Back to School with State Lawmakers
State Senator Vi Simpson stands at the operating room table and
gently grasps the artificial patient's wrist. "Got a pulse
here, that's always a good sign," she says, smiling at the
nearby legislative aides and anesthesiologists. There's a beeping
sound and digits flash on the vital signs monitor as she leans closer
to the patient. He blinks twice. "Whoa, did you see that? Almost
like a real human being, isn't he?"
The senator, who represents the very real people of District 40
in Monroe and Brown counties and is the ranking minority member
ofthe Senate Finance Committee, was among several state lawmakers
and budget analysts who had an eye-opening visit to the IUSM campus
late last year. In collaboration with the Indiana University Office
of State Relations, the first-ever Priorities in Medicine program
allowed the School's leadership to offer legislators a better understanding
of the relationship between medical education and public policy.
"The IU School of Medicine will be one of the leading medical
schools in the nation based on its education, scientific investigation
and health care delivery," said Dean D. Craig Brater, MD, speaking
at the opening orientation. Increasing National Institutes for Health
funding and having the facilities to accommodate research initiatives
is imperative if the School is to reach that goal.
IU President Myles Brand, PhD, detailed how the university as a
whole is closing ranks to position Indiana as a scientific and technological
center, echoing comments made last fall in his State of the University
address. "The IU School of Medicine and our science departments
yield discoveries that can spur further development in the biomedical
industry. The $105 million grant from the Lilly Endowment in December
2000 places IU among a small handful of other universities - Stanford,
Harvard, John Hopkins - that are translating the map of the human
genome into prevention and cure for disease.
"This massive effort - the Indiana Genomics Initiative - at
the science departments at Bloomington and IUPUI," Dr. Brand
continued, "also involves the humanities and social sciences,
which will provide insight into the wider implications of new medical
research and treatment."
State lawmakers began their visit the way new medical students
enter the IUSM community: they received white coats and recited
the physician's oath. From there, they split into smaller groups
to tour research laboratories and accompany physicians and residents
on clinical rounds at Clarian Health facilities and Wishard Memorial
Hospital. During lunch, they heard from students and residents about
the particular challenges they face. Later the legislators and aides
took roles in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations, simulated
case scenarios designed to test students' competence and communication
skills.
There were also opportunities for the visitors to see first-hand
how education, training and research translate into superior patient
care at IUSM. One group was visibly moved while observing a young
deaf girl learn to hear and form words after receiving a cochlear
implant.
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