SUMMER 2007 Multi team Leadership Teamwork approach Communication Skills Cooperation Unity Challenge Group dynamics Goals HOW TO BUILD A TEAM A Neuro-Orthopaedist in Action Crossing Boundaries with Mitchell Blutt The Standard in Biomedical Studies Revisiting the New Curriculum Teamwork Fedyna, Karen Revere, Nikhil Singh, or “transformational” models that em- Justin Ziemba, David Alonso, and Sophie phasize the leader’s “inspirational” role It’s not always easy getting a group Woolston formed two rows as catchers in motivating followers and that assume of medical students together. After all, in a Stemmler classroom. Maria was a long-term relationship between leader with their busy schedules, there are volunteered to be the catchee. And and followers. That form of leadership probably many other things they could catch her they did, several times, like does not apply fully on the trauma unit. be doing than gathering for a photo a smooth-working team, while Dan There is a team of specialists (includ- shoot. So I was happy when Maria took shot after shot with his Nikon ing nurses and anesthesiologists) that Ciocca, a first-year student, was able to D2X. Then it was time for class. I am changes frequently as individual mem- round up the other six people in her happy to report that I returned Dan’s bers cycle on and off the floor. The three team for an early-morning shoot in April. lighting equipment without damage. most senior members, in order, are the This year, getting seven students to- attending surgeon, the surgical fellow, gether may not have been as difficult as in As our cover story explains, the School and the admitting resident, but the ac- the past. The difference is that the stu- of Medicine worked out the concept of tive leadership role shifts frequently dents who entered the School of Med- grouping its students into teams with and fluidly. The researchers found the icine last August are the first to be the help of The Wharton School. It is system “paradoxical” – a dynamic and grouped – officially – into teams of six or not the first time scholars from Wharton flexible system within the rigid hier- seven. So there was already a bond have shared their expertise with the archy ingrained in the field of surgery. among the students in Maria’s group. medical school. One long-term collab- Ultimately, as they put it in their Because of the tight schedule and the oration is Penn’s Leonard Davis Insti- study, leadership “is not a product of a need for an assistant to help with light- tute of Health Economics, where many leader’s individual differences, but of ing, I came along with photographer senior fellows are drawn from Wharton any organization or unit’s norms, rou- Daniel Burke to the first floor of Stemm- and the School of Medicine. Another col- tines, and role definitions.” ler Hall. Stemmler has some handy laboration, involving Wharton, Leonard Interestingly, while the School of classrooms where we could recreate Davis, and the Department of Surgery, Medicine is adopting the team concept some “group learning.” It also has a was the PENN Medicine Patient Safety from Wharton, a recent news item sug- spacious hallway with flags from earlier Leadership Academy (2003-2004), a gests that ideas about teamwork remain medical classes and portraits of promi- pilot program designed to improve somewhat fluid. This year’s incoming nent faculty members of the past – a patient safety by improving the leader- students at Penn’s School of Medicine possible backdrop to suggest contrasts ship skills of surgical teams. were encouraged to take at least some between then and now. But for me, the More recently, Katherine J. Klein, Ph.D., tests as a team, but that was certainly pressure was on. I had to hold Dan’s a professor of management at Wharton, not the case at Duke University’s busi- Nikon SB-800 flash for back-lighting – was one of the authors of “A Leader- ness school. Twenty-four students were keeping it pointed in the right direction ship System for Emergency Action found guilty of cheating (“inappropriate and steady. If the students were con- Teams: Rigid Hierarchy and Dynamic collaboration”) on a take-home exam cerned about the obvious inexperience Flexibility.” Funded by the U.S. Army this spring. When the incident was of the photo assistant, they were gra- Research Institute, the project involved first reported, a professor of leadership cious enough not to comment. And observing the Shock Trauma Center in at the George Washington University they played along with our suggestions. Baltimore as a way to analyze team School of Business, James R. Bailey, Yes, it’s unlikely that all seven teammates leadership in diverse settings. As de- commented to The Chronicle of Higher would gather around a computer moni- scribed in Wharton Alumni Magazine Education. “They were enterprising, tor to view a slide, but the resulting (Winter 2005), the traditional view of they took initiative, and they worked photograph is a stylized version of reality. leadership is usually based on “dominant” together,” he said, perhaps with tongue I believe it was Maria who recalled partly in cheek. “Aren’t those all the the “falling” exercise meant to build qualities we’re trying to encourage of trust among team members. It was one business-school students?” of the options presented during last year’s Apparently, even with teams, there are orientation program. So, gamely, Sean some lines that cannot be crossed. Cover: Standing l-r: teammates Sophie Woolston, Karen Revere, Maria 2 I PENN MEDICINECiocca, Sean Fedyna, and Justin Ziemba. Kneeling: David Alonso and Mikhil Singh. Photo: Daniel Burke SUMMER 2007 / VOLUME XIX NUMBER 2 6 24 HOW TO BUILD A TEAM By Dawn Fallik A MODEL PROGRAM: BIOMEDICAL The Wharton School groups its M.B.A. students into teams and teaches them communication STUDIES AT PENN By Nicole Gaddis and leadership skills. Why shouldn’t Penn’s medical students, who are likely to work in hospi- Overseeing seven highly interdisciplinary – and interschool – graduate tals, large practices, and other systems, learn the same valuable interpersonal skills? Now, with groups, the Biomedical Graduate Studies program continues to set the some help from Wharton, they will. standard for teaching basic science. It’s a model that has been followed by other centers and institutes at Penn, as well as by other universities. Departments A PROMISING ANNIVERSARY By Thomas W. Durso Last fall, experts gathered in Germany to celebrate the 100th anniver- Inside sary of the discovery of Alzheimer’s disease. Two Penn researchers, 12 Front EDITOR’S NOTE Cover John Trojanowski and Virginia Lee, were among the invited speakers. Teamwork Trojanowski reports a sense of optimism about future developments. C 2 VITAL SIGNS School of Medicine: A Ten-Year Streak New Center Focuses on Ovarian Cancer MARY ANN KEENAN CAN MAKE A MUSCLE DO ANYTHING By Sally Sapega A Guided Missile That Targets Brain Tumors The only full-time neuro-orthopaedist in the nation can often help pa- 14 Honors & Awards tients who have had strokes regain their physical capabilities when HUP Earns Magnet Status other approaches have failed. According to Keenan, the patients she sees “are one of the most underserved populations in this country.” Letters 34 DEVELOPMENT MATTERS CROSSING BOUNDARIES WITH MITCHELL BLUTT The Penn Cardiovascular Institute By Mark Gaige An internist, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and 18 38 ALUMNI NEWS Penn trustee, Mitchell Blutt, M.D., M.B.A., has excelled in a variety Progress Notes of roles. In his “spare time,” he has a few hobbies, too. Inside Back THE LAST WORD Cover Recruit, Retain, Endow TEN YEARS OLD AND GOING STRONG By John Shea Launched in 1997, Curriculum 2000 promised to equip medical students more effectively for the health-care world they’d be working 30 in. The Vice Dean for Education gives an update on what’s worked and how the original version has been improved to meet developing student interests. Staff JOHN R. SHEA, Ph.D. Editor NICOLE A. GADDIS Assistant Editor LEWIS & NOBEL DESIGN Design / Art Direction ADMINISTRATION SUSAN E. PHILLIPS Senior Vice President for Public Affairs MARC S. KAPLAN Director of Communications Penn Medicine is published for the alumni and friends of PENN Medicine by the Department of Communications. © 2007 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Address all correspondence to John Shea, Penn Medicine, 3600 Market Street, Suite 240, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2646, or call (215) 662-4802, or e-mail [email protected]. Visit Penn Medicine’s web site: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/prnews/publications/ * Early Detection and Prevention School of Medicine: A Ten-Year Streak * Advanced Therapeutics * Biology and Pathogenesis For the 10th year in a row, the School Following Penn in the annual rankings Coukos, who did an internship, resi- of Medicine was ranked in the top five were Washington University in St. Louis dency, and fellowship at Penn, now holds among research-oriented medical schools and the University of California at San the Celso Ramon Garcia Associate Profes- in the annual U.S. News & World Report Francisco. sorship of Obstetrics and Gynecology survey of graduate and professional schools. In a memo announcing the survey results and serves as director of gynecologic on- And for the second year in a row, Penn’s to faculty and staff, Arthur H. Rubenstein, cology research. One of his areas of re- school was ranked third, behind only M.B., B.Ch., executive vice president of the search is tumor vasculature, and his lab- Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Penn was University of Pennsylvania for the Health oratory recently discovered the unique also ranked 16th among medical schools System and dean of the School of Medicine, molecular make-up of vascular cells in for students going into primary care.