ASU, Mayo Propose New Medical-Education Model

A group from the Arizona State University’s Presidents Club and ASU Women and Philanthropy met for breakfast March 13 at Paradise Valley Country Club to discuss the future of medicine in Arizona.

Dr. Sybil Francis introduced the discussion. Francis is the executive director of the Center for the Future of Arizona. She cheerfully explained that she is also wife to ASU President Dr. Michael Crow.

Ardie Evans and Dr. Sybil Francis.

Teri Pipe, at right, chats with Alison Lewis before the panel discussion.

"We are in the absolute right place at a critical point in time, and our opportunities to shape the future of health care are more robust than they've ever been," offered Teri Pipe, dean of the ASU College of Nursing and one of the four-person panel for the morning’s event. 

Panelist Dr. Keith Lindor speaks with Gary Tooker. 

Other panel members were Keith Lindor, M.D., executive vice provost of Health Solutions at ASU; Sheila Collins, administrator of ASU collaborations for May Clinic in Arizona; and Yingying Kumar, a student working on a dual-degree major in Mayo Medical School and the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business.

The four panelists shared thoughts a wide range of topics, including the new Mayo Medical School, which requires $75 million in order to be one of the first schools of its kind to open its doors by 2014. It is a collaborative endeavor between Mayo Clinic and ASU, and graduates of the school will also be graduates of ASU's new School of the Science of Health Care Delivery. These graduates will also hold an additional ASU degree in an area such as law or business.

This transdisciplinary approach promises to be a "game changer" in the field of health care, according to Sheila Collins. Yingying Kumar was able to lend her own thoughts from personal experience in this new model for health-care education.

Another topic of discussion was ASU's focus on preparing a new type of nurse who will engage in the health-care system in new and different ways. Dean Teri Pipe talked about the nursing college's efforts to prepare future nurse educators, to prepare nurses at the bachelor's and doctorate level, and to also emphasize the important aspect of wellness and health management in the overall health-care picture.

Notetaking was the order of the day as attendees tried to capture the game-changing ideas on paper. Left, Gary Naquin; right, Janis Lyon.

Other discussion points included how ASU and Mayo are committed to creating a new, economic and efficient model that will change health care in America; how to educate health-care providers differently so we can effect different, better outcomes; the transfer of electronic medical records; and how to address the state's and nation's shortage of medical professionals.

Panalists, left to right: Teri Pipe, dean of the ASU College of Nursing; Sheila Collins, administrator of ASU collaborations for Mayo Clinic in Arizona; and Yingying Kumar, a student working on a dual-degree major in Mayo Medical School and the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business.

Before the discussion was opened for questions from the audience, Rick Shangraw (at top), CEO of the ASU Foundation, asked the panel where they saw health care in 10 years, and specifically what effect ASU will have had in that outcome. Sheila Collins summarized everyone's thoughts with one statement: "ASU is an academic engine that fueled change through collaboration."

– Photos by Robert Russell McCarthy