine and cheese fundraiser. The event is consistently a great success and is very popular among the students and faculty.

Press Release 
The Florida State University College of Medicine on Wednesday will unveil an exhibit related to the historic passage of Medicare and recognize retired Tallahassee physician Charles Mathews, who donated several items.
 
Mathews attended the first meeting on Medicare at the White House with President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and recently donated the materials provided for that meeting. Other items on display are the pen President Johnson used to sign the Medicare bill, and historic photos and documents from the Claude Pepper Papers, housed at the Claude Pepper Library. The items will be permanently housed at the university’s Claude Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. 
 
In addition to Mathews, others scheduled to participate in the unveiling ceremony are College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty; Dr. Ken Brummel-Smith, chair of the Department of Geriatrics; and representatives from the Pepper Institute. The event will take place:
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 15
 
10 A.M.
 
FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ATRIUM
 
TALLAHASSEE

The University of Florida and the Florida State University College of Medicine jointly received $600,000 from the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida to strengthen research, education and service efforts in public health and to boost economic growth.

The Department of Health faces a March 1 deadline for releasing a wide-ranging report that includes justifying its divisions and recommending ways to reduce and restructure parts of the agency. Lawmakers required the report this spring, after a tumultuous legislative session in which House leaders targeted the department for revamping --- and shrinking.

Bethann Mohamed, president of FSUCares, also entered some of her fudge in the 2010 Fudge Cook-off. The event raised more than $1,600 for the outreach organization.

Together, ProPublica and Health News Florida, identified 62 physicians in Florida who have recently received more than $1.1 million from drug companies despite having a serious blotch on their records. The discovery is troubling, said Ken Brummel-Smith, chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine. FSU College of Medicine has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for drug-company payments and gifts to its professors and students, he said. But outside of academia, there has been little official scrutiny. 

Nearly 12,500 Hispanic residents live in Leon County, and on Friday community organizations are working together to hold the 2010 Hispanic Health Care Conference. It's designed to address issues facing the Hispanic community and health care. Dr. Jose Rodriguez, an associate professor at Florida State University's College of Medicine and  the conference's keynote speaker, said the event is about community education.

Press Release
  Highlights from the 2010 socio-economic impact study prepared for the Florida State University College of Medicine by MGT of America Inc.

Press Release   The Florida State University College of Medicine and the University of Florida have jointly received $600,000 from the State University System of Florida Board of Governors to strengthen research, education and service efforts in areas of public health and to boost economic growth.

This is a profile of Aloknath Pandya, one of 40 Florida State University College of Medicine students from the college’s first full class. The Florida State University model of community-based medicine, begun 10 years ago, was the first U.S. medical college founded in 25 years. And it is unique in partnering third- and fourth-year students one-on-one with doctors in practice. Between doctor-mentors and the professionals reviewing their work, there are 200 local clinicians involved in the training of these students.

Press Release Dance Marathon at Florida State University and Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida will present a $211,000 check to the Florida State University College of Medicine for the benefit of children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.
 
The proceeds are part of the record $451,000 raised in 2010 by Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy on the Florida State campus

This is a guest opinion from The Dayton Beach News-Journal written by Dr. P.T. Fleuchaus. Dr. Fleuchaus, of Ormond Beach, is a former member of the Volusia County Council and serves on the Beach Advisory Board. The column discusses the, “very strong effort to remove or fire Dr. Kent Sharples, the president of Daytona State College.” Dr. Sharples, along with Dr. T.K. Wetherell, the former president of FSU, developed the Daytona Beach Regional Campus for The Florida State University College of Medicine.

Press Release Darrell Kirch, guest speaker at the College of Medicine’s capstone 10th-anniversary event Oct. 7, offered congratulations for 10 years of innovation – and challenged his audience to join him in transforming the nation’s health system into one that truly responds to patients’ needs. Kirch took his listeners, both on the main campus and by webcast at the college’s regional campuses, on a lively tour of the past century of American health care. He showed how the U.S. – despite great advances in medical knowledge and education – has created a culture that discourages patient-centered care. Darrell Kirch's keynote address Read Kirch's keynote address View anniversary slide show

The Central Florida college has joined in the growing trend of medical schools across the country that are providing advanced mobile devices to medical students. Florida State University also gives iPod touches to med students, and Stanford University in California is distributing much-larger Apple iPads to its future doctors.   

The Central Florida college has joined in the growing trend of medical schools across the country that are providing advanced mobile devices to medical students. Florida State University also gives iPod touches to med students, and Stanford University in California is distributing much-larger Apple iPads to its future doctors. 

In 2000, Florida State University bucked conventional wisdom to start an unconventional medical school. Thursday, the Treasure Coast contingent of the faithful gathered at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce to commemorate the school’s 10th anniversary.

Darrell Kirch, M.D., president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, will help the Florida State University College of Medicine celebrate its 10th anniversary Thursday. Kirch will deliver a webcast keynote address from the College of Medicine’s main campus in Tallahassee as part of a simultaneous celebration with the College of Medicine’s Fort Pierce Regional Campus.

The Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One of the most significant facilities on the campus is the Brenda and Vernon Smith Center for Medical Education, a branch of the Florida State University where the university’s medical students come to complete their training to become doctors.

Older adults with Parkinson’s disease as well as those without neurological problems are at increased risk of injury-causing falls when walking and talking at the same time, a study shows. Researchers at Florida State University say Parkinson’s disease alters gait, stride length, and step velocity. It also alters the ability of older people to stabilize themselves on both feet when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. A surprising finding of the study was that even older adults who do not have a neurological impairment also have trouble walking and talking at the same time. The study is published in the October issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. “These results suggest that it might be prudent for health care professionals and caregivers to alter expectations and monitor cognitive-linguistic demands placed on these individuals while they are walking, particularly during increased risk situations, such as descending stairs, in low-light conditions, or avoiding obstructions,” study researcher Charles G. Maitland, MD, of Florida State University’s College of Medicine, says in a news release.

In recent human trials for a promising new class of drug designed to target the hepatitis C virus (HCV) without shutting down the immune system, some of the HCV strains being treated exhibited signs of drug resistance. In response, an interdisciplinary team of Florida State University biologists, chemists and biomedical researchers devised a novel genetic screening method that can identify the drug-resistant HCV strains and the molecular-level mechanisms that make them that way –– helping drug developers to tailor specific therapies to circumvent them. Florida State biology doctoral student Feng Yang led the research team. The award-winning scholar earned her Ph.D. in August 2010 and is now a postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Yang designed the CoFIM screening methodology with fellow FSU graduate students, postdoctoral associates and distinguished faculty colleagues –– including Associate Professor Tang; chemistry/biochemistry Professor Timothy M. Logan, director of FSU’s Institute of Molecular Biophysics; and Research Assistant Professor Ewa A. Bienkiewicz, of the FSU College of Medicine, where she directs the Biomedical Proteomics Laboratory. Also featured on: 9/29/2010 - Hepatitis C Research and News Blogspot 9/30/2010 - RedOrbit.com

One of the most significant facilities on the campus is the Brenda and Vernon Smith Center for Medical Education, a branch of the Florida State University where the university’s medical students come to complete their training to become doctors.

Gerry Maitland, professor of neurology in the College of Medicine, is one of the Florida State University researchers behind a new study of how talking while walking can challenge older adults, with or without a neurological impairment. Read full story.

Local physician James "Trey" Falconer, M.D., has been named the prestigious Guardian of the Mission award recipient, presented by the Florida State University College of Medicine. The award recognizes a physician whose activities have furthered the college's mission to "educate and develop exemplary physicians who practice patient-centered health care, discover and advance knowledge and are responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, minority and underserved populations."

Press Release A new Florida State University study found that older adults with Parkinson’s disease altered their gait — stride length, step velocity and the time they spent stabilizing on two feet — when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. But the real surprise was that even older adults without a neurological impairment demonstrated similar difficulties walking and talking.
A disruption in gait could place Parkinson’s patients and the elderly at an increased risk of falls, according to the Florida State researchers.

A new Florida State University study found that older adults with Parkinson’s disease changed their gait—stride length, step velocity, and the time they spent stabilizing on two feet—when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. In a study that will be published in the October issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, FSU professor Leonard L. LaPointe and co-authors Julie A.G. Stierwalt and Charles G. Maitland, The Florida State university College of Medicine, outline their findings. ALSO FEATURED IN: The Times of India – 9/23/2010 Talking while walking bad for Parkinson's patients Medical News Today – 9/24/10 Talking While Walking Puts Parkinson's Patients At Risk For Falls MedIndia.net – 9/25/2010 Parkinson's Patients Have Trouble Walking and Talking

Press Release Paola Dees, M.D., is among the residents and physicians quoted in a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story detailing how well the College of Medicine’s distributed model produces top-notch doctors.

One of the groups most affected by the changes in the new health law are medical school students. When they graduate – and complete the hospital residencies that follow – they will begin practice under a system that will be significantly different than when they began college. With millions more people expected to have health insurance, demand for primary care physiciansis expected to go way up. Allison Fero, of Kaiser Health News, recently sat down individually with four medical students, including Marco Ferrera of The Florida State University College of Medicine, to discuss their career expectations, their concerns about the changing environment for doctors and their assessments of how the new law will affect the practice of medicine.

A new medical school model is providing quality physicians for Florida communities. This is an experiment that began only five years ago here. But early indications suggest that the Florida State College of Medicine's regional campuses and unconventional teaching methods are not only meeting the school's goal of producing primary care physicians who will practice in Florida communities -- but also consistently generating that elusive commodity every patient looks for: a really good doctor.

Paola Dees, M.D., shown here as a medical student in 2006, is among the residents and physicians quoted in a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story detailing how well the College of Medicine’s distributed model produces top-notch doctors.

Florida State University's College of Medicine paid tribute Thursday to two area physicians who are among the hundreds of community doctors playing an important role at the 10-year-old school. Dr. James "Trey" Falconer, with the MacIntosh Clinic in Thomasville, Ga., was presented with the "guardian of the mission" award for his work with third- and fourth-year students. Dr. Jesse Judelle, who has been with the Southern Medical Group adjacent to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital since 1972, received the "outstanding clinical faculty educator" award.

View the Webcast Celebrate with us by viewing a College of Medicine premiere and hearing a dynamic speaker "What if we thought of academic medicine as a fully loaded Boeing 747, taking off down an undetermined length of runway? Are we so focused on preserving the excellence we have built, that we find ourselves waiting until the last possible moment to lift off into what will be a dramatically changed health care future? And by lingering on the runway, are we missing opportunities that might allow us to use our unique capacity to lead?" Those are the attention-getting words of Darrell G. Kirch, in the July issue of the AAMC Reporter. As president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, he spends an extraordinary amount of time pondering the future of medical education and health care in America. On Oct. 7 he will be here, discussing the College of Medicine's pioneering role in that future. Kirch will be keynote speaker at the Oct. 7 celebration of our 10th anniversary as the first new medical school of the 21st century. The title of his address is “Defining the Century: Florida State University and the Future of Health Care.” Also on the program is the premiere of a 20-minute video charting the extraordinary creation of the College of Medicine. People who have little patience with most public speakers say without hesitation that Kirch is dynamic and memorable. Anyone who is connected with the College of Medicine will want to hear what he has to say about this time in history, this profession and this school. We hope to pack the auditorium. Arrangements also are being made for people at our regional campuses to tune in his speech from their location. This will be an unforgettable way to wrap up our 10-year anniversary. Please plan to participate. Date: Thursday, Oct. 7
Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Place: College of Medicine main campus, 1115 W. Call St. in Tallahassee, and at various venues for our regional campuses
RSVP or questions: 850-645-9428 or alexa.vonstaden@med.fsu.edu 

Scientists wondered why is it that women tend to be more anxious than men, and they found out that a possible cause might be the level of testosterone. Florida State University researcher and associate professor in the College of Medicine, Mohamed Kabbaj, was recently awarded a five-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, to carry out a research on sex differences in anxiety.

Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj was recently awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety. Anxiety disorders afflict women twice as often as men, but estrogen might not be the reason. Testosterone, though, could be. That is one of the preliminary findings in the lab of Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj, associate professor in the College of Medicine. He recently was awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety.