Frank Di Silvestro

I am Associate Professor of Adult Education and Associate Professor, part time, of Medical Education. I graduated from Rutgers University in 1966. I completed my Masters in Counseling at Rutgers in 1968 and then was in the Army Medical Corp for two years. Then I came to IU and completed my EdD in Counseling in 1973. I worked as the Counseling Consultant for the Indiana State Department of Education until 1976 when I joined the faculty at IU in the School of Continuing Studies. I teach adult educators how to teach and train adult learners. I also teach active listening skills to first year medical students on the Bloomington campus in the Patient Physician Relationship course. I have a specific interest in the important roles of active listening and dialogue in medical education because I believe that active listening is a critical skill in helping physicians perform better, reduce mistakes and misunderstandings, and help patients improve. I also utilize adult education principles in teaching these skills to medical students.