Interdisciplinary Gerontology in Higher Education: A Case Study From Soup to Nuts

Through the lens of a multi-year joint project initiated by faculty in Social Work and Digital Arts at Lehman College, the City University of New York's senior college in the Bronx, NY, this paper provides a guide on how to initiate, implement and evaluate interdisciplinary collaborations in gerontology. The paper also suggests ways to ensure that these collaborations can support tenure and promotion processes, funding initiatives, and pedagogical enhancements. The paper focuses on how to make use of campus resources, including departmental Chairs, research offices, and campus-wide committees to identify appropriate collaborators and funding sources; how to nurture productive interdisciplinary relationships, such as clarifying disciplinary expectations and participants' professional needs; and how to maximize return on the effort for tenure and promotion, such as producing publishable content, identifying appropriate opportunities for interdisciplinary publishing and presenting, advocating for interdisciplinary collaborations, and developing interdisciplinary syllabi, an example of evidence-based high-impact pedagogy.

Interdisciplinary organization as a basic academic unit?

Academic interdisciplinarity has become a powerful means of addressing challenges facing contemporary society as well as offering opportunities to advance knowledge. To better understand the role of university interdisciplinary organizations (IDOs), the authors studied 18 IDOs at Stanford University in the USA. They propose that IDOs not only enhance researchers’ interdisciplinary collaboration but, counterintuitively, also serve departmental and disciplinary interests. While IDOs are traditionally believed to threaten traditional disciplinary departments, the authors find a “more the more” dynamic in which, by bringing shared university resources and faculty to bear on new themes, significant new resources are generated to the benefit of both actors. Traditionally, the relationship between departments and IDOs has been seen as a zero-sum game with winners and losers. This research suggests, to the contrary, a win–win dynamic in which the two formats are mediated by the research group. Some faculty members are alternately departmental chairs and IDO organizers as well as start-up founders, industrial consultants and holders of high governmental advisory positions during their careers, integrating Triple Helix university–industry–government interactions with IDOs and IDOs with departments. The authors examine how these two entities coexist and benefit one another in a cooperative academic ecosystem and consider the implications for the future of the university.

Pathology Course Director Perspectives of a Recent LCME Experience

Preparation for a Liaison Committee of Medical Education (LCME) accreditation site visit is a daunting task for any medical school, particularly for medical schools that have adopted integrated curricula. The LCME accreditation is the standard that all US and Canadian allopathic medical schools must meet in order for the school to award the degree of medical doctor. The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) recently underwent a full-scale LCME accreditation visit that was conducted under the newly revised LCME standards and elements. The site visit occurred just 5 years after our school began implementing a totally revised, organ system-based curriculum. Preparing for a critical, high-stakes site visit shortly after transitioning to a totally revised, integrated module-based preclerkship curriculum presented an array of new challenges that required a major modification to the type of preparation, communication, and collaboration that traditionally occurs between course directors and departmental chairs. These included the need to ensure accurate, timely communication of curricular details to different levels of the academic administration, particularly as it related to the execution of self-directed learning (SDL). Preparation for our site visit, did, however, provide a novel opportunity to highlight the unique educational experiences associated with the study of pathology, as pathology traverses both clinical and basic sciences. Sharing these experiences may be useful to other programs that are either undergoing or who are preparing to undergo an accreditation visit and may also aid in a broader communication of the highlights or initiatives of educational activities.

From Form to Function: A History of the Department of Biochemistry of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The department of biochemistry is the oldest basic sciencedepartment at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Its firstchair, who was also the first faculty member to be appointed tothe medical school itself, was hired in 1952, three years beforethe fledgling institution opened its doors to the first enteringclass. Since those early days, the department has helpedshape the academic environment of the college, influencingthe selection of departmental chairs, guiding medical schooladmissions, and teaching courses that laid the foundation forthe medical school curriculum. In this article, we summarizebriefly the history of the department from its inception to thepresent. We review the accomplishments of each of its threechairs and discuss how the department has helped define thecharacter of the institution as a whole.

Survey of the h index for all of academic neurosurgery: another power-law phenomenon?

Object The h index is a recently developed bibliometric that assesses an investigator's scientific impact with a single number. It has rapidly gained popularity in the physical and, more recently, medical sciences. Methods The h index for all 1120 academic neurosurgeons working at all Electronic Residency Application Service–listed training programs was determined by reference to Google Scholar. A random subset of 100 individuals was investigated in PubMed to determine the total number of publications produced. Results The median h index was 9 (range 0–68), with the 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles being 17, 26, and 36, respectively. The h indices increased significantly with increasing academic rank, with the median for instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors being 2, 5, 10, and 19, respectively (p < 0.0001, Kruskal-Wallis; all groups significantly different from each other except the difference between instructor and assistant professor [Conover]). Departmental chairs had a median h index of 22 (range 3–55) and program directors a median of 17 (range 0–62). Plot of the log of the rank versus h index demonstrated a remarkable linear pattern (R2 = 0.995, p < 0.0001), suggesting that this is a power-law relationship. Conclusions A survey of the h index for all of academic neurosurgery is presented. Results can be used for benchmark purposes. The distribution of the h index within an academic population is described for the first time and appears related to the ubiquitous power-law distribution.

Survey of Time Devoted to Ethics in Accountancy Programs in North American Colleges and Universities

A survey of 122 accounting administrators (chairs) of the largest North American accountancy programs was analyzed from two institutional perspectives—private versus public and AACSB-accredited versus non-AACSB-accredited—to determine attitudes on ethics education. The results reveal that chairs in all institutional categories agreed that ethics education is “of great importance,” both in the business and the accountancy curriculum, and that most chairs felt it was even more important in the accountancy curriculum. Findings indicate that most institutions currently incorporate ethics education into the accountancy curriculum instead of having stand-alone, ethics-specific classes. Furthermore, most chairs preferred the integration approach to teaching ethics rather than offering stand-alone classes. The findings also indicate that although ethics education has increased substantially in the accountancy curriculum, departmental chairs ideally want to allot more time to ethics.

Mentoring Faculty to Improve Teaching and Student Learning

For teaching to improve, three factors must be in place. First, the college must use a valid and reliable student evaluation instrument in combination with other feedback mechanisms. Second, there must be an accompanying norming report that provides comparative and diagnostic information to departmental chairs and teachers. Raw data from even a valid and reliable instrument may not be informative. Third, the college must have a mentoring process in place. This paper discusses briefly each of the three elements to initiate and sustain a successful mentoring program to improve teaching and student learning.

A National General Pediatric Clerkship Curriculum: The Process of Development and Implementation

Objective. To describe a new national general pediatrics clerkship curriculum, the development process that built national support for its use, and current progress in implementing the curriculum in pediatric clerkships at US allopathic medical schools. Curriculum Development. A curriculum project team of pediatric clerkship directors and an advisory committee representing professional organizations invested in pediatric student education developed the format and content in collaboration with pediatric educators from the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA). An iterative process or review by clerkship directors, pediatric departmental chairs, and students finalized the content and built support for the final product. The national dissemination process resulted in consensus among pediatric educators that this curriculum should be used as the national curricular guideline for clerkships. Monitoring Implementation. Surveys were mailed to all pediatric clerkship directors before dissemination (November 1994), and in the first and third academic years after national dissemination (March 1996 and September 1997). The 3 surveys assessed schools' implementation of specific components of the curriculum. The final survey also assessed ways the curriculum was used and barriers to implementation. Outcomes. The final curriculum provided objectives and competencies for attitudes, skills, and 18 knowledge areas of general pediatrics. A total of 216 short clinical cases were also provided as an alternative learning method. An accompanying resource manual provided suggested strategies for implementation, teaching, and evaluation. A total of 103 schools responded to survey 1; 84 schools to survey 2; and 85 schools responded to survey 3 from the 125 medical schools surveyed. Before dissemination, 16% of schools were already using the clinical cases. In the 1995–1996 academic year, 70% of schools were using some or all of the curricular objectives/competencies, and 45% were using the clinical cases. Two years later, 90% of schools surveyed were using the curricular objectives, 88% were using the competencies, 66% were using the clinical cases. The extent of curriculum use also increased. Schools using 11 or more of the 18 curriculum's knowledge areas increased from 50% (1995–1996) to 73% (1996–1997). Conclusion. This new national general pediatric clerkship curriculum developed broad support during its development and has been implemented very rapidly nationwide. During this period the COMSEP and the APA have strongly supported its implementation with a variety of activities. This development and implementation process can be a model for other national curricula.