FSU College of Medicine 2018 annual report 2019 Annual Report | Page 30

COMMUNITY-BASED MEDICAL EDUCATION
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GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Those partnerships are vital to the College of Medicine’s
ORLANDO: NEW LEADERSHIP,
NEW EXPANSION
success. They’re reflected in ways both grand and subtle. As
Pensacola Campus Dean Paul McLeod looked back on 2019,
Orlando’s new dean, Joan Meek, has been part of that
it was one of the subtle memories that caught his attention.
regional campus from the start. When it was established in
“While walking through a local skilled nursing facility a
2002, Meek was selected as the pediatric clerkship director
few weeks ago,” he recalled in December, “I felt a gentle pull
and served until 2014. Five years later, when Campus Dean
on my sleeve and was greeted by one of the local residents.
Michael J. Muszynski announced his retirement, Meek was
‘When are the students coming back?’ she asked.
chosen to step into that role.
“Like scores of other patients throughout the area, she
Meek – who also continues as associate dean for graduate
remembered the day that an FSU College of Medicine student
medical education, having helped establish seven residency
programs and two fellowship programs across the state – is
excited to be working with the students and regional campus
staff. “I have had the opportunity to orient our incoming
students and see our first class of PA students graduate and
had come by to see her while on the geriatrics clerkship. What
PENSACOLA: PEOPLE
LOVE OUR STUDENTS
she remembered most were the student’s questions about her
family, her previous career and her late husband. Our student
made her the focus of the visit, not her failing heart. 
In its own way, each regional campus forges a partnership
“Under the direction of 300 local physician mentors, this scenario
head off to their first jobs,” she said. “We have great support with the community. Our students filter throughout the from our community-based faculty and our hospital partners repeats itself day after day at our Pensacola Regional Campus.
area, learning one-on-one as apprentices from practicing at Orlando Health, AdventHealth and HCA, and their ‘When are the students coming back?’ This simple question tells us
physicians and PAs. It’s a hands-on education that many physician group practices. a lot about our model of medical education and the impact we are
current providers wish they could’ve had. having on our community, one patient at a time.”
“Building on past foundations, the Orlando campus
continues to expand into Citrus County with new hospital
and practice partnerships and a dedicated FSU student living
facility that allows our M.D. and PA students to complete
clerkships in a region rich with primary care opportunities.”
In addition to their clinical rotations, the Orlando
Regional Campus students engage with the local community,
volunteering at health fairs, performing school and sports
physicals, and working with faculty at the Shepherd’s Hope
Health Centers. Example: This year they helped sort and
package food at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central
Florida to provide almost 6,000 meals for individuals in the
community who struggle with food insecurity.