In 1967, the Indiana General Assembly passed the Medical Education Act (SB359). Among other items, the Act made funds available for establishing a media production unit at Indiana University School of Medicine. Within months of the legislation passing, the Medical Educational Resources Program (MERP) was up and running, albeit on a very limited basis. MERP had a dual mission: to produce medical school curriculum enhancement materials, and to develop a closed-circuit television network for the dissemination of continuing medical education (CME) programs statewide.
Although there was often cross pollination in the pursuit to fulfill both missions, only CME materials were telecast statewide. Curriculum support videos were confined to classrooms, lecture halls and study carrels on the Indianapolis medical center campus.
MERP's medical television facility began videotaping biochemistry lectures in Emerson Hall in 1968-1969; these tapes were made available for individual student review in study carrels in the Medical Science building. Occasional lab exercises were also taped in anatomy and physiology labs, via a second-hand black and white camera which was rolled into classrooms, labs or through the tunnel system to Riley Children’s Hospital, Robert W. Long Hall and the Rotary Building. These remote tapings required a two-person crew: a camera operator, and a sound person to “roll tape” and monitor audio levels on a large videotape recorder. The cart carrying the recorder had a large black and white TV monitor on the top shelf.
The original television studio was a converted classroom in Medical Science, and was not soundproof. It was also used for storage, office space and equipment maintenance. There was only one color camera —a huge, commercial broadcast-quality RCA TK-12 color studio camera, donated by WFBM (now WRTV) after the station upgraded its cameras in the late 1960s. Elmer Friman, the second director of MERP, was also formerly with WFBM.
In 1972, the MERP medical television staff, along with Director Elmer Friman and two secretaries, moved into a new studio and offices on the first floor of the new University Hospital, next door to the department of surgery. The studio was much larger, and included a light grid, three new state-of-the-art color cameras, master control room, video tape storage and a separate shop for the video engineers. The program’s enhanced production and technical capabilities increased the school community’s acceptance of video instruction and CME.
Producer/director Don Greene, as head of the medical television facility, was instrumental in building the school’s confidence in the program and its services. As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Greene oversaw the construction of a combined radio/TV station at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and later oversaw its on-air operations as station manager. He was also responsible for five other radio outlets in Turkey, as well as a closed-circuit television installation in Pashawar, Pakistan. After joining MERP in 1968, Greene worked with faculty to develop methods of effective classroom support: most notably, this included the development of television capabilities in microscopy, endoscopy and laparoscopy.
"In 1974, John Jesseph, MD, then chairman of the department of surgery, inquired about the availability of video equipment and personnel on short notice to document rare or unexpected findings during a surgical procedure," said Sharon Chenoweth Greene, WAT 21 station manager from 1974 to 1980. "Jesseph enthusiastically agreed with Greene’s suggestion to permanently install a remote-controlled color TV camera in one of University Hospital’s operating rooms. Greene deigned a U-shaped track for the camera and MERP’s video engineers installed the track and camera in operating room six. Remote controls in the TV facility’s master control room and two-way audio allowed the camera operator and surgeon to communicate and adjust the camera position and angle as the procedure progressed. Jesseph often sent small groups of junior medical students on surgical rotation to TV’s master control room where they had the surgeon’s view of the procedure, live, and better than if they were in the operating room."
Always mindful of MERP’S dual mission to provide curriculum support and CME, Greene encouraged regular use of the remote-controlled camera by suggesting a monthly CME offering called "Grand Rounds in Surgery", to be broadcast via IU's first Instructional Television Fixed Service (or ITFS) station, WAT 21. The live series premiered on October 1, 1975, hosted by Thomas V.N. Ballantine, MD.
Speaking to the The Indianapolis Star about the series, Jesseph spoke to the importance of reaching Indiana physicians statewide: “We of the [IU] School of Medicine have the . . . obligation to serve as a forum for the collection, interpretation and dissemination of new and even controversial scientific information and methods of treatment.”
Grand Rounds in Surgery was the second live series on WAT 21, joining "Today’s Medicine", a series hosted by John F. Phillips, MD which had broadcasted live, once per month, since WAT 21's inception. Later, a third live series was added: "The Newborn", with neonatologist Richard Schreiner, MD. These series, along with all WAT 21 programming, were fully accredited for postgraduate credit from the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of General Practitioners in Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery.
By 1980, 45 Indiana hospitals had access to CME programming. Bundles of printed monthly program schedules and flyers promoting live programs were mailed to hospital directors of medical education to post and distribute. Hospitals promoted programming and tracked viewership autonomously, but it's estimated that 80% of Indiana interns and residents and more than 25% of Indiana’s physicians had access to IU School of Medicine CME programming via WAT 21.
Thank you to the following individuals for contributing their time and expertise to develop this blog series:
- Sharon Chenoweth Greene, TV Production Assistant, 1968-1974 and WAT 21 Station Manager, 1974-1980, Medical Television Facility, Medical Educational Resources Program.
- Kim M. Denny, MSEd, CHCP, Director, Office of Continuing Education in Healthcare Professions, Indiana University School of Medicine.
- Richard L. Schreiner, MD, Edwin L. Gresham Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine; Retired Chairman, Department of Pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine; Retired Physician-in-Chief; Chairman, Riley Hospital Historic Preservation Committee
