title: Changing the culture of a medical school by orienting students and faculty toward community medicine.
abstract: Oklahoma's health status has been ranked among the worst in the country. In 1972, the University of Oklahoma established the Tulsa branch of its College of Medicine (COM) to expand the physician workforce for northeastern Oklahoma and to provide care for the uninsured patients of the area. In 2008, the Tulsa branch launched a distinct educational track, the University of Oklahoma COM's School of Community Medicine (SCM), to prepare providers equipped and committed to addressing prevalent health disparities.The authors describe the Tulsa branch's Summer Institute (SI), a signature program of the SCM, and how it is part of SCM's process of institutional transformation to align its education, service, and research missions toward improving the health status of the entire region. The SI is a weeklong, prematriculation immersion experience in community medicine. It brings entering medical and physician assistant students together with students and faculty from other disciplines to develop a shared culture of community medicine. The SI uses an unconventional curriculum, based on Scharmer's Theory U, which emphasizes appreciative inquiry, critical thinking, and collaborative problem solving. Also, the curriculum includes Professional Meaning conversations, small-group sessions to facilitate the integration of students' observations into their professional identities and commitments. Development of prototypes of a better health care system enables participants to learn by doing and to bring community medicine to life.The authors describe these and other curricular elements of the SI, present early evaluation data, and discuss the curriculum's incremental evolution. A longitudinal outcomes evaluation is under way.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Duffy is Steven Landgarten Professor of Medical Leadership and former dean, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Miller-Cribbs is professor and director, Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Clancy is president, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, where he is professor of psychiatry. He holds the Morningside Chair in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine's School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Van De Wiele is assistant professor, Department of Surgery and Integrative Immunology Center, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Teague is associate professor, Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry, James Carter Todd Chair of Cancer Research, and director, Integrative Immunology Center, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Crow holds the George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Medical Education. She is also assistant dean for curriculum and faculty affairs and is associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ms. Kollaja is project manager and research assistant, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Fox, an associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics, holds the Julian Rothbaum Chair in Community Health Research and is associate dean for community health and research development, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: F Daniel
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Miller-Cribbs
authors.forename: Gerard P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: C Justin
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Van De Wiele
authors.forename: T Kent
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Teague
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kollaja
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003154:Community Medicine; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D009825:Oklahoma; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013337:Students, Medical