how is this summer immersion course organized and who is in charge?

For the purpose to help you better profit from this clinical summer immersion, I would like to respond to SP's posting entitle "always wasting time". Well, stop wasting time, do something.

As I said at our last Pizza dinner, this summer immersion gives you an opportunity to experience and look into the real world of medicine. The privillege to observe and engage at the medical center is the main thing this course offer. How much you can get out of the privillege depends on how proactive and initiative you are.

By now you should have learned enough about the medical center operation to realize that neither Belinda Floyd nor myself is running the medical center. Even our Dean Caren Heller in charge of facilitating our program needs was not aware of the recent change in ID card policy that prevented us getting ID on the first day. You might have realized that when you were not able to get ID, I was the most frustrated and unhappy person in the world at that moment. As you wish, I do wish more than you that the medical system can be easier accessed by us. We are at the mercy of many bureaucrats, and our volunteering doctors with good intentions may be too busy to be approachable. This is the reality of medicine world we have to learn to live with. Guess this learning is part of this summer immersion course.

This is not the end of the world. Indeed, it is far better than other medical centers I have seen. I really want to advise you all take a positive attitude towards reality. Think not that you are the master of the world; think how you can get into the system. Instead of complaining, focus your energy on how to help get things done.

You should really be grateful to Belind Floyd who has worked tenaciously to get your room here, Dean Heller who has worked on authorizing your housing, your internet access (I just learned), and your other privillages of being here, Dr. Frayer who is putting in a lot of efforts into this course. While I have no authority at all to order people around the medical center, I do have put in significant efforts in working on the disresponsive medical system and in getting money to pay you. From the posting I see that most of you have now passed through the bureaucratic gate into the fun part of clinical immersion, and you all survive the "bloody first week". This is good progress we should celebrate!