June 28, 2023

Administrative policy news

The President’s Policy Committee approved the new Retroactive Withdrawal and Academic Restoration policy, which provides pathways for students who have struggled academically to return to the University and complete their degree. Additionally, three financial and accounting transactions policies were combined into one policy, two academic policies on course credits were combined into one policy, and the Safety of Minors policy underwent major changes. The policies are currently in the 30-day public comment period.

Safety of minors information for youth programs/activities/events

Youth programs, activities, and events engaging with minors (under 18) must comply with the University's Safety of Minors policy and must be registered annually on the Youth Central Registration System. Program leaders/heads of units are encouraged to be a part of the pre-college network. Email Youth Safety and Compliance Manager Jazmin Danielson for more information and professional learning opportunities related to operating a safe and effective youth program.

Experimental: She needed a new liver. Her parents made her famous.

In 1982, 11-month-old Jamie Fiske changed the world. With a failing liver in an era when organ transplantation was only experimental, she was not expected to reach her first birthday. Her parents began a nationwide campaign to save their daughter’s life before it was too late. The University of Minnesota Department of Surgery, led by John Najarian, agreed to take a chance. Watch a video detailing Fiske’s story.

 

U of M develops model to assess lactating cow heat stress

University researchers developed a highly sophisticated model to assess lactating cow heat stress, a problem that can lead to numerous health complications for cows and financial difficulties for dairy producers. 

Fighting deadly disease, one molecule at a time

Researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Science and Engineering have discovered a promising new target against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacteria that can cause fatal infections that are increasingly difficult to treat with existing antibiotics.

Report details potential impact of COVID-19 on adolescent sexual and reproductive health

Sexually transmitted infection rates and birth rates continued to decrease among Minnesota youth, according to this year’s annual report from the Medical School’s Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center. However, the pregnancy rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, likely due to decreased access to contraception and medical care during the pandemic.

Initiative announced to examine ethics of AI in nursing

The School of Nursing announced an initiative to examine the ethical implications of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in nursing. The group has been charged with producing a strategy to inform and expand scholarship in the profession’s adoption of new AI technology. 

U of M and Mayo Clinic announce new pathway program for training of nurse-midwives

Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing are collaborating to create a new academic pathway for nurse-midwives that will expand the nurse-midwifery workforce in the Upper Midwest. The collaboration creates a pathway for students admitted to the School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program to complete the approximately 1,000 hours of required clinical training at Mayo Clinic hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

ICI celebrates flagship publication’s anniversary

The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) launched Impact magazine 35 years ago to quickly get useful information out to people with disabilities and their caregivers. From its beginnings as a 12-page newsletter on case management, Impact has grown to include personal stories, practical how-to articles, profiles of promising programs and practitioners, and best practices for people with disabilities to live lives of their own choosing.  

Research Brief: Profitability decline is forcing many rural hospitals to close or merge

As the financial distress of rural hospitals increases, access to health care is under threat for rural Americans. A new study from the School of Public Health examined this challenge by analyzing how rural hospitals—including unprofitable ones—fared over the course of eight years. See additional recent Research Briefs.

June 28 - Webinar series: Teaching the SDGs

This Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Initiative webinar will feature three panelists sharing how they have integrated the SDGs into their courses or programs. Participants will hear about a health course with a study abroad component, a Freshman Seminar, and how a 21-credit program was developed using the SDGs as a framework. Noon. 

July 24 - Seminar with Robert Otto Valdez

Robert Otto Valdez, director of the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, will discuss the challenges/opportunities facing the U.S. healthcare system in providing high-quality, equitable, and safe health care. He will discuss how factors such as the use of data and measurement, a refocus on patient safety after the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent health care disparities, an aging of the population, and climate change are impacting the future of health care. Register and learn more.