CONTACT: Meredith Brodeur
(850) 645-1255
By Nancy Kinnally
June 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Orlando pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Muszynski has been tapped to head the Florida State University Regional Medical School Campus- Orlando beginning July 1.
As assistant dean for the medical school's Orlando campus, Muszynski will be responsible for directing the clinical education program for those FSU medical students assigned to Orlando for the third and fourth years of medical school. Muszynski succeeds Dr. Anthony Costa, who recently joined the faculty of the Family Practice Residency Program at Florida Hospital.
Muszynski has served as academic chairman of the department of pediatrics at Orlando Regional Healthcare for the past nine years and division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Nemours Children's Clinic since 1997. He has served on the faculty of FSU's medical school on a part-time basis since last year.
"I've always seen great advantages in providing medical education in community settings, as in FSU's model," Muszynski said. "I've been very impressed with FSU's program since joining the faculty, and I look forward to applying my knowledge of the local medical community to the growth and enhancement of the medical school's Orlando campus."
Muszynski has 21 years of clinical teaching experience, including 12 years as director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando. He helped develop the residency program into one of the best community-based residency programs in the country. He also founded the HUG Me Program for pediatric HIV/AIDS care and research in Central Florida.
Dr. J. Ocie Harris, dean of the FSU College of Medicine, said Muszynski's extensive background in medical education makes him a great asset not only to the Orlando campus but also to the medical school's education program overall. "He has broad expertise encompassing clinical care, research and program development," Harris said. "Also, having lived and worked in Orlando for 18 years, he's very familiar with the community, which will be a great help in further developing the regional campus."
The Regional Medical School Campus Orlando is one of three campuses where third- and fourth-year medical students from FSU complete their clinical education. It is affiliated with Orlando Regional Healthcare and Florida Hospital. More than 150 Central Florida physicians working at hospitals, private practices and outpatient facilities throughout the region participate in the education of students assigned to the Orlando campus.
The medical school's other regional campuses are in Pensacola and Tallahassee. A fourth regional campus is set to open in Sarasota during the coming academic year. As of July 6, the Orlando campus will have 30 medical students enrolled.