Mini-Medical School

MINI- MEDICAL SCHOOL; University of California - Davis.
February 2, 2008 - March 8, 2008.
I would like to publicly thank - and commend - the University of California - Davis, and their Center for Healthy Aging, for presenting the Mini- Medical School program once again this year. This is the sixth time that they have made this great medical program available to the general public - 50 years and older. The descriptive title - “Medical Science and Aging: A Mini Medical School to Prepare for Life’s Second Half”. It is a great outreach of Community Service.
Dr. Michael McCloud, the Course Director, was the prime mover for the program. Without him, there would be no Mini school. He also moderated the six Saturdays of classes. Dr. McCloud is not only a practicing physician, but he is also an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University. He is a very good speaker. He was the first, and last speaker. Even though he is just a “Boomer”, He is very knowledgeable about the subject of aging. Dr. McCloud uses enough humor to make a technical subject very interesting. (For example, at our graduation on March 8 - the last day of the course - he said that we probably wouldn’t be able to practice medicine right away - except maybe in the state of Oregon.)
My daughter, Mary Torres, and I, attended the course together. This was our first exposure to the Mini-Medical School. We learned about the course at the Yolo County Health Summit last September in Woodland.
The medical program is presented on six Saturday mornings, to a registered capacity of 500 students. It is taught by some of the same instructors that teach at the University’s regular medical program - some were department heads. What an opportunity for Mary and I to learn about healthy-human aging, as we both are experiencing it. Best of all. The University didn’t charge us a fee for our education!
I have listed the course content, and the presenter below:
“The Anatomy of Aging”, - by Dr. Michael McCloud.
“The Pharmacology of Aging”, - by Dr. John Peters.
“Men’s Health After 50”,- by Dr. William Hoch.
“Women’s Health After 50”, - by Dr. Amparo Villablanca.
“Nutrition and Healthy Aging”, - by Jill West, R.D.
“Update on New Technologies in Joint replacement”, - by Dr. John Mechan.
“The Aging Eye”, by Dr. Mark Mannis, Chair U.C. Davis Department of Ophthalmology.
“The Aging Ear” - by Dr. Hilary Brodie, Chief Otologist (ENT).
“Latest Medical Research”, by Barry Klein, Ph.D.
“Romance, Sex and Love After 50”, by Ed Callahan. Ph.D.
“The Healthy Heart in Mid-Life and Beyond” - by Dr. Amparo Villablanca.
“Memory and Aging”, by Dr. McCloud.
I was so impressed, with my exposure to the above medical information, if I were 70 years younger, I would have asked, “Where do I sign up for the “Big” course? Today, with over 70 million “Boomers” in the pipeline, I would like to be trained as a much needed Geriatrician. While most medical schools are not providing these doctors, they are being short-sighted. As Henry J. Kaiser once said, “Find a need, and fill it”.
RCL
3/12/08.

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