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Committee Reports |
All Committee ReportsCommunications Committee Report
As I eagerly undertook my new role as chair of the Communications Committee, I was cognizant of following on the heels of the effective outgoing chair, Jacob Reider, MD. During his tenure as chair, the committee and others made significant changes that move STFM communication into more digital formats and continue to benefit the Society. Examples of these changes include transitioning the STFM Bookstore to an Amazon.com affiliate and developing and promoting STFM’s Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (FMDRL) (www.fmdrl.org), which is positioned to become the preeminent electronic educational resource. We have continued on this trajectory, doing the ongoing work of support and oversight for the Society’s multiple forms of communication. For this work, I would like to thank the members of the Communications Committee, who have so wonderfully served the Society: Thomas Agresta, MD; Monique Davis-Smith, MD; Antonnette Graham, PhD; Paul Gordon, MD, MPH; Lucille Marchand, BSN, MD; Anne Musser, DO; and Richard Neill, MD. They continuously meet the committee’s responsibilities, and their dedication and thoughtful deliberation can be seen in the many communications services offered by the Society. The committee is ably staffed by STFM Communications Director Traci Nolte. Some highlights of the committee’s work include: Family Medicine I’d like to give special thanks to Mike Magill, who this April will step down from his position as associate editor. Mike’s critical analytic skills and good judgment have served Family Medicine well for 15 years. STFM and the discipline are indebted to his long-term commitment to enhancing scholarship for the discipline. The journal has cultivated its niche as the scholarly journal for family medicine education topics, and it is increasingly recognized in national and international circles. Current and archived full-text journal articles, along with advertising information and instructions for authors, are available on the public side of our Web site, www.stfm.org, offering better distribution and recognition of our members’ scholarly works. Family Medicine online continues to be the one most-visited page of the STFM Web site, receiving more than 1,300 hits each week. Awards STFM Bookstore STFM is given a small percentage of all transactions (books, cameras, clothing, anything that Amazon.com sells) as long as the initial link was made through our STFM Amazon.com portal. You don’t have to be an STFM member for the organization to get credit, as long as the purchase goes through our portal. So spread the word and have your friends and colleagues bookmark our portal link, www.stfm.org/bookstore. Proceeds from our bookstore link will help us continue our financial commitments to important activities like the Annals of Family Medicine and Future of Family Medicine programs. STFM will promote books listed from our recommended list at our conferences. These books are placed on our recommended list after undergoing a review process. For more information on our Bookstore review process, visit www.stfm.org/bookstore/peerreview.cfm. Electronic Communications The Communications Committee is working on a Web site redesign that is planned for late 2007. The Web site redesign will include ways for members to easily access the Society information that is most relevant to them with the establishment of a “My STFM” area for STFM members. We are also looking for ways that the Web site can convey the unique culture of STFM that we all experience at our meetings. STFM continues to develop its FMDRL. This library, funded through a 3-year grant from the National Library of Medicine, includes curriculum materials from all levels of family medicine education: preclinical, clinical, predoctoral, residency, and faculty development. More than 750 resources now reside on the FMDRL Web site, www.fmdrl.org. FMDRL also has functionality to allow collaborative spaces for STFM groups and committees. Groups can now host listserves and Web spaces within FMDRL to help members connect with each other. The STFM electronic preceptor newsletter, The Teaching Physician, continues to be popular; more than 90 subscriptions have been purchased by departments and residency programs. Each subscription has the ability to touch hundreds of preceptors throughout the nation, ensuring great communication to this important segment of family medicine educators. We thank our volunteer editors of this newsletter: Thomas Agresta, MD; Alec Chessman, MD; Mark Ebell, MD, MS; Betty Gatipon, MD; Caryl Heaton, DO; William Huang, MD; Jon Neher, MD; and Richard Usatine, MD, for their dedicated service to this valuable resource. For more information about this newsletter, visit www.stfm.org/teachingphysician/index.htm. Monograph Review Elizabeth Naumburg, MD, Chair Communications Committee Elizabeth Naumburg, MD, Chair Thomas Agresta, MD Y. Monique Davis-Smith, MD Antonnette Graham, PhD Paul Gordon, MD, MPH Lucille Lomas Marchand, BSN, MD Anne Musser, DO Richard Neill, MD STFM Staff Liaison: Education Committee Report
Predoctoral Education Conference After several years of planning, Dr Margo led our first Predoctoral Directors Development Institute (PDDI). She teamed with Cathy Pipas, MD, and David Little, MD, to deliver the first of two workshops focused on the skill development of our predoctoral directors. It was well subscribed, well evaluated, and will continue at the Annual Spring Conference in Chicago. Each participant will do a mentored project, which is already underway. Thanks to our other PDDI steering committee members who contributed to our successful launch of this program: Paul Paulman, MD; Alec Chessman, MD; and Kent Sheets, PhD. Faculty Development Dr Castro coordinated a highly rated regional faculty development conference in Los Angeles this fall, using our workshops and adapting them to meet the local needs of our teachers. Based on surveys, we are beginning the planning for another regional conference, to be held in Columbus, Ohio, at Ohio State University. With resources always being a challenge, these local conferences are our continuing efforts to take faculty development to our teachers. Dr Chumley once again worked with the journal Teaching and Learning in Medicine to mentor faculty to develop abstracts for publication. For several years, this has been a successful venture with between 8 and 10 abstracts being published, which are selected from the peer papers presented at the Predoctoral Education Conference. Dr Delzell continued his leadership of the committee’s regular columns in the STFM Messenger. He was again successful in developing a series of articles addressing important issues for our teachers. Academic Track National Board of Medical Examiners This has been a rewarding year as for me as chair of the Education Committee, and I wish to express my gratitude to all the dedicated members of the committee, and to Stacy Brungardt, CAE, who continues to support our committee, lending wisdom and perspective to our work. This year, thanks also go to Dana Greco, who has assisted Stacy this year. Jeffrey Stearns, MD, Chair Education Committee Jeffrey Stearns, MD, Chair Daniel Castro, MD Jason Chao, MD, MS Heidi Chumley, MD John Delzell, MD, MSPH Sara Kim, PhD Andrea Manyon, MD David Steele, PhD STFM Resident Representative STFM Student Representative AAFP COE Liaison AAFP Staff Liaison STFM Staff Liaison: Legislative Affairs Committee Report
While Dickens was referring to the time period around the French Revolution, this quote holds true for the legislative activities of the Society over the past year. While we had some minor victories on the funding for primary care education and the reauthorization of the National Institutes of Health, the outlook for GME financing remains bleak and continues to be attacked. Throughout this sea of change and compromise, the Society continues to advocate for the needs of academic family medicine through the work of the Legislative Affairs Committee. What follows is a recap of our work over the past year. Title VII Appropriations Graduate Medical Education In a new twist on the GME battle, the President’s FY08 budget held two major surprises: (1) the Administration would like to prevent Medicaid from using its dollars toward GME and (2) they would like to eliminate duplicate IME payments to hospitals for managed care beneficiaries. This Medicaid proposal will be a new legislative advocacy priority for the Society, and we know that all but three states (Illinois, North Dakota, and Texas) use Medicaid money for GME purposes. It appears that if such a proposal were to be accepted, it would wreak havoc in payments to teaching hospitals. More on this topic will be coming out over the next year. National Institutes of Health Reauthorization In the reauthorization process, a late compromise between Senate and House negotiators led to the passage of the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006 in the waning days of the 109th Congress. This legislation reauthorizes NIH for the next several years. However, this bill does not provide for an authorized fund for translational research but rather a common fund that the NIH director will establish as a reserve account from each of the individual institute’s and center’s budgets. We will continue to advocate for translational research as part of our research advocacy efforts. Title VII Reauthorization Other Issues STFM presented its third annual Advocate Award to Robert Crittendon, MD, of the University of Washington. Dr Crittendon received this award for his long-term advocacy efforts in the area of health care financing and health insurance as a social right. He is the founder of the Herndon Alliance, a national coalition of organizations advocating for health insurance for all. Milestone As Legislative Affairs Committee chair, I would like to thank the members of the STFM Legislative Affairs Committee for all of their efforts. Working with Kathleen Elsberry, MD; English Gonzales, MD, MPH; Dan Lasser, MD; Eleanor Lisbon, MD; Mike Meharry, MD; Osman Sanyer, MD; and Rick Streiffer, MD, makes chairing the committee a pleasure. In addition to the efforts of Hope in our Washington, DC, office, I would also like to thank Kathryn DiBitetto for her work as our government relations assistant and congratulate her on her 1-year anniversary working for STFM. Finally, I want to thank each of you, as members of STFM, for your personal advocacy efforts and ask that you continue this work to advance the efforts of our Society. Terence Steyer, MD, Chair Legislative Affairs Committee Terrence Steyer, MD, Chair Kathleen Elsberry, MD English Gonzales, MD, MPH Dan Lasser, MD Eleanor Lisbon, MD Mike Meharry, MD Osman Sanyer, MD Rick Streiffer, MD STFM Liaison: Membership Committee Report
The accomplishments of the committee include completion of an initiative to facilitate membership among osteopathic family medicine educators throughout the United States. The 2006 Annual Spring Conference was the first meeting to offer elective AOA credits at the meeting for all osteopathic participants. We also have initiated upper-level leadership contacts between the Society’s leadership and the osteopathic organizations. There will be continued work to be certain that both the program content and the continuing education credits at our annual meeting are relevant to osteopathic members of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. A number of new initiatives were begun in the 2006–2007 year. One of our goals is to be certain that all individuals completing a family medicine faculty development fellowship are members of STFM. A working group, consisting of Dr Heiman, Dr Weaver, and Ms Brungardt, has developed a plan that includes strengthening and enhancing the Group on Fellows, a breakfast at the Annual Spring Conference for fellows, and the development of a mailer to fellowship directors that includes testimonials from fellows who are members of the Society. We also are planning to develop a track for members of the Society who are within 5 years of joining to provide ongoing support and involvement in STFM activities. In the next phase, we plan to work to be sure that both sports medicine and geriatric fellows planning academic careers in family medicine are members of STFM. An additional initiative includes reaching out to those family physicians teaching in community-based residency programs. This plan was completed by Dr Corboy and included Dr Ricer and Mr Sherwood. We will conduct a focus group of STFM member residency directors during the 2007 Annual Spring Conference to better understand how the Society can meet their needs and the needs of their faculty. We also will conduct a focus group at the 2007 AFMRD Workshop for directors to meet with directors who are not STFM members to understand the barriers that exist for them in engaging with the Society. We also recommend that we showcase the P4 initiatives in our 2008 Annual Spring Conference in a 3-hour theme session. A third working group, led by Dr Labuda-Schrop, included Dr Miller and Mary Ruhl. Its goal is to develop programs to increase membership. As an initial effort, we are in the final stages of developing a proposal for ERGO Awards (Educational Research Grant Opportunities). We hope to develop a program that supports educational research available to STFM member junior faculty within 7 years of their membership. We are currently exploring funding for this initiative to potentially enhance membership and provide value to members of the Society. We also reviewed the last general membership survey and at this point are developing a survey that would be targeted to new members and first attendees at the Annual Spring Conference to better understand their reasons for joining the organization and how the organization can provide maximum value to them as members. In summary, the Membership Committee had a productive year. We are pleased that the membership of the Society has increased in spite of concerns about the impact of the loss of HRSA funding for family medicine on access to funds for both membership dues and for travel. We believe that this work reflects the activities of all of the members of the Society in their many roles and activities that make STFM a premier academic organization. Sim Galazka, MD, Chair Membership Committee Sim Galazka, MD, Chair Jane Corboy, MD Diana Heiman, MD Charles Henley, DO Susan Labuda-Schrop, MS Karl Miller, MD Rick Ricer, MD Sally Weaver, PhD, MD STFM Staff Liaison: Program Committee Report
The Program Committee hopes to see you at YOUR 2007 Annual Spring Conference (April 25–29) in Chicago! This year’s conference offers a variety of preconference workshops, thought-provoking sessions, and outstanding plenary speakers. In addition, attending the Annual Spring Conference allows members to form/strengthen collegial networks, talk with close personal friends and colleagues, and enjoy Chicago’s unique sites and restaurants! About This Year’s Spring Conference Meeting attendees can attend many presentations that address one or more of these priority areas. Plenary Speakers Continuing at the 2007 Spring Conference • A “Networking” Bulletin Board: The photos of STFM staff, Board of Directors, and committee members will be posted on a bulletin board located adjacent to the registration area. Use this board to recognize your leaders and integrate yourself into one of many STFM networks. Thanks for Jobs Well Done! Thanks also go to the 2007 Conference Program Committee (see their names at the end of this report) for reviewing the 558 submissions and selecting excellent presentations for Chicago. We also thank these key people who spent many hours reviewing proposals: Craig Gjerde, PhD; Patricia Lenahan, LCSW, MFT, BCETS; David Quillen, MD; and Harry Strothers, MD, MMM, along with the members of the STFM Research and Membership Committees. Special Thanks to Roger Sherwood! The Theme for the 2008 Annual Spring Conference in Baltimore In summary, I hope to see you at the 2007 Annual Spring Conference in Chicago. The meeting will be filled with stimulating presentations and outstanding plenary speakers, along with the opportunities for forming/strengthening collegial networks and enjoying Chicago’s unique sites and restaurants with your STFM friends and colleagues! See you there! James Tysinger, PhD, Chair Program Committee Peter Catinella, MD Karen Connell, MS Sam Cullison, MD Alison Dobbie, MD Susan Hadley, MD Lisa Nash, DO Stephen Wilson, MD AFMRD Liaison: STFM Staff Liaison: Research Committee Report
The Research Committee also devotes meeting time each year for capacity-building sessions on important topics for the STFM membership. At the 2007 Annual Spring Conference, we will have several such sessions, including workshops on research in residency and on research related to quality improvement. We will also repeat our joint session with the Program Committee on submitting conference proposals, and we will display a poster with tips for successful submissions. Other posters will emphasize junior faculty development opportunities. Our small-group workshop presented at the 2006 Annual Spring Conference, “Charting Your Course to Research Success,” was successfully exported to the 2007 STFM Predoctoral Education Conference. The session was refocused on the challenges of educational research projects and opportunities to help meet these challenges. The Annual Spring Conference also provides an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of family medicine researchers. The committee reviews all original research papers published by STFM members over the preceding academic year for selection of a Best Research Paper Award. Papers are nominated by STFM members and identified in an extensive literature search. This year, 13 papers were nominated for final consideration among thousands of eligible papers, and the final selection was completed in January 2006. William Ventres, MD, MA, from the Multnomah County (Oregon) Health Department and Mid-County Health Center, is the recipient of this year’s award. The winning paper, “Physicians, Patients, and the Electronic Health Record: An Ethnographic Analysis,” Annals of Family Medicine 2006;4:124-31, received high marks from the Research Committee for its research question, relevance to family medicine, and potential impact. Dr Ventres will have the opportunity to present this paper at the Annual Spring Conference at the same session where our 2007 Curtis G. Hames Research Award winner will speak. This year’s Hames Award recipient, Peter Franks, MD, is being recognized for his research career devoted to the role of primary care in the health care system, social and psychological factors affecting primary care, and the refinement of primary care research methodology. The presentations by the Hames Award winner and the STFM Best Research Paper Award winner are among the research-oriented highlights of the annual meeting, along with the research-themed plenary session. In Chicago this year, the research plenary address will be delivered by Jim Mold, MD, MPH, of the University of Oklahoma. Dr Mold’s address will include a discussion of the role of practice-based research networks in the improvement of health care delivery. The Research Committee is also active with other organizations dealing with family medicine scholarship. The Research Committee chair serves as STFM representative to the AAFP Commission on Science, the Association of Family Medicine Organizations Research Subcommittee, and the Board of Directors of the North American Primary Care Research Group. A member of the committee also serves as the STFM liaison to the Family Physicians’ Inquiries Network. Actions that impact family medicine research are reported to the Research Committee, with subsequent discussion and recommendations reported to the STFM Board of Directors when appropriate. Another effort from STFM to promote family medicine research has been its continued partnership with other family medicine organizations to support the premier research journal for our discipline, the Annals of Family Medicine. We continue to value this journal’s contribution to the scientific advancement of our specialty, and we hope that STFM members will continue their submission of manuscripts and their active readership. I would like to thank the committee and Staff Liaison Kay Frank for their hard work and dedication to this committee and to STFM. Erik Lindbloom, MD, MSPH, Chair Research Committee Erik Lindbloom, MD, MSPH, Chair Richelle Koopman, MD, MS Naomi Lacy, PhD Peter Smith, MD International Committee ReportThe International Committee of STFM is a special committee whose mission is to promote (1) the understanding and teaching of family medicine throughout the world, (2) the training of family physicians able to address health care needs in their communities, and (3) the spirit of international cooperation for the mutual development of all participants. The committee membership consists of STFM faculty with expertise and interest in the development of family medicine internationally. They work to foster exchange between teachers of family medicine to foster mutual learning, strengthen family and community medicine teaching throughout the world, and are involved in the development and distribution of culturally sensitive family medicine undergraduate and graduate curricula and teaching methodology. Update Annual Meeting Other Activities Goals Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH, Chair International Committee Steering Committee: Sim Galazka, MD, Board Liaison (This committee has more than 50 members) |
The Education Committee has experienced another productive year, with continuing contributions across the spectrum of students and residents. It is a joy to lead a committee of such dedicated and engaged members. Their commitment and dedication to serving STFM in this capacity is always astounding, especially in this era of constantly decreasing resources! My sincere thanks to those folks who have made such significant contributions on the Education Committee: Daniel Castro, MD; Jason Chao, MD, MS; Heidi Chumley, MD; John Delzell, MD, MSPH; Sara Kim, PhD; Andrea Manyon, MD; and David Steele, PhD, and our resident representative, Kristen Goodell, MD, and our student representative, Terri Nordin. 
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times"—Charles Dickens
The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Membership Committee has focused its work this past year on continued efforts to maintain and to retain current membership, expand new membership, and enhance value to all members. The committee includes Jane Corboy, MD; Sim Galazka, MD; Diana Heiman, MD; Charles Henley, DO; Susan Labuda-Schrop, MS; Karl Miller, MD; Rick Ricer, MD; Sally Weaver, MD; and Mary Ruhl, STFM Membership Committee Coordinator, on staff. Stacy Brungardt, CAE, deputy executive director, and Roger Sherwood, CAE, executive director, also participate as ex officio members of this committee. 
Come to Chicago!
The STFM Research Committee is responsible for promoting and facilitating research among the members of STFM and in the discipline as a whole. As part of the Annual Spring Conference, the Research Committee coordinates twelve 90-minute Research Forums and a Research Poster Fair (including completed projects, fellows’ and residents’ works-in-progress, and Best Research Paper Award winners). This is the first year we have expanded the works-in-progress posters to residents, and we were pleased with the response to our call.