News Scrapbook 1989

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t of Interest Alleged CPILC Medical B:a:: 5 Questions Report's Objectivity in Light of Pending Suit By Tom Dressler D,i/y Jo•r••I St•ff Rtporttr graduated from the Uruversity of Saig?n School of Medicine after the Communist regime assumed power in 1975. .

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Wagstaff offered no comment on whether the CPIL had a conflict of int~r- est in the strict legal sense. But he 5a:1d, "From the standpoint of pe~sonal eth1~s and whether it is proper 10 a genen_c sense, it has the appearance.of a ge~enc conflict of interest. It s a little suspicious.'' Wagstaff added, "It_ se:ms to me that the lawsuit may have impinged upon. th~ objectivity of their analysis" of the disci- pline system. But Wheaton said, "Given t_hat t_he people being sued are part of the _li...::nsing division, and given the (~eport) is on the Division of Medical Quality, the tw~ ai:e utterly unrelated. There is no ~nflict_in our effort to improve the board in all its divisions.'' Added Fellmeth, "What's the ~nnec- tion? the resolution of one has nothing to do with the other.'' Wheaton also rejected Bishop's co~- ments concerning intimidation as a poss1- ble motive behind the report. "The fevered imaginations of a deputy attorney general barely merit response,'· he said.

AND ~~MING

at least

or is it a sc rel that doctors blame -

New cancer forum will have dinner _;zt/g~

The board denies the c~arge, sa~ng the applicants were discnminat~ against because of concerns about their educa- tion, not their nationality. BMQA hps re- jected a settlemen~ o~er. . The suit is pending in San Francisco Su- perior Court . The discipline report, the result of _a year-long investigation, was released this week. It descnbed the BMQA system as slow. lenient, secretive, and conti:~lled_ by doctors who emphasize rehab1htat1on over punishment. Asked if he thought the CPU. ~d ~n- flict of interest in pursuing th_e dis~pline report while the suit 1s pending, Bishop said "I definitely do." He added, "It's the 'same agency, and they're attacktng .. Bishop said it is• 'a real possibility'' the report is designed to make the bo.i:d loc:,k bad in an effort to aid the center s sw~. Another possible motive, he ~d~ed, 1s that the center ''would hke to ~timidate the board to settle the case and give them some money.'' them on a different flank."

th gr >wing number of malpractice

in part -

SACRAMENTO - Officials with the state Attorney General's Office and Board of Medical Quahty Assurance Thur day aid a pending lawsuit file_d against th board by the Center for Public Interest Law raises doubts about the pro- priety and objectivity of the cent:r'_s scathing report on BMQA's doctor diso- . Deputy Attorney General ~ul Bishop, who is representing the board m th~ wt, accused the Univer ity of San Diego- based CPIL of a conflict of interest. And BMQA Executive Director Ken- neth J. Wagstaff said the suit could h_av~ "impinged on the objcctmty" of the disci- plmc report. CPIL Director Robert-Fellmet_h and taff attorney James Wheaton, ~ho 1_s rep- resenting the plaintiffs in the swt, reJected the charges. They said the s~t report deal with two different d1v1s1ons of BMQA. The suit, filed in 1987, alleges the board's Llcen ing DJVision discriminated against 32 applicants from Vietnam who pline y tem.

ca c , many of whi h they say are frivolous. But not all the ca

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s arc frivolous, and a rounded in fact. If not, the that provide malpractice it financially to their tand and begin fighting

maj ,rity hav 10 be in urun e compani

in ur n adv nta ,

would find to take a

r thcrthanpayingthemofftoavoi acourt

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By Nancy Scott Anderson Tribune Society Editor T HE RECENTLY formed UCSD Cancer Center Forum will meet for dinner Wednes- the UCSD Faculty Club. Social hour-is 6 p.m. For more information phone 543-3870. ' ~an Diego State University's Friends of the Classics group will have a reception and show of Gall Burnett photographs from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday in a private San Diego home. For more information phone ' The 29th annual MADcAP show and senior presentation will be held at 8 p.m. April 14 and 2 p.m Aptll 15 m ~orrei~ Junior High School Audi- tonum. Tickets, $8 each, are avail- able from MADCAPS members. Epilepsy Society of San Diego will h~ve_ an auction party April 14 at the Mission Valley Marriott Hotel. A si- lent auction and cocktail hour begins at 6:30 p.m. The live auction will fol- low the 7:30 dinner. Tickets are $50 each. For more information phone 296-0161. ' . Ual~nlty of San Diego will have its annual Deans' Ball April 15 at the San Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis ~eso~. Cocktail hour for the black- tie dinner dance begins at 6:30 p.m. !fonored during the party that will mcluded a choral performance under the direction of the Rev. Nicholas eveles will be Bob Adelizzi Marion bbard, Liam McGee, Sally Thorn- ~o n~ Alison Tibbitts. Betty Tharp IS 1rwoman. Tickets are $125 ea~~• 00 and $300 for patron reser- vha 10 2 For more information P one 631 or 260-4682. ' • day 222-8128. .

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All Hallows Women' • Guild will have its annual Spirit of San Diego fashion show April 19 at the !aii Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis Re- 1 sort. The event honors voluntarism in San Diego and will feature a Capriccio fashion show with presi- dents or representatives of local ser- vice groups modeling. Social hour ls 11 a.m. The show will follow a noon lunch. For more infonnation, phone 488-8111 or 459-2126.

P ·rh p th· r son for part of the problem is ound m u rcpot't on the state's system for di ipl1111ng doctors. 'l he r port hy the Center for Public Iritere t I.aw, whi h i p,1rt nf th Univer tty f an D1 1 0, aid th ystcm favors doctors and •eeks to prot ct them rather than patient . Th state· Board of Medical Quality As. ur- n h s come under frequent fire in recent y r . h report i th • most rec nt and thorou ha ault m the antiquated, doctor-domi- nated y. t m. Th r ·port aid 11 n'tea y for patients to file a complaint. Once on< it is tiled, it can take awhile for n invc tigator t I be assigned. The report said 715 ca curr ntly deemed worthy of inv st1g,1t10n are waitm for investigator ; 659 have n und r inve ligation more than ix month nd another 1,000 arc listed as backlog. • w d lCtori. are disciplined, the tudy aid. Out of ,000 complaint in 1987-88, 12 doctors wcr d1 c1plin ·d for incornpetcnc and five for drug or kohol abu e. Di cipline could consi. t o lie n r vocat10n or uspcnsion or just probation . M ,r phy 1 ian are convicted of felonies a h y ar, th report said. Far more - 715 - were on th· lo mg end of m !practice suit in 19 7-8 or agre d to ttlem nt of 0,000 or more. nd a re ord number, 249, h d their priv1leg s uspend d or revoke by hospitals be au of drug imp inn nt or m ompetence, th r port~ 1d It ts apparent the current y tern is nor workmg. It is not reacting to complaints in a tirn ly matt r. It i not weedmg out mcompetent phy ici n . In short, it 1 not protecting the public nd ·1s uring u of an acceptable tandard ofm ical car • h tudy has uggcsted olut1on including: er atin, a toll-free telephone number for com- ph11nt ; havin a special unit in the attorney • g n ral' oftic handle complaint ; requiring th hoard rec ivc notice of crimmal accusation at point ol irresl and malpra.:tice claims at point of , him , ra1 ing doctors' license renewal fe from th current 145 to $285 a y ar to create dd1110nal fundmg and cre.tling a medical quality ourt with real judge to hear complaints . 1 h r mm ndations are being put in the mi of a bill to be mtroduced to the Legislature. It mu I act quickly to end this nagging and/ pot\;nllally dangerous problem / _

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San Diego, Friday, April 7, 1989

k M:ronews CLA S: 0 Technique brings language instruction to'iife Ccntioued From B-J j:; fj Rassias has stood out from the and Spanish in Dartmouth's intensive

they are putting in so many extra However, most of the students in a recent 9 a.m. session appeared to hours. "This guy's great," said senior Tom "Tomas" Cordasco, adding that be studies Spanish 1 for 12 hours a classroom and language laboratory. "It's hell, but it's the best way to learn. They got it wired." However, Russell, who will return to Dartmouth at the end of the term, ing style.

summer program.

pac~ of J>ed;a~ogues by calling on his

ture.

Though the summer immersion programs are far more intensive to Dartmouth undergraduates Furay became com,inced that Rassia'.s had a winning philosophy. She would like to see the curriculum that is used at year adopted at USD at au levels of Spanish, French, German and Italian instruction, subject to the faculty's "If the students are getting a stronger education in languages, it's worth every penny," she said It is more expensive because classes are smaller, and students are required to take twice as many of them, logging at least 7¾ hours of classtime a week. Upper-level stu- dents audition for jobs as assistant teachers, earning $600 and one aca- demic <:redit a semester for su- pervising mandatory drill sessions. ''The first day of class, you don't lake attendance; you start speaking Spanish," said R~ll, a Harv1ird- trained scholar who brims with en- thusiasm and informality, insisting that the students call him "Roberto." USO students must pass three semesters of a foreign language to graduate or take an exam that shows an equivalent proficiency. The most frequently heard complaint is that they deserve more than three aca- demic credits for the course because approval.

a sta~e ~c~r.

earlier trammg

The formula relies on a traditional textbook augmented with newspa- pers, pictures and ordinary objects, such as a convenience-store cup of coffee a student brings to class. The teachers snap their fingers to establish a driving rhythm to the ex- ercises. Students might be tapped on an arm o thigh to focus their atten- tion. Bingo, charades and simple ver- ions of television game shows en- By stressing conversation over grammar, Rassias was among the first foreign-language instructors to ish English from the classroom and introduce the student to the con- temporary culture of another coun- en years ago, the New York City Transi Police hired Rassias to di- rect a 12-day immersion course in Spamsh for officers who deal with a large Hispanic population. T ay, as concern mounts over U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace, officials and educators are still searching for surefire ways to make a monolingual America more conversant in other tongues. In February, a U.S. governors' task force chairl!tl by Gov. Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey declared that the economic well-being of the na- tion is in danger unless schools im- prove the teaching of languages and ban try. T liven the lesson plans.

Stunts such as tearing off his shirt 10 front of a classroom have won him guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" and on "60 Minutes" and other ''The shirt is a symbol of a lot of inhibiting factors," he said in a tele- phone interview from his Dartmouth office. "If we always stay within for- ma! definitions of what is correct, very little is going to happen." Skeptics say the Rassias method relies on standard dialogue drills and theatrics. Said Tracy D. Terrell. a ty of California at San Diego: "Re- searchers in second-language acqui- sition would like to see more infor- ma ion pu 1s e m pro ess1ona journals about the method and its theoretical basis. Mostly what we've seen are things like '60 Minutes' or f bl' b d · f · I Despite the detractors, the Rassias method has powerful friends in the Spanish Renaissance-style halls of USD, a private Roman Catholic uni- versity. The faculty invited R~II to supervise a pilot program this se- mester at the urging of Sister Sally Furay, the provost and academic Furay was preparing for an inter- national conference of the Society of the Sacred Heart in Rome when she decided to brush up on her French news programs. lin · · guistics pro essor a f t th u · e · ruvers1- Newsweek." vice president.

than the 10-week-long classes offered warm up to R~u•s salsa-hot teach-

Dartmouth during the regular school week, both inside and outside the

that some students

acknowledged

t • So

•t

phomore Jon

never qui e ge 1t. Lovette is one of them.

"It's not working for me," Lovette earnestly whispered to a visitor. "I

have a different learning style. ''They don't lecture.

learn from

1

lectures.

''This is pracUce, practice, prac- tice. I'm so far be!lmd". Other students who have heard re- ports of the heavy workload are re- lieved that they escaped Russell's tornado of -energy. "I'm so glad I didn't have to take it," said Victm-ia ¥JSOSky, waiting in the corridcr outside Russell's class- room for a .:ipan.ish 2 class with an- other teacher. The affaole freshman admitted that she can't speak a word of Span- ish when she goes across the border to Mexico. /

San Diego , CA (San Diego Co .) San D1eg_o Union {Cir D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341 ,840) APR

geography.

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Jl.lfert

Err. 18 &8

: Woman professor to be head of USD law school ·

CantinJJed From B-J '5 for leadership in several areas in- where we want to be. We have only Cf

such schools in the United States she said. But Strachan added that' she feels no particular pressure to out- "It probably would have (pres- sured me) a few years ago, but I've been one of few women most of my. 1ona we, s e sat . "When I ou a aw sc ool, there were m my c ass, only eight were profess· started 300 · J ,u " h 'd t t I h' J e o owmg year, four women rac an pronounced "strawn") began practicing law in a Wall Street were left, she said. St h ( Th t 11 ·

firm after graduating in 1968 from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She practiced international Jaw in the State De~rtment iit Washington, D.C., she said, before becoming a teacher at Utah, where she has been since 1973. She said she will have a commuter marriage for a while. Her husband Gordon Strachan - who was indict: eel in the Watergate scandal but whose charges were dropped - is in private practice in Salt Lake City ~qid ' /

one black and one Hispanic (on the faculty), but we need more. We have

eluding curriculum changes and in attracting more women and minori- ties to the law school as students and as professors because of her e:rten- sive legal contacts, Snyder said "It's hard for any law schoo·1 to c_hange its curriculum, and she's done it suc_cessfully and been nationally acclauned for the innovations" that have taken place "t the Utah law school, Snyder said. As for attracting more women and ..

SD o......_ to Loy la; ery r-1 ~..-- e ninth, but Loyola Marymount scored in ts half yestcrd y to beat the visiting Torcros, 7-6, In a West Coast Athleti Conference ha eh II game. Chuck Graham h t b mpty horn r for U D (15-17-1 1-7) in the !i t. Jam Fergu on (2 ) lost. Joe Ciccarr II had four RBI for the Lio (1 17-1, 3-1), including the inn r on crif1ce fly in the nin n Diego State .........-.tout inglcd h me the tytng run in the top of

several women faculty members, but • perform a man.

we want more."

y

esterday, many USD law stu- dents joined a nationwide boycott of c asses to protest sexism and racism e country's law schools. 1 · th ID dent Author Hughes, will be USD's first female law school dean. Female deans of law schools are Str ban, ac

appointed by USO presi- women."

_______ minoritie; Snyder said, ''We're not

only about 10 women head

rare -

San Franciscc (San Francisc San Franciscc Banner/Daily , (Cir. 5xW. 1,500)

APR 7 - 1989

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