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Winter 1994 FROM THE EDITOR Issues facing health care are everybody's business, whether you're in the business or not. Just scan the daily newspaper, a medical journal or a popular magazine. You'll be asked to consider how physician group practices are adapting to health- care reform, if an experimental drug will replace angioplasty in treating clogged arteries or whether male menopause is a myth. Political or clinical, the issues are important, because we all need- and pay for- health care. Yet, just as a migraine headache must be understood in the context of a patient's over-all health, the issues facing health care must be understood in context, that is, in terms of the people who deal with them. As it's been said, awards are given to people, not issues. Individuals formulate the equations that expand into actions that can change our lives. In this issue of Health Sciences Report, we feature the stories of four individuals. They are not necessarily the most familiar faces at the University health sciences center. But each person is tackling an issue that confronts health care with the determination, optimism and passion that are necessary if we are to make progress. Despite suffering the debilitation of hereditary kidney disease, researcher Curtis Atkin continues to investigate the cause of Alport Syndrome. He knows firsthand how the fami-lies he studies feel physically and emotionally, just as we can see through him the critical link between clinical care and basic research. Although surgeon Leigh Neumayer had her father as a role model and her mother as an ardent supporter when she decided to pursue a career in medicine, she realized few women were as fortunate. In addition to promoting math and science among high school girls, Neumayer is an advocate for female students at Utah's medical school, which hope-fully will increase its percentage of women students, now the lowest in the nation. As associate health sciences vice president for clinical affairs, Lucy Osborn is the highest ranking woman at the University health sciences center. But balancing her family responsi-bilities with the demands of medicine, first as a medical student, then as a pediatrician, wasn't easy. She had to forge her own way, a path she helps guide other young women along now. When physician John Williamson began questioning how well doctors were practicing medicine, not everyone wanted to listen. Thirty years later, he is still asking questions, but also providing answers that have become key elements in the nation's health- care reform movement. His research provides a unique perspective on reform, showing the derivation of such concepts as " quality improvement" and " outcome management." Atkin, Neumayer, Osborn, Williamson. Their stories are among those of the many individuals grappling with the issues confronting health care today. They are the faces behind the issues, E Susan Sample 1 9 9 4 HEALTH SCIENCES REPORT UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Vol. 18, No. 1 Published by the Office of Public Affairs, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, 50 North Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132. Telephone ( 801) 581- 7387. Health Sciences Report is mailed to faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University of Utah School of Medicine; to the staffs of University Hospital and Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library; and to the faculties of the colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health. Articles may be reprinted with permission. Editor: Susan Sample Editorial Consultant: Anne Brillinger Contributing Writers: Doug Boudreaux, Anne Brillinger, Mary Chachas, John Dwan Photographer: Brad Nelson, Medical Illustration Service This issue of Health Sciences Report is printed on recycled paper as part of a major recycling campaign at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. o HEALTH SCIENCES REPORT Headlines 2 People 6 Faces Behind the Issues 8 Researcher Curtis Atkin 8 He's personally familiar with the degeneration caused by hereditary kidney disease. Surgeon Leigh Neumayer 12 She's an advocate of mentors and models for women in medicine. Pediatrician/ Administrator Lucy Osborn 16 She's balanced a medical career with family life by doing it her way. Physician John Williamson 20 He's a physician's physician, diagnosing and treating the practice of medicine. From the Bookshelf 24 Four faculty members recommend books they'd like their patients to read. Research in Brief 26 Gift of Health 29 Contributions fund a new cancer institute, endowed chairs and student scholarships. Opinion 32 |
