Lacking Expertise In So Many Areas

Over the past few months of research (this is a new concept for many of the USD faculty) and digging deeper-and-deeper into the University of South Dakota School of Medicine faculty make-up, I am shocked (okay, not really shocked) at the fact that not one member of the School of Medicine has any training in public health. My questions become, how is this an effective faculty to teach “medicine?”

What is a physician and what does it mean to practice medicine? Is a physician (and medicine) not a public health servant? Shouldn’t a physician be well-versed in the practice of public health? Do you think it is more important for a physician to be more literate in the science of public health than industrial organic chemistry? These (and many more) questions keep me awake at night and terrify my outlook at the competency of the medical professionals (especially the graduates from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine) within the State of South Dakota.

How is it possible that a medical school faculty is void of public health professionals? I am baffled. For reference, take a look at the qualifications and the enormous number of course offerings provided by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (http://www.sph.umn.edu). The UMN SPH has consistently rated in the top five graduate schools for public health … usually battling head-to-head with Harvard in the national rankings! I would argue that the SPH at the UMN offers more courses than any other department within the University. Maybe, South Dakota should take a lesson from Minnesota. And, maybe the faculty of the University of South Dakota should step-down from their high-horses and go back to school and earn a MPH/MS in Public Health.

Public Health is not the only area of expertise lacking at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. I am equally amazed that there is no one on the faculty qualified to teach in the areas of Human Nutrition or Kinesiology. Again, I refer you back to the question of what is a physician?

In a recent report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2008 report
from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, South Dakota was indicated as the 20th most obese State in the Union and ranks in the top ten (# 7) in the Nation for Type II Diabetes. In fact, in 2007-2008 the incidence rate for new Type II Diabetes diagnosis increased by 181% compared to previous periods of analysis. These numbers are alarming and unacceptable. However, there is no surprise that the health levels of South Dakota are in such dismal conditions considering the lack of professional education being provided by the University of South Dakota School of Medicine.

To be fair, the faculty of the USD SOM are not fully responsible for this health crisis, but there is no doubt that a major burden has to fall on he shoulders of the USD Administration and the Faculty of the USD. When you have a Medical School that does not have a faculty trained in the methods of Public Health (or Nutrition) it is hard, maybe impossible, to train the future physicians in the science of Public Health practice. Epidemiology is the study of disease and disease progression … not one member of the School of Medicine (or the USD for that matter) has any training in this most important study.

To the best of my knowledge, not one new biomedical therapy, not one single new drug, not one single significant contribution to the fields of medicine have been generated by the University of South Dakota School of Medicine faculty. What is it that these people are experts at? A majority of the faculty do not have research appointments or funding. The faculty are certainly not publishing. Where is their expertise?

This post focuses on the significant short-comings of both the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and its infrastructure and the qualifications of the appointed faculty within the School of Medicine. Our nation is sick, there are few public health professionals that would disagree with me on this subject. Our medical costs are some of the highest in the world (and by most reports the USA spends that greatest amount on health care), but our intervention is some of the poorest on a dollar-by-dollar analysis. Disease such as type II diabetes and obesity are (for the most part) completely preventable with an appropriate public health initiative. However, when our public health professionals are not trained in the methodologies of public health practice, we as the public have little hope in quality and effective therapies.

Over the past few years, several students have applied to the USD School of Medicine with graduate training (either with earned Masters of Science or Masters of Public Health) in Public Health and were subsequently denied admission into the medical school. How is this possible? Clearly, these are students with advanced expertise in the fields of medicine and are far more qualified than the faculty or a majority of the applicants. Decisions such as these make me question the competency of the USD School of Medicine Admissions Committee on a far greater scale. Blunders such as this are unacceptable at any level.

Why is it that no one from the South Dakota State Health Department sits on the University of South Dakota School of Medicine Admissions Committee?

South Dakota, it is time for us to stand-up and take-back control of our medical school. This is our medical school our health depends on a competent medical school. Pick-up your telephones, engage your e-mail, or send a letter via US Postal Service to your elected representatives and your Governor and DEMAND action!