Free-Time Electives, Spring, 2013 (BUSM I)

 

I. What are free time electives?

Free-time electives are non-graded courses offered to BUSM I medical students in the spring semester. All BUSM I students are welcome to attend these electives although students with advanced placement in one or more spring courses (those with “free time”) are highly encouraged to attend. No grades are awarded for these electives (with the exception of B.U. undergraduate courses and SPH courses – see items #9 and #10 below), and no mark will appear on your transcript. If you sign up for a GMS course you will be auditing it.

 

II. Requirements and Deadlines

Requirement: You must be in good academic standing in order to sign up for a free-time elective, and you must continue to be in good academic standing as the semester progresses. You are encouraged to meet with a dean in the Office of Student Affairs if there are questions regarding your academic status and suitability to undertake an elective.

Enrollment period: December 4, 2012 – January 7, 2013 (there are exceptions – see below).

Questions? Contact Ana Bediako.

 

III. Descriptions of Free-Time Electives: Spring, 2013

All free-time electives are listed below. Each elective has a specific person who handles sign up. Contact this person directly to enroll.
  1. Business and Leadership in Medicine
  2. Clinical Infectious Disease
  3. Embodied Health
  4. The Healer’s Art
  5. Introduction to Clinical Ethics
  6. Introduction to Emergency Medicine
  7. The Spectrum of Physician Advocacy
  8. Division of Graduate Medical Sciences Courses
  9. School of Public Health Courses
  10. Undergraduate Courses at BU

 

1. Business and Leadership in Medicine

>> To sign up: Go to Google Docs.

Course Managers: Ankit Agarwal, BUSM II, aagarwal@bu.edu Jade Anderson, BUSM I, jaander@bu.edu

The major objectives of the course include:

  1. To explore the various ways to be a leader in medicine.
  2. To explore the benefits of pursuing an MBA and other formal education to meet your career goals as a physician and as a leader.
  3. To recognize how physician-leaders in medicine have brought about positive changes in the practice of medicine through their roles in the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, government, and other areas.
  4. To learn how we, as future physicians, can become leaders and learn to analyze complex health care problems through both a clinical and a business lens.

Description:

Business and Leadership in Medicine is a spring elective that serves as a crash course for medical students on leadership and business in medicine. Physicians have historically played a great role in the advancement of medical practice, from the development of drugs and devices to the development of care guidelines. Physicians play key roles in the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the government, the health care consulting industry, and beyond. Even in a strictly clinical setting, the ability to manage and lead has become increasingly valuable given the ever-increasing demands to deliver high quality care at lower costs. This course is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of topics that are not covered in depth in medical school, but will profoundly affect the practice of medicine. The course will feature health care leaders from a wide range of industries and professional expertise. Furthermore, the course will also feature in-class case studies and case presentations that will hone your leadership skills and style. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with prominent physician-leaders who can serve as mentors throughout your medical school career and beyond.

Course Structure: There will be eight 90-minute classes from January 29, 2013 – April 2, 2013. The course will be limited to the first 30 students who sign-up. During the first session, seven teams of five students will be developed. The leadership roles of each of those students will change each session. The teams will be given a case study related to the topic for each session. The course sessions will run: 30 minute introduction, 50 minute case study (team discussion and presentation), and 10 minute follow-up.

Requirements: The course requirements involve attendance of 7/8 sessions and active involvement in case studies during the course.

Course Schedule:

[All sessions are Tuesday, 6:00 - 7:30 PM (*with the exception of 3/21/13 which is Thursday).]

Topic Date Speaker
Introduction and Entrepreneurship in Medicine 1/29/13 Dr. Stephen Ober, Associate Director of the Health Care Entrepreneurship Program (HCEP) at BU
Quality Improvement in Healthcare 2/5/13 Dr. Mark Bloomberg, President of The Bloomberg Healthcare Group
Private Practice Management 2/12/13 Dr. Todd O’Brien, Vice Chair of Surgery at North Shore Medical Center
Physicians in Healthcare Policy 2/19/13 Dr. Jeffrey Levin-Scherz, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health
Innovation in Healthcare 2/26/13 Dr. Joel Salinas, Founder and CMO at HealthWRx, LLC
Health System Management 3/21/13* Dr. Gary Gottlieb, CEO of Partners Healthcare
Physicians in the Insurance Industry 3/26/13 Dr. Julien Harris, Medicaid Director, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Organized Medicine/Business Development 4/2/13 Dr. David Rosman, Medical Director, Mass General Imaging Worcester

 

2. Clinical Infectious Disease

>> Sign-up: Go to Google Docs (use BU credentials to log-in)

Course Managers: Danny Silva (dsilva@bu.edu), Tom Shin (tshin@bu.edu)

Description: The Clinical Infectious Disease Elective provides students with the opportunity to integrate their curriculum-based knowledge of microbiology with the clinical and laboratory facets of infectious disease. This elective is another venue for pre-clinical medical students to gain exposure to clinical medicine while increasing their awareness and appreciation for the field of infectious disease. The elective is composed of an introductory lecture, four clinical shadowing sessions with embedded laboratory sessions when applicable, and a culminating lecture. Each clinical session will include examination and discussion of 2-4 patient cases led by an infectious disease clinician. When applicable, students will have laboratory sessions related to the clinical cases discussed; these will focus on learning about diagnostics used in a clinical setting. The culminating lecture will provide context to students’ experience by covering potential career paths in the field of infectious disease. Elective students will attend at least two infectious disease case conferences hosted, which will be followed by a brief discussion led by a faculty member. Elective students will also attend at least two microbiology plate rounds.

Major objectives of the course:

  1. Exposure to infectious disease in a clinical setting
  2. Develop general knowledge of the clinical presentation of infectious diseases
  3. Develop an understanding of the diagnostic processes used to identify infectious agents
  4. Gain knowledge on the treatment of infectious diseases
  5. Knowledge of differences and similarities of infectious disease in Boston and internationally
  6. Introduction to current infectious disease research at BUMC

Course Schedule:

Attendance is required for all of the following sessions.

Date & Time Topic Lab Lecturer
1/4/13, 2:30 – 4:00 PM Introduction/Mini Lecture/Clinical Session No lab Dr. Hochberg/ Dr. Ellner
1/11/13, 2:30 – 4:30 PM Clinical Session Micro lab Clinical Staff
2/8/11/13, 2:30 – 4:30 PM Clinical Session Micro lab Clinical Staff
2/15/13, 1:15 – 4:30 PM Case Conference/Clinical Session Micro lab Clinical Staff
2/22/13, 1:15 – 4:30 PM Case Conference/Clinical Session Micro lab Clinical Staff
3/1/13, 2:00 – 4:00 PM Lecture on Careers in ID No lab ID Panel

Course Structure:

The elective curriculum is designed to have two principal components: 1) clinical shadowing experiences; and 2) laboratory exercises. The elective will take place on Mondays, coinciding with Infectious Disease consulting rounds. The curriculum is arranged for students to join rounds and participate in small group case discussions with attendings, fellows, and 4th-year medical students. This elective will provide additional ways for first and second-year students to gain clinical exposure. The elective will demonstrate how microbiology correlates into clinical practice. For second-year students, this elective will provide reinforcement of Disease and Therapy curriculum and an opportunity to translate curricular knowledge to clinical application as well as a review of key concepts for board-review preparation. Students will have the option to culminate their elective experience by writing a case report under the mentorship of the course directors.

 

3. Embodied Health

>>To sign up: E-mail Shannon Byler.

Embodied Health is a spring elective directed towards first- and second-year medical students with a focus on cultivating wellness through yoga and mindfulness practice. Integrating experiential and academic learning, this elective investigates the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying the curative properties of mind-body practices. The course will examine the role of stress in health including its relationship to disease, yogic and mindfulness strategies to reduce stress in future doctors, and basic stress reducing practices that can be taught to patients alongside traditional bio-medicine.

The major objectives of the course include:

  • Promoting student wellness by reducing stress, cultivating resiliency to stress, enhancing well-being, and nurturing empathy.
  • Offering a subjective and experiential context for aspects of the medical curriculum including but not limited to neuroscience.
  • Disseminating cutting edge information on the efficacy of mind-practice beyond what is available in the current curriculum.
  • Promoting student community.
  • Appreciating the profound relationship between mental and physical health.

Course Schedule: The course will meet on Monday or Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:15 pm. on the following days: 1/8/13, 1/14/13, 1/22/13, 1/28/13, 2/4/13, 2/11/13, 2/19/13, 2/25/13.

Course Structure:

  • One-hour of yoga/mindfulness practice with a specific theme
  • 15-minute discussion between lecturer and students
  • 30-minute lecture on the neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms underlying the practice of the day, tracing relevant and up-to-date research on the theme of the evening, and its potential relevance for doctors and their patients.

Enrollment is limited and students who join will be asked to participate in a research survey, which entails completing short psychological and well-being questionnaires at the beginning and end of the semester.

 

4. The Healer’s Art

All information on this elective is available at The Healer’s Art.

 

5. Introduction to Clinical Ethics

>> To sign up: E-mail Maria Kern or Daniel Sternberg

Elective Summary:

Introduction to Clinical Ethics is a spring elective for first- and second-year medical students that builds on the first-year Essentials of Public Health ethics curriculum. A balanced combination of lectures and expert-led case-based discussion, this elective explores ethical problem-solving from the clinician’s perspective. In addition to helping students define and recognize an ethical dilemma, this course will explore medical futility, brain death and persistent vegetative states, organ donation, informed consent, research with vulnerable populations, special considerations in the pediatric population, and resource allocation.

The major objectives of the course include:

  • Appreciate the centrality of ethics to professionalism and understand the expectations of physicians to be ethically sound and morally rigorous individuals.
  • Develop enthusiasm for life-long learning about medical ethics and professionalism.
  • Exhibit increased confidence in analyzing and approaching difficult ethical questions encountered in clinical practice.

In particular, students will learn to:

  • Identify issues in medical ethics and professionalism, including, but not limited to, patient autonomy, disclosure, truth-telling, informed consent and assent, caring for and communicating with vulnerable populations (specifically children), justice and rationing and, care for and decisions with patients at the end of life
  • Develop vocabulary to articulate the ethical difficulties encountered as a medical student and beyond as a practicing clinician, and to apply sound ethical analysis to actual patient cases and posit resolutions to these cases.

Course Structure: The course runs for approximately 2 hours with 45 minutes for lecture (open to the campus), 15 minutes for break and a catered dinner, and then 1 hour for discussion over dinner (limited to those enrolled in the elective). Enrollment is limited and students who join will be asked to participate in a research survey, which entails completing short reflections about experience with the ethical topics and confidence in addressing and responding to clinical ethical issues.

Course Schedule: The program will take place on Monday evenings 5:00 – 7:00 PM in L109A/B on the following dates: 1/23/13 (**this date is a Wednesday), 1/28/13, 2/4/13, 2/11/13, 2/19/13 (**This week in L214), 3/11/13, and 3/18/13.

 

6. Introduction to Emergency Medicine

>> To sign up: Complete the registration form and deliver it to Liz Gallagher in the Office of Student Affairs, Rm. A208A, M-F, 9 AM – 5 PM. E-mail will not be accepted. The deadline to sign up is Wednesday, December 12, 2012. All students will be notified of their placement by Wednesday, December 19, 2012. The class capacity is 60 students (first come, first serve). Once the class has filled, interested students will be put on a waiting list. For more information contact Liz Gallagher, Student Programs Manager.

Course Manager: Ron Mezdon, M.D.

Goals: To teach the fundamental approach to a variety of emergency medical conditions, whether encountered inside or outside the hospital.

Objectives: To provide the students with the knowledge and skills required to provide immediate aid, to identify problems, to establish a differential diagnosis of important problems, and to devise a treatment plan for those problems.

Reading: Introduction to Emergency Medicine, Mitchell E and Mozden R, eds., Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, 2005.

Description: There will be ten 60-90-min. classes January 23, 2013 – April 10, 2013. Six of the classes will be held at the Medical School (rooms TBD), and four sessions will be labs that will be held in the Dowling Amphitheater. Students will be allowed to sign up for either one ambulance ride with Boston EMS or spend an evening in the BMC Harrison Ave. Emergency Room observing (4 hours). Sign up for ambulance rides will be held after the class begins January 23, 2013.

Course Schedule: The class meets Wednesdays with the exception of 2/5/13.

topic
date/time
 lecturer location
1. ACLS
1/23/13: 3:15 – 4:45 PM
 Dr. Joseph Kahn L-212/214
2. Toxicology 1/30/13: 2:15 – 3:45 PM Dr. Hani Mowafi L-212/214
3. Trauma 2/5/13: 2:00 – 3:30 PM (Tuesday) Dr. Morsal Tahouni L-206/209
4. Disaster Medicine 2/13/13: 3:30 – 5:00 PM Dr. Lori Harrington Bakst
5. Neurological Emergencies 2/20/13: 3:15 – 4:45 PM Dr. Keli Kwok L-112
6. Musculoskeletal Emergencies/Splint Lab 3/13/13: 1:00 – 2:30 PM Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell L-212/214
7. Chest Pain 3/20/13: 2:15 – 3:45 PM Dr. Ron Medzon L-212/214
8. Pediatrics 3/27/13: 1:00 – 2:30 PM Dr. Kimball Prentiss L-212/214
9. Shortness of Breath 4/3/13: 12:30 – 2:00 PM Dr. Thea James L-212/214
10. Course Review 4/10/13: 12:30 – 2:00 PM Dr. Ron Medzon L-109A/B/C

 

7. The Spectrum of Physician Advocacy

>> To sign up: Go to Google Docs. A maximum of 35 students will be allowed to take the course, so be thoughtful in your responses and committed to completing the course.

Course Managers: Second-year medical students: Louis Yu, Nicole Economou, Matt Nolan, and Molly Zielenbach.

Contact us: buatp@bu.edu

Description:

This elective offers a broad overview of the many roles of the physician as an advocate and focuses on conveying an understanding of the social context of disease along with connecting students to opportunities for further development of advocacy/health services research skills. This course was developed and is largely organized by medical students.

Topics to be covered include:

  • the social determinants of health;
  • direct advocacy in patient care;
  • working with communities to implement effective health interventions;
  • translating community and public health concerns into good health policy; and
  • methods/opportunities to address global health inequities.

Requirements: The course requirements involve attendance of 7 out of 8 sessions, short readings each session, and a brief final project.

Elective Schedule: There will be a total of eight two-hour sessions over three months. All classes will be held on Wednesdays (unless otherwise noted), 5:30 – 7:30 PM. Dates are as follows: 1/23/13, 1/30/13, 2/6/13, 2/13/13, 2/20/13, 3/20/13, 3/27/13, and 4/3/13.

 

8. Division of Graduate Medical Sciences (GMs) Courses

Medical students who enroll in GMs courses will be auditing the courses. No grade will be generated. You are allowed to take up to 4 credits without being charged tuition.

Follow these steps to audit GMs courses:

  1. View a complete listing of all GMs courses at the Student Link. You may view course #, time, and instructor information.
  2. E-mail Ana Bediako with the list of courses you would like to audit. Ana will confirm that you are in good academic standing, approve your electives, and send final authorization to you and the GMs registrar.
  3. Fill out an ADD/DROP form. If necessary, obtain signature(s) of course manager(s) to enroll. Bring the form to L-317 (GMs office).

Last day to add GMs classes is Wednesday, January 30, 2013.

 

9. School of Public Health (Credit) Courses

Medical students with advanced standing, i.e. first-year students who are exempted from one or more first-year medical school courses, may take one SPH course during their first year of medical school at no additional cost. These courses are not considered free-time electives; these courses bear credit and a grade is generated. Courses taken as part of this program will appear on an official Boston University transcript. For more info, go to: Advanced Standing Program for BUSM1 Students.

 

10. Undergraduate (Credit) Courses at BU

First-year medical students may enroll – at no additional charge – in one additional undergraduate course per semester that is not greater than two credits. If a student chooses to enroll in a course that is greater than 2 credits, a charge will be assessed at the rate for that course. These courses are not considered free-time electives; these courses bear credit and a grade is generated. Courses will appear on an official Boston University transcript. Go to the Student Link for registration details.

Contact|Directory|BUMC
December 4, 2012
Primary teaching affiliate
of BU School of Medicine