It's an interesting dilemma, particularly in the current economy:
Too many jobs? Too few workers?
As America's population grows and grays that's the forecast in the health care arena. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts 3 million new health care jobs by 2010. As Georgia's only public health sciences university, the Medical College of Georgia is working to meet those needs of tomorrow by expanding the workforce of today.
For years now, MCG has used resources such as distance-learning, the Internet and satellite campuses to extend its reach. Never has that commitment been stronger than it is today. This year, 9.5 percent of MCG students are enrolled in classrooms outside of Augusta. At MCG campuses in Athens, Columbus, Barnesville and Gwinnett County, students tune in to real-time, distance-learning lectures from faculty members in Augusta. Meanwhile, technology such as the Tegrity WebLearner system and Web CT allows students in other time zones to replay lectures at their convenience.
“What we are learning is that we are able to reach out to a different type of student,” said Becky Stone, education program specialist for biomedical and radiological technologies. “We’re seeing more of an adult student who is coming into these programs from another profession and reinventing his career, maybe because of economic reasons.”
By partnering with accredited hospitals and clinical sites in the state’s smallest communities, MCG is able to supplement curricula with workplace experience.
“Our program has grown; we now have clinical sites where students receive training as far as Washington state,” said Ms. Stone. For instance, MCG’s nuclear medical technology program began in 2001 with four students. By this spring, 23 students will have graduated from the program, having earned their degrees in Augusta, Athens, Columbus and Atlanta.
“We have really great communication and rapport with our sites, and we monitor all the work the students complete online,” Ms. Stone said.
Likewise, community partnerships enable MCG medical students and physician assistant students to choose clinical rotation sites in nearly every county of the state. During this four- to six-week specialty training, students learn firsthand about rural communities as they treat typically underserved regions. The Department of Physician Assistant has over 300 affiliation agreements in five states and the School of Medicine has nearly 200 community-based faculty members across Georgia who make these opportunities possible.
Spending time training in rural areas often leads students back to these areas to begin their own practices. The MCG School of Allied Health Sciences program at Columbus State University is a prime example.
Since 1999, the Department of Occupational Therapy has supplemented its on-campus program with a distance-education program in Columbus. Targeted enrollment for the a bachelor of science degree in occupational therapy for the first year was 10 students and 11 enrolled on the Columbus State University campus. By fall 2002, class size exceeded expectations with the enrollment of 15 students.
Faculty at the Augusta and Columbus campuses teach courses using two-way interactive technology and clinical laboratories. Since 2003, a master of health sciences degree has been offered on both campuses.
“Eighty to 90 percent [of the graduates] stay in the area serving health care needs,” said Rob McCallister, program director. “As the number of occupational therapists in the region grows, the variety of services is also enhanced. The graduates of this program are positively impacting the quality of care offered in the rural southwest Georgia area.”
But formal degree programs only scratch the surface of MCG’s statewide impact. The university has been tremendously creative in extending its reach, often with the enthusiastic help of health care providers throughout the state. Following are just four examples:
For
a pediatric cardiologist who enjoys teaching, Dr. Josh Donner says he has the
best of both worlds. At the Harbin Clinic in Rome, Ga., he combines patient care
with one-on-one time with the next generation of physicians.
“I’m
lucky,” said the 1990 MCG alumnus. “I get to teach, which I love to do, but I
don’t have to worry about research or publishing, things I’ve never enjoyed.”
Since 1997, the Macon native has donated roughly 20 hours a week leading MCG students on pediatrics rotations.
“Community-based faculty really enjoy what they do and have a strong desire to teach, but given their location, they are unable to do so at a medical school,” said Erin Mundy, medical clerkship coordinator for Georgia’s Area Health Education Centers. “One of the biggest concerns for a new community-based faculty member is that a student is going to slow him down. That concern is valid and we work to make sure that this doesn’t happen.”
To ensure faculty are used efficiently and effectively, Ms. Mundy and her colleagues work with each clerkship site to offer faculty-development programs on topics such as working a student into a busy practice and teaching tips for the bedside.
For Dr. Mark J. Gresham, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, teaching MCG students is not an obligation – it’s a time-honored tradition.
“Physicians should always give back because it’s a part of the profession,” said Dr. Gresham, a 1993 MCG graduate.
Two years after opening his private practice, Dr. Gresham invited the first MCG students to his Waynesboro, Ga. office. Since 2001, he has mentored at least one medical student every six weeks, and has inspired several students to pursue careers in obstetrics and gynecology.
“Malpractice is a real issue in ob-gyn, and most people make up their minds before they give it a try. Once they see what we do and how much fun we have – providing primary care and performing surgery – they can see that it’s the best of both worlds,” he said.
With his office in a rural area, students also witness issues associated with treating low-income patients. Dr. Gresham considers access to care his office’s biggest obstacle.
“The problem is getting [the patients] here,” he said. “This is poverty on top of poverty for generations. The education level is low, the literacy level is low. But part of what we have to do is take care of these people.”
In May 2004, senior medical students honored Dr. Gresham with the Ob-Gyn Educator of the Year Award. He estimated that at least 50 percent of his trainees from that year are pursuing careers in ob-gyn.
“If someone told me tomorrow that I couldn’t practice medicine, I don’t know what I’d do,” Dr. Gresham said, then paused. “Actually, I do know what I’d do – I’d be a teacher.”
For
students like Sarah Brown, a health care career would never have been an option
if MCG had not expanded its teaching mission outside of Augusta.
In 1999, a friend told her MCG had begun a bachelor’s degree program in occupational therapy at Columbus State University. The then 53-year-old teacher, wife and mother of three started to see a lifelong dream take shape. After witnessing the care her mother received many years ago from an occupational therapist, Ms. Brown wanted to be a part of the profession. She investigated programs in surrounding areas before MCG’s program opened, but costs were prohibitive.
“MCG was much more affordable,” she said. “All my life, I had wanted to be a therapist. I thought, ‘If I don’t do this now, I won’t do it.’ So I came home and told my husband I was going to quit my job and go back to school. Thanks to MCG, I was able to get the education I wanted and still stay at home.”
With
two children in college at the time, the decision was difficult financially and
emotionally. But with overwhelming family support, she persevered.
“It was tough, but it was something I had always wanted to do, so I kept at it,” she said. “I found my brain still worked after all those years out of school, although a whole lot slower than I remembered it did.”
In 2001, Ms. Brown received a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from MCG’s Columbus campus. Today, she works at Columbus’ Oak Manor, the largest privately owned nursing home east of the Mississippi River.
“If you are doing this right, you become very close to your patients,” she said. “They become part of your family and it hurts to lose them. But it really is a rewarding career. I get way more from my patients than they ever get from me.”
Her new profession allows her to combine strengths as a teacher with compassion for humanity. She’s teaching patients skills for living – how to dress, bathe and groom themselves after an injury or illness. She also teaches OT students as they complete up to 12 weeks of field work at Oak Manor.
“I’ve always felt I can teach anybody anything,” she said. “You just have to find the best way to reach each different personality. I really believe in letting the students get as much hands-on experience as possible. That way, when a disease is brought up in the classroom, they understand it and can really get it.”
Deb
Williams isn’t so much a mentor as someone who desperately needs a few extra
sets of hands. If the people attached to those hands benefit from the experience
-- well then, so much the better.
Ms. Williams is the director and clinic operations manager of the Athens Nurses Clinic in Athens, Ga. The non-profit clinic, funded by grants and the Athens Regional Indigent Care Fund, provides free primary and episodic treatment for approximately 30 to 35 patients a day, most of whom are impoverished and uninsured. Ms. Williams has a master’s degree in nursing and oversees a staff of nurse practitioners. Providing extra hands are nursing students, including those from MCG’s Athens campus, whose service supplements their clinical training. Ms. Williams supervises their work.
“Over half our patients have diabetes or hypertension,” said Ms. Williams, noting that such conditions often lead to life-threatening and disabling complications without ongoing care.
The clinic is tidy, clean and cheerful, with colorful posters on the walls offering tips for a healthy lifestyle. But most striking about the environment is an almost palpable sense of compassion and support for everyone who walks through the door.
On a bright, sunny day in October, Sadie Clark was one of those people.
“The people are real friendly and listen to everything you have to say,” said Ms. Clark, a 56-year-old whose hypertension and borderline diabetes had been diagnosed at the clinic a few months earlier. Since then, she gets better news with every monthly visit.
“I stopped smoking and drinking beer after my first visit to the clinic; I did that in one day,” she said. “I started eating right – no salt, no pork, lots of fruits and vegetables. The weight just started coming off.”
And then some. During this clinic visit, MCG nursing student Jennifer Raynor, a senior from Fitzgerald, Ga., was on hand to monitor Ms. Clark’s progress. With an easy smile and light conversation, she tested Ms. Clark’s blood sugar level, heart rate, blood pressure and weight.
“You weigh 151 – down three pounds from last month,” Ms. Raynor told the patient.
And the news kept getting better: “Your blood pressure is well under control,” Ms. Williams told Ms. Clark after monitoring the nursing student’s work and perusing the data she compiled. “And your blood sugar is normal.”
Ms. Clark was so pleased that she walked up and down the halls of the clinic, sharing the good news with the staff she’s come to know by name.
“Nobody can believe how good your blood pressure is,” one staff member told her, beaming.
Ms. Raynor knows not every patient will be as compliant and cooperative as Ms. Clark, but she feels her education – including this clinical experience – is preparing her well for every challenge. She hopes to earn a master’s degree in nursing after completing her baccalaureate education. She wants to work in a children’s hospital.
“My mother had cancer when I was younger, so I learned the importance of nursing firsthand,” she said. “I feel it’s a calling.”
-- Ellen Gladden Jones with Christine Hurley Deriso and Kim Miller
For more information on MCG's impact across the state, visit
http://www.iris.mcg.edu/impact/