Promoting appreciation of the study and practice of medicine: inner workings of a Mini-Med program

Jacob Jay Lindenthal,1 Joel A DeLisa21Department of Psychiatry, Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine, 2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USAAbstract: Dissatisfaction with the restrictions of the health care system, diminished reliance on the word of health care professionals, increased costs of medical care, and access to information online have increased consumers' interest in their own health care as well as their thirst for medical literacy. Mini-Med programs run by medical schools offer a more reliable method of learning about disease and disorders than does the indiscriminate surfing of the Internet. This article describes the efforts of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – the largest public university of the health sciences in the nation – to run and maintain such a program. The Mini-Med course provides lay students with insight into what a student undergoes while studying medicine and guides them through complex topics that range from anatomy and basic life support to the latest in stem cell research. It also provides early guidance for potential medical students, addresses patients' concerns, and gives some insight into the levels of comprehension of current medical students.Keywords: Mini-Med program, medical education, consumer education, health literac

Exposing medical students to expanding populations

JJ Lindenthal,1,2 JA DeLisa,3 GF Heinrich,4 WS Calderón Gerstein,5 1Department of Psychiatry, Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine, 2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA; 3Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of New Mexico Health Science Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA; 4Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA; 5Hospital Nacional Ramiro Prialé, EsSalud, Huancayo, Peru Abstract: Physicians are required to advocate for and counsel patients based on the best science and the interests of the individual while avoiding discrimination, ensuring equal access to health and mental services. Nonetheless, the communication gap between physician and patients has long been observed. To this end, the Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine of the Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School has expanded its efforts. This report describes two new programs: a legacy lecture series for medical students and an international “experience”, in Huancayo, Peru, for medical students and faculty. The MiniMed outreach program, now in its ninth year and first described in this journal in 2012, was designed to empower the powerless to communicate more effectively with clinicians, thus improving both the effectiveness of the physician–patient relationship and health care outcomes. The approach of the two new programs and their effects on patients, particularly the underserved, and medical students and faculty, are outlined in the following article. Keywords: MiniMed program, equal access, underserved populations, Newark Renaissance House, Kintock Group, role modeling&nbsp