AAMC Reporter: January 2007

Viewpoint: "The Relevance of an Academic Medical Institution in New Jersey"

Robert L. Johnson, M.D., F.A.A.P., Dean (Interim), University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School

It's been about a year since I took on the role of interim dean at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School. And what a year it has been. Despite the many challenges our university encountered as we underwent intense scrutiny from the media, the public, and a federal monitor,many positive steps were made in moving medicine forward across the state wide campuses of UMDNJ as well as right here at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, N.J.

Which begs the question:What exactly is the role of an academic medical institution, both in our own community and beyond?

From my perspective as an alumnus (class of 1972), a clinician, and now a dean, I believe as members of New Jersey Medical School we hold a sacred contract to not only care for people now, but to propel research that will result in better care in the future, while teaching the next generations of physicians both how to be doctors and how to shape the future of health science in all its glorious complexities.

Some of the things I am most proud of during the past year, and those that clearly articulate the breadth and depth of our role, encompass all four of our mission areas: research, education, community outreach, and patient care.

Research: New Jersey Medical School experienced a 20 percent increase in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, an indication of the high level of esteem in which our researchers are held. Scientists are making important advances in the areas of brain injury and repair, immunology and infectious diseases, new therapies for heart attack patients, stem cells, and cancer.

Education: The excellent clinical training that our students receive makes them highly attractive to residency programs across the state. This year our match rate for residents was 99.4 percent—surpassing the national average by nearly six points—and applications to our school rose 7 percent.

Community outreach: Since the school's inception, we have fostered an important relationship with our neighbors in the Greater Newark metropolitan area.We have entered a new phase, which shifts the school's role from educator to partner. Collaborative relationships with community and religious groups include:

• improving on-time immunization rates for children;
• helping teens navigate the urban landscape by offering alternatives to violence, gangs, drugs, and unsafe sex;
• training community members to be health educators to combat the growing incidence of diabetes, obesity, and cancer in the community;
• providing house calls for homebound seniors.

Patient care: In a time when charity care subsidies from the state do not cover the actual cost of caring for the patients who need us most, we remain committed to fulfilling our role as a safety net for the community. Three area hospitals have closed or reduced services in the past two years, meaning we are caring for more patients with less money. This is perhaps where I am most proud of our school. Our patients receive the highest quality of care regardless of their financial situation.Women suffering gynecologic conditions that require surgery are now recovering more quickly with less blood loss thanks to robotic-assisted surgery. The growing use of hospitalists—specialists who collaborate with patients" community physicians to provide quality and continuity of care—are helping to reduce hospital stays. Our patients participate in clinical trials not available anywhere else in the country. And therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractics, yoga, herbs, and Reiki are being incorporated into care plans for many patients as our physicians embrace and promote methods that reduce a medical reliance on drugs or surgery.

As a university, UMDNJ is also moving forward: A new office of compliance has been established; NIH funding is up 9.1 percent across the university at a time when NIH funding across the nation is stagnant; a reorganization and expansion of the university's office of research will bolster our scientists" ability to perform cutting-edge research; and philanthropic contributions to the foundation of UMDNJ are at an all-time high, up $1.3 million from last year.

Just as the landscape at UMDNJ is changing, the face of medicine itself is ever-changing. Physicians and scientists of today—and those to come in their footsteps—grapple with acute issues that impact the future of our health and our society: funding Medicare, caring for baby boomers, curing cancer, warding off a flu pandemic, appropriately harnessing the regenerative powers of stem cells, and addressing disparities in access to health care.

New Jersey Medical School, in concert with health science colleagues on our campus and across the state, is focused on these issues of the future while ensuring that the needs of the present are met as well.

This is our role, this is our relevance, and this is our reason. I believe in it, and you should, too.

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