Posts Tagged

covid

In view of the announcement by UND of new pandemic-related expectations that were effective on June 1, 2021, the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) in turn has updated its own guidance on this matter, although there is no change in the expectations in those locations where direct patient care is provided (such […]

April 18-24 is Medical Laboratory Professionals Week! So, here’s a shout-out to all the great medical laboratory scientists, and the academic programs like ours that produce them. This past year has shown all of us just how truly valuable you all are. Faculty and staff in the UND Department of Medical Laboratory Science especially wanted […]

Today marks one year since the pandemic really started in earnest for Susan and me. On that Friday we retreated to our home and realized that our life – and that of our family, friends, neighbors, and literally billions of others – was about to change in profound ways. You know what I mean – […]

We now have reached the “cross-over” phase of the North Dakota legislative session where bills that originated in one chamber are passed over to the other chamber for consideration. In the case of the funding bill for the UND SMHS that is contained in the higher education budget (SB 2003), the bill (which passed without […]

The School’s presentation to the North Dakota Legislature’s Senate Appropriations Committee this past Monday went well. Dave Molmen, CEO of Altru Health System and the chair of the UND SMHS Advisory Council and I presented virtually, utilizing the slides available here. We fielded a few insightful questions from committee members, but none that were problematic. […]

Last week, 64 first-year medical students received a little holiday pick-me-up, courtesy of a collection of volunteers at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Arranged by the SMHS Office of Student Affairs and Office of the Dean, care packages, which included personalized notes from SMHS faculty, staff, and other medical students, were provided […]

One of the very positive things we have going on at the School is outstanding leadership of our student leaders. Here’s one example: as required by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME, the accrediting body for U.S. medical schools that I’ve mentioned before), the students are conducting a survey of student opinions on a […]

The theme of this week’s column is “resilience and excellence under pressure.” First, consider the just-released report summarizing the School’s research funding for the first quarter (July through September) of our fiscal year. Keep in mind that our researchers finished the last academic year with the largest amount of funded research in the history of […]

This has been a quiet week, all things considered, especially since UND was closed on Wednesday in recognition of Veterans Day. On Tuesday I sent an email to all School faculty, staff and students to remind them about the holiday and to ask them to pause on that day “to recognize, remember and honor the […]

In this depressing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) era, it’s good to share some positive and potentially important recent information. A study from Iceland published in last week’s edition of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine looked at the antibody response (the protective proteins that the body makes after exposure to an infectious agent like the SARS-CoV-2 […]

Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship invites you to join us on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, from noon to 1 p.m. (CST) for a live event on Zoom (and recorded for later viewing). Presenters Dr. Richard Van Eck, associate dean for Teaching & Learning, and Dr. Adrienne Salentiny, instructional designer at the SMHS, will present “Teaching well in […]

We’re just short of eight months into this pandemic and all of us have to be asking: Is this ever going to end? My last “normal” day was on Friday, March 13, of all days. Talk about bad luck! Since then, Susan and I haven’t been able to visit two of our grandkids or their […]

As you are aware, the COVID-19 numbers for North Dakota (and Grand Forks County) are headed in the decidedly wrong direction. While I’d much rather have North Dakota and UND in the news because of the great things that are happening in our educational and research programs, our situation is attracting national and international attention. […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a strain on all of us, not only physically and socially, but financially, professionally, and personally. As such, several reports suggest that mental illness has been increasing rapidly over the past eight months. But guidance, support, and help are available. From noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, Dr. Andrew […]

Administrators at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences are encouraging all SMHS faculty, staff, and students to get influenza shots this autumn. Flu vaccinations are important for two reasons. First, influenza is a potentially fatal virus, although at a much lesser rate than COVID-19, especially for persons with weak or otherwise compromised immune […]