RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

APRIL 9, 2015

New leadership role for REP

"I am pleased to announce that Suzette Svoboda-Newman has accepted a new leadership role with the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment," Cheryl Maurana, PhD, vice president for academic outreach and professor and director of the AHW Endowment, said.

"Beginning in May, Suzette will advance the Research and Education Program's capacity building priorities through dissemination and leadership for innovative research and discovery. I want to thank Ms. Svoboda-Newman for her exceptional leadership and for strengthening the Research and Education Program by improving processes and communication."

The AHW Endowment will be hiring a new program director to lead the Research and Education Program. The full-time position is currently posted online.

Strategic: Award to develop program that will train Anesthesiology Assistants at MCW

In March, the Research and Education Program awarded funding to support the development of an anesthesiology assistant program at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

In the Midwest, 80 percent of health care facilities report the need for additional anesthesiologists and certified nurse anesthetists. Many rural areas are in especially great need due to a significant proportion of anesthesia providers living and working in urban locations.

While the lack of growth in residency positions is a barrier for filling the anesthesia shortage with physicians, anesthesiology assistants are exempt from that requirement and can provide cost-efficient anesthesia care in a physician-led care model.

Currently, Wisconsin residents interested in becoming anesthesiology assistants have to leave the state for training, increasing the likelihood that some graduates may not return to Wisconsin to practice. By developing the state's first anesthesiology assistant program at MCW, project leaders aim to meet the rising need for cost-effective anesthesia services with a program specializing in interprofessional education, research and patient safety.

Strategic: Award to create student enrichment programs that prepare diverse students for careers in science and medicine

In March, the Research and Education Program awarded funding for the development of student enrichment programs to help prepare diverse Wisconsin students for careers in science and medicine.

The need for these programs is apparent in the number of students of African American, Native American, Hispanic or Native Hawaiian descent from Wisconsin that matriculate to medical school. Last year, only 15 Wisconsin students reporting African American, Native American, Hispanic or Native Hawaiian descent were admitted to medical school.

With Wisconsin growing increasingly diverse each year, the need also grows for physicians that can provide culturally competent care and practice effectively within rural and urban areas that have had less access to health care services.

Through collaborative enrichment activities, this award aims to enhance science education and increase interest in medical careers. Undergraduate students will also have the option of being matched with a professional mentor in addition to support in preparing for the MCAT entrance examination.