UCSF Osher Lifelong Learning classes begin in February

By Sandi Gettys

The UCSF Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) continues its second year this winter with four new courses starting in February.  The courses are for the public.

Classes will meet from 7 to 8:45 p.m. at the UCSF Medical Sciences Building, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco. Tuition for each six-week course is $85.

Online registration is available at http://lifelonglearning.ucsf.edu. For more information, call UCSF Public Affairs at (415) 476-2557.

The new courses are:


HEALTH POLICY: THE NEXT DECADE
Tuesdays: February 8 - March 15

Leading health care experts offer new information and insights on how social, economic, political, and clinical forces interact to affect the health of individuals and society.

Course Chair: Jonathan Showstack, PhD, MPH, associate director, UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies.

FEBRUARY 8—LATEST NEWS FROM THE TOBACCO WARS—Steven Schroeder, MD, distinguished professor of health and health care

FEBRUARY 15—THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE: THE IMPACT OF PRIVATIZATION—Carroll Estes, PhD, professor of sociology

FEBRUARY 22—SHOPPING FOR CARE: CAN WE DEVELOP HOSPITAL QUALITY REPORT CARDS?
—Arlyss Anderson Rothman, PhD, RN, assistant professor of nursing, and Adams Dudley, MD, MBA, associate professor of medicine and health policy

MARCH 1—DOCTOR ON DUTY: THE CRISIS IN EMERGENCY CARE—Ellen Weber, MD, professor of clinical medicine; clinical director, UCSF Emergency Department

MARCH 8—IMPROVING THE HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE OF CHILDREN—Paul Newacheck, DrPH, professor of health policy and pediatrics, and Dana Hughes, DrPH, associate professor of family and community medicine and health policy

MARCH 15—HOW WORK AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH—Edward Yelin, PhD, professor of medicine and health policy


GLOBAL HEALTH: WORLDWIDE IMPACT OF HEALTH AND DISEASE
Tuesdays: February 8 - March 15

Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza, and SARS, are the main causes of illness and death in the developing world. The course will address the social and biologic context of diseases that affect most of the world’s population, and what UCSF faculty are doing to help.

Course Chair: Jonathan (Jack) Rodnick, MD, UCSF professor of family and community medicine.

FEBRUARY 8—TRAVEL MEDICINE: HOW TO STAY HEALTHY ABROAD—Jonathan (Jack) Rodnick, MD, professor of family and community medicine

FEBRUARY 15—STORIES FROM THE FRONT LINE: HIV AND AIDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES—Michael Reyes, MD, MPH, associate professor of family and community medicine, co-director of I-TECH (International Training and Education Center on HIV)

FEBRUARY 22—HEALTH CRISES IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION—Thomas Novotony, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and director of International Programs, UCSF School of Medicine

MARCH 1—THE STORY BEHIND EPIDEMICS THAT CAN GET YOU: INFLUENZA AND SARS—George Rutherford, MD, MPH, Salvatore Pablo Lucia professor of preventive medicine, epidemiology and pediatrics; head, division of preventive medicine and public health; vice chair, department of epidemiology and biostatistics; director, Institute for Global Health

MARCH 8—TUBERCULOSIS: GLOBAL STRATEGIES FOR A CLINICAL PROBLEM—Philip Hopewell, MD, professor of medicine, director, Francis J. Curry National Tuberculosis Center

MARCH 15—ORTHOPAEDICS OVERSEAS: UCSF PHYSICIANS HELPING ABROAD—Richard Coughlin, MD, associate clinical professor of orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics


OBESITY 2005: THE REAL SKINNY
Wednesdays: February 9 - March 16

Two thirds of adults in the United States are overweight and the rates of childhood obesity are skyrocketing. This course will discuss the science behind the headlines and is co-sponsored by the new UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment (COAST).

Course Chair: Robert B. Baron, MD, MS, professor of medicine; associate dean for continuing medical education; director, UCSF Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

FEBRUARY 9—UNDERSTANDING OBESITY: FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE—Alka M. Kanaya, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine

FEBRUARY 16—LIFE STRESS, EATING AND BODY FAT—Elissa S. Epel, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry

FEBRUARY 23—CURRENT ISSUES IN PEDIATRIC OBESITY—Robert H. Lustig, MD, professor of pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology; director, Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) Program, and Andrea Garber PhD RD, assistant adjunct professor of pediatrics

MARCH 2—DIETARY APPROACHES TO WEIGHT LOSS: STATE OF THE ART—Carol Porter, PhD, RD, associate adjunct professor of pediatrics; director, Nutrition & Food Services

MARCH 9—EXERCISE AND OBESITY: GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE—Ellen F. Hughes, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine; director of education, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine

MARCH 16—MEDICATIONS AND SURGERY FOR OBESITY: ARE THEY REALLY THE ANSWERS?
—Robert B. Baron, MD, MS, UCSF professor of medicine, director, UCSF Weight Management Program, and Andrew M. Posselt, MD, assistant professor of surgery


PONDERING ETHICS IN HEALTH CARE: PREPARE FOR THE CONVERSATION
Wednesdays: February 9 - March 16

This course will explore contemporary issues in health care ethics, provide new ways to consider the questions, and help articulate an informed perspective for participants to make decisions about their own health and the health of society.

Course Chairs: Lorie Rice, MPH, associate dean, external affairs, School of Pharmacy, and Carol Fox, assistant vice chancellor, Public Affairs

FEBRUARY 9—ETHICAL ISSUES IN REPRODUCTION—Elena Gates, MD, professor and interim chair, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

FEBRUARY 16—RIGHTS OF THE MENTALLY ILL—Daryl Steinberg, Esq., of counsel, Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos, Rudy

FEBRUARY 23—CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY IN HEALTH CARE: NEW DEVELOPMENTS—Joanna Weinberg, JD, LLM, UCSF associate adjunct professor of health policy and ethics in law

MARCH 2—FROM FEEDING TUBES TO ASSISTED SUICIDE: UNDERSTANDING ETHICAL CHALLENGES AT THE END OF LIFE—Steven Z. Pantilat, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine; director, Palliative Care Service and Palliative Care Leadership Center

MARCH 9—STEM CELLS: HOPE, HYPE, AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS—Bernard Lo, MD, professor of medicine; director, Program in Medical Ethics

MARCH 16—DO WE NEED TO RETHINK THE DRUG APPROVAL PROCESS?—Bill Soller, PhD, clinical professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy; director of Center for Consumer Self-Care, and Lisa Bero, PhD, professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy; core faculty, Institute for Health Policy Studies


UCSF Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is a community education program for adult learners sponsored by the UCSF Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, the UCSF Medical Center, the UCSF Public Affairs Department and the University of California Academic Geriatric Resource Program. The program is supported in party by a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation.