Three faculty members from the University of Vermont College of Medicine were named Frymoyer Scholars in 2013 and 2014 for project proposals that stand to improve the doctor/patient relationship and enhance clinical education. Charlotte Reback, M.D., Hirak Der-Torossian, M.D., M.P.H., and Anne Dougherty, M.D.’09, were celebrated at a Frymoyer Scholars luncheon held at the College on September 19, 2014.
Reback, who was named a Frymoyer Scholar in 2013, is working on a project, titled “Teaching bedside competence through team-based learning,” which focuses on integrating team-based learning modules into Generations – the next to last of nine basic science courses in the Vermont Integrated Curriculum. The College’s new Larner active learning classroom (currently under construction), along with the tenets of team-based learning, will allow students to “form a bridge from the basic sciences to the clinic,” and train them on how to “engage in successful bedside interactions.” Reback, an associate professor of family medicine, states in her proposal that one goal is to “teach our students how to converse with patients about medical diagnoses and treatments using methods which integrate knowledge of lifespan human development and cultural diversity into their communications.”
Der-Torossian, a 2014 Frymoyer Scholar, is clinical research director for the Department of Surgery, and an adjunct faculty member for the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences. His project, titled “Curriculum design and creation of a free online course for medical and nursing students: Writing research protocols suitable for submission to the UVM Institutional Review Board,” aims to educate students on the IRB process and introduce them to mentors as they embark on clinical research. The goal, according to his project proposal, is to help students “gain insight into the process of designing sound clinical research and to become more vested in clinical research as future medical professionals.”
Dougherty, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will be conducting a project titled “Development of a global women’s health curriculum for medical student and residents.” One focus of the curriculum for residents and advanced integration students is to “enhance trainees professionalism and cultural competence,” emphasizing the importance of capacity building in global health work. The curriculum includes a lecture and discussion in the U.S., as well as potential international field placement. The UVM College of Medicine/Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) Global Health Program, an initiative that offers electives to medical students, residents and faculty at several locations around the world, will be a strong partner for the project, states Dougherty in her proposal. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mulago National Referral Hospital – a formal partner for the UVM/WCHN Global Health Program – is poised to host medical students and residents with a women’s health focus.
The Frymoyer Scholars program is an investment in outstanding medical education and promotes teaching that emphasizes the art of patient care. Scholars are selected based on the quality of their project proposal; the strength of the project's contribution to improvement of the relationship between clinician and patient; and evidence of commitment to clinical education. The program is supported by The John and Nan Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education. Frymoyer served as dean of the UVM College of Medicine from 1991 to 1999 and also served as CEO of Fletcher Allen from 1995 to 1997. His late wife Nan Frymoyer was a former community health nurse and had a strong interest in patient advocacy. She served on the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences advisory board and helped plan and implement the Frymoyer Community Health Resource Center at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Read more about the Frymoyer Scholars Program.