This year’s Mini Medical School begins this evening and runs for the five consecutive Tuesdays following. (February 7 – March 6, 2012)

The theme this year is all about becoming the healthiest you possible. You will learn how to do this through the five keys to living a happier, healthier life.

1. The 10 Pillars of Healthy Aging
2. Stress Management Techniques
3. Improve Your Physical Health
4. Enhance Your Emotional Well-Being
5. Establish Good Nutrition Habits

Register online or you can just sign up and purchase your tickets tonight before the talk.

SAVE THE DATE to attend the fourth annual Des Moines University Foot & Ankle Surgery Symposium!

TOPICS:

• Complicated First Ray
• Controversies in the Hindfoot
• Evidence-Based Medicine
• Decisions in Nerve Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Trauma 8 to 5

DATE:
April 27 – 28, 2012

LOCATION:
Des Moines University
Student Education Center Auditorium
3300 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312

Campus map and directions

REGISTRATION:

• Physicians – $125
• Students – $25

Registration is open. For questions, please email cme@dmu.edu, or call Vanessa at 515-271-1541.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Des Moines University campus and clinic is closed today.

DMU alum Dr. William Anderson, who will be on campus tomorrow to speak about his experiences, actually worked alongside the man we honor today. Read more about some of Dr. Anderson’s work.

We hope you can join us tomorrow for this very special event.

DMU has the perfect way for pre-med students to get a head start…

The DMU Health Professions Advanced Summer Scholars Program (Health P.A.S.S.) gives them a taste of what it’s like to be a student in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physician assistant or physical therapy.

The FREE three-week program takes place at the end of July and is open to college sophomores and juniors who want to get a taste of what med school will be like and pad their resumes with a little hands-on experience. Enrollment is limited to 10 students and applicants must have a minimum cumulative college grade point average of 3.0.

APPLY NOW!

On Monday, January 16, Dr. Anderson will be the keynote speaker for the 23rd annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State of Iowa Celebration, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Human Rights’ Office on the Status of African Americans. The free event, which will begin at 10:45 a.m. in the Iowa Historical Building, 600 East Grand Avenue in Des Moines, also will feature Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, past president of Des Moines University; the Special MLK Choir; and the awarding of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award.

Then on Tuesday, January 17, Dr. Anderson will speak at DMU’s MLK Jr. Day Celebration, noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Education Center Auditorium on campus.

We’re honored to have this distinguished alumnus in our midst. As founder and first president of the Albany Movement, which spearheaded the civil rights movement in Southwest Georgia, Dr. Anderson and his late wife, Norma, marched with Dr. King and others to gain the rights denied to African Americans in the early 1960s. Working in medicine when both black people and osteopathic physicians faced discrimination, Dr. Anderson rose to the highest pinnacle in his field. He was the first black president of the American Osteopathic Association and the first African American to be certified by the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. Among his many honors is the AOA Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Anderson has also served his medical alma mater. He was a member of the DMU Board of Trustees for more than 20 years and received the University’s Pioneer Award in Osteopathic Medicine and Public Service in 2009. He currently is senior advisor to the dean of the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine and vice president of academic affairs, osteopathic medical education. within the Detroit Medical Center.

Some historical perspective gives context to Dr. Anderson’s many achievements. In his first medical practice in Albany, Georgia – located upstairs from a pool hall and liquor store – he served as many as 100 patients a day and made house calls at night, including to homes without electricity. On occasion he delivered babies by driving his car up to a house’s window with its headlights on to allow him to see. When he and his mentor, DMU graduate William Reese Jr., D.O., became the first African American physicians to attend the George Osteopathic Medical Association’s annual convention in 1959, the hotel refused to provide them rooms, instead arranging for them to stay at the home of the chief bellman (also black).

With all that he’s overcome and accomplished, though, Dr. Anderson is one of those delightful people who doesn’t take himself too seriously. His talks next week are guaranteed to provoke both serious discussion and laughter. Don’t miss the chance to meet this true pioneer!

Are you an undergrad student (or know of one) interested in research or a future career in health or medicine? Then check out the mentored research program. This opportunity gives students one-on-one experience with our research faculty in microbiology, pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry and physical therapy. It’s a 40-hour a week project during the months of June/July with a stipend and tons of hands-on experience.

Space is limited, so get your application in soon!