Through their successful mini medical schools, IUSM's regional medical education centers in Muncie, Gary, Terre Haute and South Bend all offer lectures to enhance the medical and scientific literacy of the public. High school students, housewives and retirees are among those attending.
Topics are wide-ranging.
Recent lectures have touched on surgical procedures, exercise and physical fitness, testis cancer, and spirituality in medicine. According to the National Institutes of Health, about sixty mini medical school programs exist nationwide. The School's program, patterned after those at the University of Colorado and University of Virginia medical schools, began on the Indianapolis campus five years ago. Center directors saw the program as an opportunity to build better relations with their communities. At the Northwest Center for Medical Education in Gary, members of the local medical community present many of the lectures, which are held in the Lake County Public Library and are open to the public at no charge.