The activities of the Chancellor’s Health Fellows have been supported through funds raised by the Chancellor’s Council. This very important group has played a key role in the UT System’s ability to carry out these programs.
Three fellows were appointed, and three more will be appointed this fall. The first fellows were recognized for their contributions at the May meeting of the U.T. System Board of Regents.
The first Chancellor’s Health Fellow in the area of medical education is Dr. L. Maximilian Buja. He is the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Buja also holds the Distinguished Chair in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Buja organized a two-day symposium, Innovations in Medical Education, held in Austin during October of last year. More than 80 faculty members from UT health science campuses participated, as well as representatives of other health campuses in the state. The attendees shared experiences in innovations in medical education and enthusiastically supported an annual symposium on the subject.
“The knowledge that resides within our six health institutions is vast and through collaboration efforts we are unlocking the potential of combining our scientists’, doctors’ and educators’ expertise across Texas."
The steering committee for the meeting then created a continuing program which includes an annual symposium, a website for exchange of educational curriculum, a small grants award program and awards for faculty members within the UT System who have been particularly innovative in their approaches to medical education. In some cases the conclusions reached in the symposium, such as the importance of multi-professional health education involving doctors, nurses, allied health personnel and others -- are beginning to happen on individual campuses.
The Chancellor’s Health Fellow in Science is Dr. Alan Brasier of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Brasier is the Leon Bromberg, M.D. Professor in Internal Medicine as well as the associate director of the NHLBI Proteomics Center.
He organized a two-day symposium on molecular medicine taking research results from the lab to the bedside -- held in Houston in February. More than 240 faculty members attended with 96 posters and a data blitz which allowed investigators to communicate to many colleagues in 5-minute presentations. Again, the response was enthusiastic. Many participants formed new collaborations after acknowledging how little they knew about research that was going on at other UT campuses.
Dr. Brasier’s steering committee has also made a series of recommendations with regard to research in the UT System, including the need for better databases to inform faculty about ongoing research. Those suggestions are now under consideration by UT System’s new Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology Transfer, Dr. Robert Barnhill.
Our third fellow is Sherry Martin, Vice President of Process Improvement at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is the Chancellor’s Health Fellow in Patient Safety and Quality of Care, and along with her steering committee has organized a multi-institutional project on improving patient care and safety in intensive-care units.
She and her colleagues are particularly interested in helping physicians and trainees understand the value and limitations of protocols for intensive care patients. This includes the regulation of blood sugar levels, which, if properly managed, can improve survival rates. This ongoing project involves not only UT hospitals but several affiliated hospitals where UT faculty teach and our students learn.
The 2005 Chancellor’s Health Fellow in Public Health is Professor Joseph McCormick. He is the regional dean and James H. Steel Professor at The University of Texas at Brownsville. An additional Chancellor’s Health Fellow in nursing will be identified soon.
These collaborations between campuses, which began with steering committees for each of these activities, will hopefully be long-lasting attempts to maximize improvements in education, research and patient care among our health campuses.
The knowledge that resides within our six health institutions is vast and through efforts such as these we are unlocking the potential of combining our scientists’, doctors’ and educators’ expertise across Texas.
Best regards,
Dr. Kenneth I. Shine
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
The University of Texas System
Dear Friend of The UT System,
