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Collaborations of the Heart:Cardiology Research
education
Four years after replacing an informal system of medical student advising, the advisory dean program at P&S may become a model for other medical schools across the country. Details of the program were published in the July issue of Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
“By publishing the details of our new program, we hope we can provide a sound model for other graduate medical institutions that may also be in search of an alternative,” says Peter Puchner, M.D. chairman of the advisory deans committee and professor emeritus of clinical urology.
Like most medical schools, P&S used to rely on an unstructured advisory system staffed by volunteer faculty members. In response to student dissatisfaction with the system, Dr. Puchner and Linda Lewis, M.D., clinical professor emeritus of neurology, then senior associate dean for student affairs, designed a more formal program.
The new advisory dean program provides an infrastructure of formal and informal meetings between each student and a trained faculty member throughout medical school. Regularly scheduled group meetings and individual contact provide students with more effective career counseling; establish student-faculty connections early in the first year; facilitate discussions about humanism and professionalism; reduce stress; and offer students ongoing support and guidance to navigate the complexities of medical school.
The five advisory deans - who commit 20 percent of their time to the program - also meet regularly with Dr. Puchner and Lisa Mellman, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry and senior associate dean for student affairs, to discuss current issues and ensure a synchronized program.
“Student reaction to the new advisory program has been overwhelmingly positive,” Dr. Mellman says. In the most recent survey, nearly 9 out of 10 responding students reported that the program improved their experience at P&S and was valuable in providing career advice.
“In just four years, the program integrated itself in the fabric of the school,” Dr. Puchner says.
Current advisory deans are Saundra Curry, M.D., clinical professor of anesthesiology; Joseph Haddad, M.D., professor of clinical otolaryngology; William Macaulay, M.D., professor of clinical orthopedics; Alessandra Pernis, M.D., associate professor of medicine; and Donald Quest, M.D., professor of clinical neurological surgery.
