"Bienvenuti!"
Modest signs displaying the Italian word for "welcome" in red lettering are taped to the glass doors of Jordan Hall, the University Medical Center's conference building, this week.
The little signs are pointing to big things.
Meant for a group of 21 cardiologists from Italy, the bienvenutis welcome the visitors to a three-day post-graduate interactive learning course at the University Medical Center. The intensive program is just one branch of Interheart, a larger effort by the University Medical Center's Office of International Health to improve medical practice around the globe.
Inside Jordan Hall, more signs beckon the visitors -- the 11th group of international physicians to come since 2002 -- to climb the stairs to a room where they will engage in a series of activities that unite the clinical and academic realms of continuing medical education.
In the academic arena, the visiting cardiologists listen to lectures given by various University doctors -- a veritable "dream team" of specialists, according to International Educational Programs Director Vladimir Kryzhanovski.
On the clinical front, the guests take several trips to the ER and to labs such as cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology and nuclear cardiology. They join in bedside teaching rounds and case discussions as well.
The purpose is to "give international guests an opportunity to see firsthand the practice of American cardiology," Kryzhanovski said.
Another important area the program addresses, Kryzhanovski noted, is "accessing information." To that end, the visitors also meet with specialists from the Health Sciences Library.
The second leg of the intensive learning course is when the cardiologists share what they have learned, according to Kryzhanovski. To ensure the spread of knowledge, Kryzhanovski invites doctors to the program whom he sees as "thought leaders"; they will return to educate colleagues in their home countries, thus rendering the program valuable for the cardiologists as both physicians and as educators.
But what really makes the program valuable to participants is its intimacy.
"At conferences held by the American Heart Association, there can be 30-40,000 attendees," Kryzhanovski said. "You have no chance to interact with colleagues the way you want to."
This course is an entirely different story.
"It's a really individualized program," University Medical Center doctor Natalia Zavadskaya said. "Each doctor has a specialized interest, and we try to address those individual needs."
Visiting physicians may attend individualized computer classes, for example, to fit their own areas of interest.
"It's a great opportunity for other doctors to dip into American medicine for some time," Zavadskaya said. "But the best part is that they have a chance to interact with Americans, with American doctors and professors."
Visiting doctor Luisa Cacciavillani attested to that.
"I was really happy when Vladimir offered me the chance to spend three days here," Cacciavillani said.
One problem with cross-cultural education is the language barrier. But Cacciavillani said she and her fellow visitors have dealt well.
"It's been a little difficult to follow, but not too much," she said. "The [PowerPoint] slides help us to understand."
Besides, the slides offer a bit of humor amidst the intensity of the course.
Before Tuesday's presentation on Cardiovascular MRI was underway, the guests were given a little quiz -- and probably not the kind they experienced in their medical school days.
"You are in Virginia now, so..." the first slide read. "What is the state bird? Is it a)penguin, b)woodpecker, c)cardinal or d)flamingo?"
The guests got the answer right away
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