November 2007

U of M health sciences in Asia

A delegation of leaders from the AHC recently returned from a trip to India to meet with their counterparts and establish connections between their respective programs in the health sciences.

img0054.jpgHowever, collaborations between the University of Minnesota’s health science programs and universities in Asia have a long history. In 1954 the U of M began such a partnership with Seoul National University to provide technical and advisory support for educational programs and administrative organization in medicine, nursing, public health, and veterinary medicine. The project with Seoul National University ran for seven years until 1961. The benefits of the project are still evident today through the AHC’s continued outreach and partnership with other international institutions.

To learn more about the project with Seoul National University, see “Korea – A New Venture in International Medical Education” by Dr. N. L. Gault, Jr. (then Assistant Dean, College of Medical Sciences) from the November 1961 edition of the Medical Bulletin.


Team approach to comprehensive health care

In 1967, Dean Robert Howard of the College of Medical Sciences along with Dr. Erwin Schaffer, dean of the School of Dentistry, Lawrence Weaver, dean of the College of Pharmacy, and John Westerman, director of University Hospitals issued their program for the advancement of the health sciences at the University of Minnesota.

In order to meet the needs of health care delivery over the next twenty years, the program calls to double the enrollment in health science fields from 3,124 in 1966 to 6,900 by 1986.

The press release closely associates the growth of the health sciences with the University. The model proposed focused on tying together all of the health science and health care delivery programs in order to better educate and prepare the next generation of health professionals by stating:

Closer integration of all health science programs, in recognition of the “team approach” to comprehensive health care, was a major point. This has significant implications for the training of physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and members of the growing number of associated health professions. Closer interaction among research workers in all areas of the health sciences also is a part of the plan.

These same ideas continue today. The education model of interprofessional education continues to be a core function of the Academic Health Center.

Read the full press release dated April 14, 1967 below.

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The night the lights went out

On October 31, 1957, a rolling blackout struck the upper Midwest. A causality of the event included the electronically powered pacemakers in the pediatric unit of the University of Minnesota Hospital. The Halloween blackout inspired the development of the portable, battery powered pacemaker. To learn more, see the Minnesota Public Radio report by Lorna Benson.