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Editor's note: Teleconferencing sites will be available in Hays and Garden City.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Ever feel as though you and your physician are speaking entirely different languages?
If so, the University of Kansas Mini Medical School program is just what the doctor ordered.
Registration is under way for the fourth annual installment of the popular mini medical school program, which runs from Sept. 10 to Oct. 29.
The classes meet from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday during the eight-week period in the Reike Auditorium on the KU Medical Center campus. Teleconferencing sites also will be available in Hays and Garden City. Additional teleconferencing sites may be added soon.
Registration for the course is $95 at the Med Center campus class and is limited to about 250 students. Registration at the teleconferencing sites is free.
"It's our hope that people who go through this course will be better communicators with their doctor and in turn feel more empowered, more like a partner with their physician," said Mary Beth Gentry, assistant dean for external affairs at the KU School of Medicine.
Gentry said the course is very popular because it touches on a number of timely topics in an easy-to-understand format, from stem cell research, ethics and medicine and the law to overviews of common diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma therapy, diabetes and depression.
For the first time in its four-year history, the course in Kansas City also will offered in sign language for the hearing-impaired.
The course, which features presentations from KU Med Center basic science and clinical faculty, also provides an insight into the type of work that is conducted at the KU School of Medicine.
"Many people have said they had no idea of the scope of research coming out of the university," Gentry said. "This has become a very effective way of telling our story."
For a complete listing of the scheduled topics, visit www.kumc.edu/som/minimed/schedule.htm.
The teleconference sites:
HAYS
Hays Medical Center, 2220 Canterbury.
To register, call the Area Health Education Center, (785) 628-6128.
GARDEN CITY
St. Catherine's Hospital, 410 E. Walnut.
To register, call the Area Health Education Center, (620) 275-0259.
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