Enrollment Now Open For University Of Pittsburgh 2008 Mini-Medical School

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 12 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Enrollment is now open for the University of Pittsburgh's 2008 Mini-Medical School, a free seven-session program designed to explore contemporary health issues and medical topics and give attendees a taste of medical school without the tuition or exams. The theme of this year's fall program is, "Better Health Through Research."

Presentations will begin Sept. 9 and are held from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, in Auditorium 6 of Scaife Hall, 3550 Terrace St. on the Pitt Oakland campus.

"Our hugely popular Mini-Medical School program has played to an overflow crowd each year since its inception in 1999 through our last production in 2006," said Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. "Now, in response to overwhelming public demand, we are excited once again to host this highly successful community outreach initiative."

Leading faculty from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine will conduct presentations on current health care topics that blend medical education, scientific research and clinical practice. The information is geared for a general audience and presented in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. New to the program this year is TurningPoint, an audience-response system to be used during every session to interact with audience members.

"Our Mini-Medical School presentations are given by top local experts who are themselves engaged in first-class health care delivery and medical research," said Dr. Levine. "For the first time this year, we will be incorporating innovative technology that will allow audience members to actively participate in the presentations by providing live feedback and responses to the speakers. This is one more way for us to connect with and make medicine real for our community participants."

Seating is limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Preregistration is required online at http://www.minimed.pitt.edu or by phone at (412) 383-7255. Registrants must sign up for the entire program; those who attend at least six of the seven sessions will receive a graduation certificate at the conclusion of the program.

Following are this year's topics:

- Sept. 9 - "His and Her Heart Disease," will examine the nation's No. 1 cause of death and discuss prevention and treatment from a gender-based perspective.

- Sept. 23 - "Breast and Prostate Cancer: Pink and Blue Ribbons, Gold Medal Research," will look at the medical progress that has been made against these common cancers as well as the challenges that remain.

- Oct. 7 - "Will We Be Ready for a Flu Pandemic?" will address the global threat of a deadly influenza outbreak and discuss some of the planning strategies being developed by public health and infectious disease specialists.

- Oct. 21 - "Can you Hear (and See) Me Now?" will take a look at (and a listen to) common visual and hearing disorders that can affect people of all ages.

- Nov. 11 - "Every Breath You Take - Made Easier with Medical Research," will explore the work that medical researchers are doing to manage and prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.

- Nov. 18 - "Depression, Anxiety, and Medical Research: Shedding Light on Our Darkest Days," will discuss available treatment options and promising research efforts being made for these highly prevalent mood disorders.

- Dec. 2 - "Clinical Research: Your Chance to Play a Role in Medical Progress," will provide an insider's view of the pipeline from laboratory discoveries to patient bedside practice, as well as allow interested participants to register to be notified of medical research trials currently being conducted at the university for which they might be eligible.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is one of the nation's leading medical schools, renowned for its curriculum that emphasizes both the science and humanity of medicine and its remarkable growth in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant support, which has more than doubled since 1998. For fiscal year 2006, the University ranked sixth out of more than 3,000 entities receiving NIH support with respect to the research grants awarded to its faculty. The majority of these grants were awarded to the faculty of the medical school. As one of the university's six Schools of the Health Sciences, the School of Medicine is the academic partner to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Their combined mission is to train tomorrow's health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care.

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine