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Dual degree program with Duke’s School of Medicine meets enrollment goal
Feb. 26, 2008—When the University of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS) began its dual degree program with Duke University's School of Medicine two years ago, representatives from both organizations were optimistic.
The program had excellent selling points. It gave third-year Duke medical students an opportunity to study at SILS and a chance to earn both an M.D. and a master's in either information or library science. It had also secured funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support the program’s first four students financially for their time at SILS. There was, however, one lingering question: would medical students take to the idea of studying a subject like information and library science?
That question was partially answered in the fall of 2006, when Lashonda Watts became the first student to enroll in the program. This fall, the question was put totally to rest when three other Duke University medical students joined Watts in the program.
Ellis Johns, Matthew Langman and Anthony Joseph began work on their dual degrees in the fall 2007 semester, bringing the program to its goal of four participants.
Peggy Schaeffer, the program's project coordinator, said she was thrilled with the enrollment of the three new students and the success of the dual degree program. "I think that this demonstrates that we can attract medical students to the program," she said.
Professor Barbara Wildemuth, the project director at SILS, agreed. "It is particularly rewarding to be able to diversify the SILS student body with students who will be pursuing careers combining their interests in medicine and in information science," Wildemuth said.
The program's success stems from several aspects that make it appealing to Duke medical students.
All medical students at Duke engage in some sort of independent study in their third year. They have the option to conduct research or pursue another degree, such as public health, public policy, or law. The addition of information and library science options gives the students an opportunity to explore health care related topics like information management, bioinformatics and evidence-based medicine in a way not possible in any of the prior programs. These students will be among those very few physicians who are dually trained in both clinical medicine and the information sciences, and thus they'll be ready to lead the transformation of health care as new information technologies, resources and services are implemented.
Beyond the academic appeal, the first four students who enrolled in the program were also guaranteed financial support during their two years at SILS. The support comes from a grant awarded to the program by IMLS's Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program and provides tuition, a stipend, health insurance and support for attending one conference each year.
But the program's four students all said they have received much more than financial support while pursuing their SILS degree.
"I think one of the biggest positives to the dual degree program is that we have a lot of flexibility with regards to course registration," Johns said. "I have been able to gather advice from doctors working in the medical informatics field and register for courses that support their advice. This also means that different students in this program can have very different focuses, and thus a wide variety of career possibilities."
Langman agreed that the program's flexibility is one of its greatest strengths. "It is a unique opportunity to broaden my education," he said. "I can gain skills and put myself in a position where I can offer much more to the medical field than I previously thought."
Ricardo Pietrobon, an assistant professor at Duke's medical school and director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, Biomedical Informatics Core, agreed that the program has much to offer medical students. "I think there's a great opportunity right now," he said. "I really see this as a rebirth [of information science], with new opportunities and new ways of making itself very relevant for society."
"This program is an exceptional opportunity for those in medical school to expand into an area that is growing," said Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, dean of the School of Information and Library Science and deputy director of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Translational and Clinical Sciences (TraCS) Institute and director of Biomedical Informatics. "Studying information and library science, and in particular, bioinformatics, will provide these students with an education that will prepare them for the technological changes that the medical field is experiencing and will continue to experience in the future."
With four students now enrolled in the dual degree program and the initial IMLS funding spoken for, Schaeffer said she and her colleagues are looking for ways to expand the program.
"We're applying for funding for two more cohorts to join the program," Schaeffer said. "We're exploring how the program can work with UNC's medical school as well."