Medicine Class of 2007 Officer's Meeting

Wednesday February 4, 2004

MEETING SUMMARY

In attendance: Fatima Cody Stanford (Presiding), James Fletcher, Monica Mead, Christina Fournier, Hany Naggar, Cassie Boggs, Scott Pannell, Adam Beall, Jeremy Collins, Amanda Pinyan, Frances Casey, Brent Moister, Matt Nuckols, Stephen Fleming, Elga Tinger, Carl Jacobs, Brett Krummert, Guy Register

Absent: None

Meeting called to order at 11:53 AM

The Cadaver Memorial Service will be held on or around the evening of April 27 at the old Medical College building. Approximately $1600 will need to be reserved for the planning and preparation of this event, although last year's expenses were reimbursed by the Physician's Practice Group. Fatima will investigate how the reimbursement guarantee was obtained as well as other aspects of planning. Dr. Katherine McKie has agreed to again donate flowers from her personal garden to be used at the service. The officers voted unanimously to speak with David Adams regarding the possibility of contacting and inviting the families of the body donors.

The Medical College is currently in the process of interviewing candidates for the new position of Associate Dean for Student Affairs - a position that will "split" responsibilities currently held by the Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs. Dr. Mason Thompson will continue as Associate Dean of Admissions. Fatima and Adam are serving on the interview committee.

The Student Affairs committee meeting scheduled for January has been rescheduled for February 10. Students with concerns or issues to be discussed at this meeting should address them to Fatima.

A representative from Welch-Allen will be here to demonstrate and distribute information regarding their instruments on February 16.

Dr. Mason Thompson will hold a brief meeting with the class to discuss aspects of the match process, selecting a residency, interviewing for residency, and various aspects of "life after medical school" on Wednesday February 18, 2004 immediately after class.

The Educator of the Year Award will be voted on by the class in Early March. The officers voted to have the ballots list ALL departmental faculty who have taught in the various courses at the time of voting rather than limiting the candidate list to those faculty who won last semester's teacher awards.

Treasurer's report: no significant transactions have been made since the last meeting. As of February 4, the class account balance stands at $8039.51.

James shared information regarding a price list obtained by Scott Pannell regarding plaques and/or certificates for the teacher awards. Scott agreed to look into the possibility of "alternative" awards, such as an engraved pen, and report back at the next meeting.

The officers voted to include a "Best Clinical Lecturer of the Year" category in this semester's teacher awards.

The Winter Formal will be held on Friday February 27, 2004 at the old Medical College. The dress code dictates formal wear, but a tuxedo is not necessary for men (a suit and tie is acceptable.) More information will be given to the class as it is obtained by the Social VPs.

On Tuesday February 17, the Community Service VPs have set up a Valentine Dance/talent show for the residents of the Sunrise Assisted Living Facility. More information and a sign-up sheet for volunteers will be distributed later.

On February 22, the Community Service VPs have set up a "potluck" dinner for guests of the Ronald McDonald House in Augusta. Students will be asked to contribute a dish to the effort. More information will be distributed as the details are arranged.

The coat drive is going well and will continue through February 13.

The phone tree system has been established. The phone tree list/roster as well as directions on how to use the phone tree will be posted to the website ASAP.

The Academic VPs wanted to stress to the students that the exam appeals process is in place as a means to ensure that all exam questions and possible answers are fair, not as a means for students to "get points back" in an attempt to boost their grade. An announcement to this effect will be made by the AVPs and/or put into place on the appeals page of the website.

The class-wide curriculum meeting held recently appeared to successfully raise the awareness of students regarding the curriculum changes to be imparted next year. The primary concerns raised by students included the number of lecture hours to be covered on each exam, the idea of receiving "block" grades as opposed to course grades, and the pass/fail grading system. The results of the class-wide vote regarding the pass/fail grading system taken on February 2 indicate that the majority of the class is in favor of establishing a pass/fail grading system for next year.

105 class t-shirts were ordered by students, and will be delivered sometime within the next 1-2 weeks.

A school-wide SGA meeting will be held on February 5.

Guy Register, historian, is currently in the process of working on/revamping the class bulletin board. Any students having photos and/or information they would like to have placed on the board may give them to Guy at their convenience. Paper photos will be returned as long as they are labeled with the owner's name.