Synergy
Robert L. Barchi, MD, PhD
Synergy. the concept is common in
medicine -- two elements becoming much
stronger when combined.
We see synergy in virtually every area
of Jefferson. dissatisfied with the standard
model of "team education" -- a model
that often merely frustrates students -- we
designed a unique approach that promises
to become the gold standard throughout the
country. in research, our bench investigators
and clinicians have broken down tradi-
tional barriers to become partners, bringing
medical discoveries to patients at record
speeds. and in a groundbreaking agreement
this fall, we formalized our collaboration
with the university of delaware, laying the
foundation for a new partnership in health
sciences education.
through this teamwork, we are creating
programs far stronger than any one department
or healthcare institution could devise alone.
at many institutions, "team education"
means throwing students majoring in medi-
Message
from the
President
cine, physical therapy and nursing together
without training and giving them a problem
to solve as a team. this "sink or swim"
approach often ends with students foun-
dering. We wanted a better model.
First, we built a unique facility, the
dorrance H. Hamilton Building, dedicated
to team-based healthcare education. this
facility houses the latest, state-of-the-art
simulation environments for realistic educa-
tion of the entire healthcare continuum, from
undergraduate to house staff.
under the guidance of drs. dale and
Katherine Berg, co-directors of the clinical
Skills and Simulation center, faculty members
from medicine, physical and occupational
therapy and nursing created a story line
about "Mr. Voight," a patient in a persis-
tent vegetative state. Students taking "the
team approach to end of life issues" watch
sections of a video about Mr. Voight that
pertain specifically to them, then discuss the
challenges of the case and the reactions of Mr.
Voight's wife.
a symposium at the end of the semester
brings all the students together for the first time
to watch the final installment of the video. they
then break up into teams, sharing their own
perspectives and knowledge as they face the
final challenges of Mr. Voight's case together.
the approach redefines and reinvigorates
team education. and it's unique to Jefferson.
With research, information from the
human genome project and new computer
software have allowed our lab investiga-
tors and clinical researchers to form close
partnerships, getting discoveries to patients
quicker than ever before. on the other side,
clinicians feed information to researchers,
allowing them to draw parallels between
conditions. this synergy between clinicians
and researchers has allowed us to identify
risk factors for surgical complications, giving
physicians a chance to head off life-threat-
ening problems long before a patient even
enters an oR.
education and research converge in our new
agreement with the university of delaware.
under arrangements before this fall, students
could receive dual degrees, beginning their
education at delaware and finishing in occupa-
tional therapy or pharmacy at Jefferson. under
our new partnership, a joint steering committee
is focusing on ways to expand in other areas,
including nursing, health policy, public health,
bioinformatics and biomedical engineering. We
will open some classes to delaware students,
and our students will have access to courses in
newark. We also will jointly develop distance-
learning classes and colloquia.
this agreement will strengthen Jefferson's
pipeline to gifted delaware students inter-
ested in pursuing advanced degrees in the
health sciences and will give them a clear
picture of the opportunities we offer.
the collaboration also holds great promise
for research that will bring grants to both
institutions. again playing to our strengths,
a task force is focusing on joint projects
in cancer biology and cardiovascular and
neuroscience research. delaware's exem-
plary biomedical engineering department
offers our investigators priceless resources
in nanotechnology, virtual reality and the
development of medical devices.
the next step involves strengthening our
partnerships and applying for one of the
most prestigious federal awards available, a
clinical and translational Science award. in
winning the distinction, we will join an elite
collaboration of the nation's greatest health-
care centers, all working together to bring
laboratory discoveries into the clinic.
at Jefferson, we know the greatness that
comes from synergy and how to capture it
Sincerely,
Robert l. Barchi, Md, Phd
President
Thomas Jefferson University
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