Fellow Bio:

My project was to introduce the book, "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman, into the curriculum of the medical school. This book describes the clash that develops between the family and doctors of a young Hmong girl with epilepsy.

My personal goals for this project are:
1. To build a network of contacts that have a common goal, and learn to incorporate all of their efforts towards a project.
2. To develop communication skills and leadership skills in accomplishing an administrative goal.

Project related:
1. Enrich the current curriculum by establishing a school policy towards cultural enrichment.
2. To encourage thought and discussion surrounding the difficult issues that surround ethical treatment of patients of all cultures and backgrounds.

Since my last report, I have conducted a phone interview with Sara Axtell at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She was an integral part of making this book part of the curriculum there. I presented my project to several student groups, including the Cross Cultural Interest Group, and Medical students for Minority Concerns, and gained their support for my project. In addition, I have joined the Medical School Curriculum Competency committee, and met with the Dean of Students at the medical school. When I met with the dean, I presented the project and described the support of medical students as well as several faculty members. Eventually, through many meetings and presentations, the book was adopted as an official recommended reading to the entering first year medical students. This was included in the first letter sent out to incoming students.

The main challenge that I have come across is that of commitment and time. Almost everyone that I have met with is supportive and encouraging, but it is difficult to coordinate the efforts of many into one project. I also think that I began with an extremely large project and spent a lot of time exploring many different avenues of accomplishing goals. Eventually, through the guidance of fellow students as well as my mentor, I began to focus my efforts on one goal. I learned that it is important to take everything one step at a time in order to accomplish the goals of a project.

I anticipate a great deal of challenges in establishing the continuity of this project. There needs to be significant commitment of time and effort towards developing this, in spite of how inspiring and rewarding it is. I believe that the support of a faculty/staff member is crucial to maintaining this continuity.

Resource Needs:

Last update:

February 1, 2002

A indicates the item has been completed.

Completed	When	What	On-line
	Year 1: Beginning of Semester 2	New Project Report	Submit Report
	Year 2: Beginning of Semester 1	Project Update	Submit Update
	Year 2: Beginning of Semester 2	Project Update	Submit Update
	Year 3: Beginning of third year	Project Update	Submit Update
	Year 4: August of fourth year	2-3 page final summary of project that includes a reflective evaluation of the project process	N/A
	Ongoing	Participate in program evaluation (written and/or focus group)	View Options
	By the end of fourth year	Select poster, presentation, paper, creative option or your own idea	View Options

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