Duke University School of Medicine - Aesculapian Yearbook (Durham, NC)

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-. 0'1- wal Dr. Hill and his associate take a pause from work. Below: Row l KL to RJ: R. Green. H. Kamin, D Steege, R. Hill, S. H. Kim. R. Harris, M. Bem- heim. Row 2: B. Kaufman, H. Sage. W. Guild, A Greenleaf. l. Fridovich, K. V. Rajagopolan, R Bell. D. Richardson. K. McCarty, P. Modrich, L Siegel. Y. Nozaki.

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BIOCHEMISTRY is f. , luis- .4- , Robert L. Hill, Chairman Biochemistry has become the language of much of Biology and Medicine. We increasingly seek an understanding of human disease in bio- chemical terms, and use the developments in bio- chemistry for designing new diagnostic methods and more rational approaches to therapy. The faculty of the Biochemistry Department has the responsibility of introducing first year medical students to the chemistry of the human body. Much time is spent leaming the principles of the subject. including the chemistry of the constitu- ents in living things and their metabolic transfor- mations. Special attention is given to correlating biochemistry with human disease. and confer- ences are held weekly in which a particular dis- ease or disorder is discussed in biochemical tenns. The Biochemistry Department also has the responsibility of teaching Medical Genetics, including a review of the principles of molecular genetics. Here too, the course attempts to corre- late genetics and human disease. The many course offerings in Biochemistry and Genetics. as well as the opportunities for full-time research. are available to all students in their elective basic science year. The faculty. students and postdoc- toral fellows in the Department are involved in a number of areas of biochemical research. By actively contributing to the ever growing body of biochemical knowledge. the Department keeps abreast of new knowledge in the discipline, and its members provide a teaching and learning resource for all students and faculty in the Uni- versity. 26

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21 Harvey Estes, Chairman Below: Row l CL to RJ: R. Sullivan, S. Heyden, J. Ritter, J. Goetzl, S. Nelius. Row 2: D. Reich, M. Morris, T. Kane, P. Harrison. Row 3: H. Estes, J. Newell, J. Crellin, M. Woodbury, R. Carter. Row 4: D. Naumann, G. Solovieff, A. Streeter, M. Hilton, J. Gifford, B. Wilkinson. Row 5: E. Pope, J. Schmidt, R. Joslin, A. Hathaway, B. Loro. Row 6: M. Hamilton, C. Severns, J. Newsome, J. Hansen, F. Herpok. Row 7: B. Cleveland, E. Bal- ance, M. Helms, M. Ali. COMMUNITY AND FAMILY MEDICINE The Department of Community and Family Medicine is unique in that many of its activities are directed at medical problems faced by groups of individuals rather than individual patients. Most medical school training emphasizes the proper care of an individual patient who presents at the doctor's office for care. but seldom consid- ers those patients who do nor come to the doc- tor's office, because of the lack of available care, inconvenience, ignorance, of lack of financial resources. These problems of accessibility, cost effective- ness, distribution, etc.. require, for their solution. sufficient numbers of primary care physicians, properly distributed, and properly trained to care for the needs of most patients. Thus one of the department's main interests is the training of family physicians. The department also has the responsibility for training physician's assistants. The department teaches both basic and uclinical' topics. lts first contact with students is in the Interterm, during which it teaches a course divided into three parts. The first part covers cur- X wx., S, Y- , A1 rent issues in health care delivery. The other two segments are epidemiology and biostatistics, The department has no teaching responsibli- ties in Year 2, though it is actively attempting to obtain a mandatory rotation in a community set- ting during this segment of the curriculum. lt is hoped that this experience would more fully acquaint the student with the true nature of med- ical practice and the function of the physician within the community. In Year 3 the department has a variety of offerings. The most recent is a Study Program in Epidemiology, which combines didactic instruc- tion in epidemiology and biostatistics with a research project. Other major offerings include courses in medical history, medical ethics, medi- colegal issues, computers in medicine, etc. ln the fourth year, the department offers several clinical rotations, in the broad area of pri- mary care, ranging from experiences with family physicians in small communities, to rotations in the Family Medicine Center, the practice base for the Family Medicine residency.