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MEDICAL WORLD ARENA CCBC Physician Assistant students test at CEEL While as I write this, snow has just fallen and dusted the front courtyard of the UMB Nursing School Building, this will be arriving in your mailbox after the first official day of Spring. Guess we can’t complain too much about such a mild winter, but to me it always seems an eternity before the daffodils start popping up and the threat of frost is behind us. Nonetheless, it was good seeing many of you over the past six months -- Fall being our busiest time of the year and this past one no exception. Thanks to you for your usual flexibility, punctuality, and professionalism throughout all of the Fall projects. And as the Spring 2005 semester kick into high gear, we look forward to seeing more of you in the upcoming weeks. Several new projects were initiated last semester. We are now providing standardized patient experiences for Internal Medicine residents from University Hospital (better known as UMMS). For those of you who have participated in our multi-station OSCE exam for fourth year medical students, the format of this project is very similar – multiple cases, seen one after the other. The cases are more demanding than those for the medical students -- including two cases, a domestic violence victim and an end-of-life scenario, that challenge the residents’ sensitivity, empathy, and counseling skills. We will soon begin a similar project for UMMS Preventive Medicine residents. Another new project begun this past Fall, is an assessment of undergraduate nursing students’ postpartum interview and physical exam skills. We’ve done a similar case as an intro to the postpartum physical exam for less experienced nursing students for several years. One of the SP’s portraying Debra Jones, a mother 24 hours postpartum, has commented how this is one of her favorite cases. She says “this is great – I get to lie comfortably groggy under a blanket for hours on end and get paid for it!” Physician Assistant’s are educated in the medical model – in some schools they actually attend many of the same classes as the medical students. One of the primary differences between medical and PA students, is time spent in formal education; not necessarily the content of the curriculum. Physicians must do internships and residencies. PA’s do not. Physicians work autonomously and have complete responsibility for the care of the patient. PA’s share the responsibility with their supervising physician. PA’s are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision.The UMB CEEL has expanded its role of clinical skills assessment beyond the UMB campus. For several years we have provided simulation experiences to EMT programs at nearby community colleges. Recently, we accepted a contract with the Community Colleges of Baltimore County Essex Campus to assess the clinical skills of their Physician Assistant students. We will be seeing students in their first and second years of training. First year students will be seeing a diabetic “patient” with a headache, while second year students will be encountering a “patient” with chest pain. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a Physician Assistant (PA) is, here’s a brief overview. As defined by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), a Physician Assistant is a health care professional licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, says the AAPA, PA’s conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and in virtually all states can write prescriptions. As described on the AAPA website, because of the close working relationship they have with physicians, PA’s are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. To acquire state licensure, PA’s must pass a national certification exam, log 100 hours of continuing education every 2 years, and sit for recertification every 6 years. The PA profession was borne out of necessity. During the mid-60’s, the medical community was concerned by a growing shortage of primary care docs. To address this concern and improve and maintain the quality of primary medical care, Dr. Stead at Duke University implemented the first PA program in 1965. His first class was mainly comprised of military medical corpsmen who had gotten extensive medical training and experience on the war fields of Vietnam, but returned to the States with no real employment opportunity to apply those valuable skills. According to the AAPA, the early PA curriculum was modeled after the training programs used to fast-track doctors during World War II. Today, most PA programs require applicants to have previous health care experience and some college education. In fact, most incoming students already have a bachelor’s degree and an average of four years health care experience. Many PA students are transitioning nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The parameters placed on how a PA can practice are based on their training, experience, state law, and the scope of their supervising physician’s practice. They work with their supervising physician as part of a medical team. Often, the PA will screen patients and treat those within their scope of work, while the physician will handle the more complicated medical cases. There is always close consultation between the PA and their supervising physician. PA’s continue to fill a significant void in the health care system and are invaluable members of the medical community. To learn more about PA’s, you can visit the AAPA website, http://www.aapa.org See also Website: ceel.umaryland.edu Happy Spring! “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” - Peter Drucker Here’s what some of our SP’s are up to as of late: Barry Abrams, as mentioned at left, is playing husband to SP Lois Sanders in the Arthur Miller play, “All My Sons,” being directed by yet another fellow SP, Norman Seltzer. Barry says “the show will run from June 10 to July 10 at the Writers Center just off Wisconsin Ave in beautiful downtown Bethesda.” Martha Abrams, wife to Barry, will be appearing as Evelyn Briggs in “Independence,” a play by Lee Blessing, at Silver Spring Stage (http://www.ssstage.org/) from April 1-30, 2005. Sarah Cowie facilitated several dance workshops in St. Davids and Newport Pembrokeshire in South Wales, UK, this year. She’s also been doing more administrative and coordinating at JHU’s Clinical Education Center, in addition to her SP and GUTA work. If that weren’t enough to keep her busy, she’s also been teaching acting and performing skills for pre-teens at John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center. Sherri Edelen has been spending much time in Philly recently rehearsing the show “Elegies: A Song Cycle,” which opened March 23rd and runs through April 17th at the Philadelphia Theater Company (http://www.phillytheatreco.com/2005/elegies.html). She was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in “Elegies” at Signature Theater in Alexandria, Virginia. It is actually this performance that brought her to Philadelphia Theater Company -- they liked her performance in Alexandria so much that they put “Elegies” in their spring season line-up! Ina Hamburger, while just getting back into acting work after a brief hiatus, continues her clinical supervision of speech pathology students at Towson University – she loves it! She did recently do an interesting acting role for a nursing assistant textbook – she played an unconscious patient… and got rave reviews! Of course, she says, SPing is always part of her plans. During the past six months, Pat Houser has sung as a soloist in a number of concerts. Recent musical roles include Mother in a Christmas production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and the infamous Lady Bracknell in Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Ernest” at the Aldersgate Theater. She is now in rehearsal for a production of “Beauty and the Beast” in the role of the Wardrobe (she’s told her costume will be quite something!). This production is showing at American Music Stage (http://www.americanmusicstage.com/homepage2.htm) in Burke, VA, running three weekends, beginning Friday, April 22nd. Neva Krauss continues her work at John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center. She is also busy acting and modeling herself. She did a fashion show with designers from Baltimore, DC, and New York at the Engineers Club in February. In March, she played a suicidal woman in a national training film on how to deal with suicidal patients. In the film, she is the only actress, playing a very emotionally distraught woman being talked out of committing suicide by a real psychologist. She found it really interesting. She also has a CarMax commercial airing soon. Frank Littleton reports that the only news he has right now is his plans to travel with his wife to South Dakota in May with a travel group they’re members of. They are looking forward to seeing many historic and natural points of interest! Kathleen Meckley has updated and expanded her website to include, beyond her headshot and resume, her commercial and narration sound bites and a photo gallery. She asks that you check it out and give her your comments and feedback http://www.cccwebs.com/meckley Kathleen also proudly reports that her son, Daniel, is graduating from the Citadel this summer. Kathleen’s also going to be a grandmother again and she’s loving it. The baby is due August 25th. Diana Megargel says her only news of note (I’m sure there’s plenty she’s not giving herself credit for!) was doing an extra role in the HBO award-winning film “Something the Lord Made,” which was highlighted in our last newsletter. She says it was great fun watching Mos Def, who was so good. Edd Miller recently represented Colonial Players of Annapolis (http://www.cplayers.com/) in his direction of a one-act play, “Between Mouthfuls”, for a statewide theater contest held in Frederick, MD. The cast of five included fellow SP, Dianne Hood. Two of thirteen productions were chosen to go on to the regionals in Dover, DE, on April 15th and 16th. Edd’s production is one of them! Jean Peterson is still tooting her flute and enjoying her involvement at the Tabernacle Church of Laurel, MD. She was musical director and flutist for Stephen Lampredi’s production of “Black-Eyed Susan” with the New Old Theater Company. She has several students and always welcomes more. As her card says, she provides special music for parties, weddings, funerals and sacred settings. Private and group lessons available. Contact info: mjpeterson@maranatha.net, hm: (410)519-0747, cell: (410)306-0691. Lois Schmidt wants to let you know of her other work as a holistic nurse. She offers a holistic approach to health -- whether wellness counseling or assisting those living with disease or emotional distress or dealing with food issues. Healing Touch, an energy therapy, is a significant component of her work and supports her clients to restore harmony and balance to the body’s energy system, facilitating relaxation, pain reduction, increased creativity and ability to make lifestyle changes. Lois also offers retreats with emphasis on rest, relaxation, and learning self-care skills for life-long good health. Through the end of April, Lois is offering those who mention this newsletter a complementary first individual session (with subsequent session fees based on clients ability to pay). Contact info: (410)566-7284, loischmidt@aol.com  What’s Up? In fitting tribute to Arthur Miller, who died just last month, fellow SP Norman Seltzer will be directing Miller’s first Broadway play “All My Sons” for the Quotidian Theatre Company at the Writers Center in Bethesda http://www.quotidiantheatre.org/directions.htm. The production will run from June 10 thru July 10, 2005. Starring in the play as husband and wife Joe and Katie Keller, are two more SP’s you may know – Barry Abrams and Lois Sanders. "All My Sons" focuses on the American dream and the cost of war. It is a tragedy about a manufacturer who sells faulty parts to the military in order to save his business. 
NeSP Spotlight: J.J. Cole This month we put the spotlight on one of our very versatile SP’s, JJ Cole. Many of you may know him as he’s been actively working here, in addition to JHU and GWU, as an SP and GUTA for over a year now. JJ’s enthusiasm, professionalism and extraordinarily good-natured personality make him a pleasure to have around here at the CEEL. And, of course, the students love him! JJ is a multi-talented artist. He received his BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1978 and has been working on stage, TV and film ever since. In addition to his success as an actor, he is also an entrepreneurial business owner (check out his website, http://www.colveyco.com). JJ says he got into SP work after coming out east from LA for a visit with relatives, where he met an artist/model and GWU SP, Kennitta Lindsey, at a party who told him about “SPing.” As the idea of “contributing to individuals’ in-depth education, growth, development” appealed to him, JJ contacted and met with Donna Simonton at GWU where he signed on and was given information about the other regional SP programs. These intriguing opportunities and his sister’s need for his services in developing a theatrical business, kept JJ in the DC/Maryland area, while maintaining his primary connections in LA and NYC. And while I make JJ’s venture into SPing a somewhat mundane one, his motivations are far from that. Just ask him! JJ’s SP roles at UMB have run the gamut. Last Spring he played an unfortunate, emotionally scarred car accident victim with multiple injuries for physical therapy students. In the Fall, he portrayed Edward Jefferson, who’s been suffering from bouts of severe abdominal pain for months on end. This case was part of the high-stakes exam for fourth year medical students. JJ also submitted himself to hours of poking and prodding by second year medical students for their comprehensive head-to-toe physical exam sessions. Many of you got your “feet wet” on that case. More recently, JJ has done an emotionally charged end-of-life scenario (Michael Wallace, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer) for internal medicine residents. JJ says, however, that his most interesting and challenging role yet has been that of a Genitourinary Teaching Associate (GUTA). As many of you may know, a GUTA is a rigorously trained instructor who teaches nursing and medical students the genitourinary exam using their own bodies. JJ has found the GUTA process to be a “demanding, intensive, and rigorous process of thoroughly absorbing intricate and detailed medical information, while producing the highest physical and ethical standards for such an exclusive examination.” We not only regard JJ as a magnificent SP and GUTA, but we also thoroughly enjoy his verbal prowess. “In conclusion,” JJ says, “I can only be thankful for these challenges for my individual growth and development as I continue to cultivate my Human Being. It doesn’t behoove me to omit the gems of my experiences with the SP’s, GUTA’s, PETA’s, and medical and nursing students I’ve encountered, professionally befriended and shared with these moments upon my sojourn here and now. It doesn’t seem nearly two years that I have been involved in this metropolitan medical arena, but jolly be good it is, as time goes fast when I am having so much fun!” “Life! Life! Life! The medical experiences with champions of Human CEEL brings AIDS Memorial Quilt to UMB for World AIDS Day For the past several years, Kathy and I have coordinated a small open house event and lecture series to bring campus awareness to critical health issues. This year we focused our efforts on the international health crisis, HIV/AIDS. To raise awareness of the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and commemorate World AIDS Day, we acquired two panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and prominently displayed them in the School of Nursing lobby from 11/29-12/3/04. Two of those memorialized on the panels were acquaintances of Kathy’s. In addition, we sponsored a lecture series and held an Open House on World AIDS Day, 12/1. At the Open House, local and state AIDS organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and UMB researchers and educators were available to provide a wealth of education and promotional materials to attendees. Wendy Donigian, fellow SP, provided a wonderful addition (and invaluable incentive to those passing by on a very cold rainy day) to the Open House – the Starbucks Mobile Coffee Bar. She and SP’s Bethany Hoffman and Shira Katz (and another saintly barista whose name I woefully can’t recall) stood out in the whipping wind and rain handing our free Starbucks latte’s and hot chocolate to passers-by (and practically threatened recipients to take advantage of our Open House). We owe them big time! All in all, the event was a success and, as seen in the pic at the left, we even drew the local TV news! * (University of Maryland Standardized Patient News is created by Nancy A. Budd) Visit Website: John J. Steven Cole's Medical Resume Mar-Apr Newsletter Go To Current Newsletter |