Dartmouth Medical School Digest
October 2008

News for our community

In this issue

Via the Virtual Space Station
An interactive self-guided treatment for depression that’s being developed as part of the virtual space station could be brought down to earth. Dartmouth Medical School physician and former astronaut Dr. Jay Buckey co-leads a National Space Biomedical Research Institute team testing the multi-media program to help astronauts manage depression and other psychosocial problems during long space flights. The system could be adapted for health care where access to professional help is limited.

Colon Cancer Prevention
Dartmouth’s leadership of a national trial exploring a safe and cost-effective prevention for a common cancer has been renewed. The National Cancer Institute has awarded $19 million to DMS to continue its multi-center study on lowering the risk colorectal cancer with calcium or vitamin D. The trial, headed by Dr. John Baron, builds on extensive work on the anti-cancer potential of the two nutritional supplements in the large bowel.

Investing in the professional pipeline
Citing a policy vacuum in planning for the medical professionals the country needs, a DMS doctor calls on Congress to establish a national health workforce commission. Commenting in the September 10 JAMA medical education issue, Dr. David Goodman says a commission can protect the public investment in the health training pipeline. He outlines five charter principles to guide the commission.

It takes a neighborhood
The concept of the medical home for coordinated health care is promising, but barriers remain to moving from model to reality, says a Dartmouth Medical School physician. Dr. Elliott Fisher, writing in the September 18 New England Journal of Medicine, cautions that building a home requires the right neighborhood of physicians and hospitals. He recommends three key steps to help implement a successful model that will improve care and reduce costs.

Soccer power
Listen to the voice within—that’s what DMS and college alumnus Tommy Clark urged as he recounted his idea to use soccer to fight HIV in Africa. The founder of Grassroots Soccer was the featured speaker at Dartmouth convocation September 23 to usher in the academic year. He discussed how he figured out what he wanted to do and mobilized people to take action for a major health problem.


DMS Communications
1 Rope Ferry Road (HB 7065)
Hanover, NH 03755-1404
Tel: (603) 650-1492
Fax: (603) 650-1730
Email: dms.communications@dartmouth.edu
dms.dartmouth.edu/news

Back to DMS Digest