Medical school students at Saint Louis University are protesting the dismissal of the school’s associate dean for curriculum, Dr. Stuart Slavin. Students held a midday demonstration on Thursday, May 11 on the campus to share individual accounts of how Slavin has supported, encouraged and counseled them as they kept up with the rigors of learning to become physicians.
In a letter to SLU faculty, students and staff, the new medical school dean, Dr. Ken Behrns stated, “After many conversations, I have decided that a change in leadership in our curriculum development and oversight is needed. As a result, Dr. Stuart Slavin, associate dean for curriculum, will leave the School of Medicine following commencement exercises. He will be given a 12-month sabbatical so that he can transition to the next phase of his career.”
Behrns thanked Slavin for his 13-years of service to the university and for his many contributions to the School of Medicine: “His engagement with our students was well known and is appreciated.”
State Rep. Keith Frederick, R-Rolla, who has sponsored legislation to establish a statewide suicide prevention program for Missouri’s medical students, told St. Louis Public Radio that Slavin’s firing was “a complete travesty.”
“Stuart Slavin is an absolute innovator,” Frederick said. “He has saved lives at Saint Louis University’s School of Medicine, without a doubt.”
More than a quarter of medical students in the United States likely have depression, according an American Medical Association survey. St. Louis Public Radio reported that Slavin’s curriculum changes, which included wellness classes and grading first- and second-year students on a pass/fail basis, brought the school’s rate of reported depression among first- year medical students to just 4 percent.
Students stated they collected more than 600 signatures in support of Slavin, but he was dismissed before they could present them to the medical school dean. During the Thursday protest, students read comments of colleagues about Slavin and they offered an open mic for others to participate.
“From Day 1 at this institution, I have felt valued and supported and loved. That started at the top, and with me, most notably, Dr. Slavin,” one student read.
“We are all, to a significant degree, a product of our environment,” a female student read, “and Dr. Slavin has worked tirelessly over his tenure here at SLU on behalf of students to make that environment as healthy, positive, supportive and collaborative as it can be while remaining academically challenging and rigorous as it must be.”
A male open mic speaker said, “From practically the first day of education at Saint Louis University, Dr. Slavin has been pumping us to write a new narrative; he has exemplified the concept of being approachable, not just in a professional capacity, but also with respect to studying medicine.”
A SLU med school spokesperson told The American, “Saint Louis University School of Medicine is committed to providing the very best medical education anywhere in the country, and supports the rights of our students to assemble and express their opinions.”
In March, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) placed SLU School of Medicine on probation for a number of deficiencies, some of which involved curriculum shortcomings. “The report identified deficiencies in documentation, missed opportunities for self-directed learning, curricular management issues and a lack of central oversight,” SLU stated. “The findings deal strictly with medical education and are not related to patient care and SLU’s physician medical practice.”
The school has two years to rectify the issues or the LCME may withdraw accreditation.
In a statement posted on the SLU website, Behrens, who joined SLU as its dean in January, apologized for deficiencies found by LCME and pledged to work closely with LCME and conduct a top-to-bottom review of the medical school to “solve accreditation deficiencies, and identify opportunities for novel educational approaches.”
“Our faculty provide an excellent medical education to our students, our graduates are placed in great medical centers around the world, and our alumni provide outstanding care for patients and conduct ground-breaking research,” Behrns said. “Moving forward, we will create a culture of discipline and teamwork with accreditation and documentation of our processes, and will become a metric-driven organization.”
The school has work groups and committees made up of faculty, staff, medical students and alumni who will address each specific non-compliance area.
For updates to SLU School of Medicine’s remediation of LCME deficiencies, go to http://bit.ly/2r2j1HL.
