Educators study UND Med School
A team of medical educators commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation visited the School of Medicine and Health Sciences to examine the status of medical education and study innovative practices in preparing the next generation of physicians.
The School of Medicine is one of only eight schools, and the only community-based medical school, to be studied as part of the “Professional Preparation of Physicians Research” report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Other medical programs to be studied are Harvard; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Washington, Seattle; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Florida; the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston; and the University of South Florida. UND was chosen because it represents community-based medical schools that do not own their own hospitals, and because of the many innovative educational programs in the school. The School of Medicine and Health Sciences is widely recognized in medical education circles for its patient-centered curriculum.

Volcano World named best public web site
Volcano World, a Web site devoted to volcano news and information, has won the Best Public Website Award for 2005 from the Geosciences Information Society. The site, located at http://volcano.und.edu, has been online since 1995 and provides lesson plans for teachers, interviews, and detailed descriptions of most volcanoes in the world. Updated weekly with the SI/USGS current volcano activity reports and other volcano news, it averages around 32,000 unique users daily. UND’s Department of Space Studies maintains the site.

Rural Health receives $2 million to provide education on geriatric care
As North Dakota’s population ages, health care providers must meet the special challenge of serving older citizens. The Center for Rural Health has been awarded a $2 million grant to provide statewide training for geriatric health care. The Dakota Geriatric Education Center (GEC) will help health care professionals learn more about physical and mental health issues specific to older adults, especially those in rural communities or reservations.

The Center for Rural Health is working with several UND departments, the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, and the North Dakota State University School of Pharmacy.

The Dakota Geriatric Education Center is one of more than 40 nationwide and is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.