|
|
|
Thought-Leader Sessions
 |
|
Alan Gregg Memorial Lecture
"Academic Freedom: How Odd Is That?"
Stanley E. Fish, Ph.D.
Professor of law, Florida International University
Dean emeritus, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The University of Illinois at Chicago
Should professors be free to do and say anything they like in the classroom, all in the name of academic freedom? Is their purpose to develop moral character, instill a sense of civic responsibility, and help bring an end to society's ills (as they define them, of course)? Are they entitled to act as agents of change for the greater good?
No, no, and no, argues Stanley Fish, Ph.D., professor of law at Florida International University, dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and author of several books including "Save the World on Your Own Time" and "The Trouble with Principle."
In this stimulating presentation, Dr. Fish makes a convincing case that the claim of academic freedom is a last bastion for those who rely upon it to act irresponsibly and suffer no consequences. Instead, he asserts, professors should have limits to their actions and statements within the workplace, just as do all others involved in an employee-employer relationship. Dr. Fish reminds us, after all, that professors are credential experts in a specific field and have been hired to introduce students to problems and methods in that particular area of study and to confer upon them analytical, rather than philosophical, skills.
Dr. Fish questions the claim that some academics have made that the "sacrifice" required by their profession somehow entitles them to freedom not available to employees in other fields. He further points out that it is this very sense of entitlement—this claim to be special and therefore exempt from standards – that gets them into trouble. Dr. Fish warns, in fact, that if we don't start policing ourselves that someone else will do it for us—and in ways we deplore—and closes his argument with the admonition that it's time for academics to "stop whining, and behave well."
Listen to "Academic Freedom: How Odd Is That?" (64 mins.) |
 |
|
Herbert W. Nickens Lecture
"Constant Vigilance"
Jeanne C. Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Associate executive director, Center for Equity and Diversity
American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
Moderator: Thomas J. Lawley, M.D.
Dr. Sinkford, recipient of the 2009 Herbert W. Nickens Award, discussed the importance of diversity in the health professions. She said dentistry is a "segregated profession," noting that about 86 percent of practicing dentists are white. Additionally, white and black dentists primarily treat patients of the same race, she said.
Sinkford discussed ADEA's seven diversity objectives for 2015, which aim to increase the number of dentistry students from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. Leaders in health professions education also should work with communities to improve science and math education for elementary and high school students to increase pipeline of qualified students for medical and dentistry education, she said.
"Academic institutions have to do something with communities. We have to be change," Sinkford said. "This requires constant vigilance. We can't let what we've done go by the wayside."
Read "Constant Vigilance" (PDF)
Listen to "Constant Vigilance" (43 mins.) |
|
|
John A.D. Cooper Lecture
Herbert Pardes, M.D.
President and CEO of New York Presbyterian Hospital
Dr. Pardes responded to the challenges he said have been leveled at academic medical centers during the reform debate, and detailed several areas in which medical schools and teaching hospitals are, or can, improve the nation's health care.
In particular, Dr. Pardes noted five areas in which academic medicine is especially poised to contribute: improving quality and safety, advancing community health, working with school-age children to bolster health literacy, providing better end-of-life care, and controlling costs. He also said that "academic medical centers offer an excellent place to try out new ideas," and should be "a bedrock on which we build innovations."
Read Herbert Pardes' presentation (PDF)
Listen to Herbert Pardes' presentation (51 mins.) |
| |
|
|
Jordan J. Cohen Lecture
"Bedside Redux: Reclaiming Lost Territory"
Abraham Verghese, M.D.
Professor and Senior Associate Chair,
Theory and Practice of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
The noted author gave a provocative address that examined the role of bedside medicine in our technological era. He speculated as to what an extra-terrestrial would see if it paid a visit to a hospital.
Dr. Verghese surmised that the being would conclude that physicians prefer to view their patients on a computer screen instead of engaging in the one-on-one encounter of the bedside examination. This ritual of medicine he believes has become "perfunctory," instead of the physician conveying to the patient the important message that, "I will always be there. I will not let you suffer. I will never abandon you."
Read "Bedside Redux: Reclaiming Lost Territory" (PDF)
Listen to "Bedside Redux: Reclaiming Lost Territory" (57 mins.) |
|
|
Robert G. Petersdorf Lecture
"Publication Practices and Academic Values"
Harold E. Varmus, M.D.
President and Chief Executive, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Public Library of Science (PLoS)
When Nobel laureate Harold Varmus, M.D. talks, academic medicine listens, especially when it comes to an issue as near and dear as the "journal impact factor." A longstanding concern of the former National Institutes of Health Director, Dr. Varmus explained how academic medicine has allowed itself "to be dominated by a flawed methodology that is harmful to our culture and missions." In an effort to address this "undue emphasis," Varmus co-founded the open access journal system called Public Library of Science (PLoS).
Dr. Varmus identified "three basic truths" about academic journal publications: (1) they are the basis for promotion and grants; (2) publication practices influence the pace at which science moves forward; and (3) the means of publication is continually changing. Given these truths, he explained, the journal impact factor has led to a number of "profound effects," which include "corrupting" the evaluation of individuals (i.e., by spotlighting only one aspect of their overall work).
In addition to altering methods for faculty evaluation and promoting new publication methods, Dr. Varmus said medical educators should help trainees understand "it's the quality of the work and the way we approach it," that count.
Public Library of Science (PLoS) Web site
|
[Top]
|
