(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — It's not quite like being on hospital rounds with a Dr. Kildare, Marcus Welby or a young physician from “ER,” but attending the 2006 UC Davis “Mini Medical School” might be the next best thing to wearing that white doctor's coat and practicing medicine.

Everything from eye care and physical fitness to hearing, managing pain and osteoporosis are on tap for this popular, seven-week program, which is free and open to individuals over the age of 18. Classes begin Saturday, March 4, 2006, and are scheduled from 9 -10:30 a.m. in the Sciences Lecture Hall on Hutchinson Drive on the UC Davis campus.

The annual course, derived from first- and second-year medical school curriculum, offers a dynamic and interactive classroom experience. This year, distinguished UC Davis physicians and specialists will focus on a variety of topics, from understanding how and why the human body ages, to dispelling common myths about pain, intellectual decline and frailty as it relates to advancing age.

Introduced a decade ago by the National Institutes of Health, the mini medical school concept has grown in popularity throughout the United States. More than a thousand people have attended UC Davis' innovative program on aging since it first began, with “graduates” often taking a more active role in their own medical care and discussions with physicians.

Featured faculty this year includes:

Michael McCloud, associate clinical professor of general medicine and founder and director of UC Davis Mini Medical School;
Richard Brunader, associate professor of family and community medicine;
Scott Fishman, professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine and chief of the Division of Pain Medicine;
Robert Dobie, clinical professor of otolaryngology;
Ralph deVere White, professor of urology and director of UC Davis Cancer Center, who will provide an update on cancer medicine research;
Nancy Lane, professor of general medicine and director of UC Davis Center for Healthy Aging, who will speak about bone health.

Weekly presentations include:

March 4, “Anatomy of Aging”
March 11, “Aging With Allergies” and “Updates on Cancer Medicine”
March 18, “Preserving Your Vision for a Lifetime” and “Maintaining Hearing Throughout Life”
March 25, “Fitness, Falls and Successful Aging”
April 1, “Aging and Nutrition” and “The New Science of Pain”
April 8, “Bone Talk” and “Vitamins and Older Adults”
April 15, “New Thinking About Heart Disease.” Commencement

Organizers request that attendees make a commitment for the entire seven-week program. A graduation ceremony will be held during the final session, with honorary diplomas awarded to participants and a keynote address by Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for human health sciences and dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Class enrollment is limited, so interested students should register early.

The mini medical school is supported by the UC Davis Center for Healthy Aging and private grants.

For more information, go to the Web at http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/minimed. To register, call (916) 734-6441 or e-mail: healthyaging@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

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"AGING AND MEDICAL SCIENCE: A MINI MEDICAL SCHOOL"