May 1, 2007                                                   

SIU Med School Receives NIH Grant

A faculty member at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield has been awarded a two-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a division of the National Institutes of Health, for a study to examine clinical competency of medical students.  Total budget for the grant is $144,500.

The focus of the study is the development of practical examinations which can be used to measure the clinical capabilities of medical students and resident physicians.  The goal is to improve the process of medical education and help students develop sophisticated doctoring skills.

Timothy Koschmann, Ph.D., associate professor of medical education, is the principal investigator for the project.

This is the 10th national grant awarded for Koshmann’s research, which now totals $1 million in funding.  His earlier research has focused on learning methods.

Koschmann joined the SIU faculty in 1988.  He earned his doctorate at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (1987), his master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee (1980) and bachelor’s at the University of Missouri in Kansas City (1972). 

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