North Dakota Medicine
North Dakota Medicine is a quarterly print publication of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
From the Dean: Feel the Heat
Many colleges and universities slow down a bit as seasonal temperatures rise. But the opposite is true at North Dakota’s only interprofessional school of medicine and health sciences. For example, our newest physician assistant (PA) cohort began classes in May and our medical students start in July.
Furthermore, we’re hard at work this summer building up several programs and initiatives designed to help our School meet its purpose of serving North Dakota and improving the quality of life in the state.
Foremost among these efforts is the founding of the UND Department of Dermatology. Thanks to a very generous gift from the Mohiba and Basir Tareen Family Endowment, this new department, led by the Tareen Family Chair of Dermatology Dr. Erin Barrett, will expand dermatologic training opportunities in North Dakota, introduce students to the specialty earlier in their education, and better prepare students for residency and careers in this critically important field.
This gift will help address significant workforce needs. Today, there are fewer than 30 practicing dermatologists in North Dakota, limiting access to specialized care, particularly in our state’s rural and underserved communities. Over time, this new department will help strengthen the state’s dermatology workforce and expand access to care for patients across North Dakota.
To the Tareen family: Thank you for your vision, generosity, and commitment to improving dermatologic care for the people of this state. Your impact will be felt for generations to come.
And fresh off our MD and Graduate Program Commencement ceremonies, I should also note that we just sent more than 300 physicians, therapists, PAs, and other health providers off to a variety of residency and fellowship programs, hospitals and clinics, and other healthcare sites. Our 100% match rate for medical students reflects the exceptional caliber of our cohorts as they continue into the next stage of their education and join competitive residency programs in North Dakota and throughout the U.S. Amazingly, nearly half of our graduating MD students matched into the primary care specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics.
We are also working hard to reimagine medical education with the creation of a new Department of Medical Education and revamping our Office of Learning Innovation (OLI). This new organization will ensure that SMHS is on the forefront of innovation in teaching and help shape our School’s integration of, and decision-making around, A.I. in the clinic and classroom.
Innovation is critical to prepare our future healthcare providers to serve the state. Such initiatives include our Primary Care Accelerated Track (PCAT), which will get more family and internal medicine physicians into North Dakota clinics and hospitals sooner, and our “ND85” program, which seeks to recruit and retain more North Dakota students for healthcare training and eventual practice in North Dakota.
On that note, I am happy to report that ND85 is already increasing the number of North Dakota residents matriculating into our MD and PA programs. As of June 1, our incoming M.D. Class of 2030 consists of more than 80% North Dakota students. The PA data are similar. Given that the North Dakota Legislative Assembly gave us until 2030 to reach 85% North Dakotans in our program cohorts, it looks like we’re well on our way to helping address the state’s continuing health provider shortage.
Finally, in the research world, UND’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences is likewise on a roll. Drs. Gary Schwartz and Mark Williamson, researchers in our Department of Population Health, recently published an important paper linking high levels of exposure to radon gas with increased risk for ovarian cancer. Likewise, Dr. Keith Henry, in our Department of Biomedical Sciences, found that taurine supplementation holds the potential to halt retinal degeneration in persons with certain types of early onset retinal dystrophy.
These are just a few examples of how UND’s community-based School of Medicine & Health Sciences is improving health and healthcare not only in North Dakota but the nation. Every day.
Marjorie R. Jenkins, M.D., M.Ed.H.P., FACP
Vice President for Health Affairs, UND
Dean, School of Medicine & Health Sciences
