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Richard Forster, Melissa Fischer, Luanne Thorndyke and Lan Qin stand with colleagues at a medical education conference in China. |
A delegation of educational leaders from UMass Medical School traveled to Beijing, China, to speak at a national medical education conference on topics related to improving resident education, simulation, faculty development and mentoring. Luanne Thorndyke, MD, professor of medicine and vice provost for faculty affairs; Melissa Fischer, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for undergraduate medical education; Richard Forster, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine and vice chair of graduate medical education; and Lan Qin, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of neurology, participated in the conference.
“We were excited by the opportunity to exchange information about educational frameworks, teaching techniques, and concepts such as mentoring and faculty development with our Chinese colleagues,” Dr. Thorndyke said.
The trip was part of a China-UMMS exchange that began when Dr. Qin and Guangping Gao, PhD, the Penelope Booth Rockwell Chair in Biomedical Research, professor of microbiology & physiological systems, founding director of the Horae Gene Therapy Center & Vector Core and co-director of LI Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases Research, invited physician-educators from the China Japan Friendship Hospital to visit UMMS to observe educational programs. As a result, UMMS educational leaders were invited to Beijing as visiting professors for Medical Education Week sponsored by the China Japan Friendship Hospital, followed by keynote presentations and workshops at a national conference for more than 500 education directors across China.
Dr. Fischer said she was impressed by the simulation equipment for both western and traditional Chinese medicine that was available in the China Japan Friendship Hospital and the interest in teaching through simulation. Dr. Forster said participants learned about the incorporation of new teaching techniques in educational activities such as the Morning Report for residents.
Qin, a Chinese-born physician with family and professional roots in Beijing, was central to organizing the educational exchange. She has made several visits to the China Japan Friendship Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility that features both western and traditional (Chinese) medical approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
“I’m pleased with the positive beginnings of a relationship that has significant potential to impact the training of residents across China,” Qin said. “The China Japan Friendship Hospital seeks to become a national leader for residency training, and with the assistance of UMMS, these efforts may have a profound impact on the health of the Chinese population.”
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