Art & Science
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT LARNER COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Art & Science
MEDICAL EDUCATION REPORT 2023–2024
Dean Richard L. Page,
M.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education
Christa Zehle,
M.D.
Editorial Director
Janet Franz
Contributing Writer
Shannon Turgeon
Design
Ann Howard, Ceilidh Kehoe
Production Assistance
Lucy Gardner Carson
Contributing Photographers
Andy Duback, Janet Franz, David Seaver
Visit Art+Science online on Issuu at https://issuu.com/universityofvt
Art & Science is published by the UVM Larner College of Medicine, August 2024.
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Welcome to our 2023-2024 edition of Art + Science: the medical education report of the Larner College of Medicine. We have many highlights from the past year to share with you. These include mission and community driven curricular innovations, student support initiatives, and faculty development opportunities.
This past year, our talented Larner medical students continued to engage in curricular innovations along with our medical education community. Students developed and led workshops, proposed educational activities and elective courses, and developed research projects based on identified gaps and areas of interest.
Hands-on, community-based learning experiences such as Doctoring in Vermont, early in the curriculum, help cultivate skills and foster deeper understanding of knowledge gained through coursework. Sharing experiences through art and humanities empowers students and faculty to find meaning and solace in difficult situations and empower their patients to be involved in their own health care.
Initiatives to promote student well-being provide education, recreational events, and new and improved student spaces. Specialty roadmaps are being implemented to guide and support career advisors and students applying to residency programs.
To enhance medical education, an array of faculty development, continuing medical education, and interprofessional education opportunities allow health care professionals to engage in lifelong learning, master new information, and gain differing perspectives.
I am extremely proud of our medical education program and excited to share with you the medical education initiatives taking place here.
Christa Zehle, M.D. Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Professor of Pediatrics
The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
The Office of Medical Education supports the primary mission of the Larner College of Medicine: to educate a diverse group of dedicated physicians and biomedical scientists to serve across all the disciplines of medicine. We strive to be a college of medicine respected by our peers for our innovative and outstanding teaching, preparing graduates to achieve excellence in their chosen field. We develop graduates who demonstrate extraordinary compassion and commitment to the service of patients, the medical profession, and the community by assisting students throughout their medical education experience and beyond.
Highlights
MEDICAL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Restructured the Clinical Simulation Lab to meet the increased demand for simulation and standardized patient activities for Larner College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UVM Medical Center and the community.
Opened three brand-new spaces for students only: a lounge and fitness center for medical and graduate students in the UVM Given Building and a clinical student lounge at UVM Medical Center. Students were actively engaged in the design of these spaces.
Reviewed, Revised, Approved:
Reviewed the Foundations Level curriculum at our annual medical education curriculum retreat to identify strengths and areas for improvement and innovation.
13 pre-clinical course quality assurance reports
17 clinical clerkship and acting internship quality assurance reports
15 comprehensive course evaluations
72 student handbook policies
6 new courses
Appointed:
16 faculty pre-clinical and clinical course directors
Discussed:
Student attendance comprehensive data and outcome review
Foundations/pre-clinical curriculum review
Acting Internship definition
Uniform Assessment and mid-rotation feedback form updates
Continued Liaison Committee on Medical Education compliance efforts to focus on improving student access and support for research, student access to space to learn about patients in the clinical setting, preparatory time for self-directed learning in the pre-clerkship level, and a coordinated career advising system with knowledgeable advisors and an effective system for advising about elective choices.
Convened three task force groups focusing on medical school pathway programs, medical student research, and clinical assessment best practices.
Collected data on pre-clerkship attendance and impact on performance in the curriculum The findings were presented to various medical education committees and to students.
CLASS OF 2028 ADMITTED STUDENT SNAPSHOT
124 admitted students
26% from Vermont
24% from populations underrepresented in medicine
27% identify as LGBTQIA+
Average age: 25
9,301 total applicants
Fostering Well-Being
Faculty and students collaborate extensively to improve student life and support a culture that prioritizes well-being.
Initiatives offered by the student services well-being team, led by Lee Rosen, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, and Leigh Ann Holterman, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, aim to support mental and emotional health and empower students with tools and resources. These include:
Cognitive behavior therapy group sessions to help medical students develop skills for coping, executive functioning, and resilience in facing challenges throughout medical school. We additionally plan to offer cognitivebased compassion training sessions in collaboration with the Teaching Academy.
“Empowering Doctors” workshops with professionals from the UVM Counseling and Psychiatry Services, focusing on guiding students through skills to slow down the “mental churn,” reorganize their relationships with the health care hierarchy, and practice the values at the heart of our chosen profession.
Grants for students to participate in wellness-related research or attend wellness-focused conferences.
Psychology services for medical students. We are contracting with the UVM clinical psychology program to provide a clinical psychology doctoral candidate. This clinician will provide workshops targeted at medical student needs, such as coping with test anxiety and creating good sleep hygiene practices.
During the past year, medical students were welcomed to two brand-new student lounges just for them. One, located in the medical education center, offers space to gather with friends, study, or relax, with a full kitchen, pingpong table, and large screen for movies or video games. The other, located in the campus-adjacent UVM Medical Center, provides student-specific space for storing lunch, completing patient-care tasks, and resting without leaving clinical rotations at the hospital.
A new fitness center for medical students to exercise, with cardiovascular exercise equipment, weights, and space for stretching and yoga, opened in August. Students were instrumental in pushing this initiative forward during the past several years, with strong leadership from Alex Jenkins ’24. While students have always had access to the University of Vermont’s sports and fitness facilities, the 15-minute walk to the campus gym presented a barrier to engagement. Having a fitness center within the medical education complex, solely for medical and graduate students, will make it easier for students to incorporate physical activity into their wellness routine.
A student-led Wellness Committee actively promotes wellbeing through educational and recreational events. Students from each class, elected by their peers, make up the committee, working in collaboration with faculty mentors. Committee initiatives during 2023-24 included:
Mental Health Panel
First- and second-year medical students listened to senior students talk about their experiences accessing mental health resources. Offered twice yearly, in August and October, the panels provide significant intervention to destigmatize helpseeking and emphasize that “seeking help for mental health struggles is both acceptable and part of their health care professional identity formation,” Rosen says.
Ski and Ride Night
This popular event at Bolton Valley ski area engages medical students in a fun activity and builds camaraderie. Ali Chivers ’27 and Ben Koren ’27 organized the March 2024 event, attended by 87 medical students with significant others and friends. Lift tickets, equipment rentals, and lessons were provided with financial support from the Larner Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Student Council, and the Wellness Committee. “Our goal this year was to make skiing and riding approachable and accessible to all medical students,” said Chivers. “A first-time skier thanked us and said ‘You sold me on the sport. I had so much fun!’”
Student Performance Night
Turnout was amazing for an evening of musical and artistic performances by medical students, for medical students, and organized by students including Chellie Nayer ’25 and Julie Scholes ‘26. A growing body of evidence shows that exposure to the arts and participation in creative expression help change perspective, relieve stress, reduce burnout, and promote resilience. According to Rosen, events like these “bring people together around joyful activities, so they come to understand that becoming a medical professional means integrating your whole self.”
MATCH DAY NUMBERS
Class of 2024 Larner graduates went on to residencies across the nation, including Beth Israel Deaconess, Brown University/ Rhode Island Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital, UCLA Medical Center, and the University of Vermont Medical Center.
117 13 68 46 Students Matched
Matches in Vermont Institutions Matched To Primary Care
Creating Roadmaps to Residency
One of the most important decisions students make during medical school is what specialty to pursue. While some future doctors know exactly which specialty they will choose before starting medical school, others decide after completing a rotation, and some change their mind several times before finding the right fit. In all cases, students benefit from having a year-by-year plan with a trajectory toward their chosen field.
As a specialty advisor to students on an emergency medicine track, Katherine Dolbec, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine, created an “Emergency Medicine Roadmap” that supports students mapping out their four years with a trajectory toward an emergency medicine residency. The road map guides students toward resources to learn from, interest groups and societies to join, electives and rotations to choose, tips for succeeding in an emergency medicine rotation, obtaining letters of recommendation, and putting together a residency application. Upon joining the Office of Medical Education in 2023 as assistant dean for students with a focus on career advising, Dolbec created a similar roadmap with blank spaces for advisors in other specialties to plug in their recommendations. By providing the blank roadmap to each specialty advisor, all Larner students, regardless of their specialty choice, can have a specialty-specific roadmap to follow on their academic journey. “It’s a starting place for creating a plan that advisors and students can follow,” Dolbec said.
In addition to the specialty road map, Dolbec is developing a standardized process for primary advisors (assigned to students upon matriculation) to “hand off” students to specialty advisors, with a path through the Office of Medical Education. The new process aims to ensure that specialty advisors have information about each student’s individual situation and what they will need to succeed.
Tools are available across all four years of medical school to help students identify career goals, choose specialties, and apply to residency programs. In Foundations, a Careers in Medicine panel series provides lunchhour talks where students meet specialty physicians, get a sense of a “day in the life,” and learn about opportunities to shadow or collaborate on projects. In the Clerkship and Advanced Integration levels, advising sessions are offered for each next step in the residency application process. Arranged by Dolbec and Associate Dean for Students Karen George, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, these sessions help students build their fourth-year schedules intentionally toward their specialty choice.
“Just like the road maps, these sessions allow everyone to get good information from a reliable source, know what’s coming up and what they need to be thinking about, so they are not feeling behind, confused, or lost,” Dolbec said.
The Clinical Simulation Laboratory at the University of Vermont is a collaborative effort of the Larner College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the UVM Medical Center. It brings learners together, sometimes with students in other health professions, for hands-on learning experiences enhanced by the integration of standardized patients and advanced technology in settings that reflect actual clinical settings.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023–2024
Cate Nicholas, Ed.D., M.S., PA, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, and director of education and operations for UVM’s Clinical Simulation Lab retired in June after serving UVM for 37 years.
Daniel Ackil, D.O., assistant professor of emergency medicine was appointed the inaugural assistant dean for simulation. Previously, Ackil held the role of director of simulation and procedural training for the emergency medicine residency program.
The Department of Emergency Medicine received two grants for expanding simulations within the six hospitals of the UVM Health Network. Expansion began in June at Alice Hyde Hospital in northern New York, and plans are underway to
expand simulations this fall at Elizabethtown Community Hospital and Ticonderoga Health Center in New York and Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, Vermont.
The Clinical Simulation Laboratory team collaborated with the UVM Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator and the UVM Care Team to launch a pilot training program for campus-based professionals to improve communications skills in response to disclosures of sexual violence by students. The intent is to train more professionals across campus to establish a “standard of care” for all persons responsible for receiving disclosures of sexual violence. The training will include identifying immediate student needs and making referrals as appropriate to campus services.
Above: Medical students participate in a clinical simulation of an infant in distress with Pediatrics Clerkship Director William Raszka, M.D. Outside the simulated hospital room, Simulation Specialist Jim Court adjusts the manikin’s heart rate and other vital signs as directed by Raszka based on treatments suggested by the students.
Hands-on Learning
Medical students work with patients early in curriculum.
Baby Andrew coos contentedly while Varsha Pudi ’27 listens to his heart, feels his abdomen, and looks inside his ear with an otoscope.
This is Andrew’s six-month checkup, a time for the pediatrician to scan his growth and talk with his parents about his eating, sleeping, and development. This is Pudi’s third session of Doctoring In Vermont, a course that spans the first and second year of Foundations. Pudi listens and learns as Hannah Johnson, M.D. ’20, confers with Andrew’s parents. Johnson, a pediatrician at Essex Pediatrics in Essex Junction, Vt., serves as Pudi’s preceptor.
“The experience has been fun and interesting,” says Pudi. “A physical exam on a newborn, infant, or toddler is very different than an adult because they move around a lot and are significantly smaller… Reassuring parents about their child’s health is very different than the practice of medicine with adult patients.”
Doctoring in Vermont (DIV) pairs students with primary care physicians in the community. Students spend eight sessions observing and participating in direct patient care and practicing history-taking and examination skills. Martha Seagrave, PA-C, RN, professor of family medicine, serves as course director, and Judy Fingergut, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, is associate course director.
At each DIV session, Pudi observes Johnson interviewing patients and families and asks her own questions to assess patients’ conditions. The student and preceptor work together to determine diagnoses, which helps Pudi realize she has skills and knowledge to contribute to the medical field.
“It was fun watching her make clinical connections to the content she’s learned in pre-clinical courses,” says Johnson, who recalls her own Doctoring in Vermont experience during medical school at UVM. “I remember thinking the same
thing as a medical student when she was surprised about how loud a baby’s heart sounds through a stethoscope, and how fast it beats compared to an adult’s.”
Community-Defined Learning
In addition to Doctoring in Vermont, Larner students have multiple opportunities to participate in hands-on learning in the community during their first year of medical school. This includes visits to the medical center to shadow nurses and talk with patients, summer research projects, and field work in the community.
This summer, several Class of 2027 Larner Summer Research Fellows shadowed physicians at the UVM Medical Center Orthopedics and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic where they observed musculoskeletal assessments and interacted with patients in the examination rooms. Nine others participated in a Global Health Elective, each contributing to the work of a medical team in Vietnam, Uganda, or the Dominican Republic. Additionally, more than 60 Class of 2027 students participated in summer research projects funded by the Larner College of Medicine Fund, the Cardiovascular Research Institute, and UVM Cancer Center. Their projects included conducting a needs assessment of local public schools for adaptive sports, investigating impacts of social determinants of health on access to non-FDA approved cancer therapies for pediatric patients, and improving quality of care for older adults with cognitive impairment receiving treatments in the ophthalmology clinic.
Currently, ten medical students in the Class of 2027 are gaining hands-on health care experience through the Schweitzer Fellows program. This includes Claire Baptiste and Hamza Mirza who host conversation circles for Jamaican farmworkers in Vermont to understand blood pressure management approaches used by this population and facilitate access to hypertension resources, and Greta Joos and Naomi Burhans, who hold foot care clinics in shelters for unhoused people to forge connections and improve foot health.
Community-based, experiential learning opportunities like these help cultivate skills and foster deeper understanding of knowledge gained through coursework. This became clear to Claudia Tarrant ’27, during her Doctoring In Vermont experience at the UVM Medical Center emergency department.
“After almost a year of didactic material it was exciting to get into the clinical setting and see how much I knew and understood regarding indicated testing, differential diagnoses, and prescribed treatments,” Tarrant says.
“The scope of practice of providers is vast and changeable on any given day. The system is imperfect and messy, but I was continually impressed with the work ethic, patience, and optimism in the providers I engaged with.”
Above: Medical student Varsha Pudi listens to a patient’s heart during a Doctoring In Vermont session at Essex Pediatrics.
Student-Led Learning
Personal passions drive curricular innovation.
Ginger, garlic, and curry aromas waft through the first-floor hallway in the medical education center, where sounds of light conversation blend with scraping, clinking, and chopping. Inside the Larner Classroom, medical students peel carrots, dice onions, and de-stem kale. This is not a potluck social, it’s an academic class.
During fall 2023, a five-session extracurricular course, developed by medical class of 2026 students Sarah Krumholz and Molly Hurd, instructed 28 first-year medical students on culinary medicine, which pairs nutritional science with lifestyle interventions for chronic disease. Co-leaders of the Lifestyle Medicine Student Interest Group at UVM, Hurd and Krumholz recognized the value of including nutrition in medical education (currently at under 20 hours nationally over four years). Working with faculty advisor Whitney Calkins, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, they developed the pilot course with an aim to educate future doctors on the science of culinary medicine and increase their confidence engaging with patients about nutrition, because nutrition counseling can save lives.
“There’s evidence that physicians who practice good exercise habits and keep themselves active have better outcomes for their patients.”
–
Alex Jenkins, Class of 2024
the difficulty in maintaining an exercise routine, especially for those who don’t have a sports and fitness background. Jenkins took a research year to develop the pilot course, with an aim to provide future physicians with training in movement and exercise and empower them to discuss exercise with their patients.
In 2024, this course received Frymoyer Scholars funding, which will support its integration into the Foundations Level curriculum during the next two years. “We are inspired to find ways to both continue and to expand upon their pilot,” Calkins wrote in the scholarship application. “A critical component of this grant will be creating an evidence-based curriculum, rooted in Lifestyle and Culinary Medicine, to teach current and future medical students. It is crucial that we train and upskill future physicians to provide essential guideline-based nutrition information to their future patients.”
This course is one example of the various ways medical students lead curricular innovation at Larner College of Medicine. Students create and host a variety of learning experiences for their peers, from content review sessions to technique practicing workshops to new courses that address topics not previously covered in the curriculum. All curriculum recommendations are reviewed by the Medical Curriculum Committee, the institutional body that oversees the medical education program.
Another example is “Exercise As Medicine,” an optional, four-week curriculum launched by Alex Jenkins ’24 to complement topics discussed in the Foundations Level course Nutritional Metabolism, and Gastrointestinal Systems (NMGI). As a soccer athlete, strength and conditioning coach, and medical student, Jenkins understood both the value of regular physical activity and
“I want to help medical students incorporate exercise into their lives, and into their patients’ lives,” Jenkins said. “There’s evidence that physicians who practice good exercise habits and keep themselves active have better outcomes for their patients.”
Participant Briana Leger ’26 said, “Many doctors haven’t received training in exercise, nutrition, and holistic ways of taking care of yourself. I’m looking forward to learning about different varieties of exercise, and to be able to explain it to my future patients.”
The course has been offered twice, to students in the classes of 2026 and 2027, and will be offered again next spring for the class of 2028, led by Kyle Gorman ’26, says Lee-Anna Burgess, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and NMGI course director. “We may also be able to take advantage of the new LCOM gym space,” Burgess says. Faculty contributing to the Exercise As Medicine curriculum also include David Kaminsky M.D., professor of medicine, Richard Pinckney, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine, Marc Hickock, CSCS, FMS, UVM director of athletic performance, and Matthew Lunser, D.O., team physician for UVM.
Above: In the UVM weight room, Alex Jenkins (right) instructs medical students to performing squats with resistance bands.
Teaching the Human Side of Medicine
Thinking introspectively, finding humility, and facing your own limitations can create difficult feelings. These feelings are easier to handle when shared with others whose journeys are similar.
This was made clear by each speaker at the sixth annual “StorySlamRx: Voices in Medicine, held in January. Medical students, along with faculty, hospital staff, and physicians from UVM and Porter medical centers, stepped up to the microphone to explore the theme, Humbling Moments, through five-minute, true stories told out loud, prompting laughter, tears, and reflection from the audience of 60-plus Larner College of Medicine students and community members.
Medical students in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA) and Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) organized and hosted the event with mentorship from faculty advisors Andrea Green, M.D., professor of pediatrics, and Marie Sandoval, M.D., associate professor of medicine. The event is modeled after The Moth live storytelling on public radio. Telling personal stories allows people to be vulnerable and connect with others who have similar feelings and experiences, and to highlight the human side of medicine, Green explained.
“We give space to be less than perfect. People laugh, cry, and share their vulnerability,” said Green. “It can be a powerful healing tool to listen to stories and tell stories without fear of being shamed, blamed, or ignored.”
There’s science behind this: Evidence shows that sharing and telling stories enables people to find meaning and solace in difficult situations. Studies indicate that medical storytelling, or narrative medicine, is a powerful tool for
healing, reflection, and community-building. With narrative competence, which is the ability to acknowledge, absorb, interpret, and act on the stories and plights of others, physicians can reach and join their patients in illness, recognize their own personal journeys, and acknowledge kinship with other health care professionals.
For medical students, listening to stories told by working physicians and medical education leaders is a valuable experience, said Naomi Hodde, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and hospitalist at UVM Medical Center, where she treats cancer patients and trains staff how to have end-of-life conversations.
“We have to process the emotions that come up, and it’s important to do that with your coworkers, your nurses, your team. To understand that is so important for medical students,” Hodde said. “As a working physician and professor at Larner, modeling that vulnerability for the students is critical, so that they can see it is okay to be emotional, and that working through it is important.”
Exposure to various forms of artistic expression— storytelling, literature, music, or visual arts—provides medical practitioners and learners with a deeper understanding of the human experience, which can improve work performance and quell burnout. This was the idea behind the Larner community hosting an exhibit by artist Mary Lacy, whose mixed media mosaics explore the dichotomous wonders and limitations of the human body. Lacy’s artworks adorned the walls of the medical education center from February through June, drawing attention and conversations about the connections between art and health. This human side of medicine is emphasized throughout Professionalism, Communication, and Reflection (PCR), a longitudinal course that takes place each year of medical school, led by course director Sakshi Jasra, M.D., assistant professor of hematology and oncology. Foundations Level students in PCR 1 participate in hospital visits to experience patients’ stories and then create narrative medicine projects, such as poems, illustrations, or essays. In subsequent years, students discuss topics including moral distress, gratitude practice, and finding meaning in medicine.
Sharing experiences through art provides “a way for us to realize that we’re not perfect, we’re not machines providing perfect care all the time, but we’re trying our best,” said Amanda Galenkamp ’24, who helped host the StorySlamRx event. “The communication style you use can impact the patient visit. There’s a lot of trust-building, education, and dialog.” By learning storytelling skills in medical school, future doctors can empower their patients to be involved in their health care, she said.
Above: At a story slam, Simran Kalsi ’24 sharing her story about an experience during her first clinical rotation
The Vermont Integrated Curriculum
Divided into three levels of increasing complexity and breadth of study, the Vermont Integrated Curriculum (VIC) fully integrates primary education in the basic sciences with a solid foundation in health science knowledge, clinical skills, leadership skills, professional development, research, and teaching skills.
Orientation Foundations of Clinical Sciences
Professionalism, Communication and Reflection Part 1
Attacks and Defenses
Metabolism and the Gastrointestinal System Nutrition
Public Health Projects
Doctoring in Vermont
Neuroscience
Level 1: Foundations / Years 1 & 2 Level 2: Clerkship / Years 2 & 3*
Vacation Connections Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Renal Systems Human Development and Reproductive Health
Professionalism, Communication and Reflection Part 2
Public Health Projects
Doctoring in Vermont
USMLE Step 1 Exam Preparation and Completion
Outpatient Interrnal Medicine/Neurology
Communication and Reflection Part 3
Level 3: Advanced Integration / Years 3 & 4*
USMLE
*These schedules are examples of what the Clerkship and Advanced Integration Levels may look like; they are not consistent for all students. For students on the Connecticut campus, Clerkship Orientation and Bridge courses are scheduled differently.
Level 1: Foundations
The Foundations Level focuses on development of fundamental science knowledge and clinical skills in a clinically relevant context. Initial courses in the
Level 2: Clerkship
The Clerkship Level builds on competencies acquired in Foundations to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for clinical care and decision-making in a variety of medical settings. During 2023-2024, assessment methods were changed to encourage a growth mindset, shifting the culture from assessment of learning to assessment for learning. This change will allow clerkship leaders to track student performance longitudinally across the clerkship year.
The Universal Student Assessment form was adjusted to align with Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). These tasks require students to use a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that
Level 3: Advanced Integration
The Advanced Integration Level provides students with additional responsibilities for patient care through acting internships, a surgical subspecialty rotation, and clinical and nonclinical electives. Students also fulfill a requirement for scholarly work in teaching or research.
During the past year, social determinants of health became a major focus of the emergency medicine acting internship, which is a required rotation for fourth-year medical students. Students collaborated with social workers and participated in readings, learning modules, and a casebased reflection to review health equity and social determinants of health for patients in the Emergency Department.
fundamentals of medical science are followed by a series of organ system-based courses.
During the summer between the first and second years of Foundations, many students participate in research. Under the guidance of expert faculty, they immerse themselves in projects tackling medical puzzles. The research is supported by the Larner College of Medicine Fund, the Cardiovascular Research Institute, and the UVM Cancer Center. Here is a glimpse of research by students:
Manny Ogunlana worked with Nels Olson, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, to examine data from the ongoing national REGARDS (REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study, which follows a biracial cohort of 30,239 American adults to understand why Black adults have higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Ogunlana found that concentrations of CD14, an inflammation biomarker, was associated
with coronary heart disease and stroke in Black but not White adults. “Conducting a literature review allowed me to sharpen my pre-clinical knowledge base and delve deeper into topics that I’ve learned more broadly in the classroom,” Ogunlana said. “I was able to develop critical thinking skills that have aided my approach to clinical decision-making.”
Haley Bayne compared medication requirements of spinal and general anesthesia in infant populations at UVM Medical Center by analyzing data from the Vermont Infant Spinal Registry. She found that patients receiving general anesthesia needed more medications than patients receiving spinal anesthesia. “With this project, I had the opportunity to apply principles I had learned about in Foundations. I also furthered my skills in abstract writing, manuscript drafting, and presenting, which I believe will serve me well as a physician-scientist.”
are required of professional physicians. Examples include history taking, physical exams, and establishing diagnoses. The updated form also provides specific behaviors for students to adopt for improved performance and allows students to receive direct feedback on these activities.
The Mid-Rotation feedback form was also changed to positively impact students. It now includes a self-assessment where the student rates their own performance in seven EPAs and compares this to a faculty member’s rating. This helps identify a student’s strengths and targets areas for improvement to develop a personalized performance improvement plan.
“We developed an interprofessional longitudinal curriculum surrounding social determinants of health, both to positively impact the quality of education delivered to medical students and to improve our ability to care for our patients,” said Laura Mulvey, M.D., assistant professor and clerkship director for emergency medicine.
Students at the Connecticut clinical branch campus were offered an increased number of options for their fourth-year rotations. These included a new psychiatry acting internship at Norwalk Hospital, a surgical intensive care unit acting internship at Danbury Hospital, and medical ICU rotations at Danbury and Norwalk hospitals. Additional Connecticut-based acting internships and rotations are in development.
Pediatrics clerkship orientation session
Summer research opportunity
Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education
The Larner College of Medicine hosts a broad spectrum of continuing medical and interprofessional education opportunities for health care professionals to master new information and gain fresh insights into the diagnosis and management of clinical conditions. Educational activities provide accredited continuing education opportunities for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, social workers, and other health care professionals, providing lifelong interprofessional learning experiences to maintain certification and enhance medical knowledge, performance, and team-based learning.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of
the Family Medicine Course, an intensive four-day program for family physicians, advance practice providers, nurses, and other primary care professionals. More than 30 sessions focusing on current issues in the practice of family medicine were offered June 6–10, both in person and via video streaming. A small-group workshop on Mastering Early Goals of Care Conversations provided a platform for providers to discuss and hone skills in empathic, honest conversations. The conference, which coincided with the Burlington Jazz Fest, drew a diverse crowd of health care providers who wanted to both update their primary care knowledge and enjoy the best of summer in Vermont.
During the past year, the Office of Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education presented 190 postgraduate medical courses, seminars, conferences, and grand rounds. Here are the number of learners by profession that attended each activity. Many learners attended multiple grand rounds, courses, and conferences.
LEARNING BY THE NUMBERS
Anya Streeter, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and Family Medicine Course director (left), and Terry Caron, director of the Office of Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education, celebrate the Family Medicine Conference 50th Anniversary.
Partnership CONNECTICUT BRANCH CAMPUS
The Larner College of Medicine has a vibrant partnership with Nuvance Health, in western Connecticut, and has created a clinical branch campus at which approximately 35 UVM students complete their required clinical activities during the Clerkship and
Advanced Integrations years. Danbury Hospital (456 beds) and Norwalk Hospital (366 bed) are the main teaching hospitals. These hospitals serve a population of approximately one million people who represent a remarkable cross-section of economic, geographic, ethnic, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. This diversity creates a particularly rich setting in which students participate in the care of patients, as they learn about how care is delivered in the complex U.S. health care system. Jonathan M. Rosen, M.D., associate professor of medicine in pulmonary/ critical Care, serves as associate dean of the branch campus. The medical education team consists of four dedicated coordinators and 14 clerkship directors. Students on this campus benefit from the same educational structure and learning goals as the Vermont campus and have successfully matched into their desired specialties over the length of this partnership.
Snow Season Retreat TEACHING AND EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
The Teaching Academy celebrated faculty excellence at the annual Snow Season Retreat, held January 17–19, 2024. The plenary session, titled “Earth and Health: Integrating Planetary Health into Medical Education,” featured keynote speaker Carlos Faerron Guzman, M.D., M.Sc., associate professor and program director of global health programs at the University of Maryland–Baltimore. A world-renowned expert on planetary health—defined as “the health of human civilization and the natural systems on which it depends”— Guzman’s lecture explored the ways in which the health curriculum can be enriched with planetary health concepts, frameworks, and values.
The following awards were presented to faculty at the retreat:
• Innovation in Curriculum Development or Pedagogy Award: Anisha Rimal, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics
• Educational Scholarship Award: Bei Zhang, M.D., M.S., Ph.D., MLS(ASCP)CM, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine
• Outstanding Contribution Award: Clara Keegan, M.D., associate professor of family medicine
• Frederick C. Morin III, M.D., Educational Leadership Award: William Raszka Jr., M.D., professor of pediatrics
• Distinguished Service Award: Cate Nicholas, Ed.D., M.S., PA, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences
• Graduate Medical Education (GME) Educator of the Year: Mirabelle Sajisevi, M.D., associate professor of surgery
• Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education (CMIE) Educator of the Year: Joseph Miller, B.A., Central Programs Education for UVM Health Network
Frymoyer Scholars
The John W. and Nan P. Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education supports physicians and nurses who embody the best qualities of the clinician-teacher. This program is an investment in outstanding medical education and promotes teaching that emphasizes the art of patient care. Individuals selected as Frymoyer Scholars receive up to $25,000 per year for two years to develop innovative educational projects that improve the relationship between clinician and patient.
The 2023 funded projects are:
“Consequential Validity of Entrustable Professional Activities in Pathology Residency Training,” led by Bronwyn Bryant, M.D., associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine,
“Turn Transition to Residency Training Courses into Academic Success Throughout Residency Using Novel Educational Techniques,” led by Justin DeAngelis, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, with collaborator Mackenzie Delzer, M.D., clinical instructor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences.
“In Situ Simulation in the Critical Access Hospital,” led by Laura Mulvey, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine, with collaborators Daniel Ackil, D.O., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Daniel Bak, M.D., clinical instructor of emergency medicine; KC Collier, M.D., clinical instructor of emergency medicine; Jordan Ship, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Julie Vieth, M.B.Ch.B., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Ashley Weisman, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Luke Wohlford, M.D., clinical instructor of emergency medicine; Bruce Barry, RN, paramedic; Rachel Bombardier, M.D.'24.
The 2024 funded project is:
“A Multimodal Approach to Bridging Gaps in Nutrition Education: A Culinary Medicine Experience,” led by Whitney Calkins, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, with collaborators Christina Vollbrecht, chef educator of culinary medicine; and class of 2026 medical students Molly Hurd, Sarah Krumholz, and Alyssa Tenney.
Above: The late John Frymoyer, M.D., dean of UVM’s College of Medicine from 1991 to 1999, and Katie Huggett, Ph.D., assistant dean for medical education, at the Frymoyer Scholars luncheon in 2017. Inset photo: Students at the pilot culinary medicine course offered in 2023.
The Teaching Academy sustains and supports an interdisciplinary community of educators who value the scholarship of teaching while facilitating educator development. Teaching Academy representatives endeavor to lead educational innovation while fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion and promoting faculty members’ pursuit of education excellence and scholarship.
The Teaching Academy 2024 Inductees
Distinguished Educator
Karen George, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for students and associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences
Expert Teacher
Christopher Kanner, D.O., assistant professor of radiology
Joseph Kennedy, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine
Member
Estelle Spear Bishop, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurological sciences
Jeremy Dressler, M.D., assistant professor of surgery
Georgia Farrell, M.D., assistant professor of medicine
Brady Heward, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry
MEDICAL EDUCATION GRAND ROUNDS
Merima Ruhotina, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences
Heidi Schumacher, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics
Associate Member
Dhruv Shah, D.O., assistant professor of psychiatry
Faculty and residents interested in enhancing their teaching are invited to workshops showcasing speakers from across the nation who bring fresh ideas and thought-provoking insight to clinical and basic sciences teaching. Medical education grand rounds during the 2023-2024 academic year included:
Navigating the Roadblocks: Moving Forward in Pathways to Diversity
Natalie Guerrier McKnight, M.D., associate professor of medical education, University of Virginia School of Medicine; Abena Knight, M.D., clinical associate professor of pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine/Seattle Children’s Hospital; L.E. Faricy, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, UVM Larner College of Medicine
Integrating Planetary Health into Medical Education: Panel Discussion and Workshop
Moderator: David Rand, D.O., M.P.H., assistant professor of hospital medicine, Larner College of Medicine
Panelists: Gaurab Basu M.D., M.P.H., director of education and policy, Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chang School of Public Health; Megan Malgeri M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, Larner College of Medicine; Madeline Kline, M.D./Ph.D. student, Harvard Medical School
Readiness for Residency: Who Should Own This?
MEDICAL EDUCATION GRAND ROUNDS
Karen George, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for students and associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, Larner College of Medicine
Self-Determination Theory: Motivating Lifelong Learning
Melissa Davidson, M.D., associate dean for graduate medical education, professor of anesthesiology, Larner College of Medicine; Bridget Marroquin, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology, Larner College of Medicine
Continuous Quality Improvement in Action: “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”
Lejla Pasic, project manager – CQI and LCME Accreditation; Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health and health policy, professor of medicine, director of graduate public health programs, UVM Larner College of Medicine
Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education
Cornelius James, M.D., clinical assistant professor; University of Michigan Medical School
24 56 119 17 Distinguished Educators Expert Teachers Members Associate Members The Teaching Academy Membership
NEGEA DISTINGUISHED EDUCATORS AWARDS
Two Larner College of Medicine educators were honored at the annual Northeast Group on Educational Affairs (NEGEA) conference, May 29–31. Kathryn Huggett, Ph.D., (above, left) assistant dean for medical education and director of the Teaching Academy at Larner College of Medicine, and Cate Nicholas, Ed.D., M.S., PA, (above, right) associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, and the retiring director of education and operations for UVM’s Clinical Simulation Lab, received NEGEA Distinguished Educator Awards.
UVM Larner College of Medicine Medical Education Faculty
Christa Zehle, M.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hospitalist
Daniel Ackil, D.O., FACEP, FAAEM
Assistant Professor for Emergency Medicine, Assistant Dean for Simulation
Leila Amiri, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Medical Student Admissions, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Katherine Dolbec, M.D.
Assistant Dean for Students, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Elise Everett, M.D., M.S.
Assistant Dean, Clerkship Curriculum Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Nathalie Feldman, M.D.
Director of the Learning Environment, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Garth Garrison, M.D.
Assistant Dean for Advanced Integration, Associate Professor of Medicine
Karen George, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Dean for Students, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Leigh Ann Holterman, Ph.D.
Assistant Director of Student Well-Being, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Kathryn Huggett, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean for Medical Education, Director of the Teaching Academy, Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Liz Hunt, M.D.
Assistant Director of the Learning Environment, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Ellen Kulaga, M.D. (Until 7/1/24)
Assistant Dean for Students–Connecticut Branch Campus, Assistant Professor of Medicine
John King, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Dean for Continuing Medical and Interprofessional Education, Professor of Family Medicine
Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Pre-Clinical Curriculum Professor of Pharmacology
Cate Nicholas, Ed.D., M.S., PA (Retired 6/1/24)
Director of Education and Operations, Clinical Simulation Laboratory; Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Jonathan M. Rosen, M.D.
Associate Dean for Medical Education–Connecticut Branch Campus, Associate Professor of Medicine
Lee Rosen, Ph.D.
Director of Student Well-Being, Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Renee Stapleton, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Medical Student Research, Professor of Medicine
Katie Wells, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of Social Medicine, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Anthony Williams, M.D.
Assistant Dean for Medical Student Admissions, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Foundations Course Directors
Orientation
Karen George, M.D., M.P.H.
Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D.
Professionalism, Communication, and Reflection
Sakshi Jasra, M.D.
Associate Course Director: Tracy Hagerty, M.D.
Foundations of Clinical Science
Stephen Everse, Ph.D.
Associate Course Director: Abigail Hielscher, Ph.D.
Attacks and Defenses
Jessica Crothers, M.D.
Nutrition, Metabolism, and Gastrointestinal Systems
Lee-Anna Burgess, M.D.
Doctoring in Vermont
Martha Seagrave, PA-C
Associate Course Director: Judy Fingergut, M.D.
Medical Neuroscience
John Steele Taylor, M.D.
Connections
Matthew Hollander, M.D.
Public Health Projects
Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H.
Thomas Delaney, Ph.D.
Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Renal Systems
Andrew Hale, M.D.
Human Development and Reproductive Health
Justin DeAngelis, M.D.
Associate Course Director: Jennifer Todd, M.D.
Convergence
John Miller, M.D., FACP
Clerkship Course Directors
Amanda Kolb, M.D.
Family Medicine – UVM
Martha Seagrave, PA-C
Family Medicine – UVM
Kelley Collier, M.D.
Family Medicine – UVM
Peter Anderson, M.D.
Family Medicine – Nuvance Health
Jason Bartsch, M.D.
Medicine – Inpatient – UVM
Louis Polish, M.D.
Medicine – Inpatient – UVM
Matthew Barbery, M.D.
Medicine – Nuvance Health – Danbury
A. Rahim Rahimyar, M.D.
Medicine – Nuvance Health – Norwalk
Dennis Beatty, M.D.
Medicine – Outpatient – UVM
Rosy Hill, M.D.
Medicine – Outpatient – UVM
Noah Kolb, M.D.
Neurology – UVM
Timothy Fries, M.D.
Neurology – UVM
Fatemeh Sobhani, M.D.
Neurology – UVM
Behzad Habibi, M.D.
Neurology – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Charles Guardia, M.D.
Neurology – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Erin Morris, M.D.
Obstetrics and Gynecology – UVM
Merima Ruhotina, M.D.
Obstetrics and Gynecology – UVM
Dimitry Zilberman, D.O.
Obstetrics and Gynecology –Nuvance Health – Danbury
Sara Lebovitz, M.D.
Obstetrics and Gynecology –Nuvance Health – Norwalk
Maryam Hedayatzadeh, M.D.
Obstetrics and Gynecology –Nuvance Health – Norwalk
Alicia Briggs, M.D.
Pediatrics – Nuvance Health – Norwalk
Nina Gluchowski, M.D. Pediatrics – UVM
William Raszka, M.D.
Pediatrics – UVM
Don Sampson, M.D.
Pediatrics – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Meredith Clark, M.D.
Psychiatry – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Erin Curtis, M.D.
Psychiatry – UVM
Brady Heward, M.D.
Psychiatry – UVM
Amanda Silverio, M.D.
Psychiatry – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Katelynn Ferranti, M.D.
Surgery – UVM
Patrick Forgione, M.D.
Surgery – UVM
Jill Watras, M.D.
Surgery – Nuvance Health – Norwalk
Patrick Zimmerman, D.O.
Surgery – Nuvance Health – Danbury
Advanced Integration Required Course Directors
Garth Garrison, M.D.
Lee-Anna Burgess, M.D.
Acting Internship in Medicine
Eileen CichoskiKelly, Ph.D.
Scholarly/Teaching Requirements
Katelynn Ferranti, M.D.
Surgery Subspecialty
Laura Mulvey, M.D.
Emergency Medicine
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