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Seriving Society, Students, and Science - the three "S's"
On April 13, 2001 the Board of Trustees confirmed your author's appointment as Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina. Several Seabrookers have congratulated me on the appointment - while wondering exactly what the titles really mean. The short answer is that it means Jenny and I will move permanently to Seabrook and back to our native South Carolina and help MUSC and its doctors serve the state, region and nation more effectively. Below are excerpts from my comments made to the Board of Trustees on the occasion of the appointment. I trust you, gentle neighbors, will excuse this one departure from the column on Healthy Aging that will continue next month.
Background
"It is with enthusiasm and optimism that this native of Charleston and son of the head of the mathematics department at the Citadel (father) and a psychiatric social worker for the Charleston Mental Health Clinic (mother) assume the awesome responsibility of Dean of my alma mater, the School of Medicine of the Medical University of South Carolina. It is also the alma mater of my wife, Jenny, a graduate of the School of Health Professionals, and her father John Cathcart a 1942 graduate of the School of Medicine."
Progress of Selection
The search for a new Dean and Vice-President for Medical Affairs began about a year ago and involved many candidates some of whom were brought to MUSC on two occasions to meet with members of the faculty, students, staff and Board of Trustees. I wrote in December a plan for implementation if chosen to the post. The five finalists for the position were visited where they worked (in my case Duke University Medical Center) by Provost Dr. Rosalie Crouch and President Raymond Greenberg. During the nine months of recruitment I got to know MUSC and was able to see the marked changes since I graduated in 1969. I felt like Rip Van Winkle who awoke back at MUSC to find a vibrant, outstanding medical school very different from the one from which I had graduated. The biggest difference is that in 1969 I graduated from the Medical College of South Carolina that had as almost its only mission the education of doctors and nurses for the state of South Carolina. In 2001 there is a Medical University of South Carolina that has 6 schools and has not only as its mission the education of health professionals of all types, but has faculty who are extending their respective fields through first-rate scientific research for the world. In the 31 years I have been away the Medical College became a Medical University and expanded its mission to greater service, education and research. An irresistible intellectual excitement exists on the campus that was not there before. This is a tribute to the leaders of the University and the Board of Trustees, present and past.
Challenges and Opportunities
All hospitals and health related providers face severe economic hurdles as this country tries to figure out how to maintain its health. The financial challenges for academic medical centers are especially difficult because of the cutback in federal subsidies through the Balanced Budget Act. MUSC also faces statewide budget cuts that are having a major affect on the faculty and programs of MUSC. These issues are forcing MUSC to focus on those programs that are most important to the core missions. There are a number of key department leaders in the school of medicine that must be chosen and the quality of these leaders will dictate the rate of continued success in the clinical, educational and research missions of MUSC. One pressing need is to find ways for the community physicians at Roper and other hospitals to work more collaboratively with the approximately 500 doctors at MUSC. There is great potential benefit for Seabrookers and other citizens if the entire medical profession works together to improve our region's public health. The exciting medical science going on the laboratories and clinics of MUSC needs to be brought to the bedside and into the homes of all the population of our state. We will foster collaboration inside and outside of MUSC by developing interdisciplinary programs like the Hollings Cancer Center that houses basic scientists, physicians of all types, and others working to prevent, cure or contain cancer. Finally, we take as our number one priority the education of the next generation of physicians and scientists to deliver and advance the care of people in South Carolina and around the world.
Summary
Undergraduate education focuses on the three "R's", and we at MUSC will focus on the three "S's" of an academic medical center - service to society, to our students and to science." We can also add a fourth "S" taken from the masthead of The Seabrooker "Serving the People of Seabrook Island." I welcome any thoughts that Seabrookers may have on ways to help MUSC serve you.
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