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University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1965
Med Center Called 'Ideal Learning Situation'
Picture a group of students hurrying through air-conditioned or heated tunnels on their way to class.
This isn't a scientist's fanciful dream of the future college campus; it is a reality being enjoyed by the medical students at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City.
Carl Kuhlmann, Topeka first year medical student, said, "With tunnels connecting all the buildings we don't ever have to go outside. Once I didn't go outside for a whole week. It almost eliminates the coat problem."
And so begins a day in the life of a medical student.
THE ACADEMIC SCHEDULE is the same for all first year medical students, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are general lecture days with Tuesdays and Thursdays devoted to laboratories.
However labs at the medical center differ from KU lab sessions. Imagine one lab lasting from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or possibly later.
"Some guys are there as late as 7:30 some nights," Kuhlmann said, "working on their data."
A group of first year students is chosen for a 13 week period to participate in the Home Care Program.
IN THIS PROGRAM the students make house calls with physicians and nurses from the Medical Center to observe the patients and the doctor.
After Saturday morning's lecture on the history of medicine, the rest of the morning is left open for electives.
These electives are optional for both the student and the instructor. Both choose to attend or teach the class simply because they are interested.
Although the student enrolls in the class he is not graded nor his attendance recorded.
"THIS IS AN IDEAL learning situation," Kuhlmann said, "because both the student and the
No Opinions Are Asked
Although the Student Opinion Committee of the All Student Council was started this September to survey student body opinion on campus issues for ASC members, the ASC has yet to use the Student Opinion Committee.
"The survey will be accurate within one or two per cent, as it is set up to be as statistically accurate as possible." said Kille.
Kille said there is absolutely no wav the poll could be biased.
Kille said civil rights questions would probably be one of the areas in which the ASC members would want a survey taken of student body opinion.
"I can see no reason why the Student Opinion Committee wouldn't or couldn't take a poll on an issue of general interest for another group besides the ASC," Kille said.
The committee could possibly be used by other groups.
Kille said, "If we were asked, and there was a good enough reason, we would probably take a survey for the administration or some other organization."
Mike Miner, Lawrence senior and ASC Chairman, said the committee would be used, but he knew of no plans for using it in the immediate future.
Harry Bretschneider, University Party President, said. "The committee was formed primarily to assess student feeling on the civil rights issue."
"I can see it being used for a general survey about school spirit, stadium expansion or student parking," said Bretschneider.
professor are there because they have a genuine interest in the subject."
One of the main differences between KU's teaching method and that of the Medical Center's, Kuhlmann noted, is the specialization.
For each area in a course a specialist, either an M.D. or a PhD. from that field, will lecture the class.
"Some lecturers give one lecture, some give 10 over their particular area," Kuhlmann said, "This way the lecture is right up to date."
"AT KU YOU COULD figure out what the teacher wanted after the first test, but here you have a different teacher for each test," Kuhlmann said.
Although this may make it more difficult for the medical student at examination time, Kuhlmann said, he thinks the teachers are very conscientious.
"The teachers aren't trying to flunk you out. They make every effort to teach you and make you a good doctor. They're not all wrapped up in their research," he said.
At the Medical Center there is no emphasis on making specific grades such as a 92 or above.
"WERE NOT WORKING for a certain grade," Kuhlmann said, "but for the general comprehension and knowledge of the material."
The only grades at the Medical Center are "superior," "satisfactory," or "unsatisfactory." If the student receives a downslip it may be either "borderline" or "unsatisfactory" with more of the former distributed.
"No news is good news at the Medical Center," Kuhlmann said, "in that you hear if you're doing poorly, but not if you're doing OK."
According to Kuhlmann there seems to be more of an academic stress at the medical center without the personal competition.
"WE TALK ABOUT our classes more than at KU," Kuhlmann said, "Many times between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. at night students will be talking of their studies over coffee."
"The medical student has to be a diligent worker all along," Kuhlmann said. "You can't cram for an exam in one night and expect to learn it."
"We study on a more regular basis and more consistently than at KU," Kuhlmann said, "because we're interested in the material and know we're going to use it."
The rate of student loss is very low, averaging about eight flunk-outs per 110 students.
However, Kuhlmann noted, the students do find time to go out on weekends.
BECAUSE THE WORK load is greater for the medical student he finds a greater amount and a different kind of pressure put upon him.
"Our A-1 concern is to get through medical school," Kuhlmann said.
"There is a constant sense of urgency," Kuhlmann commented, "We want to know enough well enough to be good doctors plus remembering specifics for an exam."
"Many things slide by you which you forget," Kuhlmann said, "which worries us because we know we will have to use it in the future."
Many things may slide by the student but the Medical Center has provided instruments designed to aid the student's memory.
THE CLOSED CIRCUIT television enables classrooms to view an actual operation being performed in another room or perhaps a lecture on the KU campus.
"One neat thing," Kuhlmann said, "is the colored chalk used on boards with an ultra-violet light." This enables the students to see the board from any angle.
Classrooms are also provided with several projectors which enable the class to view several slides at the same time.
The first two years of medical school could be termed the "classroom years" for they are devoted almost entirely to the classroom and have limited access to outside work with patients.
THE NEXT TWO YEARS are known as the "clinical years." They consist of classroom work plus making rounds with the center's doctors to the patients in the hospital wards, observing the patient's condition and the doctor's diagnosis.
Following these four years are one year of internship and three to four optional years of residency in a hospital.
During these years, according to Kuhlmann, the student learns to deal with special problems.
"We don't learn to just treat the medical problem but how to treat people as well. We have to deal with the social problem," Kuhlmann said.
Kuhlmann lives in a student residence hall with about 80 other medical students at various stages of training.
"WE ACTUALLY LIVE in the student union," Kuhlmann said, "since the book store and snack bar, both open 24 hours a day, are right below us."
Each room is equipped with a private phone, air-conditioning, and maid service once a week and the dormitory is equipped with a television and stereo.
In addition to the tunnels connecting the classroom buildings, they also connect the barbershop, cafeteria, and even a place for parents and guests to stay.
However not all the medical students live in the residence hall. Many live at home, some in apartments, and many married students in trailers.
THE 113 STUDENTS in the
class are very cohesive, Kuhlmann said, having been chosen out of 700 applicants.
"It's really a very cosmopolitan center," Kuhlmann said, "drawing people from schools all over the country."
Besides being from different sections of the country, the group has a varied academic background. Some of the students have master's degrees in English, anatomy, and biochemistry and have been instructors in their fields.
KUHLMANN WAS A sociology major and is interested in psychiatry but said, "Everything is so interesting right now I want to keep my mind open."
The students are accepted on the basis of tests, interviews, and
overall academic performance and notified Jan. 1 preceding their first year.
"When first accepted you're very excited," Kuhlmann said, "but you're actually starting all over again. You don't really have a sense of accomplishment once you're here because you realize how much you don't know. But I feel like I received a good education at KU."
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