|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
New Academic Medical Center Planned for Downtown Las Vegas New Task Force Hopes to Strengthen Chairs Roles as Institutional Managers
|
|
The COD Fellowship Program:
|
||||||||
|
Cam Enarson, M.D., M.B.A., associate dean for medical education, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and first fellow in the AAMC's Council of Deans Fellowship Program. |
When Cam Enarson, M.D., M.B.A., returned home one day from his anesthesia residency training program, he brought an article from the New England Journal of Medicine that "struck a chord" with him. It addressed the need for physicians in medical school management. He showed the article to his wife, who, quickly understanding what her husband was considering, emitted a loud scream, exclaiming, "But I thought you were done!"
To the contrary, Dr. Enarson has never been the type of individual to consider his professional training "done." He was serving an elective third year in a clinical anesthesia residency at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine when the idea of attending business school took root in his mind. At the end of his residency, he tried private practice in Cape Cod for a short period, but his conviction that his true calling lay in medical school administration soon led him to return to Pennsylvania to apply to the Wharton School for his M.B.A. "So we moved to Philadelphia and I attended business school full time while working on the weekends to pay my way," recalls Dr. Enarson. "I'm the only person I know who paid my way through Wharton by doing anesthesia during the weekends."
Upon earning his M.B.A., Dr. Enarson sent out 20 letters to 20 medical school deans detailing his credentials and interest in medical school administration. He received six replies, one from Wake Forest University School of Medicine inviting him to a site visit. He liked the opportunities he saw there, and moved with his family to North Carolina in 1990. Once at Wake Forest, Dr. Enarson worked his way up from heading an outcomes research program to becoming assistant and then associate dean for medical education in 1997. Dr. Enarson had realized his goal to be a medical school administrator.
But once again he has set his sights higher. Dr. Enarson wants to head a medical school, and, at age 44, he is well on his way toward achieving that goal. He has been selected as the first fellow in the inaugural AAMC Council of Deans (COD) Fellowship Program. Created by the Leadership Committee of the COD, chaired by Emery Wilson, M.D., dean of the University of Kentucky School of Medicine, the fellowship is designed to provide a model for leadership development for aspiring medical school deans.
The one-year fellowship has three components. The first is assigning the fellow to a "dean mentor," with whom the chosen individual will spend at least two weeks to gain insight into his or her mentor's leadership and organizational style as well as the many factors involved in the administration of a dean's office. Joseph B. Martin, M.D., Ph.D., dean of Harvard Medical School, is Dr. Enarson's mentor. During a two-week period in February, Dr. Enarson had the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Martin one-on-one and observe the dynamics of how Harvard Medical School's chairs and Dr. Martin's staff operate together and in their respective areas of responsibility.
The second component of the fellowship is a research project in which the fellow will pursue a specific issue of interest to all of the nation's medical schools. Dr. Enarson will take on the considerable task of addressing the status of the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in U.S. medical schools. "Since November, I've been acquainting myself with all of the HIPAA regulations," says Dr. Enarson. "I intend to develop a survey instrument to send to all of the medical schools, asking questions about awareness of regulations, preparation for HIPAA implementation, and issues regarding privacy as it relates to both research and security issues. I aim to gather information from hopefully all of the medical schools in terms of where schools are with addressing the regulations. I'll then be able to identify some best practices in specific institutions." Dr. Enarson will work in collaboration with AAMC staff while pursuing this project, and will ultimately report his findings to the COD.
Finally, Dr. Enarson and subsequent fellows will be introduced to the strategic goals and activities of the COD by participating in several of their meetings that take place at regular intervals throughout the year. Dr. Enarson's inaugural fellowship will end in June, after which subsequent fellows chosen by the COD Leadership Committee will begin the 2002/2003 fellowship program. Interested parties should contact Julien Biebuyck, M.D., senior consultant for academic management programs in the AAMC Division of Medical School Affairs. Applications must be received by March 31, 2002, for consideration for the 2002/2003 fellowship.
|
Contact Us © 1995-2008 AAMC Terms and Conditions Privacy Statement |
