NEOUCOM to NEOMU: The Response

The post is in follow-up of the initial post called "NEOUCOM to NEOMU: Why It Matters." Less than 24 hours after the initial post went up, I was contacted by someone who works at the medical school to discuss the points that were brought up there. And, this conversation was helpful.

To clarify my point of view, I understand the rationale behind the name change. My problem was with the lack of transparency during the process. In the press release from July 30, 2010, only the new president gave quotes to be used. If there was support from the Board and the Alumni (and I don't doubt that there was), why not get a quote from the board chair and from an alumni who took part in the process.

In the rest of this video, I share some suggestions of how to try to move forward from this situation:
1) Some kind of acknowledgement that the communication with the alumni during this process could have been done better

2) Alumni are asking the question: "Do I get a new diploma with the new name of the university?" Just to let people know, verification of your educational history - like where you went to medical school - this is very important when you apply for hospital privileges and try to get onto insurance plans. If you have a diploma with the name of a school that no longer exists, this can cause unnecessary delays in the processing of your application - and ultimately push back, or prevent you working at a hospital or at an office.

3) Since the some alumni feel like they were not heard, what is administration and the school going to do to try to reach out and start a healing process with the alumni. Alumni should be the schools most valued asset. They contribute a lot of themselves - whether it be through teaching, or volunteering, or donations to the school. If alumni don't feel they were heard now, they will certainly make themselves feel heard by decreasing their donations to the school - which I know ultimately hurt current students. But, some alumni don't feel they will be heard any other way.

4) Finally, ever since the announcement of the new president, questions have been swirling - especially among alumni - about whether a dental school is on the road map for the university. And, since the question has not been answered or inadequately answered, the question remains. In my opinion, the new president would go a long way in mending fences if he took on this question straight on and answered it.

Finally, in an effort to help those frustrated alumni be heard, I will be using my internet radio show as a platform to help them express their opinion. On Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 8pm Eastern Time, I will interview an alumni who will express his point of view on this subject. Hopefully, other alumni and other people who are interested in this story will tune into the show to hear their point of view.

Addendum: I encourage you to check out my five part series on this topic including "Why It Matters," "The Response," "Name Change," "The Podcast", and "Show 185 Wrap-Up."

Dr. A Show 176 Wrap-up: Erin Breedlove

Thanks again to Erin Breedlove who was my guest on Doctor Anonymous Show 176. She shared her inspiring story of her dream to become a doctor. She is a pre-medical student right now, but she also has the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy which, she states, is not stopping her from achieving her goal.

What you'll see below is a series of three video segments that were recorded during the show. The first video is her story of how the idea of going to medical school came up in the first place. I also encourage you to read her blog post on this as well. In the second video, we talk about some of her social media projects, and also some cool opportunities that have come out of her involvement in social media. Finally, in the last video posted, she gives advice to those who are inspired by her story.

You can listen to the entire audio podcast in the player at the bottom of this post. You can also download this show along with other Doctor Anonymous shows by clicking to go to the iTunes page for the show. Don't forget to "like" the show over on our facebook page. And, finally, check out the most current show schedule (and we have some good shows coming up this month) over at DoctorAnonymous.com. Have a great week everybody!

Dr. A Show 176 Tonight!

Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 9pm ET (0100 UTC)

I hope you can join me tonight for Doctor Anonymous Show 176 with guest Erin Breedlove who is a Pre-Medical student in the Southeastern part of the United States. She is author of the blog Healthy, Unwealthy and Becoming Wise. She has the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and writes about her dream about going to medical school.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen anytime!

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

Dr. A Show 176 Preview

August 2010 is student month on The Doctor Anonymous Show! This week, Doctor Anonymous Show 176 welcome Pre-Med student and blogger Erin Breedlove. Her blog is called "Healthy, Unwealthy, & Becoming Wise: Follow A Pre-Medical Student On Her Journey To Become A Doctor."

In addition to the challenges of being a college student trying to get into medical school, Erin has the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy which she clearly talks about in her blog including the post called "Cerebral Palsy: What It Isn't"

All too often, as a college and pre-medical student with cerebral palsy, I’m asked what cerebral palsy is, but no one ever seems too concerned with what it isn’t, and to me, that’s the most important part.

Too many assumptions and stereotypes plague the world of chronic health than do the positives, the abilities of patients, and the strength of their families. I’ll do you a favor. Let’s explore a few things that cerebral palsy isn’t, and I think that by doing that, you’ll find that you’ll know exactly what the diagnosis means!

I invite you to join me on Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 9pm Eastern Time/8pm Central Time for Doctor Anonymous Show 176. Also check out the video post above. In addition, become a friend of the show or hit the "Like" button on the show's Facebook page. To download past shows, check out the show's iTunes page. Finally, I invite you to check out the show's YouTube page. See you for the show!

NEOUCOM to NEOMU: Why It Matters

They are changing the name of my med school alma mater, and I am upset about it. But, not for the reasons that you may think. I am a proud graduate of the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM). This has been the name of the school since it opened its doors in 1973.

Last week, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to change the name of the school to the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMU). In a press release from the school, the new president and dean, Dr. Jay Gershen, said this:

“The current name no longer reflects who we are as a University. In addition to a College of Medicine and a College of Pharmacy, we also added a College of Graduate Studies last year,” said Gershen. “We are a strong institution with a health sciences curriculum, and we want a strong name that reflects who we are and who we serve.”

I have talked with many alumni who are upset about this change. Vishvas Hegde, M.D. posted his opinion to this change on the comment page of the local newspaper where the medical school is located:

The name change alone will cost a large amount of time and money to be wasted. A few years ago, Medical College of Ohio in Toledo did a similar name change and it was estimated to cost over 300 thousand dollars for the entire process. Especially during tough economic times like this, I think almost everyone would agree that this is not a very wise use of funds... NEOUCOM is already cutting millions of dollars from their budget and reducing their employee count; this name change will lead to even more cuts in staff and services at the school.

While I empathize with Dr. Hegde's point of view, I do not have that much of a problem with the change in the name of the school. Post-graduate education is a competitive environment. NEOMU is a state school and anyone in Ohio knows that the budget from the state capitol is diminishing with each 2 year budget cycle. Getting research dollars, however you can, is one of the keys to survival at the post-graduate level.

Now, in my opinion, the reason why many alumni are upset with this change, is not the name change itself, but the manner that it was done. In the press stories I have read and watched, NEOMU administration is painting the picture that a lot of feedback was obtained from key stakeholders before the decision was made. Some alumni disagree with this and are really questioning the perceived lack of transparency that took place in the name change.

If this is the case, then the new president and the NEOMU administration have a huge public relations problem with NEOUCOM alumni. If alumni don't feel that they were heard, I really see this as potentially affecting alumni loyalty and willingness to assist the school - for example, with volunteering their time for teaching, or even with fund raising efforts. Because, if you do not have the alumni on your side, that's going to be a real problem. And, that's my opinion... (also check out my video post above where I still call the school "Northeastern Ohio" instead of "Northeast Ohio")

Addendum: I encourage you to check out my five part series on this topic including "Why It Matters," "The Response," "Name Change," "The Podcast", and "Show 185 Wrap-Up."

Dr. A Show 175: Twitter Saves Life

Lots of people know about twitter and what its many functions are. But, twitter as a life saver is probably something that you don't hear about a lot. Leigh Fazzina was in a triathalon race last week in Connecticut when her bike crashed. Her cell phone could not make any voice calls. However, she did figure out that she could send out text.

3 Twitter accounts, SMS and MMS messages, BlackBerry Instant Message (BBM) and voice. I knew Twitter would get me an immediate response as my messages would be sent to the 1,000 or so people in my network. I also knew that my Twitter network being comprised of mostly healthcare communications/public relations colleagues would take me seriously.... Remember, it was getting dark and I needed help immediately....

One of her many followers was @DrJonathan on twitter and he describes in the video interview above from Doctor Anonymous Show 175, what he and a lot of other of her followers did - they called the local authorities to let them know their friend was hurt and could not make a voice call. According to this article from NBC news, here is what happened next.

Within seconds, Fazzina’s Twitter friends and colleagues from all over heard her and reached out to authorities. The Farmington Police Department received a call from a woman in California, who led rescuers to Winding Trails. She tweeted directions and landmarks and stayed in tough with friends.At 7:27 p.m. [she tweeted] : "Thx! I hear sirens now. Hope they can find me. RT @DrJonathan: @LeighFazzina ok found the local police number.. calling- sit tight!"

Now this story is not without its detractors. In the comment section of the NBC story, there were more than a few comments who questioned the validity of this story. Still others, like the one below, who state that the facility where this took place is well run and an incident like this could have never happened.

Winding Trails triathalons are extremely well-run. They have a full staff on call for any emergencies equipped with radios and gas powered Gator carts to navigate the trails with. Each triathelte is accounted for and if they do not cross the finish line they begin an extensive search for them. As they were dispatched into the woods to try to locate the woman another triathlete approached the staff to inform them that the woman had fallen off of her bicycle.

She was not alone, people did hear her, and the staff (consisting of lifeguards and EMTs), the fire department, and UConn paramedics responded in a more than timely manner to come to her aid. If the trails were dangerous and the facility unsafe or not well-covered they would not be allowed to host these events that consist of hundreds of athletes every week (that successfully complete the races as well). There has never once been a complaint of loss of cell phone service on their trails...

For me, I tend to believe this story and thank those people who were on twitter that night who not only heard the call for help, but also took action to contact the local authorities to let them know about the situation. This really does speak to the power of twitter and social media. To check out the entire audio podcast, you can listen to the player below (the interview with Dr. Jonathan is about 30 minutes into the podcast). You can also download the podcast through the show's iTunes page at DoctorAnonymous.Org