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August 2007
This edition:
Letter From Our Chair
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L. Lyndon Key, MD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pediatrics |
Dear faculty, Children's Hospital staff and other friends,
The past month has shown us that positive feedback and hard work can result in positive attitudes and improve the teaching environment. I see that in this issue, Mr. Sanders and Dr. Saul emphasize the importance of mentoring our new residents along with creating a positive environment for everyone to work in. Both of these topics are very timely. We are engaged in a program that will help everyone to understand the need to have a supportive, friendly and efficient workplace. One of the responsibilities of the mentors will be to help their mentees to develop a positive attitude. This philosophy allows you to understand the needs of your patients, you colleagues, and the Children's Hospital personnel. A happy and supportive environment becomes infectious in a good way. It improves everyone's moral and creates a better therapeutic environment for patients and their families.
I'd like to extend a special thanks to Drs. Michael Southgate and Michael Bowman for spearheading our new residency curriculum. I also would like to thank Drs. Johnson, Darden, and Gustafson, the chief residents, Colleen Thomas, and the entire faculty who are working with the "Mike's" to develop the best environment for learning pediatric medicine. I am very proud and wish to congratulate everyone on moving this effort forward so quickly. We have great opportunities for the coming months and I look forward to continued success.
Sincerely,
L. Lyndon Key, MD
Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Feature Story
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George Johnson, MD
Pediatric Infectious Disease |
Fresh faces: new pediatric residents join MUSC
The pediatric department again welcomes 14 new professionals to help MUSC in providing the best care for children.
Twelve new pediatric and two combined medicine/pediatric residents joined the MUSC team in July.
"We interviewed more than 140 medical students for the peds program, and 35 for the combined med/ped program," says Dr. George Johnson, MD, pediatric residency program director.
"Looking at exam scores - which is just one measure - the applicant pool was a little better than last year," says Dr. Johnson.
[read more]
Message From Our Medical Director
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J. Philip Saul, MD
Medical Director
Director, Pediatric Cardiology |
Why clinical research is important to our mission
One important task for anyone learning any profession is to identify a good advisor or mentor to help guide their career choices. Certainly, all would agree that finding the right fit for a mentor can be critical for a medical student. In Greek mythology, Mentor, the son of Alcumus, was a good friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace, eventually leading to the modern use of the term for a trusted advisor. Critical questions are what are the important characteristics for a mentor and how should a student go about making the right choice for them?
A mentor should first and foremost have the best interest of the student at heart. If there are competing interests such that the student's activities might affect the career of the mentor (e.g. - laboratory success or promotion), the student might be better off with a different choice. Second, a mentor should have considerable knowledge of the career options the student is considering. If a student is most interested in Anesthesia, having a mentor who is a pediatrician may not be the best choice. Third, it is important to have a mentor who has adequate time to devote to the mentee. Some faculty members may be very knowledgeable but just too busy to be consistently helpful. Finally, it is important that the student feel comfortable on a personal basis with the mentor. Otherwise it may be hard for the student to ask the right questions and may be hard for the mentor to give honest answers or advice, particularly if the advice is not exactly what the student wants to hear. Most students will be able to identify a mentor with the above characteristics, providing important assistance in their career choices. Others may need to identify more than one individual when their choices are more complex, or change mentors when their interests change. In either case, choosing the right mentor is a process most students navigate successfully.
Update From Our Administrator
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John Sanders, MHA
Administrator
MUSC Children's Hospital |
Starting a New Year
It is a brand new year for the Children's Hospital as new residents are beginning their first rotations. It is an exciting time as our latest physicians begin providing excellent care for our children and their families. There is a lot to learn in a short amount of time and we are all here to mentor, support, and encourage learning and positive attitudes for our new team of doctors. To help with the transition we have a wonderful nursing staff that can assist everyone in getting settled in their new home. It is very much a team effort as we welcome our residents and continue promoting a positive working environment.
Many of our staff members have had long careers at MUSC and are invaluable in helping to mentor and orient our bright new physicians. Not only can they provide excellent guidance on simple things such as where things are, but they also can help get them acclimated to the unique culture of "MUSC Excellence" that makes our hospital so special.
We look forward to working with the new residents and hope that they have a valuable and positive experience at MUSC Children's.
Darby Children's Research Institute News
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Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst. |
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Inderjit Singh, PhD
Scientific Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst. |
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Future Pediatric Scientists in the Making
Of the three sets of summer students, the only students who must define specific project goals in advance are the Summer Health Professionals (SHPs). With few exceptions, the Summer Undergraduate Research Professionals (SURPs) generally do not know who their mentors will be until they arrive on site. The Governor's school students know their mentors, but do not usually submit project titles until they have completed their summer work.
[read more]
A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month.
Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA, Jennifer Cherock, Trio Solutions Inc.
Publisher: Brian Cendrowski, Trio Solutions Inc., Roxanne Hicks, Trio Solutions, Inc.
Feature Writer: George Johnson, MD
Contributing Writers:
Lyndon Key,
Bernard Maria,
John Sanders,
Inderjit Singh,
Philip Saul
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