Present: Dr. Randi Silver, Dr. Marlin Mattson, Dr. William A. Muller, Dr. Stephen T. Chasen, Dr. Joseph T. Cooke, Dr. Aihao Ding, Dr. Harvey Goldberg, Dr. Bernice Grafstein, Dr. Lonny Levin, Dr. Michael Lockshin, Dr. Louis Maggio, Dr. Takashi Mikawa, Dr. Hugh Robertson, Dr. David Shapiro, Dr. Robert Snow, Dr. Ching-Hwa Sung, Dr. Suresh Tate and Dr. Michael Ushay.  

Also Present: Dr. Bruce L. Ballard, Ms. Joanne Blauer, Dr. Frank A. Chervenak, Dr. Michael Deck, Mr. Barry Duignan, Ms. Nancy Farrell, Dr. Oliver Fein, Ms. Ellen Krasik, Dr. Peter Marzuk, Ms. Susan McCreight, Dr. Alvin Mushlin, Ms. Carolyn Reid, Mr. Steven Rosalie, Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Dr. Lisa Staiano-Coico and Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson.

Guest: Mr. Ben Scaglione.
  
3:30pm: Following the arrival of the non-voting members, Dr. Silver convened the meeting. 

I.     ACTION ITEMS

1.      APPROVAL OF MINUTES.  The Council approved the minutes of its meeting held March 11, 2002.

2.      APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS. The Council approved the recommendations of the Committee of Review as listed in the Committee’s memorandum dated March 20, 2002.

         The Council also approved a request for an extension of time in rank for Dr. Philip L. Leopold, Assistant Professor of Genetic Medicine.  

3.      CANDIDATES FOR M.D. DEGREES.  The Council approved the list of candidates to receive the M.D. degree on May 20, 2002, contingent upon their successful completion of the work for the period in which they are currently enrolled. 

4.      REVISION OF THE ADVANCED BASIC SCIENCE REQUIREMENT AND RESTRUCTURING OF THE CLINICAL CURRICULUM.  Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, Senior Associate Dean (Education), presented to the Council a proposal for the revision of the Advanced Basic Science requirement at WMC. 

         The Medical Education Council (MEC), along with the Advanced Basic Science Committee and students and faculty in attendance at the Education Retreat in March, have undertaken a yearlong process of identifying the problems of the current Advanced Basic Science requirement.  The current requirement includes the Advanced Basic Science Course, and participation in an Advanced Basic Science experience including teaching in a basic science course; a basic science tutorial; or basic science research during medical school or summers.  The problems with the requirement as identified by the MEC are: its goals are not explicit; the experiences of the students are highly variable in both time and content; and the placement of the course overlaps with student preparation for the residency match and other senior year distractions.
  
         The MEC has developed the following goal of the Advanced Basic Science requirement: to promote the development of a scientifically informed and scholarly physician who is knowledgeable about the scientific method, applies science to clinical decision-making, promotes an academic approach to problem solving, demonstrates the ability and willingness to participate in lifelong learning and disseminates knowledge via scholarly products.  Based on this goal the MEC seeks to reframe the requirement as the Biomedical Scholarship Requirement, including both a Biomedical Scholarship experience and an integrated course in biomedical science in the third and fourth years that will have a case-based, interactive lecture approach.  The course curriculum will include appropriate themes presented on specific rotations, and will make use of departmental experts.  A broader definition of Scholarship will allow the students to complete this requirement with a number of different written products including research reports, Problem-Based Learning cases, review articles/papers, description of a new method of teaching or curriculum and description/analysis of a clinical practice. Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D. and other students who take a year to conduct research from the biomedical experience would be exempt from the new Biomedical Scholarship experience, but would be required to submit a scholarly product such as a thesis or paper.   

         In response to a question Dr. Storey-Johnson noted that the Advanced Basic Science Subcommittee would determine a procedure for evaluating the various possible products of the students’ Biomedical Scholarship requirement. 
   
         At Dr. Storey-Johnson’s request the Council gave its consensus to the MEC to continue to develop its proposal for the Biomedical Scholarship Requirement.    

         Dr. Storey-Johnson reported on the recommendations of the MEC regarding the restructuring of the Clinical Curriculum arising from discussions at the Clinical Curriculum Committee, focus groups with students, the Education Retreat and the MEC.  The problems identified include the separation of General Surgery from the Surgical Subspecialties and related timing issues; insufficient exposure by students to various aspects of Internal Medicine; the lack of consistent success of some of the ambulatory specialties in the Primary Care Clerkship; the placement of clerkships; the placement of different levels of students in clerkship tutorial groups; the placement of the Advanced Basic Science course; introductory courses that do not meet the needs of students; and scheduling problems that have occurred since the implementation of the new curriculum.  The recommendations of the MEC include re-connecting Surgery and the Surgical Subspecialties in one twelve-week course; expanding the Medicine Clerkship to twelve weeks and including necessary clinical exposures; completing required clerkships by November 1 to avoid scheduling issues in the fourth year; moving some of the ambulatory experiences in the Primary Care Clerkship back to their respective disciplines; reducing the Pediatrics Clerkship by one week; shortening the introductory courses; preserving eight to ten weeks of elective time in the third year for career exploration; increasing opportunities for two-week electives; avoiding clerkships during residency interview periods; and emphasizing professional behavior during senior clerkship experiences.  

        The MEC hopes to implement these changes in June of 2003 for the Class of 2005.  The Council gave its consensus to the MEC to continue develop the restructuring of the Clinical Curriculum.  

II.   REPORT ITEMS

1.     CHAIRMAN’S REPORT.  Dr. Silver reported that preparations have begun for the 2002-2003 GFC-sponsored course on Imaging and she asked that members of the Council contact the GFC Steering Committee with suggestions for lecture topics and speakers.

2.     BOARD OF OVERSEERS REPORT.  Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, full-time faculty representative on the Board of Overseers, reported on the Board meeting of March 12, 2002. 

3.     2001 ANNUAL SECURITY REPORT.  In compliance with Federal and State laws requiring the dissemination of this information, Dr. Randi Silver, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Campus Security, and Mr. Ben Scaglione, Director of Security of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, presented the 2001 Security Report. 

        The Advisory Committee meets monthly to review security incidents and issues that arise at the Medical College.  The Committee works closely with the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Security Department and the 19th Precinct of the New York Police Department to ensure a safer environment for the Medical College and acts as a liaison from these departments to the students to alleviate safety concerns.  Recent actions of the Committee include the establishment of extra night rounds by security officers in Medical College buildings; the establishment of a night escort program for students; the installation of 15-minute timers on ovens and ranges in Olin Hall for the prevention of fires; and a self-defense presentation to be held soon.  Dr. Silver noted that the cooperation between the Committee, Hospital Security and the 19th Precinct has helped to improve safety at the Medical College, and that the 19th Precinct is the safest in New York City.

        Mr. Scaglione reported that incidents of theft and other crimes at the Medical College have dropped significantly over the past four years.  He attributed the recent improved safety at the Medical College both to improved safety in the 19th Precinct and to measures taken within the Hospital Security Department including increased security presence at Medical College entrances and the requirement that all those entering the Medical College display their identification card.  Mr. Steven Rosalie, Associate Provost, noted that the Medical College has comissioned and received an assessment of its security systems by an outside firm and that the Administration will begin to prioritize and implement the recommendations of the report. 
 
4.      MATCH DAY.  Due to the lateness of the hour, Dr. Storey-Johnson’s report on the results of the 2002 Residency Match was tabled until the Council’s May meeting.

5.      DEAN’S REPORT.  In the absence of Dr. Gotto, Mr. Rosalie delivered the Dean’s Report.

         Mr. Rosalie reported to the Council that Hunter R. Rawlings, III announced his intention to resign as president of Cornell University as of June 30, 2003, and to remain as a faculty member at Cornell University.  A search committee for the new president has been appointed, chaired by Mr. Ned Morgens, and will also include Trustee Overseers Mrs. Barbara Friedman and Mr. Harold Tanner.  Dr. Ralph L. Nachman, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, will serve as the Medical College Faculty Member on the Search Committee.  Mr. Sanford Weill, Chairman of the Board of Overseers, and Life Overseer Mr. Steven Weiss have been asked to serve as advisors to the Committee.

         The Medical College is very close to a final agreement with a candidate for the Chairmanship of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, who will also be the Director of a new Institute for Computational Biomedicine.  If all goes as planned the candidate will join the faculty on October 1, 2002.  Negotiations continue with the candidates for the Chairmanship of the Department of Pediatrics.

         The Medical College has begun the process of the self-study for the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) re-accreditation.  Several task forces have been appointed to prepare the institutional self-study report and will have their first meetings soon.

          A team of two architectural firms has been chosen to create the design for the Ambulatory Care facility to be constructed on the southwest corner of 70th Street and York Avenue.  Mr. Richard Thomas, an architect who has worked previously for Weill Cornell and has joined the Medical College as Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives, is actively working with the administration, architects and legal consultants in preparation for zoning issues that may arise during the Medical College building projects.  The Medical College has gone to every effort to maintain a good relationship with the Community Board to avoid disagreements.

         Mr. Rosalie reported that the 2002-2003 Medical College budget will be presented to the Business and Finance Committee of the Board of Overseers on April 24, 2002 and to the full Board on May 9, 2002.  Mr. Rosalie noted that the budget is balanced despite several pressures including the increased cost of utilities; increased premiums for property and other insurance policies; and additional Federal regulatory requirements on Medical College programs.

7.       ADJOURNMENT.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.