Keith Administration Building 212
1975 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles 90089-9024
(323) 442-2372
FAX: (323) 442-2051

Program Advisor: Diane Boughton (323) 442-2384
Email: boughton@usc.edu

Division Head: M.A. Hitchcock

Professors: M.A. Hitchcock (Education); J.G. Nyquist; B.P. Wood

Associate Professors: J. Gates (Family Medicine); R.A. Girard; K.I. Hoffman (Education); W. May

Assistant Professor: Zoi-Helen “Elza” Mylona

Instructor: D. Poole

Clinical Faculty: A.M. Alexander; J. Davis; D.L. Fisher; K.A. Garman; S.A. Lemme (Family Medicine); H.J. Powell; S.E. Radecki

Visiting Professor: P.A. Lattore

Emeritus Professor: S. Abrahamson

Established in 1963 as one of the first medical education units in the United States, the division conducts educational programs for four different types of students: medical students; graduate students in education; those teaching in medical and other health professional education settings; and physicians in the postgraduate study of medical education.

The division’s primary mission is to enhance the quality of medical education by serving as a resource of educational expertise for planning, developing, and evaluating medical education programs and conducting educational research. Similar activities and programs are conducted with various government and private organizations outside the university.

In addition to ongoing faculty development activities, the division offers graduate and postdoctoral programs in medical education. Major research and training interests of the faculty include the instruction of lay persons to be used as standardized patients for teaching and evaluation, case-based learning, pre-med programs for minority students and interactive video systems.

Administratively, the division is an independent unit in the Department of Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine. The faculty hold appointments in the Department of Pediatrics. The division also employs 10 staff and research assistants. All activities of the division are conducted at the USC Health Sciences campus.

By special arrangement, selected students may participate in the division’s graduate study program in medical education, leading to an M.S. in Education degree. The program is offered in collaboration with the USC Rossier School of Education and is directed toward those who teach or plan to teach in medical or other health-professional education settings. The goals of the program include helping students to gain increased understanding of basic principles of teaching and learning and to achieve skills necessary to apply the principles effectively.

Doctoral programs with a focus on medical education are offered through the USC Rossier School of Education. For further information, contact the Division of Medical Education.

From time to time, the division offers special courses, workshops or seminars in various subject areas related to the preparation of teachers and/or the improvement of instruction. Division staff members are available to plan these special programs on request.

Individually tailored programs of study in medical education are available to visiting postdoctoral fellows who wish to gain an understanding of principles, problems and practices in medical education. These visiting fellows may spend from a few weeks to a year in residence, participating in ongoing projects, seminars, readings and independent study.