State of the School 2021 - 2022

State of the

School 2021 – 2022

Steven J. Scheinman, MD President and Dean, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Geisinger

Table of contents Introduction................................................................................................................................... 2 COVID silver linings.................................................................................................................... 2 Community engagement.................................................................................................. 4 Student community engagement................................................................................. 5 Caring for the health and well-being of our students........................................... 6 Diversity, equity and inclusion and social unrest................................................... 7 Operational success........................................................................................................... 8 Technology............................................................................................................................. 9 Looking ahead................................................................................................................................ 10 New MD curriculum to begin with arrival of Class of 2025............................... 10 Post-COVID: Moving to the curriculum of the future................................ 12 Introduction of primary care track for Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program and others................................................................................ 13 Expanding the School of Graduate Education portfolio...................................... 14 Graduate Medical Education.......................................................................................... 15 Continuing Professional Development...................................................................... 16 Nursing growth.................................................................................................................... 17 Full system alignment........................................................................................................ 17 Continued evolution................................................................................................................... 18 Conclusion: Fulfilling the vision that education transforms healthcare and makes better health easier............................................................................................... 19 Reflection........................................................................................................................................ 20

Many photos taken pre-pandemic.

State of the

School

Jan. 26, 2021 – As I begin this annual State of the School address, I feel I need to pause and take a breath.

2020 was the kind of year that, thankfully, doesn’t happen very often — and if history is any guide, is likely to change the way we live and work. The Black Death of the 14th century ended serfdom in Europe. The great influenza of 1918 gave rise to vaccine-manufacturing techniques still used today. HIV/AIDS brought us to profound advances in retroviral therapy and in social policy. History shows us that pandemics are inevitably followed by lasting, systemic change. It’s much too early to discern the worldwide implications of COVID-19, but we can already see the ways it will change social interactions, higher education and work patterns across the world and here at the School of Medicine.

This past year has shifted focus from business as usual and represents a point of true departure. COVID-19 accelerated some developments that might have played out anyway, eventually, while also introducing some concepts we never before imagined.

2021 – 2022

Introduction In this State of the School address, we will reflect on how the accomplishments of our first 12 years since this school’s founding put us in a strong position to deal with the challenges of a pandemic, and how the past 12 months have challenged us to think differently about how we educate the healthcare workforce of the future.

It also facilitated the participation of busy clinicians in teaching, as it eliminated the need for travel.

Almost as soon as the Medical Sciences Building closed, we began planning how to reopen it safely. One thing the pandemic made perfectly obvious was that Terri Lacey and Becky Slangan make a great project management team. They led a Steering Committee established to oversee all actions taken regarding COVID-19 mitigation

At this time last year, we were celebrating more than a

and named Steve Jarbola as pandemic safety officer. The

decade since launching our innovative medical college.

team coordinated the reopening of the building in July,

Our main themes for the future then were MD curricular

the adaptations to the second wave this winter, our open

renewal, graduate program growth, nursing education

communications every week and numerous adjustments

expansion, integration of education throughout Geisinger

in response to changing governmental advisories.

and expanded community engagement. These are themes

Terri and Becky also lead our school’s Enterprise Risk

that, despite COVID, we managed to carry forward in

Management Project, a major ongoing initiative that will

2020, despite some interruptions in our plans.

identify and address potential institutional risks. Expect to hear more about this important project in the future.

COVID silver linings COVID tested our resilience and creativity. In addition to the stress and fear of contagion the pandemic brought, it changed the way we work and added enormous pressures to the lives of everyone here. I admire how we, this medical school family, coped and continue to cope with this new reality.

In March we closed the building and quickly moved all learning to virtual. At that time COVID testing and personal protective equipment were limited, and so the AAMC advised U.S. medical schools to remove medical students from the clinical environment. Our faculty demonstrated remarkable leadership in adapting all classroom teaching to online within 4 days. We were fortunate that investments in our graduate programs, beginning more than 5 years ago, had given us the expertise and capacity to deliver online learning well.

Our curriculum has always emphasized active learning, and we learned quickly that Zoom excels at this.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Members of Geisinger Commonwealth's facilities and public safety teams have remained at the Medical Sciences Building in Scranton, Pa., even during lockdown in spring 2020, keeping the premises clean and disinfected and making sure students, staff and faculty have a safe building in which to learn and work.

We are very proud that no COVID-19 cases have been linked to our Medical Sciences Building. Our facilities and public safety teams have been fastidious, polite and accommodating as they continue to keep our MSB pristine.

While the building was closed and nobody was teaching or meeting in the building, the facilities and security teams were here. We all owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I’m also grateful to Ann Arvay, Lisa Runco and the HR team who were particularly supportive of employees as we adjusted to working from home.

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I am in awe of the resilience of our staff, faculty and students through all of 2020’s challenges and stresses.

Graduating students dealt graciously with not being able to celebrate Match Day and commencement in person and made the most of virtual celebrations. First-year students have not had the bonding experience of in-person interactions with their classmates, faculty and staff. Faculty and staff have been tremendous in adapting to working from home and seeing students largely virtually. We do our best to get staff and faculty together for virtual community and town hall meetings, and the turnouts have been wonderful, but we all miss seeing each other in person in the hallway or café. The vaccines — and new national leadership deeply committed to mitigating the pandemic — give us all reason to look forward to a bright future.

Despite the pandemic, progress at the school continued on many fronts. A number of accomplishments were achieved in the past year unrelated to (and despite the obstacles created by) the pandemic.

Community engagement The AAMC’s Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Engagement is awarded annually in recognition of a medical school’s service to its community.

We were excited to be named one of only two finalists for this award. Although we were ultimately not selected to receive the award, the AAMC’s site visit team was particularly impressed with what they learned during their exhaustive virtual site visit this summer. They cited particular areas that demonstrate uncommon strength: • Community service is foundational to Geisinger Commonwealth, evident in our founding and the breadth of our community engagement.

• Our impressive REACH-HEI pipeline program and our federally funded Center of Excellence.

Maura Morgan, MD Class of 2021, poses as she volunteers to administer coronavirus vaccines.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

• Learners’ immersion in community engagement, which is embedded throughout our curriculum.

• The commitment of leadership, both at the school and Geisinger, that is “unusual and evident.”

• Our community partners attested that our engagement is substantial and meaningful. The visitors were impressed that we engage with partners who are “typically less visible.”

The visitors gave us valuable advice to strengthen these efforts and encourage us to make another run at this award.

Achieving finalist status is a great honor and provides objective external validation of our community engagement

Jessica Baylor, MD Class of 2022, volunteers for PPE 2 NEPA.

efforts. I am enormously grateful to Ida Castro, VP for Community Engagement, both for her achievements for our community over the years and for orchestrating an excellent site visit. We are confident that we can use the feedback offered by AAMC to try again and one day bring home the award.

Student community engagement Can you host a Turkey Trot and a Health Fair during a pandemic? The pandemic taught us never to underestimate the ingenuity and commitment of our students. They found solutions to allow them, for example, to continue to tutor United Neighborhood Centers’ English-as-a-secondlanguage learners and to maintain a range of the other

Rachel Evans, MD Class of 2023 and Abigail Geisinger Scholar, phone tutors for United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

myriad community service they normally provide. They launched several creative COVID-specific service activities, including sewing and collecting personal protective equipment for healthcare workers (Masked Bandits), delivering meals to the often-overlooked hospital thirdshift workers (Meals for Medics) and even, most recently, donating blood when many other such drives were canceled for fear of contagion.

Students from Geisinger Commonwealth deliver Meals for Medics.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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And now they are volunteering in droves to be part of efforts at Geisinger and elsewhere to vaccinate people.

Over 200 of our students have signed up and been trained.

Together they have vaccinated thousands; my own second dose was administered by one of our students. These remarkable young women and men continue to give us reasons to be proud.

Caring for the health and well-being of our students COVID-19 added many stresses to an MD program that is already demanding and focused the school on our students’ needs for emotional and physical well-being. We expanded our mental health services for students and hired a wellness director in Student Health Services. I also convened a student wellness panel to provide recommendations on how to boost student well-being. This group, led by Leighton Huey, Tanja Adonizio and fourth-year student Kathy Snyder, just submitted a proposed wellness plan.

Eshiemomoh Osilama, MD Class of 2024, and Matthew Parry, MD Class of 2023, volunteer at a vaccine clinic.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Kenneth Lam, MD Class of 2021, volunteers to administer coronavirus vaccines.

In June 2020, several members of the Geisinger community took part in a system-wide pause for silence in support of racial equality.

Discussions are now underway to determine how to

team developed a comprehensive framework to create a

implement their recommendations. I am grateful to Justin

more inclusive learning environment. From curriculum to

Collins and Dr. Vicki Sapp, who coordinated many virtual

community engagement to staff and faculty understanding,

student activities during the pandemic.

the stage is being set to address a pervasive though often unconscious atmosphere that marginalizes certain students

Diversity, equity and inclusion and social unrest

and caregivers.

This was an historic year in our nation for acknowledging the

a subcommittee of the curriculum renewal process Dr.

role that race plays in our history and society. At the medical

Jeffries had already initiated. Their task is to create a

school our actions were inspired by the voices of students,

4-year theme of our new curriculum centered on health

who spoke clearly and passionately about the reality of

equity and social justice. Our goal with this curricular

discrimination in their own lives, and even in our building.

theme is to produce young physicians who recognize how

I am grateful to those students — and to Drs. John Arnott,

injustices, inequities and racism in medicine pose a threat

Vicki Sapp, Bill Jeffries, Tanja Adonizio and others — who

to public health.

We have established a Social Justice and Equity Task Force,

gave students opportunities and audiences for expressing themselves sincerely and safely. One of the most profound

All School of Medicine faculty have been charged with

experiences of my year has been that of listening openly to

“showing the curricular renewal committee precisely how they are decreasing racism and improving inclusivity.”

our students.

Faculty have responded with some immediate changes, Inspired by dialogues with students, Ida Castro, in her

including cataloging and revising clinical vignettes used

role as associate dean for equity and inclusion, and her

throughout courses with respect to bias and inclusion.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Recognizing that students interact not just with faculty, Geisinger Commonwealth engaged Dr. Keba Rogers, a counseling and clinical psychologist. Dr. Rogers has begun delivering her series, “Social and Emotional Learning as a Tool for Equity and Social Justice” to all faculty, staff and students. Dr. Rogers’ charge is to help us to use the skills she teaches “to effect transformational change in regard to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.”

Operational success On top of everything else, this year Geisinger moved from a budgeting to a forecasting model, and from a “fiscal year end” to a “calendar year end” for financial reporting.

All of this required, among other things, mastering new forecasting software and financial reports. Successful implementation of these changes on a tight deadline — while still assuring accurate reporting — required a Herculean

Students also recommended that we conduct regular

effort, much of which occurs behind the scenes while others

racial climate surveys to understand better the overall

are engaged in more “glamorous” work. I am very grateful

learning environment at Geisinger. Dr. Castro has worked

to our really remarkable finance team, led by Ann Arvay and

with Arthur Breese, Geisinger’s director of Diversity

including Rita King and Kevin Baumes.

and Inclusion, and Alison Howe, our assistant dean for Assessment and Evaluation, to develop this survey, which was administered to students, faculty and staff at the school in November. I have seen the results of this survey,

Our physical plant also keeps growing. Although the pandemic slowed things down, our Facilities team is still moving forward with two vital projects:

which we will soon share; they are enlightening. Based on

• Stabilization and preservation of Halpin Hall

the experience of this pilot, a racial climate survey will be

• Student space development on 4 West in the

developed and implemented as part of the Engagement

Medical Sciences Building

Survey across the entire Geisinger system this year. This is an important and promising development, both for students and residents and for the system itself.

Halpin Hall

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Technology

guide the selection and implementation of a new student

Technology saved the academic year for our students by enabling virtual learning, advising and celebrations. Our successful pivot emphasizes how important information technology is in all that we do. Kudos to the help desk staff and everyone in IT who kept our lifeline — our systems and technology — up and running.

This year we created the position of associate dean for Educational Information Technology and appointed Jim Franceschelli to that role. Jim’s many years in higher

information system that will serve all learners across Geisinger; addressing the problems created by the “firewall” between the school and the system; supporting education delivery as we continue to innovate and develop new degree programs; and supporting the many virtual platforms that enable remote working and teaching.

We have also been fortunate to have excellent leadership of the library in Amy Allison, associate dean for Library Services. Behind the scenes she has been reorganizing the staff, creating informationist positions and filling them with

education have given him a deep understanding of the educational mission that, together with his high level of IT expertise, collaborative manner and problem-solving skills, have all served us well. Among his challenges are to

excellent people, adding resources to support curriculum and implementing plans to provide more robust services online across the system and at the school.

Geisinger Commonwealth students Kristen Richards (left) and Ashley Rekem (right), both members of the MD Class of 2023, use one of the school’s four Sectra tables. Each table comes with a VH Dissector software program and premade online lessons. These high-tech tables facilitate students’ learning with radiological images, a core tool in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Looking ahead New MD curriculum to begin with arrival of Class of 2025 this summer

accelerate our plans to increase the use of technology to teach anatomy virtually, as planned in our curriculum renewal, and we gathered valuable experience with this approach.

Clearly, it’s been a momentous year. And I am very excited

Pivoting to virtual teaching for clinical rotations was more

by what we can look forward to accomplishing together in

of a challenge. But our faculty created valuable virtual

2021, particularly the launch of our new MD curriculum,

experiences that made use of a range of resources that

the maturation of the Abigail Geisinger Scholars program,

focused on honing critical thinking and reasoning, note-

expansion of graduate degree offerings and further

writing and presentation skills and of course clinical

progress in the integration of education across the

knowledge. These sessions also gave students valuable

clinical system.

one-on-one time with attending physicians, something that is often difficult to arrange on busy ward rounds.

Some COVID-driven changes are here to stay. With Federal CARES Act funding we bought four Sectra tables and added

With remarkable ingenuity our faculty even created

software to our students’ laptops that illustrates human

ways for our students to make rounds virtually. Dr. Peggy

anatomy and provides the ability to dissect away structures

Shoemaker, assistant chair of internal medicine, and Dr.

even more clearly than with cadavers. COVID forced us to

Cass Lippold, a critical care fellow, devised a solution for the ICU in less than a week. The e-ICU they created gave fourth-year students a virtual experience with direct patient interaction. Students said their 4 weeks in the e-ICU rivaled the experience of being physically in the ICU.

Cassiopia Lippold, MD, critical care fellow, performs a physical exam on a Geisinger e-ICU patient as directed by Geisinger Commonwealth medical student Wojciech Losos, MD Class of 2021.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

This attracted quite a bit of national attention, including

COVID-19 disrupted many of our own programs, as well as

coverage in a recent issue of Time magazine. Faculty are now

national processes and deadlines for residency selection.

adapting this capability to other clinical settings.

Despite this, our advising team was able to adapt deftly to a virtual environment. Under the leadership of Dr. Tanja

COVID propelled a major expansion of the use of telemedicine in outpatient care, particularly in psychiatry, but also in many other specialties. Geisinger was particularly well-positioned to take advantage of this. Before COVID, Geisinger doctors made fewer than 100 telemedicine visits per week; during the first COVID wave visits ballooned to

Adonizio, our advising team actually improved and expanded their services in the virtual environment. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Chrissy Spatz, Julia Kolcharno and Linda Learn for their efforts in maintaining the career advising and match process during these troubled times.

20,000, and patient satisfaction increased. Telemedicine

It is worth noting that, thanks to the prompt and

will clearly be important in the practice of medicine for our

coordinated effort by faculty and IT staff to seamlessly

graduates, so we are building a curriculum that will have

convert all learning to online, no student progress was

them experience telemedicine visits both from the doctor’s

delayed in terms of degrees. In fact, we were able to

side and in the patient’s home.

graduate over 20 medical students early so they could

Medical students need advice on how to navigate career

volunteer to fight COVID before starting their residencies.

choices and the complex procedure of residency application.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Post-COVID: Moving to the curriculum of the future

This effort is led by Dr. Jeffries and has made remarkable progress, particularly in light of the disruptions caused

Curricular renewal has been underway since 2019 when the faculty conducted its overall review of the current MD curriculum. In last year’s address I outlined my goals for a new curriculum:

by COVID. Thirty-four new learning objectives were formulated to address six fundamental competencies.

A large emphasis on active learning will be part of our signature pedagogy, and live lectures will be phased out.

The new curriculum will feature six longitudinal themes:

• That it integrates fundamental and clinical science

• Primary Care

horizontally and vertically

• Community Immersion

• That it incorporates a range of new content

• Professional Development

• That it addresses professional identity formation • That it emphasizes the physician’s role in promoting health rather than merely managing disease

• Health System Citizenship • Population Health • Diversity and Health Equity

At the same time, it should preserve those elements that have helped our students succeed so well — active learning,

Each of these thematic teams is currently working

longitudinal experiences, community engagement — but also

on a 4-year immersive curriculum that will mesh with

move to more innovative pedagogies.

the traditional subjects of medical education. The new curriculum has three phases: an initial 18-month

A Curriculum Task Force of the Medical Curriculum

foundational period, followed by a yearlong clerkship phase,

Committee was named and charged by me to formulate the vision, themes, objectives and pedagogy for a renewal of our

followed by an advanced application phase. Barring further delays, this curriculum will roll out in August of 2021.

medical curriculum.

Current curriculum

MD curricular renewal August

October

Nov

Dec

January

February

March

April

May

Year 1: Basic science

June

July

Summer research

Year 2: Basic science

Clerkships

Year 3: Clerkships

Electives

Year 4: Clinical electives

August

New curriculum

Sept

Sept

October

Nov

Dec

January

February

March

April

May

Phase 1: Foundational Phase 1: Foundational Phase 2: Clerkships

July

Summer research Capstone

Phase 2: Clerkships Phase 3: Advanced clinical experience

Phase 3: Advanced clinical experience

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June

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

“Horizontal integration” requires meaningful incorporation of clinical medicine into the fundamental curriculum from the beginning, both through giving students clinical opportunities and through making more use of clinicians to teach fundamental science. The new curriculum will do both. The past year has witnessed a growing cohesion and unity between our clinical and basic sciences faculty.

This “coming together” means that clinical faculty will

Introduction of primary care track for Abigail Geisinger Scholars and others The goals of the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program are not just to create more primary care providers, but physicians trained to deliver primary care differently. We are developing a primary care curricular track for them.

They will leverage data and genomics to support disease prevention, early detection and intervention, and increased

infuse the curricula of years one and two with clinical

access, teaching how precision health can be incorporated

relevance and experiences.

into primary care. Expertise at the health plan will inform

Students will begin clinical rotations in January of the

the medical curriculum for population health and healthcare

second year and early classroom education will be based on

economics. And the scholars will experience primary care

a case presentation format. Our experience during COVID

through opportunities to participate in programs such as

has given our faculty great facility with virtual teaching.

Geisinger 65 Forward, Geisinger at Home and the Fresh

We found it’s easier for busy clinicians to “Zoom” into a

Food Farmacy.

small-group discussion than to have to travel to the MSB to do it. Zoom thus enhances our ability to use clinicians as classroom teachers, giving students a more clinically oriented view of basic science.

A subgroup of the curricular renewal team, led by Drs. Janet Townsend and Kim Kovalick, is exploring creating a special “three plus three” primary care track to accelerate the careers of physicians.

Horizontal integration also means deeper incorporation of science (including things like system science, population health and genomics) into the clinical experiences and making the “application phase” (the last 18 months) more meaningful. Our basic science faculty will work to reconnect and ground the clerkship year and advanced application phase with the concepts once confined to the classroom. Clinical faculty indicate they are eager to get “refresher courses” in the basic sciences as part of this new, symbiotic relationship.

Curricular renewal will also create an opportunity to connect active learning with community engagement more closely. Our founding vision was to educate aspiring physicians and scientists to “serve society,” and we have always required 100 hours of community service. In the new curriculum this engagement will occur as part of the formal curriculum and will represent service learning.

Kara Romanowski, MD Class of 2023 and Abigail Geisinger Scholar (left), is introduced to one of Geisinger’s Primary Care Signature Models – Geisinger 65 Forward – by Juliann Molecavage, DHA, associate vice president of quality & primary care services at Geisinger (right).

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Expanding the School of Graduate Education portfolio

The team has also created an online graduate course, COVID-19: Health Systems and Pandemics; several

The School of Graduate Education has built a strong instructional design team, led by Joe Evanick. The team’s

modules are taught by Dr. Jaewon Ryu and other senior leaders.

efforts put us in a great position in March, when both the

These are not the only reasons 2020 was an historic year for

MD and graduate programs needed to move completely

the School of Graduate Education. In addition to continued

online. We anticipated that enrollment might drop with

growth in the number of graduate students we enroll, in

COVID as it has at many other graduate programs.

January, three new master’s degrees were launched in

Anticipating the changes ahead due to COVID, Dr. Scott

Health Informatics, Genetics and Healthcare Administration

Koerwer, the graduate school leadership team and core

in partnership with the University of the Sciences. These are

curriculum faculty made several adjustments to the

fully asynchronous degree programs, the first of their kind

Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program, reducing

at Geisinger, and are available to the general public, as well

the number of credit hours and the tuition rate per credit,

as internally to Geisinger employees. As of the beginning of

and transitioning to a quarter system from our traditional

April of 2021, we have approximately 120 students enrolled

semester structure, which enabled students to enter the

in these new degrees.

program at four points throughout the year. With these changes, MBS enrollment actually increased this year to the highest number in our history.

Graduate program redesign (Master of Biomedical Sciences)

Streamlines cost, time and flexibility

Prepares future healthcare leaders

Allows for multiple entry points

Designed for students pursuing medical school and offers the core and many other helpful opportunities.

Flexible student timelines include full-time, part-time and accelerated options that fit any scheule.

Recognizes student concerns

Provides fully online experience

Engages students online

Students hesitant to return to in-seat classes this academic year have online, multiple entry options.

Allows for social distancing in the pandemic along with flexiblity in the case of continued viral outbreaks.

The interactive, async experience is flexible with synchronous meetings that engage students.

A program that decreases student cost, decreases time to completion and increases student flexibility

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

The graduate school is looking forward with great

The team that created the proposal includes Drs. Michelle

enthusiasm to offering a Genetic Counseling master’s

Thompson, Janet Townsend and Mandy Maneval, the

degree program in 2023. The project team responsible

residency program director. The Geisinger Lewistown

for putting the program together is led by Andy Faucett,

Hospital Family Medicine Residency’s strength and

a nationally recognized genetic counselor, in tandem with

unique approach attracted 1,987 applications for just

Graduate School leadership including Drs. Greg Shanower,

four positions. This expansion of primary care training will

Erin Sutzko, Jennifer Boardman and Scott Koerwer, and

complement the new primary care emphasis of the Abigail

working closely with Ann Arvay. The program will leverage

Geisinger Scholars Program. Dr. Jeffries is interested in

the nation-leading genomics initiative at Geisinger, including

exploring unique approaches to training in the UME/GME

its method of returning actionable findings of genetic risk

continuum. We are also exploring the potential of creating a

resulting from the patient’s genome sequencing. Genetic

West Regional Campus based in Lewistown and focused on

counselors are central to patient understanding of their

primary care.

results, and thus this degree will offer unique opportunities not found in other programs.

The Geisinger Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program received a $2.75 million federal award that will support its expansion. The grant is a collaboration between Geisinger

Graduate Medical Education

and The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education.

Geisinger’s over 500 residents and fellows are on the

Addiction medicine fellows will train at 16 sites across

front lines caring for patients with COVID-19 illness.

central and northeast Pennsylvania, including six counties

Responding to the pandemic required creative solutions as

with drug overdose rates higher than the national average.

many services were reduced or closed during the spring.

This project addresses three federal priorities: combating

The pandemic also forced major adjustments in resident

the opioid crisis, transforming the workforce and expanding

recruitment and selection as in-person visits for interviews

telehealth services.

were suspended nationally. Dr. Michelle Thompson and team implemented virtual tours and Zoom interviews, which ran very successfully.

Residency programs also continued to expand as planned without interruption.

For example, the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Family Medicine Residency received federal grant funding of $2.5 million to help build pipeline programs and recruitment and retention strategies to meet better the needs of rural and underserved populations.

The Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Family Medicine Residency recently received federal grant funding of $2.5 million to help build pipeline programs and recruitment and retention strategies to meet better the needs of rural and underserved populations.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Geisinger’s Education and Medical Simulation (GEMS) Center recently received accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

Continuing Professional Development Geisinger’s Education and Medical Simulation Center received accreditation from the Society for Simulation in

community, Program Directors community, Preceptors in Undergraduate Medical Education community and the Group on Women in Medicine and Science.

Healthcare, an important recognition of both the excellence

The academy was established to help attract, develop

of the GEMS center and the essential role that simulation

and maintain engagement of highly productive lifelong

plays in patient safety. The accreditors specifically praised

learners who understand the demands of an integrated

Dr. Nicole Woll and her team for creating “rich and high-

healthcare system and workforce are continuously evolving.

fidelity, realistic communication simulations” and for

Geisinger Academy serves as the learning, credentialing and

cultivating “leadership who understand the power of

engagement mechanism to leverage education in achieving

simulation and integration into the healthcare system.”

community health and well-being.

This year, Geisinger’s Faculty Development team held its inaugural Medical Education Grand Rounds session in October. Nearly 100 educators systemwide dialed in for the live session via Zoom. Congratulations to Dr. Robert Cooney, director of faculty development, and Dr. Woll for this successful launch.

Education Grand Rounds are a good example of our vision for the Geisinger Academy, which fosters the development of an education community that supports outstanding teaching and learning in the clinical learning environment and classroom. The academy is built around “communities,” including the Relationship-

In October, Geisinger’s Faculty Development team held its inaugural Medical Education Grand Rounds session with Christopher J. Watling, MD, MMEd, PhD, FRCP(C), presenting “Capturing authentic performance: the perils of direct observation.”

Centered Communications

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Each institute lead continues to report within the clinical system to the chief medical officers but also now holds an appointment as chair of a Geisinger Commonwealth Institute, in that role reporting to me as dean and working closely with Dr. Bill Jeffries. The new Geisinger Commonwealth institutes are in effect the departmental home for Geisinger physicians who have faculty appointments. These institute chairs will be responsible for the curriculum in the specialties covered by their institutes.

The School of Medicine’s Department of Medical Education will continue its mission of instruction in the basic sciences, formal clinical skills instruction and assessment, medical education and scientific research, curriculum development

Nursing growth

and pedagogical expertise.

Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing

The new structure will engage the institute chairs more

continues to offer high-quality education as evidenced

fully in design and delivery of the medical school curriculum

once again by its No. 2 ranking among all nursing programs

and foster integration of the clinical faculty within the

in Pennsylvania. Dr. Rebecca Stoudt, associate dean for

medical school. It will enhance involvement of Geisinger

nursing education; Janet Tomcavage, Geisinger’s chief

physicians in clinical teaching, student advising, curriculum

nursing executive; and Maryann Brown, director of the

development, faculty development and advancement,

School of Nursing, are working to expand its program to

and participation in undergraduate medical education

other sites across the Geisinger system, and to offer online

administration. I am grateful to Dr. Andrea DiMattia, who

courses to allow students to participate asynchronously.

has been invaluable in helping each institute to develop their

They are also exploring the evolution of the current RN

educational infrastructure.

program to an associate’s degree. These efforts will occur in the context of our strong ongoing partnerships with

The institute chairs have embraced this new role with

the many nursing degree programs at other colleges in

enthusiasm. We enjoyed a daylong retreat focusing on the

the region.

role of institute or department chair and substantive topics including curriculum, research and faculty affairs.

Full system alignment

An important level of oversight of education occurs through

Since the integration of The Commonwealth Medical

several councils representing leadership of undergraduate

College into Geisinger 4 years ago, it has been our shared

medical education, graduate medical education and health

view that clinical perspectives inform education and

professions education at Geisinger. The Undergraduate

education strengthens the clinical mission. We have made

Medical Education Council, led by Dr. Jeffries, is the forum

great progress in partnering with clinical leadership, but we

for discussion of issues related to medical student education

continue the work to achieve full alignment. This year we

across Geisinger clinical sites. The Health Professions

took a major step by designating the eight clinical institutes

Education Council, led by Dr. Nicole Woll, brings together

of Geisinger as institutes of the School of Medicine, with

education leadership in medical, nursing, advanced practice,

a status similar to that of academic departments found in

pharmacy and other fields in which students gain clinical

typical medical schools.

experience at Geisinger.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

17

The Graduate Medical Education Council, led by Dr.

team. The school’s role in the Geisinger Transformation

Michelle Thompson, pre-dates our integration with

project was specified in a charter that has five major areas

Geisinger as it is a function required by the Accreditation

to be addressed. I have asked Dr. Bill Jeffries to serve as the

Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and

accountable lead on the project.

has been in existence for many years. I chair the Executive

The five major areas include:

Education Leadership Team, EELT, comprising the 10 deans

• Maximize structural alignment with health enterprise.

who report to me for educational oversight. And the

This project involves our efforts to integrate the

Education Council joins the leadership of EELT

institutes into Geisinger Commonwealth

and the major educational entities with the

School of Medicine leadership, revise and

institute chairs and clinical leadership of the

streamline faculty appointments, unify

Geisinger system. Together these groups

financial planning and reporting, improve

have been instrumental in forging closer

preparation of faculty and residents

relationships between educational

for their role in teaching and better

and clinical leadership.

organize administration of education programs.

Recently Dr. Christa Martin

•

became the interim chief

Integrate medical

scientific officer at Geisinger,

students into clinical care

overseeing Geisinger’s

mission. This project aims

research unit. Her charge

to create more meaningful

is to bring about greater

clinical roles for students

integration of research

that will maximize the benefit

with education and with the

for learning, the patient, the care

clinical system. We have had substantive and constructive

team and the health system.

discussions with Dr. Martin, who participates in my regular

• Review and revise reimbursement for teaching faculty

meetings with the institute chairs. I look forward to working

time and clinical time. This project will help us develop

with her to promote this additional dimension of integration

proper ways to assign and compensate clinical faculty for

in the coming year.

their teaching roles in the medical school, with an aim to increase efficiency and incentive and reward excellent

Continued evolution

teaching.

• Optimize IT infrastructure for education. This project

The clinical system is pursuing the Geisinger Transformation

addresses a critical aspect of our integration with

Initiative. The goal is to make a broad and deep review

Geisinger, our IT platform.

of Geisinger activities, identify opportunities to achieve our goals more effectively and implement meaningful improvements. Geisinger has engaged the consulting firm Deloitte, which has substantial experience in change management in the healthcare environment. Our school

• Optimize space for education. Through this project we will review the needs for educational space within Geisinger to optimize use of space and bring educational functions together in common areas.

was part of that process, through which several important

The scope of this initiative is expansive, and successful

recommendations were developed by Geisinger’s leadership

completion will require the hard work of dozens of us.

The outcomes promise a much-improved organization.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Conclusion: Fulfilling the vision that education transforms healthcare and makes better health easier The goal of this transformation is to realize Geisinger’s strategic vision as articulated by Dr. Ryu: to make better health easier for everyone. This

“...our vision to educate the health workforce of the

vision is congruent with the school’s mission and our

future, leveraging our strengths to be regionally

vision to educate the health workforce of the future,

engaged and nationally relevant.”

leveraging our strengths to be regionally engaged and nationally relevant.

Education at Geisinger

Executive education leadership team (EELT): S. Scheinman

Administration - finance/operations

W. Jeffries I. Castro G. Maloney J. Franceschelli

S. Koerwer N. Woll A. Allison J. Townsend

A. Arvay M. Thompson R. Stoudt

Strategy and innovation Medical education Degree and diploma programs

Graduate education GLH diploma program

Chief academic officer

Medical residents/ fellows Clinical post-graduate programs Certificate-granting health profession postgraduate programs

Nursing student education

Nursing students (other schools)

Education council: EELT Institute leads Nursing Pharmacy Advanced practictioner Research CMOs UME system role Library director GCSOM chair of Dept. of Med Ed Undergraduate Medical Education Committee (UMEC) Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) Health Professions Education Committee (HPEC)

Continuing Professional Development Committee (CPDC)

Continuing professional development Faculty development

Interprofessional education

Educational programs (healthcare communications and procedural skills simulation) Clinical experiences for health professions degree programs (e.g., PSs, NPs, CRNAs)

Library resources Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

19

Reflect

20

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

ction With each passing year we have more to be proud of at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. We have met the challenge of a global pandemic with creativity and resilience. We have continued our upward trajectory with major accomplishments despite the pandemic. And we can look forward to exciting new developments that will continue that trajectory this year and beyond.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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I often reflect on the vision of our founders, manifested in the launch of The Commonwealth Medical College and the arrival of our first

2013 – 2018

students 12 years ago. Our founding by the community is unique among U.S. medical schools. Every year our faculty, staff and students have demonstrated our dedication to this community that founded the medical school.

We can recall with great pride the tenacity of our early leadership,

Total raised

$25,292,080

faculty and staff (many still here today) and their willingness to plunge so energetically into the hard work of dream fulfillment. We survived the financial challenges of our early years thanks to the stalwart

Original goal

$15,000,000

support of Blue Cross of NEPA and myriad other corporate and personal donors, through whose generosity this school survived and thrived when many predicted it couldn’t.

Our Campaign for Scholarships and Innovation was launched in 2013

CSI closes, exceeding goal by

$10 million

with the goal to raise $15 million and closed 5 years later, having raised $23 million. We count the Stanley Dudrick Legacy Society among the great accomplishments of the Campaign for Scholarships and Innovation. Dr. Dudrick, the father of total parenteral nutrition, was deeply committed to our school and our students. A towering legend in the world of medicine, he considered it an honor to teach our students, and had great respect for them and for the profession.

The largest gift to the campaign came from noted developer and Scranton native Gerald Halpin, who left the school $5 million in his will. That gift is the driving force behind the renovation of Halpin Hall. We must also acknowledge the generosity of the AllOne Foundation, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation, the Luzerne Foundation and the Moses Taylor Foundation. Together these community philanthropic organizations funded scholarships and provided substantial funding that was critical in launching our Behavioral Health Initiative.

In loving memory of Stanley J. Dudrick, MD April 9, 1935 - Jan. 18, 2020 22

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

From the start, we have innovated. The MD curriculum launched in 2009 was bold and different. Our founding faculty built a program that is remarkable for its emphasis on active learning, community engagement and longitudinal clinical experiences. We were the first medical school anywhere to enroll its entire class in a longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC). Over time, in response to student feedback, we adjusted the LIC to be a hybrid that incorporated the block model.

Accreditors ultimately rewarded our efforts with full accreditation by both the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 2014, and then 5 years later with full reaccreditation by both agencies for the maximal terms allowed.

When in 2017 we accomplished integration with Geisinger, a whole new range of clinical, research and educational opportunities opened up for our students. At the time, however, we lost some of the clinical partners who had been with us from the beginning. Our new Geisinger colleagues immediately mobilized to create capacity to absorb our students within Geisinger sites; thus, an outcome that would likely have occurred over years was implemented in a matter of weeks.

While initially requiring some adjustments, the integration has been transformative for the school — and I’m certain that over time it will be just as transformative for Geisinger. Record numbers of our students now pursue research, most in Geisinger’s own remarkable research programs. With each passing year, a growing number of our graduates match to Geisinger residency programs. Hundreds of Geisinger physicians now have faculty appointments at the medical school, and each year more and more of them become actively engaged in teaching our students. We note with pride that 25 alumni are now practicing medicine in our region.

Perhaps no initiative illustrates the promise of this integration more than the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. Our first cohort of scholars will graduate this year and will move that much closer, after residency, to becoming Geisinger physicians. Since they signed on 2 years ago, the program has evolved into a national model for addressing health equity and access by investing in a physician pipeline.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

23

Abigail Geisinger Scholars

There are now 76 Abigail Geisinger Scholars across the four MD classes. The program is now focused entirely on primary care and psychiatry. This year, for the first time, we have created a direct admissions track for applicants interested in this program, and more than 1,000 candidates have applied for the 45 Abigail Scholar positions. These scholars will experience a curriculum enhanced in content and experiences in all aspects of future-facing primary care.

Our School of Graduate Education was founded the spring of 2017 in the wake of initial integration. From its origins in our single master’s program the graduate school now offers six master’s degrees, with more in development. The graduate school led us into the sphere of online learning, which was critical to our ability to respond to COVID. With the restructuring of the MBS program, our MBS enrollment rose in 2020 to 142 despite COVID — an order of magnitude larger than the 2013 charter MBS graduating class of 2010. The Doylestown campus continues to flourish since its founding in 2016 and enrollment in our three new degree programs in partnership with the University of the Sciences continues to grow.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

We take pride in the accomplishments of our Behavioral Health Initiative, growing from discussions that began soon after I arrived in 2012. Among its many accomplishments — with much credit owed to Terri Lacey and Dr. Leighton Huey — are the partnership with the AllOne Foundation to support The Wright Center’s Psychiatry residency program; a range of training programs, including mental health first aid training (in which so many students, faculty and staff have participated), medication assisted treatment training, ongoing community education sessions and the Behavioral Health Certificate program (also known as SPEPC) launching this month; a peer support network for our medical and graduate students; and telepsychiatry services at the Geisinger Community Medical Center Emergency Department.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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With all of these shared accomplishments and wonderful forward momentum propelling our future direction, and after much personal reflection, I must tell you that I have decided that this is the year that I will retire. This was not an easy decision for me, but I know it is the right one, and the right time — not just for me but for the School of Medicine and Education at Geisinger. This is my ninth year here, more than two dean half-lives, and with my 8 previous years at Upstate I’ve been doing dean duty for 17 years.

And it is healthy for a school to refresh itself with new leadership.

I think you all know how much I have loved my work here, have become part of the community here, and love you, our family at the medical school. But the time, I feel, is right. I will confess that having 8 grandchildren can do a lot to broaden one’s perspectives on life.

Dr. Ryu and our board have been enormously supportive of me and of the school, and I know they will continue to be.

They have started a national search for my successor; I have promised to remain until the new dean arrives — within reason.

So, in conclusion, the state of the school is excellent, as is its future.

Thank you.

Steven J. Scheinman, MD, the longest-serving dean of Geisinger Commonwealth to date, arrived in 2012 and plans to retire at the end of 2021.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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Oath

Written by the Class of 2013

Today I commit myself to the calling of medicine.

I stand beside my teachers in devotion to the care of the sick, the promotion of health, and the service of humanity.

I am privileged to be a part of my patients’ lives.

I will abandon my prejudices to walk with them on their journey through life and its pivotal transitions.

I will hold sacred the bond with my patients and guard that which is intimately shared.

I will collaborate with my colleagues in the best interests of my patients and society.

I will strive humbly to admit mistakes, make amends, and forgive others in acknowledgement of our common humanity.

I will use my intellectual curiosity to water the seeds I’ve been given and cultivate the growing tree of our medical knowledge.

I am grateful for the family and community that have brought me to this day and will honor them in the fulfillment of this oath.

I will hold myself to the highest standard, maintaining and furthering the ethics, integrity, and noble traditions of my profession.

I will be a doctor, a student, and a teacher beyond the confines of the bedside, in my community and in my daily life.

In doing so I will cure sometimes, relieve often, and comfort always.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine | State of the School 2021 – 2022

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