Dear Colleague, We are pleased to announce a new feature of MedEdMentoring.org, First Tuesday. The first Tuesday of every month, registered users can participate in live teleconferences on different career development topics and address questions or comments to our advisory board members, or just "sit in" and follow the discussion. Downloadable PowerPoint slides to accompany each teleconference will be made available on the Web site in advance, and instructions on how to join the teleconference and ask questions will be sent to participants before the event. Each teleconference will last approximately 30 minutes. The inaugural First Tuesday teleconference, to be held on May 2, 2006, will focus on the topic "Challenges Faced by Women and Minorities in Job Placement and Promotion in Academic Settings: Is Diversity in Mentoring the Key?" We invite you to join us to discuss this important and timely issue. Sincerely, Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS; Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Maureen Halpain, MS; Barry D. Lebowitz, PhD; Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Gwenn Smith, PhD; Joel E. Streim, MD; Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA

MedicalUpdates
Medical student and senior participants' perceptions of a mentoring program designed to enhance geriatric medical education.
Corwin SJ, Frahm K, Ochs LA, Rheaume CE, Roberts E, Eleazar GP.
Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2005;26(3):47-65.
This study qualitatively analyzed second-year medical students' and senior participants' perceptions of and attitudes towards a Senior Mentor Program as an effective learning modality.

The ethical commitments of academic faculty in psychiatric education.
Green SA.
Acad Psychiatry. 2006 Spring;30(1):48-54.
This article explores the commitment of faculty to ethics training in psychiatric education. Specific recommendations for training are provided.

Views of family medicine department chairs about mentoring junior faculty.
Koopman RJ, Thiedke CC.
Med Teach. 2005 Dec;27(8):734-7.
Mentoring can be a key component contributing to the success of faculty. We investigated the attitudes of family medicine department chairs toward mentoring, with emphasis on mentoring female and minority faculty.

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MostViewedPresentations
General
Interpreting and Responding to Grant Reviews
Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS
This presentation describes a stepwise approach to interpreting and responding to grant reviews and offers strategies that will lead to the most successful response.

Geriatric
The Focus on Geriatric Mental Health
Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH
In this brief presentation, Dr. Bruce highlights the key question of why we need to focus on geriatric mental health.


MostReadArticles  
General
Writing-skills development in the health professions.
Rawson RE, Quinlan KM, Cooper BJ, Fewtrell C, Matlow JR.
Teach Learn Med. 2005 Summer;17(3):233-8. Studies have found that students in the medical professions often lack the writing skills required during their education and career. In the context of a basic science course, weekly exercises were found to improve writing skills.

Geriatric
Proposed geriatric psychiatry core competencies for subspecialty training.
Lieff SJ, Kirwin P, Colenda CC.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005 Sep;13(9):815-21.
The authors present and discuss the theoretical and practical development of proposed core competencies for subspecialty training and certification in geriatric psychiatry as required by the ACGME and the ABPN.


InTheNews
Is peer review broken?
TheScientist.com, February 2006
Submissions are up, reviewers are overtaxed, and authors are lodging complaint after complaint about the process at top-tier journals. What's wrong with peer review?

Betrayed by Your Adviser
Chronicle of Higher Education.com, February 20, 2006
A dissertation shows your potential as a scholar; it shouldn't simply be a long footnote to your mentor's glorious career.

Why Grad Students Succeed or Fail
InsideHigherEd.com, February 16, 2006
A new book surveying over 9000 graduate students reports that more than 30% never feel that they have a faculty mentor. The study also found a strong preference among female and minority students for mentors and advisers who are from their same groups.

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