The Triangle

Issue date: 5/26/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Carl Yungmann

This fall, the University will offering be a series of one-day sessions and seminars as part of the "Mini Medical School" program. The program aims to educate lawyers about their clients' ailments in order to assist them in evaluating their claim and creating a valid defense.

These sessions will be taught by qualified physicians from the College of Medicine and will cover a wide range of topics, such as physiology, along with the diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions. Among the various classes scheduled for the program are those that deal with brain injury, stoke, cancer screening, treatment of the heart and nervous systems.

This program is sponsored by the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel.

Mark Tanner, vice president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, commented on how the idea for a Mini Medical School came about.

"I believe it was the combined brainchild of Drexel's counsel, Tobey Oxholm, the Esquire and medical school faculty member David Stein, M.D. Oxholm then contacted leaders of the plaintiff's and defense Bar in Philadelphia for input, and the program took shape."

Tanner feels that the University is a great location for hosting the sessions.

"Drexel, with the opening of its law school, now offers certain unique interdisciplinary educational opportunities, and has been a leader and innovator in the medical-legal community, with its various programs including its medical malpractice mediation," Tanner said. "The willingness of the medical school faculty to assist in the education of lawyers is a further example of this leadership."

"I think that teaching lawyers about medical conditions is great for malpractice cases," said Kyle Martin, a pre-junior majoring in biomedical engineering. "I'm thinking about becoming a doctor, so the idea really intrigues me."

Tanner is confident in the program's success.

"Nothing in law school prepares a lawyer for what, at times, is the most important aspect of the case: understanding the facts," Tanner said. "Drexel's medical faculty realizes that, no matter what side of the case a lawyer is on, an educated and knowledgeable lawyer is an ally. Whether it involves determining if a case has merit and should be pursued, or if the task is defending a doctor's care, the more the attorney understands about the medicine, the better the job that he or she can do."

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