“It is the philosophy of MTSA that it be operated as a freestanding, single purpose, anesthesia specific, graduate degree granting institution; rather than be enveloped by a multi-disciplinary university.”
Why would anyone choose this as a philosophy for their school? It is a philosophy that places it at odds with all top rated anesthesia schools not to mention most all of the rest. Is it that MTSA is so much further ahead of all those other schools? Or is the converse true? Is it that they are further behind? Form usually follows function. Architecturally speaking, if an object has to perform a certain function, its design must support that function to the fullest extent possible. Let’s take a look at MTSA – the stated values, goals, and philosophies of the school. Surely within these we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the visions and aspirations of the school as well as an understanding of this philosophy.
First off, we see that MTSA “views itself as a leader in academic and professional excellence, specific to graduate nurse anesthesia education”. This is a very interesting portrayal of the school. From this quote we can see that the administration has a very unbalanced self-view; dare I say a delusional view. Although they may view themselves as leaders, there is ample evidence to suggest that this is not the case. By the way, what criteria do you use in making that claim? Based on the claims of most of the alumni that have been sent to “The Blogger” they believe your staff is bloated, the class size is too big, the administration is malevolent and self-serving, and they want to know what you’re doing with all the money. But I digress. Let’s forget about the alumni for just a moment and get back to you being a “leader in academic and professional excellence”. You see, I think most anyone with half a brain would tell you’re off your academic rocker and that you’re setting a really bad precedent by alledgedly admitting someone to the program who is a convicted felon and a drug user. I’ll stop by Walgreen’s and get some of those really big crayons and try and draw it out for you in a way that’ll make sense. Were you off your medication when that happened or what? Maybe someone left a vaporizer turned on in close proximity to your office or something. If queried, I’m certain you’d have some anonymous and purportedly veracious answer detailing why you thought it was a good idea. It really is interesting to see “academic and professional excellence” juxtaposed alongside the alledged admittance of a felon and drug user. Umm, I’m guessing that most “deans, other administrators, and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools” would say that’s just plain crazy. Wait, wait, wait! The answer just came to me. I’ll bet he or she was family. Right? If not, I’ll wager $500.00 that this person was SDA! But, hey, your academic and professional excellence stands alone, so business as usual – Just do whatever you want! That IS business as usual!
As has already been mentioned a few times in this blog, U.S. News ranked MTSA 69th in the nation among other anesthesia schools. To reiterate, this ranking is “based solely on the results of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators, and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools in each discipline. Respondents rated the academic quality of programs on a 5-point scale: outstanding (5), strong (4), good (3), adequate (2), or marginal (1)”. So the administration of MTSA thinks the school is “a leader” however, your peers rank you 69th. Your peers gave you a 2.6 – not outstanding, not strong, but a 2.6. Let me say it for you – “Almost good”. Not quite good, but almost. Hmm, sounds like there is a discrepancy there. While you view yourself as a leader, those at the top of their game, those ranked among the best in the nation, -- they view you as “Almost good”. Hey, maybe you can use some of your well-honed tactics on these folks at U.S. News and on your peers. After all, your M.O. is to attack those who differ with your opinion or those who threaten you in some way. No doubt, the administration will posit that the rankings are unfair in some way and that they really should be among the top ten.
“Researchers Evan Rogers and Sharon J. Rogers have compared rankings produced by the 1995 National Research Council study with those U.S. News has developed, looking specifically at the U.S. News rankings based on peer assessment data only. They concluded that there was "a very high positive association between U.S. News peer assessment scores and rankings and those reported by the NRC." Their article in the May 1997 issue of the American Association of Higher Education Bulletin further discusses this topic”.
If the vision of the administration were truly one that tended toward “academic and professional excellence” then we could reasonably expect them to be laser-focused on securing top-notch academic instructors possessing stellar credentials and qualifications along with recruiting the very best students both regionally and nationally. Among a myriad of other things that sounds reasonable, right? I mean, it does if your goal is “academic and professional excellence”. Let me spell it out for you. Everything at MTSA, I mean EVERYTHING, is secondary to the primary goal and that primary goal is making absolutely certain that everything that can be SDA-certified IS SDA-certified. That’s why they are freestanding. That’s why they're 69th. That’s why some students are referred to as non-SDA. That’s why many of the alumni hate them and won’t loosen their purse strings. That’s why there are no instructors with great credentials and qualifications (Larry Lancaster excluded of course – hey, by the way Larry, in my opinion you are one of the best instructors to ever walk through the doors of that school. I think my class should get together and get you a gift card at Fortnum & Mason. Kudos!)
This obscenely myopic vision is why the President and Dean are both SDA. It is why, if the administration had their way, every person associated with and/or working for the school would be SDA. “Reflecting Christ in Anesthesia" is code for “All Things Adventist”. Don’t you know? No one can properly “reflect Christ” unless they are SDA. That’s why they are freestanding. Because if they were not they would lose control of this myopic, ethnocentric, xenophobic stranglehold that causes the school to languish both in funding and in ranking and yes, in “academic and professional excellence”. MTSA is not reaching and will never reach its true potential as long as this religious fanaticism continues. HELLO? Who works for whom here? Don’t any of the board members read this blog?
More to follow . . . .
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