JMC Student Council: Meeting Minutes

September 4, 2002

PRESIDENT (Anita Mehrotra)

1. Anita would like to welcome old members, new members, and 1st years to Student Council.
2. Attendance is required for class representatives and student-faculty committee members. Meetings will start promptly at 6:30 pm.
3. Anita encouraged everyone, but especially 1st years to take proper safety precautions both on-campus and off. This issue was discussed in the Class of 2005 report as well.

1. Elections for 1st year class representatives will be held during October exams.
2. Students will be required to have a petition signed by 25 of their classmates and prepare a personal statement.
3. Seth will be sending out an e-mail in late September or early October with additional details regarding the election process and the duties and responsibilities of the position.

1. The reimbursement process is as follows: (a) Fill out the reimbursement form in Student Affairs. (b) Attach both the original receipt and a copy to the form. (c) Student Council has 90 days to reimburse you. (d) If you have not received a reimbursement within 90 days, contact Sheila.
2. Any group that is requesting additional funds will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

1. Welcome to the 1st years and to all Student Council members, both new and returning.
2. An up-to-date list of Student-Council-approved student organizations is in the works.

1. Dr. Pohl would like to thank all members of Student Council for their commitment to JMC.
2. Television monitors will be set up around campus on September 11 to follow national coverage. In addition, there will be designated sites for quiet time as well as services for all interested students.
3. Regarding Housing, Dr. Pohl commended students for dealing with the situation in a professional and mature manner. He encourages students to continue to contact Housing with any additional questions regarding possible move-in date delays.
4. A University Calendar is up and running on Pulse; this is "phase one" of the process. Students can click on individual colleges (e.g., "JMC") or "All Colleges" when viewing the calendar. The current version contains key events such as the start and end dates of each year, Career Day, etc.
5. The next phase will be to make the calendar more extensive, including events such as class parties and student-organization-run activities.
6. Contact Mr. Dave Clawson in the registrar’s office to have a school- wide event placed on the calendar. Contact Ms. Patti Haas in the Commons for specific student-run activities.
7. A major goal is to make the calendar more PDA accessible.
8. A student asked if USMLE Step 1 results were in for the Class of 2004. Dr. Pohl replied that the final national board results will not be reported until February or March. However, at this point it can be determined that this year's results very closely match those of the Class of 2003. There was a 94%-95% pass rate. In the past, JMC usually has performed at or above the national mean.
9. Since Step 2 is taken on an ongoing basis, JMC's results will be generated as individual results are calculated.
10. Another student raised the concern that many official e-mails are being sent as Word Document attachments, and that these documents are difficult to open at some affiliates. IT will be looking into the issue.

1. The first Wednesday session will take place on September 17.

1. The Affiliations Committee will be having their first meeting in the near future.

1. The Alumni Committee has an upcoming meeting with the deans to discuss Career Day and Family Day.

1. The Research Committee had no new business.

1. The new 3rd year clerkship is a 12-week rotation in three 4-week blocks with 4 weeks at Jefferson and 8 weeks at a clinical affiliate.
2. It is inpatient-based; students act as primary caregivers.
3. They admit 1-2 patients per call and typically follow 3-4, which includes participation in documentation and discharge planning.
4. While at Jefferson, all students participate in weekly physical diagnosis and EKG reading sessions.
5. The clinical evaluation is compiled from (a) evaluations submitted by 8-12 evaluators; (b) a written case report; and (c) performance on a practical exam (which involves doing an H&P on a patient unknown to the student).
6. There is also a written exam which consists of 60 case-based questions.
7. Overall student satisfaction with this clerkship is favorable as is satisfaction with housestaff and faculty across sites.
8. Plans for the future include creation of a case book, creation of an EKG resource on the web, and use of the Harvey self-study program.
9. Future initiatives include computerizing the new evaluation form and process.
10. The importance of faculty receiving feedback on their teaching for faculty development and promotion was stressed.
11. Doctor In Society has been renamed Doctor In Health And Illness 2.
12. At the end of the year, DIS evaluations showed that the physical diagnosis rounds were most highly rated, followed by small groups, faculty- led symposia, and community placements.
13. The housestaff shadowing and patient interviews were less well received.
14. The PBL sessions from the first part of the year were rated as informative.
15. The majority of respondents attended all three of their community placements and felt they contributed to their professional development.
16. Most concerns related to the length of the afternoon time commitment.
17. The take-home exams were well received.
18. Plans for next year include: (a) better articulation of the course objectives; (b) continuation of the small group, PBL, and community experiences; and (c) expansion of the physical diagnosis component.
19. The symposia, small groups, and student research projects will be restructured in response to student and small group faculty comments: clearer focus and more structure, better integration with the morning curriculum with attention to redundancy.
20. Regarding 3rd year interclerkship sessions, the goal of is to provide students with a time for learning, integration of knowledge, and reflection.
21. The overarching objective is for students to acquire knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to clinical topics of broad medical interest with focus on communication, professionalism, ethics, care through the lifespan and cultural competence.
22. Teaching will be interdisciplinary, modeling practice, and interactive.
23. It is proposed to pilot 2 interclerkship sessions at the beginning of Blocks 3 and 7.
24. Each session will last 1 ? days.
25. The topic selected for the first session is neoplasia with focus on leukemia and breast cancer.
26. The first day will cover leukemia and will start with a panel including a clinician, a clinician scientist, a social worker, a resident, and a survivor of childhood leukemia.
27. The audience will break out to discuss and develop questions for the panel and will reconvene to ask the questions using the audience response system.
28. Lunch will be provided; an arts and humanities display related to this topic will be set up for the day.
29. The afternoon will be skills sessions on delivering bad news and then a large session about death and dying.
30. The same morning format will be used on the second day for the breast cancer session.
31. Regarding course evaluations, completion will be encouraged, but not required.
32. Students should be aware that the responses are carefully evaluated and used to modify the current and future courses.
33. A student seemed concerned as to why his clinical evaluations were not being completed on time.
34. Seth commented that Jefferson policy states that each student should receive a written evaluation 3 weeks into the 1st rotation, and written and verbal rotations every 2 weeks.
35. He also noted that it sometimes takes several months for the grade to reach the registrar. It would be good practice to be proactive and meet with the preceptor on the last day of the rotation.
36. Dr. Pohl commented that this is an issue at every medical school, but that doesn't make it right. In the past year, an increasing amount of pressure has been put on course coordinators to get the evaluations in on time. Currently deadlines exist, but there is no penalty for a missed deadline. This issue will be followed up by the Curriculum Committee.

1. The Student Affairs Committee will be having its first meeting in one week.
2. First year orientation went well. The Committee received positive feedback about the events.

1. Problems with the wireless network have been reported. There seems to be a restriction on instant messaging and music software. That space was apparently to be used for educational purposes. Many students have voiced the concern that if that were the case, they would not have signed up for the wireless network. Mike Ehrlich will be looking into the issue.
2. A Palm Pilot subcommittee will be forming in the near future.

1. Many 4th years are currently on away rotations.
2. They are currently studying for USMLE Step 2.
3. They are also in the midst of applying for residency programs.
4. The Clinical Skills Exam received mixed reviews from students and was met with many strong opinions.

1. The 3rd years are currently on their 2nd rotation.
2. They reassured underclassmen that 3rd year is much better than 2nd year.
3. They will be taking the Clinical Skills Exam in the near future.

1. The 2nd years have their first exam on September 13. The class representatives are working on the postexam party as well as planning the postexam parties for the 1st years until their own reps are elected.
2. Safety is still a large concern among members of the JMC student body. Student Council has worked extensively with the Student Affairs deans to address this issue. Despite the overwhelming concern for student safety, a self-defense workshop held at the end of last year was poorly attended. Meg Johnson will be working to make the student body more aware of the issue.
3. Any student who is concerned about his/her safety should not hesitate to contact Student Council. We are aware of the ongoing nature of the issue are addressing it on an ongoing basis.

1. Orientation was great.
2. Housing and the wireless network are the two main issues among the 1st year class.