Education Update

Medical Education

The Ochsner model of medical education ensures that students receive the best preparation for their roles in the ever-expanding field of medicine. The focus for 2007 was to move toward an outcomes-based model for education, basing initial activity on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Outcome Project. This initiative supports a model of education that includes applied behavioral outcomes to provide safe patient-centered care.

At the end of the 2007 academic year, 63 Ochsner residents and fellows completed their graduate medical training in 21 specialty areas. This academic year, 219 residents have been appointed to accredited Ochsner programs. With the acquisition of Ochsner Medical Center—Kenner, 10 program affiliations were added. This brings the total of affiliate programs to 35, with 100 residents educated through them. Ochsner offered and filled 50 resident positions in six specialties during this academic year.

The total number of Ochsner-sponsored residents continues to grow each year, reconfirming Ochsner's ongoing growth and commitment to graduate medical education. Ochsner continues to serve undergraduate medical education as well.

The spectrum of medical education also includes Ochsner's Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs. Ochsner remains an accredited CME provider; in 2007, 16 individual education programs reached 1000 participants. The CME department also supported 30 series programs with more than 15 500 participants.

Moving forward in 2008, CME will partner with the Performance Improvement and Patient Safety departments to develop an outcomes-based educational program to help drive improvement in patient care delivery and patient safety across the Ochsner system.

In addition to countless hours of medical education, Ochsner supported the clinical education of more than 400 allied health professionals across 25 clinical specialties. Our goal is to foster a clinical environment that attracts and supports the retention of competently trained, skilled healthcare professionals.

Media Production Services

The Media Production Services department has made significant strides in 2007, implementing state-of-the-art technology that not only links all Ochsner Health System sites through a strong virtual connection but supplies an alternative means of providing education. With the installation of the new video conferencing bridge, all Ochsner sites can be linked simultaneously or in multiple smaller clusters. In 2007, more than 800 video conferencing sessions were supported by this technology and the media production staff.

Knowledge Management

Summer 2007 marked the return of the Ochsner Science, Technology, Academics, and Research (STAR) program, an Academic Community Outreach initiative for high school students. This six-week program attracts highly motivated students with a genuine interest in pursuing a career in science or healthcare. The program will continue to grow and develop in 2008 with the addition of other programs structured to touch students and teachers across the community.

An extension of the STAR program is the iLab. Under the guidance of Dr. Jawed Alam, Ochsner has developed a dedicated student outreach lab that provides a curriculum to enable us to serve as a supplemental resource for schools in the community.

The Ochsner Medical Library and Archives has expanded to include six branch libraries at other Ochsner Health System locations. The library collection now includes more than 1000 electronic journals and more than 200 online books.

In support of the Ochsner Medical Education program, the Library launched a Clinical Librarian program in fall 2007. This program involves the attendance of a clinical librarian at Internal Medicine morning reports to provide real-time assistance to staff and residents. As cases are presented, the librarian performs live searches for relevant information related to the diagnosis and best practices for treatment. While the program is in its early stages of development, data will be collected to determine the impact of this added decision-making tool on patient care.

Medical Editing and Medical Illustrations

In support of ongoing academic activity, the Medical Editing and Medical Illustrations staff provided services for Research Night, the annual Writing Awards, the STAR program, and the Academic Division Web site.

Four issues of The Ochsner Journal and the Academic Update were published in 2007. The Ochsner Journal Web site was accessed more than 74 000 times in 2007, while the Academic Division Web site is accessed more than 30 000 time a month.

Ochsner authors published more than 200 articles in scientific journals in 2007.

Building on our work of 2007, we move forward in 2008 with continued focus and commitment to our vision. We will continue to seek ways to build and support our workforce and Ochsner's healthcare providers in their commitment to learning and providing quality care to our patients.