John McCahan Day Brings BUMC Community Together

A diverse community of educators and students gathered at the Boston University Medical Campus on Wednesday, May 20, for the tenth annual John McCahan Medical Campus Education Day, which annually brings together Boston University Medical Campus faculty, staff, students, fellows, and residents for a productive, fast-paced day of lectures, presentations, and networking.

Among the participants in the tenth annual John McCahan Medical Campus Education Day, which lasted from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. were several Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) faculty, staff, and students.

Presenting from GSDM were: Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and Director of Pre-doctoral Periodontology Neal Fleisher, Jeongyun Kim AS15, and Eman Bakhurji PEDO 12 DPH 15.

Serving on the Planning Committee for the Education Day from GSDM were: Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and Director of Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology Anita Gohel, and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Andrea Maalouf.

The annual scholarly event is named after former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM)—1976 to 2006—Dr. John McCahan. When McCahan was appointed to the position of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 1976, after an impressive professorial career, he showed a particular interest in patient-doctor interaction and the teaching methodologies that resulted in effective clinical skills. McCahan quickly won the respect and support of his colleagues and students at BUSM.

The day started with a Meet and Greet and Welcome Address with Provost of the Boston University Medical Campus and Dean of Boston University School of Medicine Dr. Karen Antman.

The Keynote Address, which came after Dr. Antman’s welcome, was delivered by Chief of the Division of Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School Dr. Jo Shapiro. Shapiro’s address was entitled: “Changing culture: upending out notion of professionalism.”

The bulk of the John McCahan Medical Campus Education day consisted of five workshops run by various faculty, staff, and residents at BUMC.

The five workshops were:

• Shapiro; “Difficult feedback: a crucial skill for professional development.”
• MaryAnn Campion, Ms. Jana Mulkern, and Mr. Kenith Wilson; “Virtually there: technology options for flipped classrooms and remote meetings.”
• Anna DePold Hohler, Ms. Monica Parker James, and Dr. Harley Goldberg; “Optimizing medical education through site diversity.”
• Mayank Sardana and Dr. Sheilah Bernard; “Audience response system: a low cost and efficient tool to accurately assess the effectiveness of curricula.”
• Taryn Vian and Mr. Rob Schadt; “The principles and tools of team learning – an active approach to classroom learning.”

After the five workshops, the participants networked during lunch and, at noon, were treated to remarks from the man whom the day was named after, Dr. John McCahan.

Then, after a panel of academic deans, five BUMC faculty and staff were honored with awards. GSDM Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Louis Brown DMD 84 PROS 91 won the 2015 GSDM Award for Educational Innovation. The award is given every year to a faculty member who best exemplifies the characteristics that make GSDM students excited about learning.

“Dr. Brown has served as an exemplary role model for both students and fellow faculty during his time at GSDM,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “It is no surprise that Dr. Brown  received the 2015 GSDM Award for Educational Innovation.”

Poster presentations followed the awards; the themes for which  were “Education Technology,” to demonstrate creative use of interactive technology to augment learning, and “Education Innovation and Research,” to showcase scholarship or ongoing research in education at BUMC.

Three GSDM community members presented posters:

Emam Bakhurji PEDO 12 DPH 15 presented a poster entitled; “Current use and future direction of dental amalgam in the US: pediatric dentists’ perspective.” The study presented in the poster had two aims: 1) determine pediatric dentists’ opinion about the future direction of amalgam use, and 2) investigate factors associated with their decision to use amalgam.

Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and Director of Pre-doctoral Periodontology Neal Fleisher presented a poster entitled; “Introducing critical thinking strategies in the classroom.”

Jeongyun Kim AS 15 presented a posted entitled: “Perception of differences in oral health quality of life between parents and teens.” Mr. Kim did his research under Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Director of the Center for Clinical Research, Professor Dr.Judith Jones. Co-authors were: Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Raffi Miller; Systems Analyst Sharron Rich; Anthony A. Gianelly Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial OrthopedicsDr. Leslie Will; and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Dr. Wanda Wright.

Photos from the John McCahan Medical Campus Education Day can be found on Facebook and Flickr.