ADMINISTRATION

Advocating for Medical School Interests at the Hospital (2.4/5)

Student Concerns: Students urged the administration to advocate for medical school interests in relationships with the affiliated hospitals. Specific issues were listed.

Response: Health care in the United States is undergoing a complete reconfiguration driven by concerns about costs. Although not singled out for special treatment, teaching hospitals and the physicians who work in them have been impacted severely. As a result, administrators are preoccupied with costs, and have less opportunity to address academic needs. The problem is not unique to Brown, and it is as severe in many university owned hospitals as it is in those that are not. Despite this state of affairs, the administrators at Brown’s affiliated hospitals have sought to be responsive to the needs of Brown medical students who are serving their clerkships.

The student affairs staff hold regular meetings with third- and fourth-year medical students at the affiliated hospitals at which these issues are discussed. Following each of these meetings, Dean Smith contacts the hospital president and key faculty to report concerns expressed by students. As a result of these communications, student concerns about issues such as parking while on call, access to the library at night, internet connections, and on-call room availability have been addressed and rectified. These meetings are continuing.

Communication and Personal Interaction (2.7/5)

Student Concern: Students felt strongly that there should be more communication and personal interaction between students, faculty and administrators. Students noted that they have to go out of their way to get to know administrators despite the small size of the school. It is worth noting that students felt that some of the administrators were much more accessible and open than others. Students expressed frustration with the fact that different administrators often give different answers to the same question. Specific suggestions included:

1. Establish the position of a liaison between administrators, faculty and students to facilitate communication and to ensure that one clear message is communicated to students.
2. Move the administrative offices to the Bio-Medical Center.

Response: We are determined to improve communication and interaction between students, faculty and administration. Dionne Gomez now fills the position as medical school course coordinator. She is a single point of contact for students and faculty on matters related to courses during the first two years. Her office is in the Biomedical Center directly across from Room 202 (the Purple Palace).

To encourage more interaction between students and administrators, the Dean’s Office will sponsor an annual get together for students and Medical School administrators.. The Dean’s office will also commit to posting contact information, background and a photo of each of the top-level administrators on the Dean’s Web Page to provide a greater sense of accessibility.

The Dean (2.8 / 5)

Student Concern: Students felt that the Dean should make more of an effort to interact with students in order to better understand their daily life and advocate for their interests.

Response: I maintain regular open office hours and schedule weekly luncheon meetings with students to establish and sustain my accessibility and willingness to discuss openly the concerns of the student body. These opportunities for student communication are listed below and will be posted on the web site along with additional special opportunities for interaction with the Dean as they arise.

I have open office hours the first Thursday of every month. My assistant sends out an e-mail reminder two weeks before. I encourage you to make an appointment by contacting my office at x3-3330 or by email to [email protected]. In addition, I have been meeting students for lunch on a regular basis for the last six or seven years, twice in the fall and twice in the spring. The Medical Student Affairs office sends out email invitations. If you are interested in joining us please respond to the email or contact the MSA office at x3-2441.

I have been concerned about my lack of contact with third and fourth year students. I have sought ways to improve this communication, and admit I have not succeeded. I would welcome any suggestions from students.

In the fall of 2000, I launched, with my communications staff, a bi-annual Dean’s Letter which addresses for students, alumni, faculty and friends the “macro-level issues that the medical school faces” and outlines my plans for addressing these challenges. The letter also articulates my strategic vision and the actions being taken to support it.

Already underway are plans for me to begin attending classes with students on a regular basis each semester. Some of these visits will be carefully planned in advance while others will be spontaneous drop-in opportunities.

This spring, I hired Ruth Kohorn Rosenberg in the newly conceived position of “Special Assistant to the Dean.” Ruth is available on Brown e-mail, [email protected] or by phone at x3-3336. One of her primary responsibilities is to act as special liaison between students and the Dean’s office, bringing student concerns and special requests to my attention in a timely way and ensuring enhanced responsiveness to student concerns.

We recently added Stephen Smeaton, M.D. as web administrator for the medical school. The Dean’s Office will be able to maintain a regularly updated web page to keep students broadly informed of important Medical School issues and of upcoming opportunities for interaction between students, the Dean and his administrative staff.

Specific Roles of Administrators (3.4/5)

Student Concerns: Students asked that more information should be provided to students concerning the specific roles and responsibilities of individual administrators.

Response: The administration is planning several meetings each semester with the first- and second-year classes. These have already been started and have proven quite beneficial. To clarify the roles of each of the administrators, new additions will be added to the medical school web page that will include pictures and clear job descriptions for each of the deans, directors, and other administrative staff. An organizational table will also be provided to provide added clarity of roles, responsibility, and reporting lines.

From time to time in past years, students have been asked to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of administrative offices and administrators themselves. The report recommends that this be done. The administration agrees and will promulgate a regular cycle for these reviewsMoving the

Administrative Offices (3.5/5)

Student Concerns: Students suggested that the medical school administrative offices should be in the same building as student classes.

Response: Moving the medical education staff to the Biomedical Center is also a goal of the administration. This issue has been discussed with the students on the Physical Facilities Planning Committee. The move will begin as space becomes available; it should possible even before the new research building is completed.