Return to Brody Learning Spaces: Social Distance Style
Following the CDC’s recommendations for maintaining social distancing, the Office of Medical Education (OME) and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) set up safe learning spaces for the Brody M1 and M2 students to enter the Brody Building the first week of August. Courses being held face-to-face are Anatomy (M1) and Foundations of Doctoring (M1/M2). Some simulation exercises are also taking place in-person.
In an effort to allow students to easily maintain 6 feet between themselves and their peers and faculty, the OME and OSA retrofitted some existing classroom spaces and worked closely with university partners to find other spaces to be temporarily re-classified as part of the learning environment.
Strict cleaning protocols are in place. The university facilities staff sanitize the learning spaces before and after academic use, and the OME staff sanitize the testing rooms between sessions. Backup cleaning supplies are available in OME for use, as needed. To maintain a sterile environment, students have had to discontinue water bottle use in those spaces; as an alternative, single serve water cones may be used in the hallway and immediately discarded after use. Accommodations are being made for students with documented dietary concerns.
OSA Director Bailey Dunn-Phillips explains: “We are not trying to police joy, but safety is our main concern.”
Dr. Luan Lawson, associate dean, curricular innovation in medical education and associate professor, department of emergency medicine, says the Brody community has stepped up in a major way to help support the medical students. She notes that there has been an outreach from administration and staff, and the Brody Parents Association (BSOMPA) has been rekindled. Lawson has seen a major lift by faculty:
“The demonstration of flexibility by faculty has been truly remarkable. Their willingness to change whatever necessary to ensure the safety of others and their eagerness to hear and be responsive to the needs of students is amazing.”
Dunn-Phillips playfully adds: “We might feel like the pandemic has caused us to lose our minds sometimes, but we haven’t lost our spirit at Brody. Our greatest charge is to focus on caring for the humanity of our students and the entire Brody community.”
To that end, virtual town halls are being held every two weeks. These provide an open forum for students to meet with the representatives from the Office of Medical Education, the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Student Development and Academic Counseling, course directors and curriculum committee chairs. The Office of Diversity Affairs, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Kendall Campbell and Dean Mark Stacy have also had drop-in attendance.
OME and OSA hope to continue the town halls even after the pandemic is over.
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Formation of Learning Communities Further Improves the Brody Student Experience
The M1 Learning Communities were created to promote the success of first year Brody medical students by fostering students’ connections with peers and Brody faculty as well as to resources that, collectively, work to form a foundation for success throughout the medical school journey. Each M1 student was assigned to one of twelve small groups that exist within the M1 foundation of Medicine course, and groups are co-led by M.D. and Ph.D faculty.
Click here for a list of the Learning Communities Small Group Leaders
Through regular meetings in small groups and some individualized contact with small group leaders, students can enhance social connections and receive individualized support to address academic, personal, and career-related concerns.
Small group leaders will document their interactions with each student and submit a Student Note on each student in Block 1, 2, and 3. Notes are to be submitted through REDCap and will be monitored by Office for Student Development and Academic Counseling (OSDAC) and The Office of Student Affairs (OSA). Completed Notes with significant concerns will be monitored/addressed by OSDAC with assistance from OSA.
Faculty Development on the following topics was made available in Canvas for the Small Group Leaders:
- Learning Communities: General Information
- Small Group / Inclusive Small Group Facilitation
- Supporting Students' Mental Health
- Residency / Career Advising
Click here for a list of the Learning Communities Work Group Committee
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Molecular Approach to Hypertension
Dr. Srinivas Sriramula, assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and toxicology, has received the Notice of Award from the NIH for his RO1 research grant proposal “Neuroimmune Mechanisms of Kinin B1 Receptor in Hypertension." The NIH awarded this 5-year grant for an expected total of $1,843,750 to support Sriramula's laboratory research.
Sriramula notes: "Hypertension remains a global health concern despite significant advancements in its treatment in recent years. My research project addresses a highly novel role for kinin B1R signaling in neuro-immune interactions of blood pressure regulation that will advance our fundamental understanding of neurogenic hypertension and provide insights for developing novel therapeutics in the future for the treatment of hypertension."
Dr. Sriramula's research is primarily focused on understanding the bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and the immune system in regulation of blood pressure. His research efforts will continue the search for neural control mechanism of hypertension.
Dr. Sriramula will be conducting this research alongside two co- investigators: Dr. Abdel A. Abdel-Rahman, department of pharmacology and toxicology and Dr. Akshaya K. Meher, department of microbiology and immunology.
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Pediatrics Faculty Collaborate to Improve Congenital Heart Disease Patient Outcomes
Pediatrics Cardiologists and Brody School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics faculty Dr. Charlie Sang and Dr. Lauren Sarno are using statewide and national data to improve health care delivery and recognize healthcare disparities to improve outcomes for pediatric and adult congenital heart disease (CHD) patients.
As members of the North Carolina Congenital Heart Defects Surveillance Network, Sang and Sarno collaborate with centers across North Carolina, including Duke, UNC, Atrium Health and Wake Forest to collect data about CHD patients. They also work with national sites in New York, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah, Colorado and Iowa.
A CDC funded grant called the Star Grant enables collection of this data through the development of a population-based surveillance system of congenital heart defects across the lifespan. The system links data sources such as the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database, medical records and educational outcomes data. The overarching goals are:
- to develop a high-quality surveillance system that monitors health services utilization and patient-centered outcomes
- to facilitate the development of novel intervention to improve healthcare delivery of CHD, including decreasing racial and ethnic disparities, and
- to partner with the CDC and other funded projects to enhance quality and utility of CHD surveillance systems across the nation
Sarno, Sang and colleagues recently published an article related to this work: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32611471/
Learn more about the North Carolina Congenital Heart Defects Surveillance Network here
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Office of Faculty Development Virtual Book Club
The Office of Faculty Development (OFD) would like to announce our first faculty book club! The novel of choice is Anthony Abraham Jack's The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students. The first cohort included 10 members, including faculty from the ECU Brody School of Medicine and the OFD team (Associate Dean Dr. Leigh Patterson; Assistant Dean Dr. Salma Syed; Allison Flowers, faculty support manager; Nora Brooks, university program associate).
The book club is sponsored by the OFD and is facilitated by Allison Flowers. The book club is meeting virtually via the Teams application and meets three times (Intro and Part 1; Part 2; Part 3 and Conclusion) to discuss the book. A discussion guide created by the OFD is used as a starting point for discussions. Several members of the group are working to make changes at the medical school based on ideas sparked at the book club meetings
Dr. Todd Savitt comments: "I’m finding I’m now more sensitive to the issues raised in The Privileged Poor than I was before. In the last week, I’ve encountered two applications of points made in the book. Interesting how, now that I’m aware of something, I see examples of that something I’ve missed before."
Book Club Inspiration from inside Brody!
The Office of Faculty was inspired to select this novel after a recommendation from Dr. Cedric M. Bright, associate dean for admissions. Dr. Bright advocates daily for the principles displayed in the Privileged Poor and can firmly attest to its accuracy of the doubly disadvantaged students in medical education. Bright recognizes the need for this novel in medical education and higher ed. Dr. Bright was even able to meet author Anthony Abraham Jack at the 2019 Association of American Medical Colleges in Phoenix, Arizona.
Bright remarks: "This book is a must read for anyone in higher education to provide the perspective that is often not spoken and thus easily dismissed by terms such as 'lazy, not engaged, unintelligent, unmotivated and recalcitrant'. In presenting the victim’s story, we can start to see our role in perpetuating these misnomers because we don’t take the time to understand the obstacles students are attempting to overcome and the distance they have already traveled."
He continues, saying that "[Jack's] dichotomization of students into two categories of Doubly Disadvantaged and Privileged Poor allows the reader to quickly understand the importance of social capital as it relates to successful and sane navigation of higher academe."
After tweeting about the Faculty Book Club, it garnered recognition from the publisher, Harvard University Press. The publishers of The Privileged Poor release a reoccurring newsletter highlighting their readers, and the OFD book club made the cut! To check out our recognition in their newsletter click here.
Thank you so much to Harvard University Press for this recognition!
The Office of Faculty Development is currently accepting readers for the next Privileged Poor book club cohort. Click here to find out how you can sign up!
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BRIDGES to Brody
Karen Kelly, associate professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, was recently accepted into the 2020 BRIDGES Academic Leadership for Women Program. Dr. Kelly will join 35 other women from educational institutions across North Carolina. The BRIDGES program focuses on providing an opportunity for women in NC higher education to understand and strengthen their leadership and academic capabilities. Despite COVID- 19, the BRIDGES program will be continuing with their 28th cohort.
Dr. Kelly underwent an extensive selection process which included an essay submission, a nomination and two letters of recommendation. Dr. Kelly was recommended for this program by Dr. Patterson, chair of the department of emergency medicine and associate dean for faculty development and Dr. Mary GF Gilliland, Professor Emerita in Pathology.
"I am most excited to network with many brilliant and strong women across North Carolina who are also developing as leaders. My goal is to gain additional skills that will allow me to grow and support my team as our Division grows." Karen Kelly
To learn more about the BRIDGES program click here.
Credits:
Photo credits: Cover photo, Nora Brooks; Return to BSOM Learning Spaces photos, top left and bottom right: Luan Lawson; Formation of Learning Communities photo: Allison Flowers; Privileged Poor Book Club, Teams photo: Nora Brooks, Anthony Jack and Cedric Bright photo: Cedric Bright; All other photos courtesy of and used with permission by ECU Photos