TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Charles Ford, an authority on the psychology of deception, will be the featured presenter at the fifth annual Susan and Gaylon McCollough Medical Scholars Forum Feb. 2-3 on The University of Alabama campus. The Forum begins at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in 107 Shelby Hall.
The McCollough Medical Scholars Forum, sponsored by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, was established by Alabama physician Dr. Gaylon McCollough and his wife, Susan. Both are UA alumni.
The Forum’s purpose is to give students an understanding of the importance of the scientific and humanistic aspects of healthcare. High school students, UA pre-health professions students, and past forum participants will join UA faculty representing diverse disciplines for the event.
The Forum, entitled “Being A Good Doctor,” will include two separate lectures conducted by Ford. The first, “Disease and Illness: Doctors and Patients” will deal with the general concepts of being a patient and physician in today’s medicalized society. The second, “The Doctor-Patient Relationship” will deal with the interactions of doctors and their patients.
“Disease and Illness: Doctors and Patients” will be held at 4 p.m. on Feb. 2, and “The Doctor-Patient Relationship” will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 4 in 107 Shelby Hall.
Ford is the author or co-author of five books including “Lies! Lies!! Lies!!! The Psychology of Deceit.” He was recently featured in a Discovery Channel documentary “The Science of Lying,” and he has appeared on a number of network radio/television programs including the “Today Show” and “Dateline.”
In addition, he is the author or co-author of more than 100 articles in professional journals and invited chapters. Major interests reflected in his published work include abnormal illness behavior, stress syndromes, deception syndromes, and psychological characteristics/problems of physicians.
Ford said he chose the topic of being a good doctor in order to cover the broad spectrum of his presentations.
“The reason I want to talk about the doctor-patient relationship first is to discuss what steps are being made to improve it and to study what is happening to it in this day of managed care, Internet access and direct consumer advertising,” Ford said.
Ford’s presentation at the Forum will draw from a series of lectures he gave while a faculty member at Vanderbilt University Medical School. The presentations also will incorporate continuous discussions with student and faculty participants.
“I want to listen to students who are willing to argue and get involved in discussion. There are not a lot of right and wrong answers to these issues, but I am interested in hearing the perspectives of undergraduates and future doctors. In the process, I hope to provide some of the wisdom from my years in the medical field, and I feel that I have much to learn from the students,” Ford said.
Ford completed his medical and post-graduate psychiatric training at UCLA in 1967. Following active duty with the U. S. Navy, Ford’s academic career has spanned almost 40 years, and he is currently a professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Ford is a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a past president of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine and of the Alabama Psychiatric Society.
Dr. Gaylon McCollough is president of the McCollough Plastic Surgery Clinic and founder of the McCollough Institute for Appearance and Health in Gulf Shores. A 1965 honors graduate of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, he served as an offensive center for the Crimson Tide football team and was named to the All-American Football Team in 1964. Since entering practice, he has obtained international recognition as a surgeon and teacher through his affiliation with the largest association of specialty plastic surgeons in the world.
Check-in and registration begins at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 2 and continues on Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. in 107 Shelby Hall. The Forum is free and open to the public.
The College of Arts and Sciences is Alabama’s largest liberal arts college and the University’s largest division with 350 faculty and 6,600 students.
Contact
Nelda Sanker, Communications Specialist, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539, nsanker@as.ua.edu