UF medical school dean ousted

University of Florida president Bernie Machen has ousted the research institution's medical school dean, who was under fire in recent weeks for pushing the admission of a politically connected doctor's son.

Medical school faculty said the son of Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, a Hollywood ophthalmologist and Republican fundraiser who helped Gov. Charlie Crist during his 2006 campaign, never should have been admitted.

Before Bruce Kone (left) became dean in May 2007, Gov. Crist sent a letter to UF urging that Benjamin Mendelsohn be admitted. Kone later admitted the student even though a medical selection committee in the college objected.

Late Thursday, Machen reported that Dr. Bruce Kone "has been relieved of his duties as dean of the College of Medicine."

Kone will retain a faculty position within the department of medicine in the division of nephrology.

Dr. Michael L. Good has been appointed acting dean.

Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler, Times higher education reporter

See also related stories: UF President: Medical Dean Taking Steps to Mend Fences, Lakeland Ledger, 5-08-08; Florida Medical Dean Overrules Committee, Admitting Son of Politically Connected Family, Chronicle of Higher Education, 4-04-08

Comments

[rich]

Good.

This is great news. Good job Dr. Machen!

[Steph]

So are there any consequences for Governor Tan in a Can?

[John]

Yeah, let the questionable med student become his primary care physician.

[Bill]

Glad to see the "Gator Nation" be exposed for what they are. Between their crooked med program and football players that use the credit cards of dead people, they are not as stand up of an institution as their fans/students like to portray. Note to UF: You are not the Harvard of the South. You are a school that has the most established programs because you have been around forever!! Stop tooting your own horns and begin to be more humble.

[TT]

If Machen thinks this will relieve the pressure from all of his other (own politically-motivated) actions, he will find that the relief is very short-lived.

[David]

Tan in a Can face consequences for writing a letter of recommendation?

[Albert The Alligator]

Don't be bitter Bill.

Love,
Albert and Alberta

[UF Admission Dept]

@bill

Just b/c you couldn't get into to UF is no reason to be so bitter. LOL!

[Brian]

Bill 1:37 - You didn't ask if I wanted fries with that? Go back to Clown School.

[psychoticgas]

The sad thing is, the admission of him based on a letter of ref from a politician is probably about as good a way of selecting med school applicants as any. Standardized testing and GPAs have almost no predictive value of how good a physician someone will turn out to be.

[Mike]

Typically Charlie Crist taken care of this big money guys! 1-800-Fire-Charlie!! I hope McCain takes this clown as his veep - the next Dan Quayle for sure.

[Steve Spurrier]

Seriously, FSU people are cracking on the Gators - especially when: Your football team SUCKS, your basketball team also SUCKS, Clown college isn't even close to UF, there's a bigger gap between the medical schools too, your coach thinks the players should carry guns - Yup, lets arm the Crimi-NOLES!, the cheating scandal and of yeah - the Gators own the lowley Noles in football!! Shut you pie holes and everybody back in that one "clown" car!

[derrick 55]

I was admitted to UF, but then they found out my parents were married, To each other, and they refused to let me in.

[(Mr) Bill]

Another fine example of Republican ethics.

[Bret]

As an FSU alumn, we can bash UF but this stuff happens everywhere. Granted, this example is particularly extreme considering this guy didn't even take the MCAT. Many other examples where someone gets a 22 (29ish being avg to get into med school) probably go undetected at many schools in the US. From someone familiar with the process, it's ridiculous. The people that lose out are other applicants and these people's future patients. The truth is that while it is hard to get into medical school, once you're in, it's hard to be kicked out. A low score doesn't always equate to poor doctor but there is an association. That's why it all hinges on the application process... pretty scary when substandard applicants get the free pass because of connections. The fact the dad's a fundraiser won't save his future patients from substandard care.

[Bret]

And MCAT scores do have a predictive value up to a point. The further down one gets from 30, the harder that person will have learning medical material. Once a person gets above 30, it shows that they are capable of learning the material and any futher improvement upon the score has no added predictive value of success in medical school or beyond.