CMED finalist hopes for collaborative expansion
James M. Herman answers a question during the interview for the Dean’s position in the Health Professions Building, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. He is one of four candidates for the CMED Dean’s position.
Expanding the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center by helping serve rural areas in Pennsylvania, James M. Herman said his career has been developing him to be the dean of a college of medicine.
One of four finalists to replace founding dean Ernest Yoder as leader of Central Michigan University's College of Medicine, Herman is the associate dean of a primary care and primary care research at Hershey.
CMED has inducted two classes and will accept its third class after April 30. The next dean will have to finish the curriculum for fourth year students as well as develop and maintain key relationships with practices in Michigan.
He graduated from John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1978. He also was a family physician for more than 20 years.
During an campus forum, Herman met with CMED officials Wednesday Jan. 14 in the Health Professions Building.
Herman joined Penn State College of Medicine as a Hershey Medical Center company professor and chair of family and community medicine in 1991. He joined the college when it was under stress with only seven physicians and one struggling practice.
After implementing a collaborative approach with hospitals, the opportunity to expand was presented to the college. The college now has 80 physicians and 15 practices in Pennsylvania which provide health care to rural areas.
"The future really depends on the collaboration of colleges, social sciences in economic and engineering," Herman said. "A new medical school really needs to understand that collaborative research is the way to go."
CMED's mission is to provide health care to underserved areas in Michigan. Herman said this appealed to him because Penn State had a similar mission.
"Penn State was the first to divide the state of Pennsylvania into seven counties to provide healthcare in those rural areas," Herman said.
Applying the collaborative approach with practices and other colleges is nothing new to CMED. Herman said appealing to the practices and colleges is done by highlighting the benefits of CMED.
"People will rightfully ask why (CMED) is here? The response is each graduate student that finishes (his or her) residency is worth about $2 million to the economy," Herman said. "The convenience aspect of it, bringing healthcare more close to home. Also the research and crossover of business', all the materials they provide us."
The biggest challenge for the next dean will be to facilitate a relationship between Covenant Healthcare and St. Mary's of Michigan. Provost Michael Gelt and Herman said integrating the campuses in Saginaw and Mount Pleasant will be CMEDs biggest challenge.
CMU is a place on the rise Herman said, and it is exciting to be on campus and a part of the energy of a new medical school. One approach is embracing technological changes in CMED classrooms.
"Disruptive technologies in medical education, (CMED) has embraced through the curriculums," Herman said. "Most schools find these technologies threatening."
Herman also mentioned the change in how students receive information, and a way to utilize the shift.
"Everything has changed. Information is convenient. In education things have really changed, its not so much the job of the educators to spoon feed the students," Herman said. "If we can equip them with the right skills they can return the ability to help the incoming workforce."
During the forum Herman explained his experience with the Area Health Education Centers program in Pennsylvania. The program is part of a national effort to improve access to health services through changes in the education and training of health professionals.
"The AHEC centers can provide a lot of benefit because (medical schools) are given funding to do what they already do," Herman said. "Schools are not as successful when they don't give up some control to AHEC. However, the state of Pennsylvania reduced funding so the centers they're are barely making it."
Herman said LCME is job one for CMED, the college can't do anything with out it.
"Next phase is integration across campus and with Saginaw," Herman said.
