New Director of Medical Education Takes Over
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) - In early October, Gundersen Health System appointed Dr. Benjamin Jarman as the new Designated Institutional Official (DIO) for Graduate Medical Education.
Prior to his new position, Dr. Jarman was interim DIO after Dr. Greg Thompson retired.
Now that it's official, Dr. Jarman said he's looking forward to continuing the successful legacy of his predecessors.
His role now is to guide and train just over 1,500 learners who are enrolled in Gundersen Medical Foundation's Medical Education Program that includes Residency & Fellowship, plus students in medical, nursing and paramedical programs.
Following the lead of Dr. Thompson, who managed the program during the peak of the pandemic, Dr. Jarman understands that blending virtual education and hands-on learning will be key to the future of medicine.
Dr. Benjamin Jarman - Designated Institutional Official for Graduate Medical Education - Gundersen Health System
"So, what was in the books and journal articles and everything that was on paper is now electronic format," Dr. Ben Jarman explained. "And I don't think we know how that impacts education and how much you have to memorize now versus just what's at your fingertips. We don't know how people learn the best and for a lot of people screen time isn't the best. And so, we're trying now to mitigate that."
Dr. Jarman added that Gunderson's Integrated Center for Education, the ICE House, is a really good way to prepare learners for the clinical environment. Students in high school on up through to general surgery residents can benefit from its mixed technology training environment.
Besides learning in-house, Dr. Jarman wants to build upon the success of an educational opportunity tied to a program he was previously involved in.
Dr. Ben Jarman wants to build on the success of his predecessors as Gundersen's newest Designated Institutional Official for Graduate Medical Education
"Within the General Surgery Residency where I've served," Dr. Jarman said. "We've actually created international electives for surgery residents to go out and serve in different communities. So, I would love to encourage that for just about all of our trainees as we are able to. To get them experiences serving patients that basically need care the most."
A strong supporter of missionary work, the new DIO hopes that students experiencing medicine in different settings will only enhance the clinical training and patient care back at Gundersen.
Gloss