Volume 6, Issue 3 n February 8, 2011

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter

“USU Faculty Connect” begins on page 4.
On the cover

2011 “Building Stronger Female 

Physician Leaders in the MHS” winners 

and honorable mentions: (Front) Army 

Col. Kelly Murray, Navy Cmdr. Meena 

Vythilingam, (Back) Air Force Lt. Col. 

Leslie Knight, Navy Cmdr. Ashley 

Schroeder and PHS Cmdr. Erica 

Schwartz. (Story on page 3)

MHS Courtesy Photo

Sharon Willis

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Ken Frager

Public Affairs Specialist

Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Production Editor

MC1 Chad Hallford

Writer

Christine Creenan-Jones

Contributing Writer

Lori Fields

Layout and Design

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Pulse staff may 

include or exclude articles based 

upon news value, impact on the 

university and space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse will be published 

bi-weekly on Mondays. The 

deadline for submissions is at 4 p.m. 

Tuesday prior to the publication 

date. Submissions can be sent to 

usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or by 

calling 301-295-0895.

New ASD(HA) visits USU campus

by Ken Frager

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, recently 

appointed as assistant secretary of 

Defense for Health Affairs and director, TRICARE Management Activity, was a guest for USU’s January 

Town Hall meeting. Woodson, 

who has been associated with the 

USU for more than 20 years as an 

adjunct professor, was introduced 

by president Charles L. Rice. Dr. 

Rice commented that he respects Dr. 

Woodson’s willingness to take on the 

job that “I know all too well,” having 

spent more than six months performing the duties in 2010. Dr. Woodson, 

who holds the rank of brigadier 

general in the U.S. Army Reserve, 

served as assistant surgeon general 

for Reserve Affairs, Force Structure 

and Mobilization in the Office of 

the Surgeon General, and as deputy 

commander of the Army Reserve 

Medical Command. 

“I hold USU in the highest regard,” 

said Dr. Woodson when addressing 

the packed cafeteria crowd. “USU 

does military medical education 

better than any other medical school 

I know of. You produce a benefit 

for the nation that no one else can 

promise. We need to make sure you 

have the educational resources to 

help us create medical care providers 

for tomorrow.”

Prior to his appointment, Dr. 

Woodson served as associate dean 

for diversity and multicultural affairs 

and professor of surgery at the Boston 

University School of Medicine, and 

senior attending vascular surgeon at 

Boston Medical Center. 

He is a graduate of the City College 

of New York and the New York 

University School of Medicine. He 

received his postgraduate medical 

education at the Massachusetts 

General Hospital, Harvard Medical 

School and completed residency 

training in internal medicine and 

general and vascular surgery. He is 

board certified in internal medicine, 

general surgery, vascular surgery and 

critical care surgery. He also holds a 

master’s degree in strategic studies 

(concentration in strategic leadership) 

from the U.S. Army War College.

In 1992, Dr. Woodson was awarded 

a research fellowship at the Association of American Medical Colleges 

Health Services Research Institute. He 

has authored/coauthored a number 

of publications and book chapters 

on vascular trauma and outcomes in 

vascular limb salvage surgery.

His prior military assignments 

include deployments to Saudi Arabia 

(Operation Desert Storm), Kosovo, 

Operation Enduring Freedom and 

Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also 

served as a senior trauma medical 

officer with the National Disaster Management System, where he 

responded to the Sept. 11th attack in 

New York City. Woodson’s military 

awards and decorations include the 

Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star 

Medal and the Meritorious Service 

Medal (with oak leaf cluster).

In 2007, he was named one of the 

top vascular surgeons in Boston, and 

in 2008 was listed as one of the top 

surgeons in the U.S. He is the recipient of the 2009 Gold Humanism in 

Medicine Award from the Association 

of American Medical Colleges.

 Jonathan Woodson, MD, assistant 

secretary of Defense for Health Affairs

Courtesty Photo

2 the pulse February 8, 2011
Continued to page 6

USU presence highlighted at Military Health System conference 

by Ken Frager

USU faculty, leadership, and 

alumni were well represented at 

the recent Military Health System 

(MHS) conference, held in January in 

Washington, DC. 

USU president Charles L. Rice, 

M.D. provided introductory remarks 

for one of the keynote speakers, the 

Honorable Tom Daschle, former U.S. 

Senator and Senate Majority Leader. 

Daschle spoke to the more than 4,000 

attendees about the ever-changing 

strategic landscape for the MHS, 

commending the work of everyone in 

the military health system for their 

commitment to taking care of the war 

fighters and their families.

In his remarks, Daschle said he 

expects that the MHS will provide 

an example of quality healthcare 

for some of the most challenging 

medical issues. “The MHS can play 

a unique and valuable role in the 

transformation of the nation’s healthcare. The rest of the government and 

the private sector can learn from the 

MHS,” Daschle said.

Leadership from the USU and the 

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the 

Advancement of Military Medicine 

MHS Courtesy Photo

(HJF) also presented the 2010 Excellence in Teaching Awards during 

the conference to the Naval Medical 

Center Portsmouth, Va., and the 

Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center 

at Fort Meade, Md. These awards are 

presented in recognition of the overall 

support given by the command, staff 

and faculty for the university’s teaching programs. 

Accepting the awards on behalf 

of their commands were Rear Adm. 

(Dr.) Alton Stocks, Commander, Naval 

Medical Center Portsmouth and Col. 

(Dr.) Leon Moores, Commander, 

Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center, 

(SoM ’90).

Previous recipients include Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center, Madigan 

Army Medical Center, the National 

Naval Medical Center, DeWitt Army 

Community Hospital, 96th Medical 

Group, Eglin AFB; and the Air Force 

Medical Center Wright-Patterson 

AFB. The awards are accompanied by a 

$5,000 check from HJF.

USU alumni walked away with 

several honors, including Army Col. 

(Dr.) Kelly Murray (SoM ’92), the 

winner of the 2011 Building Stronger 

Female Physician Leaders in the MHS 

award. Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Leslie 

Knight (SoM ’94) received honorable 

mention, as did Cmdr. (Dr.) Erica 

Schwartz, USPHS (MPH ’99).

“I am continually impressed 

with the impact we, as an organization, are having, serving in critical roles throughout the military 

health environment and in civilian 

medicine,” said Dr. Rice. “I’m proud 

each time our alumni are recognized, 

when they advance in their careers 

and when they represent us in such a 

positive manner. It reminds me why 

we continue to do what we do...and 

that we do it very well.”

The F. Edward Hébert School of 

Medicine received an electronic facelift 

recently. The entire Web site, more than a 

hundred pages, was overhauled to create a 

more aesthetic and user-friendly site. 

The new site, launched in January, 

features multi-media technology 

highlighting faculty and student 

accomplishments while showcasing the 

medicine learned on campus grounds.

“Our goal was to create a platform 

that represents the unique mission of this 

School of Medicine gets new digital look

by Christine Creenan-Jones

school,” said Sharon Willis, deputy vice 

president of External Affairs. “A team 

of USU members – including writers, 

photographers, programmers, students 

and faculty – worked together to bring 

important facets of the school to the 

forefront in a creative and dynamic way.”

An updated newsfeed is just one of 

the new online features. This interactive 

tool displays up-to-date information 

about the school and community. 

The Official USU Newsletter 3

The Honorable Tom Daschle, left, speaks with USU president Charles L. Rice, MD, and 

assistant secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) Jonathan Woodson, MD, at the recent 

MHS Conference.
The School of Medicine held a 

one-day strategic planning retreat on 

November 18 with 16 faculty from 

both on- and off-campus locations. 

The goal of the retreat was to develop 

one-, three- and five-year plans to 

enhance the professional development of USU faculty in their roles as 

teachers, researchers and academic 

leaders throughout the military 

health care system.

Led by Dr. Brian Reamy, associate dean for Faculty, and Dr. Cindy 

Wilson, director, Faculty Development for Curriculum Reform, the 

retreat introduced plans for three 

major program initiatives. First, 

planning was begun for workshops 

on key skills necessary for optimum 

teaching in the new integrated 

curriculum under development in the 

School of Medicine. 

These “Survival Boot Camp” for 

Curriculum Reform workshops 

will involve instruction in cutting 

edge skills in four major areas: adult 

learning strategies, development 

and delivery of large group lectures, 

faculty skills in leading small group 

seminars, and the delivery of feedback 

and assessment within the context of 

a small group setting. The workshops 

will occur in March, April, May and 

June of 2011. Pre-registration will 

be required and attendance at each 

seminar will be limited to 15 people 

to enhance the opportunity for 

exchange and academic enrichment. 

Further workshops will occur based 

on demand over succeeding months. 

Faculty who teach in the new Curriculum are encouraged to participate.

Second, planning was begun for 

three additional four-hour workshops 

on increasing faculty skills in the 

utilization of the SAKAI management system for distributed learning 

technologies and methodologies. 

These skills will become critical for 

content delivery to medical students 

in the new integrated curriculum 

especially during their clinical clerkships at military treatment facilities 

thoughout the United States. Interactive training, use of discussion boards, 

simulated patient scenarios, basic 

science content and the management of copyrighted materials, quiz 

banks and other technologies are all 

new ways to enhance the education 

of USU students. These workshops 

will help faculty to gain skill and 

confidence in the utilization of these 

technologies in the years ahead.

Finally, planning was initiated for 

a new Faculty Development Certificate program at USU. This program 

will coordinate all faculty development activities; those that occur 

on-campus, off-campus during site 

visits, and newly developed programs 

for the delivery of faculty development to non-billeted faculty via 

distributed learning. The program will 

offer faculty development education 

organized into five modules: Educator Skills (Introductory, Intermediate, 

Advanced), Feedback & Assessment 

skills, Research Skills, Career Development & Progression, and Academic 

Leadership. These modules will 

include offerings suitable for junior, 

mid-career and senior faculty.

After the completion of 30 hours of 

faculty development training a Certificate in Medical Education will be 

awarded. Completion of 70 hours will 

lead to being awarded a Certificate 

of Advanced Expertise in Medical 

Education. These certificates will help 

demonstrate the dedication of USU 

faculty to their professional development as medical educators. 

Additional information about 

“Survival Boot Camp” registration 

and the ongoing development of 

the Faculty Development Certificate Program will be disseminated as 

details are finalized. Information may 

also be obtained from Dr. Brian Reamy 

(breamy@usuhs.mil), Dr. Cindy 

Wilson (cwilson@usuhs.mil) or Ms. 

Lisa McTigue (lmctigue@usuhs.mil).

Faculty Development Program Development 

in the School of Medicine

by Drs. Brian Reamy and Cindy Wilson

Intended Participants 

  

“Survival Boot Camp” is designed to meet 

the needs of: 

• Billeted & Non‐Billeted Faculty 

• Junior & Senior Faculty 

• Basic Science Faculty 

• Clinical Science Faculty 

  

who will be teaching in the new  

integrated curriculum. 

  

Certificate 

  

Participants earn a certificate after 

completion of a module. 

  

 

Module 1 

  

Includes Principles of Adult Learning, Small 

Group Teaching, Large Group Teaching,  

Feedback and Assessment within a Small 

Group Setting 

  

Objectives  

  

     * Apply principles of Adult Learning 

  

     * Enhance instructional skills 

  

     * Utilize a variety of strategies in 

         Large and Small Group Teaching 

  

     * Employ feedback and assessment 

strategy in small group settings 

  

Option 1 

2 March 0800‐1200 and 10 March 0800‐1200 

  

Option 2 

11 April 1230‐1630 and 18 April 0730‐1130 

  

Option 3 

4 May 0800‐1200 and 12 May 0800‐1200   

  

 

Module 2 

  

Includes Distributed Learning using  

technologies based in SAKAI 

  

Objective 

  

     *    Utilize the SAKAI learning  

management system to engage  students, 

organize class material and improve  

learning outcomes.

  

Option 1  

9 Mar 0900‐1100 and 16 Mar 0900‐1100 

  

Option 2 

31 Mar 1300‐1500 and 6 Apr 1300‐1500 

  

Option 3 

11 Apr 1400‐1600 and 25 Apr 1400‐1600 

  

  

Seating is limited.   

To register, log onto  

http://www.lrc.usuhs.mil/content/

FacultyDevRegClassReg.php   

 

“Survival Boot Camp” for Curriculum Reform

4 the pulse February 8, 2011
New Faculty Orientation Day 

was held at USU in October 2010, 

with 46 new USU faculty members 

in attendance. The agenda was 

designed to provide an understanding of USU procedures, policies, 

and opportunities, and included 

topics related to faculty support, 

the appointment, promotion and 

tenure processes, research, teaching 

and education. 

The event was sponsored by 

the USU Faculty Senate and 

began with an introduction to the 

orientation topics, presented by 

Faculty Senate President, Dr. Gary 

Wind, and the Faculty Mentoring 

Committee co-chairs. Welcoming comments from USU President Dr. Charles Rice, and JTF 

commander Vice Adm. (Dr.) John 

Mateczun followed. The Deans from 

the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Nursing and Graduate Medical Education program 

addressed attendees, followed by the 

USU Brigade Commander, AFRRI 

Director, SOM Associate Dean for 

Faculty, and GSN Interim Associate 

Dean of Faculty Affairs.

The faculty support portion of 

the morning was dedicated to briefings by various university departments, providing new faculty with 

an overview of the services and 

support USU has available to assist 

with clinical, teaching and research 

responsibilities. Representatives 

from the Office of the General 

Counsel, Civilian Human Resources, 

library and media services, and 

the Office of External Affairs also 

participated. Faculty Mentoring 

subcommittee members demonstrated the new web-based system, 

which is designed to facilitate those 

faculty members who would like to 

become a mentor, but also faculty 

who are looking for support from a 

USU mentor. 

Break-out sessions covering the 

USU Appointment, Promotion and 

Tenure process were on the afternoon agenda. This was followed 

by the vice president of Research 

discussing start-up grants, assurances, technology transfer, and 

the role of the Henry M. Jackson 

Foundation in research at USU. The 

final session of the afternoon was 

dedicated to teaching and education 

New Faculty Orientation Day

by Drs. Brian Reamy and Cindy Wilson

technologies, and included a Panel 

of Outstanding Educators at USU 

– Dr. O’Brien, Dr. Conran, Dr. 

Goodie and Dr. Seibert. 

The event concluded with an 

afternoon reception with more 

than 20 current faculty on hand 

to welcome and meet with new 

faculty members. 

The taped presentation, along with 

additional resources will be posted 

on the Faculty Senate website, www.

usuhs.mil/faculty/senate.

Faculty Development “Pearl”

Q: What is the difference between feedback and evaluation/assessment?

Answer:

FEEDBACK EVALUATION

Gives information for learner action Gives judgment for learner reflection

Formative Summative

Neutral & composed of verbs and nouns Normative statements peppered with 

adverbs & adjectives

Helps keep a learner on track toward an educational goalTells a learner if they reached an 

educational goal

Focused on the individual Places the individual in relation to their 

peer group

Part of the learning process End of the learning process

EXAMPLES: Are the following feedback(F) or evaluation(E)?

1) When you saw the patient with HTN and started him on a diuretic, you forget 

that he has Type II DM and an ACEI would have been a better choice.

2) During this rotation you frequently chose the less-ideal medicine for patients 

with HTN.

3) When you delivered that baby you forgot to completely control the descent. 

This contributed to a perineal injury.

4) You performed 30 deliveries this month. You performed at an intern level with 

10, at a resident level with 10, but below acceptable standards with 10.

ANSWERS: 1: F, 2: E, 3: F, 4: E

The Official USU Newsletter 5
The impact of combat injury on 

intimacy is an important and often 

neglected aspect of healthcare communication. Four new fact sheets addressing the impact of the injuries of war, 

both physical and psychological, on 

intimacy have just been released for 

healthcare providers and affected 

military families. 

They are: Intimacy and Health: The 

Impact of PTSD and Other Invisible 

Injuries on Returning Service Members

for providers, Reintegration and 

Intimacy: The Impact of PTSD and Other 

Visible Injuries for families; Physical 

Injury and Intimacy: Helping Wounded 

Warriors and their Loved Ones Manage 

Relationship Challenges and Changes for 

providers, Physical Injury and Intimacy: 

Managing Relationship Challenges and 

Changes for families.

Developed by the Center for the 

Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), the 

injury and intimacy fact sheets are 

part of the larger Courage to Care 

Courage to Talk (www.couragetotalk.

org) campaign, launched in March of 

2010 by the Center’s Child & Family 

Program. Courage to Care Courage 

to Talk provides resources to military 

New CSTS resources available to 

address intimacy issues

by Ken Frager

health treatment centers and organizations dedicated to wounded warrior care 

that educate about and facilitate communication around difficult topics involving 

the impact of combat injury on service 

members and families. 

“Whether a returning service 

member is single, married or married 

with children, the capacity to resume 

and establish relationships that provide 

emotional closeness and sexual togetherness can enhance or undermine 

individual health, relationship health, 

and even the health of one’s family,” as 

quoted from the fact sheets. The fact 

sheets include “tips” to help injured 

service members and their loved ones 

improve intimacy. 

The fact sheets remind healthcare professionals that “relationship intimacy is an important part 

of post-deployment health and 

reintegration. Ask about relationship intimacy. Sometimes patients 

are uncomfortable bringing up the 

topic, so service providers may need 

to start the conversation.” The injury 

and intimacy fact sheets can be 

downloaded at: www.cstsonline.org as 

well as www.couragetotalk.org.

Continued from page 3

SOM digital look

HPRC Health Tips

The Human Performance 

Resource Center Health Tips is a 

new column intended to provide the 

USU community with information to 

help develop and maintain a healthy 

lifestyle. Check out the HPRC website 

at: http://humanperformancere

sourcecenter.org.

Get Fit ‘on the job’:

Part 2

At The Gym

If your building has an onsite 

fitness center, take full advantage 

of it. If not, check around for 

nearby gyms that offer corporate membership discounts. If 

there’s no gym available, packing 

workout clothes — or at least a 

clean shirt and socks —makes 

mid-day exercise more practical. 

High-Intensity Workouts

Scheduling physical activity 

into your work day helps make it 

a habit. Once it’s on your calendar, honor your exercise time just 

as you would any other appointment. You may need to reschedule 

occasionally, but at least it will be 

on the books - and you’re more 

likely to get it done. 

Urban Hiking

If the stairwells at your 

worksite are safe and accessible, 

use them for exercise —and 

you’ll strengthen your entire 

lower body while getting a great 

cardiovascular workout. Look 

outside for nearby public stairways and hilly streets.

Fun and Camaraderie

Leveraging on-the-job social 

support can help you stay on track 

— and makes your workout time 

more enjoyable. Make your physical activity plan more fun — and 

more sustainable — by inviting 

co-workers to join you.

For example, a story about USU’s 

cutting-edge research may follow 

information about commencement and 

other current events. 

Candid glimpses into the School of 

Medicine experience is another feature 

of the re-designed site. Visitors learn 

from USU students what distinguishes 

this school from others. This includes an 

innovative military-focused curriculum.

“USU’s medical school program is 

quite singular,” said Willis. “So, the 

new Web site had to include information that truly captured USU’s 

innovative teaching methods. Instead 

of just breaking the curriculum down 

by semester and year, the Web team 

created pages dedicated exclusively to 

the field exercises and other hallmark 

USU experiences.”

While there have been other significant changes to the overall USU site, 

including the Graduate School of 

Nursing, more large-scale change is on 

the horizon. Several departments and 

programs are revamping their sections, 

and the university is in the beginning 

stages of a major re-design initiative 

that will give USU’s entire Web site a 

whole new look and organization. 

“Often, people use the Internet to 

learn more about a university,” said 

Willis. “We want to put our best foot 

forward, and that’s what our web 

revitalization effort is all about.” 

6 the pulse February 8, 2011
Briefs

Dining In

Find out who is going to the grog this 

year at the USU 2011 Dining In. 

Dust off your mess dress and join the 

party from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 5. 

Tickets for the Dining In are on sale now. 

Please contact Lt. Cmdr. Rene Hernandez at rhernandez@usuhs.mil for 

more information.

Using computer resources 

Security incidents continue to be 

a drain to limited USU Information 

Assurance manpower. The following 

highlight current DoD policy and 

best practices: 

Personnel must not install self-coded 

or non-licensed software on network 

resources; add, remove, configure, 

or attempt to modify USU computer 

operating systems or programs; 

move audio/visual or network cables, 

computers or attempt to connect 

personal computers to the network 

including MDL and lecture hall spaces; 

connect personal devices except for 

those previously authorized by NOC; 

download pornographic material and 

store or display offensive material, such 

as racist literature, sexually harassing 

or obscene language or material; store 

or process classified information on 

any USU system. 

Personnel must not permit 

unauthorized individuals access to a 

government-owned or governmentoperated system or program; access 

online gambling, games and social 

engineering sites. 

ESC meetings

The Enlisted Social Committee 

holds its monthly meetings on the 

first Tuesday of every month.

Meetings are held at 9:30 a.m. in 

the cafeteria’s small dining room.

Being a part of the ESC is an excellent way for USU enlisted personnel to actively pursue volunteer 

opportunities at USU.

Helpdesk Closure

The NOC helpdesk is closed for training on Thursdays from 10 to 

11 a.m. 

During this time, you can leave a 

voicemail message at 301-295-9800, 

utilize the HEAT Self Service (http://

www.usuhs.mil/uis/forms/trouble.

html), or email help@usuhs.mil. 

If an emergency should arise, please 

call 301-295-9870.

Exercise/Fitness Areas: 

Physical Fitness training should be 

conducted in designated areas. 

The only authorized space for PT 

within the university is room G060. 

The campus’ Student Community 

Lounge area is also authorized, but 

only during specified PFT testing 

dates or times.

Improving IT infrastracture

by Dennis Stutz and Tim Rapp

This article will serve as an introduction to an ongoing series updating you 

on the changes and improvements going 

on in the computer support arena at 

USU. This will include events dictated 

by DoD security requirements; changes 

necessitated by curriculum reform; and, 

improvements that are necessary to 

retain a robust infrastructure to support 

our teaching and research requirements.

The primary ongoing effort is USU’s 

work to meet DIACAP (DoD Information Assurance Certification and 

Accreditation Process) requirements 

to receive an ATO (Authorization to 

Operate). Without an ATO, the USU 

computer network would be shutdown 

and we would be unable to accomplish 

our mission. USU Chief Information 

Officer Mr. Timothy Rapp and his staff 

have been working to meet the requirements set out for this process, receiving 

invaluable help from the administration 

and financial management areas in 

support of this effort. The entire USU 

community has been affected by this 

process because of the all-encompassing nature of the infrastructure and 

software changes required.

Over the next 60 days:

n	 Desktops and laptop remediation is

complete; however, residual ticket

clean-up will continue through the

middle of March.

n	 Mac remediation is complete for

those systems still on the network; a

centralized EURRC for End Of Life

(EOL) Mac equipment is pending.

n	 All Virtual Local Area Network

(VLAN) deployments are complete.

This was the primary implementation

	 –	 Primary source of increased help

desk tickets, the need to re-IP

workstations, and printer outages

	 –	 Last two (of 22) were AFRRI dated 13 Jan and Ground floor dated

17 Jan, which will be completed

by middle of March

n	 Any outages for configuration updates

in Feb/Mar will be localized

n	 Server remediation was scheduled to

complete 1 Feb with non-compliant

systems disconnected the same day.

n	 USU documentation close out 4 Mar

n	 Internal DAA pre-brief week of 7 Mar

n	 External TMA team validation lateMarch/early April

n	 TMA DIACAP packet brief to USU

DAA May 11 resulting in an ATO

As this process continues, the OCIO 

will continue to provide updates 

and notification of changes to the 

university community. If you have 

problems or concerns related to this, 

Mr. Dennis Stutz, Director, Customer 

Service, is acting as an ombudsman to 

help communicate issues. He can be 

contacted at 301-295-9560 or 

dstutz@usuhs.mil.

The Official USU Newsletter 7