New Medical School In Athens, Georgia Impressive Per Atlanta Legal Nurse Consultant

Atlanta, Georgia – Atlanta legal nurse consultant Liz Buddenhagen, registered nurse and certified legal nurse admired the new Medical College of Georgia (MCG) in partnership with the University of Georgia (UGA) medical school recently opened in Athens, Georgia.

About the medical school:

“Wow, it’s great!” said the Atlanta legal nurse who visited the school with the Athens-Clarke Chapter of the Georgia Nurses Association (ACC GNA). The current facility, originally known as the Athens Cotton and Wool Factory, consists of two brick buildings joined together in an L-shape. Many Athenians remember it as O’Malleys Tavern, a popular gathering spot through the 1980’s. The medical school will eventually move to the grounds of what is now the Navy Supply School which will be moving out of state in 2011.

Housed with the most current audio and video-technology, students and faculty can connect with the Augusta MCG campus for meetings and conferences. There is “smart board” technology. The building has been designed to capture as much natural light as possible and overlooks the Oconee River.

About the education:

Dr. Terry Steyer, the clinical director of the school, spoke with the nurses group about the innovative medical school curriculum and teaching methods. He discussed that they are utilizing small groups of eight students who have both a PhD and MD teaching in an interactive style. The teaching is also integrated as far as having didactic information given and followed up with actual clinical situations for the student to apply the teaching to. A lot of “evidence based medicine” has been incorporated. According to Steyer, the small groups have been favored in recent years by Harvard and Johns Hopkins medical schools.

Another departure from traditional medical school includes bringing teaching about community health into the program from the beginning of the program instead of at the tail end. Practice of clinical skills and patient interaction also begin early and volunteer patients interact with the medical students and are videotaped for instructor feedback to the students. Quizzes are weekly, which is not common in traditional medical school and so far the students have been enthusiastic about them due to knowing the material better for the exams.

The anatomy lab has cadavers available for dissection. The students are expected to start clinical rotations in 2012 at three area hospitals: Athens Regional Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens and Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia.

Nurses will be utilized for some teaching of the medical students in areas that they have greater expertise than doctors. Several of the nurses in attendance teach at the MCG School of Nursing in Athens and invited Dr. Steyer to their campus to discuss collaboration between the two schools.

About the Atlanta legal nurse:

Liz Buddenhagen, certified legal nurse consultant, assists Atlanta attorneys with medically related legal cases. Visit www.Legal-Nurse-Consultant-LNC.com, email Liz@BuddenhagenLNC.com or call770-725-2997 for further information.

Contact Information

Liz Buddenhagen, RN, CLNC

Principal

Buddenhagen & Associates

Contact via E-mail