UT Graduate School of Medicine News and Events

May 7, 2008
Frontiers Magazine Explores Uniqueness of our Academic Medical Center 
The Spring 2008 edition of Frontiers magazine, a quarterly publication for alumni and friends, produced by UT Medical Center and UT Graduate School of Medicine, is on newsstands and online.  This edition of Frontiers explores the benefits of an academic medical center and explains the differences between them and other healthcare facilities. Academic medical centers provide highly specialized healthcare services in an environment of lifelong learning and teaching.   To demonstrate that beneficial relationship between medicine and academics, UT Graduate School of Medicine's Anesthesiology and Radiology departments are featured, as are our joint programs with the UT Knoxville departments of psychology and philosophy.  We also feature our students in their clinical years of medical school and the Medical Explorations program, which offers high schoolers a glimpse of medical professions.  For more information or to request a copy, contact UT Graduate School of Medicine at 305-9190.

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April 14, 2008
June Lecture to Examine Victimization and Patient Health 
Recent studies show that people victimized by abuse, such as rape, childhood physical or sexual abuse or domestic violence, are more likely to be diagnosed with serious or chronic health problems in the future.  Physicians often are faced with patients who complain of chronic pain but cannot pinpoint the source.  Sometimes, the source is past violence.  The 2008 Patterson Lecture: Victimization and Your Patient’s Health, June 13, 2008, 8:30-11:45 a.m., Wood Auditorium, will provide physicians, mental health professionals and others with knowledge needed to recognize many of the health consequences of violence and understand how this underlying cause can affect the physical and mental health of their patients.   

F. David Schneider, M.D., Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, will present this topical lecture, presented by the UT Graduate School of Medicine and Dept. of Family Medicine and directed by Edwin Rogers, Ph.D., Dept. of Family Medicine.  For more information, visit www.tennessee.edu/cme/Patterson2008.

April 14, 2008
UT Science Forum -- Nanoscience
UT Science Forum Extends Invitation for Friday, April 18th, 2008 The University of Tennessee Science Forum would like to invite all interested GSM faculty, staff, and residents to attend a special program, "Nanoscience--Tiny Treasures". The program will be presented by Dr. Laura Morris Edwards, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, & UT Department of Materials Science & Engineering. It will be held on Friday, April 18th, 2008 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. The Forum is free and is located in the Thompson-Boling Arena in dining room C-D. Bring your lunch or purchase it at the Arena. For more information please contact Mark Littmann at 974-8156.

April 4, 2008
University of Tennessee Radiology Residency Program Chosen as Test Site for Portfolio

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Department of Radiology Residency Program recently earned approval as a beta test site for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Learning Portfolio.

The portfolio system is an interactive web-based professional development tool designed for use by resident physicians to record their learning and track their progress against defined learning objectives.  It allows for feedback from physicians on the residents’ progress and will support the residents’ transition into private medical practice.

“We believe the best physicians are lifelong learners,” said Kathy Hudson, M.D., Radiology Residency Program Director.  “Portfolio systems can help resident physicians track their progress in competency-based learning.  They also can help develop curriculum that connects to desired educational outcomes for physicians and assist with assessing resident physician performance.”

Beta testing follows alpha testing conducted previously by the ACGME, which tested the portfolio system’s general functionality.  The UT Radiology Residency Program was chosen among a national search for the beta testing phase, which will begin later in 2008.  Specifically, the Radiology resident physicians will scrutinize the system by identifying specialty-specific needs.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system.  The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 11 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists.  The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. 

April 4, 2008
Waters Named President of the American Board of Urology

W. Bedford Waters, M.D., F.A.C.S., Professor, Division of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, was named president of the American Board of Urology (ABU) last month.

“It is indeed a privilege to serve as president of the American Board of Urology for the next year,” Waters said.  “Having this position brings honor to the Urology Residency Program, the Department of Surgery and the UT Graduate School of Medicine.”

A native of Knoxville, Waters is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.S., M.D.) and completed residencies at the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard Program in Urology, Boston.  He has more than 30 years experience in treating urologic conditions and cancers and has served as the leader of many regional and national organizations, including past president of the Urology Section of the National Medical Association and member of the Executive Committees of the Society of Urologic Oncology and the Society of University Urologists.  Since 2003, Waters has served as trustee of ABU, representing the American College of Surgeons.   He joined the UT Graduate School of Medicine in 2001.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system.  The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 11 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists.  The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. 

March 13, 2008
February/March Edition of the GSM Scope Newsletter
Please read the latest edition of the GSM Scope! Great things are happening at UTGSM.

March 11, 2008
Wallace Named Research Compliance Officer at UT Graduate School of Medicine

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Office of the Dean announces that William Wallace, J.D., has been named Research Compliance Officer in the office of Research Integrity. In this position, Wallace will ensure compliance with federal regulations that govern medical research.

Previously, Wallace served in private law practice for 13 years. Currently, he is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

A native of Tyler, Texas, Wallace earned his undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University and his law degree from Mississippi College School of Law.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 10 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area.

March 6, 2008
UT Graduate School of Medicine To Provide Physicians with Education in Pulmonary Diseases
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Lung disease is the third leading cause of death of Americans, and in Tennessee each year, respiratory diseases account for 5.5% of the deaths, the fourth leading cause.  In response to this health concern, the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Office of the Dean announces the launch of a new physician-education Pulmonary Disease Fellowship program.  This program will offer advanced training in the subspecialty of pulmonary (respiratory/lung) diseases and disorders, including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer, pneumonia, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease and others.           

“There is a great demand for pulmonologists in Tennessee,” said Tina Dudney, M.D., Program Director, Pulmonary Disease Fellowship Program, UT Graduate School of Medicine, and Division Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, UT Medical Center.  “Smoking is a major cause of COPD, emphysema and lung cancer.  Tennessee has the fourth highest rate of smoking in the country, and lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the state.  Additionally, the complications of end-stage lung disease are increasing as our population ages.  This increase in prevalence of lung disease is occurring when the country, particularly rural areas, is experiencing a shortage of both primary care and subspecialty physicians.  The UT Graduate School of Medicine is working to fill the need for physicians trained in pulmonary medicine,” she said.

Only 2.3% of physicians in the state are pulmonary specialists, and about two-thirds of the physicians completing residency and fellowship programs at the UT Graduate School of Medicine stay in East Tennessee to establish medical practices.  This fellowship program, one of only four similar programs in Tennessee, is designed to be an important step to improve the healthcare offered in this region.           

During the two-year program, physicians will undergo comprehensive education covering all pulmonary disorders.  Areas of training will be general pulmonary medicine, sleep medicine, pulmonary rehabilitation, chest radiology, critical care medicine, surgical critical care and cardio-thoracic surgery as they relate to pulmonary conditions.  Fellows will participate in focused training in lung transplantation and cystic fibrosis as well as in ambulatory medicine.  Throughout the fellowship period, the physicians also will work closely with research mentors at the UT Graduate School of Medicine and potentially Oak Ridge National Laboratory on research projects of the fellows’ choosing.               

The program will start on July 1, 2008, and applications from physicians now are being accepted.  For more information about the fellowship and the UT Graduate School of Medicine, physicians can visit http://gsm.utmck.edu/internalmed/fellowships.htm.

"The Pulmonary Disease Fellowship program is the second new subspecialty education program initiated by the UT Graduate School of Medicine in just one year, bringing the total of fellowship programs we offer to 10,” said James J. Neutens, Ph.D., Dean.  “More and more, we educate the physicians who care for our neighbors as well as people across the nation.  As an educational institution in partnership with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, we take seriously our mission of providing advanced education to physicians and dentists, continuing to improve patient care, conducting world-renowned research and being a good citizen in our community.”

Fellowship programs provide licensed physicians with concentrated experience in subspecialties, such as pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.  Subspecialties require 2-4 years of fellowship education in addition to the 9-14 years of medical education required to complete medical school and the subsequent residency period. 

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system.  The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 10 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists.  The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area.