Welcome to the STFM Messenger On-line
The STFM Messenger is the official news publication of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
Each month, members with e-mail addresses on file with STFM will receive an e-mail with links to the Messenger's on-line stories. Members will be also be able to access the Messenger's current issue as well as its archives on the STFM Web site at www.stfm.org/Messenger.
We welcome your feedback on our member newsletter; simply send your ideas and comments to Traci Nolte, tnolte@stfm.org.
House Falters in Budget Impasse
In the weeks preceding the Spring District Work Period, the House of Representatives had a difficult time agreeing on a budget resolution. As you know, the Senate-passed budget resolution included an amendment that would fund an additional $7 billion to health and education discretionary spending. The purpose of the amendment was to allow for funding of domestic discretionary programs back up to the FY05 levels (hopefully translating into an increase for primary care medicine and dentistry cluster under Title VII).
The idea of a similar amendment in the House caused consternation and dissension among Republican members. Several conservative House members attempted to put in place restrictions on the work of the Appropriations Committee – and their prerogatives regarding earmarks and other spending. It’s difficult to keep track of the players, but here is a quick and dirty look. There are the fiscal conservatives opposing any increases in spending and supporting restrictions in committee authority. There are the appropriators opposing any restrictions on their authority. Democrats were to a man (and woman) in opposition to the limited domestic discretionary spending. Moderate Republicans supported increasing such spending.
In the eleventh hour, the impasse could not be broken. The Republican leadership pulled the resolution from the floor and recessed the House for Spring Break before any vote on passage of the budget resolution. We will have to see if 2 weeks is enough time for the voices of moderation and compromise to have an impact. Our position is still to ask members to vote against the budget resolution unless it contains an amendment increasing health and education spending by $7 billion.
STFM Plans to Change the Future Through Premedical School Recruitment
STFM has taken the lead in the family organizations on Recommendation #8 of the Future of Family Medicine report, namely “To Promote a Sufficient Family Medicine Workforce.” As the FFM educational programming is woven into all STFM-sponsored conferences this year, we must now consider how we take on phase two, namely “to initiate premedical school recruitment.”
Now how do we do this? How do we affect the pipeline of students into family medicine before they enter medical school? Maybe we have been too passive about the recruitment into medical school. We need an intensive, personal, public relations drive by each STFM member to find two or three more of us, for the future, recruited by us from the ranks of the children and teens and young adults in the communities we serve. We guide them and mentor them and then they join us and replace us as family physicians in the community. This is particularly important if we practice with medically underserved and other vulnerable populations, since we see yearly that the children in these communities have little chance of entering medical school, with rare exception.
Suppose each and every family physician and educator took this on as his or her personal crusade, to fill the next generation? It seems daunting, but romantic, and yet pragmatic. We have been drawn to family medicine out of a sense of mission. Now it is time for us to pass on and rekindle that passion that drove us into this marvelous patient care field that cares for families, for communities, for whole people.
So STFM will take on several activities. (1) We will collect stories as we survey you about your current mentoring activities or those of your mentors. (2) We will survey you to find out about existing pipeline programs. (3) We will create a campaign to stimulate mentoring activities by family physicians and teachers of family physicians. (4) We will develop a toolkit with resources to support your mentoring and role modeling activities with students and schools, from grade school to college. Stay tuned for these activities to be featured in future STFM newsletters and at the 2006 Annual Spring Conference.
STFM Education Column—A Day in the Life of a Family Medicine Intern
I am up, showered, out of the house, and driving quiet streets to the hospital by 6:10 am, checking labs from the call room on the electronic charts by 6:25 am, and on the floor about 6:30 am. Not enough time to see patients—just enough to jot down vitals, find nurses, and check for updates. This morning I learn, suddenly and unexpectedly, that the man from out of state I’d admitted 2 days ago with a newly diagnosed lung cancer died the evening before. I remember the page from last night’s on-call intern asking if he knew his cancer was metastatic. He didn’t tell me that he needed to know so he could discuss prognosis with the patient’s wife. He knew I was exhausted, and the ACGME regulations meant I wasn’t allowed to come back to the hospital. He was trying to spare me.
At 6:45 am, with three more patients to see, I don’t know where I find the energy to move after that revelation, but it comes. It always comes. I hit the stairs (always take the stairs, the elevators are slow) and keep going on the usual stuff: pancreatitis, COPD, diabetes, no health care. None of them have done anything unexpected in the night.
Morning rounds at 7 am with the staff—a hospitalist and a community family physician—are lively. Last night’s intern ran George’s code for 2 hours as well as admitting five patients of his own and covering house call. He looks tired but undaunted this morning, and his plans for his patients sound as complete and confident as the second years do. We discuss findings, medical evidence, current practice, and how to read an Xray properly. He doesn’t mention the code—so when it’s my turn to present, it’s the first thing on the list. “George died.” That gets some discussion going and rounds run long because of it. At least it’s not because I don’t know what to do with my patients.
Breakfast with the team and anyone else who’s in the hospital at 8:15 am—but I am conscious of time ticking away. I have afternoon clinic; if I want to be home before 8 pm I’m going to have to be efficient this morning. By 8:40 am, I’m back on the floors and on the phone. I’m sending one patient to a nursing home and trying to convince the psychiatrists to see another. It’s all paperwork and notes and phone calls, limiting my time for sitting at bedside and talking to patients about what’s happening and why. I sit down and talk anyway.
Noon comes. I am not done with my rounds—but clinic is at 1:30 pm, and I have to make my quota of conferences as well. I will be late getting home. My first two patients, well-child checks, are on time, healthy, and smiling at me. Baby number one is 9 months old and up to date on his shots, so it’s a chance to play. He’s almost walking. Baby number two’s mother tells me that she’s quit smoking for the last month. I cheer. She laughs. The next patient fails to show, but that gives me time to do my charting on the EMR. After that it’s my 17-year-old mom needing to be rechecked for her Chlamydia infection (she didn’t bother to take her antibiotics last time), a diabetic man in infectiously good spirits, and another no-show.
I head back to the hospital to do my last rounds, and as I am walking out my pager goes off—the OB floor. I call back from the first phone I find and am told that my continuity OB patient, the one whose C-section I’d scheduled for a week from now, is in triage with ruptured membranes, so can I come in and assist on it tonight? I turn around, call my husband, and tell him not to hold dinner. I don’t know how late I’ll be.
It turns out to be 9 pm before I finally head home, but I am suddenly no longer exhausted—filled with the memory of my very first continuity delivery and a mother who turns her newborn son to look at me. “That’s Dr B, baby. She’s your new doctor!” “He’s beautiful,” I say, and I mean it.
Absentee Ballots Available for 2006 Officer Election
STFM members who will not attend the 2006 Annual Spring Conference may request absentee ballots. Members may cast votes for the following Board positions: president-elect, secretary-treasurer, and member-at-large. To view candidates’ position statements, visit http://www.stfm.org/AnnualConf/AN06/candidates.htm.
Eligible voters include all active physician and active nonphysician members whose 2005 dues are paid. Affiliate members (fellows, residents, and students), associate members (part-time faculty and preceptors), and emeritus members may have the floor at any STFM meeting but do not have voting rights. To be counted in this year’s election, absentee ballots must reach the STFM office by April 21. Requests for absentee ballots must be made in writing and sent to STFM, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 540, Leawood, KS 66211. Requests may be faxed to 913-906-6096 or e-mailed to mruhl@stfm.org. Completed ballots may also be sent via fax. Remember, the request for a ballot and the completed ballot must be made and signed by the eligible member. Questions? Contact Roger Sherwood, STFM executive director, 800-274-2237, ext. 5400, sherwood@stfm.org.
CONFERENCE NEWS
There Is Still Time to Make Plans to Attend 2006 STFM Annual Spring Conference
Conference registration is still open online at www.stfm.org/annualconf/an06/index.htm. By registering before you get to San Francisco, you will save yourself time at Conference Check-in because all your materials will be ready and waiting for you.
The conference hotel, The Hyatt Regency San Francisco, is nearly sold out of the STFM room block for the Annual Spring Conference. A few rooms remain on select nights only. For additional options for accommodations near the Hyatt and at comparable rates, please call Chris McDonald at A Room With A View at 800-780-4343 and mention that you are attending the STFM conference.
We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!
2007 Predoctoral Education Conference Call for Papers
Now OpenSubmission deadline for proposals to be considered for the 2007 meeting is June 13, 2006. This year’s conference theme is "The Future of Family Medicine Begins With Our Students.” This meeting will be held January 25–28, 2007 in Memphis. Plan on submitting your proposals soon. The convenient online submission process is available at http://www.stfm.org/stfmpresenter/submission/start.cfm?confid=139.
STFM Northeast Region Meeting CFP Deadline Is April 19
Submit your proposals by April 19, 2006 (postmark date) to be considered for the 2006 STFM Northeast Region Meeting. The meeting will be held October 26–29, 2006, in Danvers (Boston), Mass. The conference theme is “Leading the Renaissance of Generalism: Caring for the Whole Person, Family, and Community. For details, visit www.fmec.net or contact Laurence Bauer, MSW, MEd, at laurence.bauer@sbcglobal.net.
NAPCRG CFP Deadline Is April 18
NAPCRG’s Call for Papers submission deadline is April 18, 2006. You can submit your proposals at www.napcrg.org/meeting06info.htm. The NAPCRG Annual Meeting will be held October 15-18, 2006 at the Hilton El Conquistador in Tucson, Ariz.
Conference on Families and Health Attendees Enjoyed Austin Location
Thanks to all who attended this conference in its great new venue. If you presented at the conference, don’t forget to upload your presentation handouts to STFM’s Family Medicine Digital Resources Library, www.fmdrl.org.
Conference on Families and Health attendees visit after
one of the plenary sessions.
Conference Chair Bill Gunn, PhD, (right) celebrated a successful community service project at Austin’s Heart House by wearing a party hat at the plenary in recognition of a wonderful experience. Special thanks to Deborah Taylor, PhD, (below) who organized the party, and to the 15 volunteers who participated in the Heart House’s March Birthday Party. This is a monthly event celebrating birthdays of children who attend the after-school program.
First-time attendees Mohammad Mukhtar, MD, (right) and Jeffrey Laphen, MD, both of Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pa, have their morning smiles on during a morning refreshment break at this year’s Conference on Families and Health.
STFM Award Recognizes Outstanding Resident Teachers
STFM is committed to the development of family medicine educators. One strategy to accomplish this goal is to recognize outstanding teaching efforts by residents in our training programs.
STFM offers an award to recognize teaching contributions by residents—the STFM Resident Teacher Award. Each family medicine residency may give this award annually to the resident who has best demonstrated an interest in and commitment to family medicine education.
- The award should be given to a third-year resident, not necessarily the chief resident or someone who is planning to do a fellowship or begin an academic career.
- The award should recognize a resident who has demonstrated skills and interest in teaching, as defined in the criteria that follow.
- No more than one award may be given per residency program, but it need not be given each year.
- Faculty shall select their program’s recipient.
- Give preference to an STFM member when possible.
The following criteria are suggested for selecting the recipient, where applicable:
- Demonstrated interest in teaching/precepting medical students
- Demonstrated interest and excellence in teaching physician assistants, nursing students, pharmacy students, etc
- Participation in a patient education or residency education committee
- Peer teaching
- Consistent quality grand rounds and/or conferences presented
- Valued as teacher by patients and peers
- Evidence of community teaching
- Presentations given at regional or national family medicine meetings
Participating in the awards program is easy. Contact STFM with the name of the resident you have chosen to receive this honor. Staff will forward to you, at no charge, a certificate suitable for framing. You will be responsible for the lettering of the certificate and the presentation in an appropriate forum. If you would like to participate in this program, contact Kay Frank at STFM, 800-274-2237, ext. 5402, kfrank@stfm.org.
Moments in STFM History
Moments in STFM History is gleaned from the collections of the Center for the History of Family Medicine. Housed at AAFP headquarters and administered by the AAFP Foundation, the Center serves as the principal resource center for the collection, conservation, exhibition, and study of materials relating to the history of family medicine in the United States.
10 Years Ago
An article in the April 1996 issue of the STFM Messenger announced: “STFM Launches WWW Site.” According to the article, the Web site went live on February 12, 1996, and was the result of an effort begun 2 years before to enhance electronic communications for the Society.
20 Years Ago
The April 1986 issue of the STFM Messenger had the dire headline: “High Politics Over Lower Funding.” The article detailed that the Health Care Financing Administration was trying to push through new regulations that, after July 1, 1986, would eliminate all direct medical education payments from Medicare except salaries, fringe benefits, and “allocated overhead” for residents and interns. Eliminated would be funding for faculty salaries, residency coordinators, classroom space, supplies, and books and publications. STFM vigorously protested these efforts.
30 Years Ago
The Family Medicine Times of April 1976 reported on the Ninth Annual Spring Conference held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The headline noted “Conference Attendance High in Society’s First Independent Event.” There were 440 attendees plus 150 spouses at this “first autonomous meeting.” (Previously, the Society’s annual conferences were held in conjunction with meetings of the American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges.)
Have You Read Evidence Based Practice Recently?
Almost everyone now knows about the Family Physicians Inquiries Network (FPIN), the organization that produces the Clinical Inquiry articles that appear in the Journal of Family Practice and American Family Physician. But were you aware that FPIN has also branched out to become a content provider for PEPID (decision support software for your PDA) and is now the publisher of the newsletter Evidence Based Practice (EBP)?
FPIN has been gradually transforming EBP to make it a newsletter for all family physicians. As the name suggests, its mission is to provide absolutely current, critically evaluated, and extremely concise information for the busy practicing family physician. The content is created by the questions of working physicians and by what doctors and patients are exposed to in the medical and lay media. The newsletter accepts no advertising and so is shielded from industry bias. Newsletter subscribers can receive up to 36 hours of CME credit per year (3 hours per issue).
To meet the needs of full-spectrum family physicians, EBP now has columns dedicated to behavioral health, obstetrics, nutrition, and pharmacology. Every issue has a tear-out sheet with evidence-based patient education materials. In addition, there are featured articles about how new information is transforming the standards of care, counter-marketing specials that target the excesses of Big Pharma, and reviews of the evidence behind medical issues in the news. Finally, every issue is packed with “Help Desk Answers,” mini-reviews that address the kinds of practical questions that arise every day in patient care.
While the name Evidence Based Practice may sound academic (and indeed, its research methods are intended to be so), the content is meant to be accessible to everyone. Check it out for yourself and you will see. If you haven’t read the newsletter recently, you haven’t read the new Evidence Based Practice.
For a complimentary issue, e-mail ebp@fpin.org or call EBP Project Manager Jon Crowell at 573- 256-2066. To subscribe online, visit www.ebponline.net.
Look What the STFM Board Is Reading
In conjunction with STFM becoming an Amazon.com associate, the STFM Board of Directors offers the following suggestions from their personal reading lists. These books can be ordered by clicking the links below or by using the search box on our portal at www.stfm.org/bookstore. Watch for these recommendations for the next several months in the STFM Messenger online.
STFM’s Family Medicine Digital Resources Library Seeks Group Editors
STFM's Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (FMDRL) is seeking two individuals from each STFM group to serve as FMDRL group editors. While the FMDRL editorial team is requesting volunteers, we also prefer people with some editorial or review experience.
Responsibilities of the FMDRL group editors would include:
1) Recruiting reviewers from your STFM group to do reviews. Group editors can also function as reviewers until we build a larger cadre of reviewers. We estimate that your time spent going over the reviews or doing reviews will be approximately 30 minutes/week. FMDRL offers four categories of submissions: conference materials, resources to share, works-in-progress, and peer-reviewed resources. Only the peer-reviewed resources will require review by group editors.
2) Attending one yearly meeting at the STFM Annual Spring Conference.
3) Participating in one or two conference calls over the year.
4) Responding to e-mail prompts to do reviews. All the reviews and the record keeping for reviews are all done electronically for your convenience.
5) Giving and receiving feedback using e-mail as we hone the review process over time.
FMDRL's mission is to support and enhance the sharing and collaborative development of educational resources among family medicine educators through FMDRL that will include resources for all levels of family medicine education. This online resource will give members of STFM the opportunity to publish their educational materials on the Internet to enhance academic advancement for the individual and our specialty.
For additional information about this opportunity or if you would like to volunteer to be an FMDRL group editor, contact your group chair directly or e-mail tnolte@stfm.org.
Group News
STFM Groups Plan Meeting During STFM Annual Spring Conference
Below is a listing of group breakfasts and group meetings being held at the Annual Spring Conference in San Francisco.
Group Meetings on Friday, April 28; 5:45–6:45 pm
Group on Abortion Access and Training—Pacific C
Group on Admissions (meeting with Group on Rural Health)—Marina
Group on Behavioral Science—Seacliff D
Group on Community Medicine—Seacliff C
Group on Disabilities—Pacific D
Group on Education Professionals in Family Medicine—Pacific F
Group on Ethics and Humanities—Pacific A
Group on Faculty Development—Bayview A
Group on Genetics—Regency A
Group on Geriatric Education—Seacliff C
Group on Health Policy and Access—Pacific F
Group on Hispanic Faculty—Pacific E
Group on Human Sexuality—Pacific B
Group on Family-centered Perinatal Care—Seacliff B
Group on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Health—Boardroom C
Group on Minority and Multicultural Health—Pacific E
Group on Phamacotherapy—Pacific D
Group on Physician-Patient Interaction—Pacific G
Group on Primary Care Sports Medicine—Regency B
Group on Residency Education—Bayview A
Group on Violence Education and Prevention—Seacliff D
Group on Women in Family Medicine—Seacliff B
Committee and Group Meetings on Saturday, April 29; 12:30–1:30 pm
STFM Membership Committee—Bayview A (open to all attendees)
STFM Program Committee—Bayview A (open to all attendees)
STFM Research Committee—Bayview A (open to all attendees)
Group on Abortion Access and Training—Golden Gate
Group on Admissions (meeting with Group on Rural Health)—Garden A
Group on Community Medicine—Seacliff C
Group on Education Professionals in Family Medicine—Pacific E
Group on Faculty Development—Pacific G
Group on Family-centered Perinatal Care—Regency B
Group on Family in Family Medicine—Seacliff A
Group on Genetics—Bayview B
Group on Geriatric Education—Bayview B
Group on Health Policy and Access—Pacific E
Group on Hispanic Faculty—Pacific F
Group on Hospital Medicine and Procedural Training—Seacliff B
Group on Human Sexuality—Pacific A
Group on Information Technology—Seacliff C
Group on Immunization Education—Seacliff B
Group on Integrative Medicine (meeting with Group on Evidence-based Medicine)—Pacific D
Group on Minority and Multicultural Health—Pacific F
Group on Oral Health—Regency A
Group on Patient Education—Seacliff A
Group on Predoctoral Education—Garden B
Group on Residency Education—Marina
Group on Spirituality—Pacific B
Group on Violence Education and Prevention—Pacific C
Common Interest and Group Meeting Breakfasts on Thursday, April 27; 7–8 am
Pacific A-G
Creating the Ideal "Doctoring Skills" Course for First- and Second-year Medical Students>
Family Medicine Book Reviewers
Group on Abortion Access and Training
Group on Admissions (meeting with the Group on Rural Health)
Group on Adolescent Health Care
Group on Community Medicine
Group on Defining a Continuous Healing Relationship
Group on Education Professionals in Family Medicine
Group on Ethics and Humanities
Group on Evidence-based Medicine (meeting with the Group on Integrative Medicine)
Group on Faculty Development
Group on Family-centered Perinatal Care
Group on Genetics
Group on Health Policy and Access
Group on Hospital Medicine and Procedural Training
Group on Human Sexuality
Group on Information Technology
Group on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Health
Group on Oral Health
Group on Osteopathic Family Medicine
Group on Portfolios
Group on Predoctoral Education
Group on Primary Care Sports Medicine
Group on Residency Education
Group on Spirituality
Group on Violence Education and Prevention
Group on Women in Family Medicine
Member News
STFM member David Walsworth, MD, Michigan State University, was selected to receive the American Medical Association Foundation’s 2006 Leadership Award. This award provides medical students, residents/fellows, young physicians, and international medical graduate physicians from around the country special training to develop their skills as future leaders in organized medicine.
NEW MEMBERS
Alabama |
North Carolina |
Tangela Atkinson, MD |
Sarah Cartwright, MD |
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Karen Kingsolver |
Arizona |
Todd Meath, BA |
Dolores Gomez, MD |
J. Henry Young, PhD |
Mary Koithan, PhD |
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Andrew Ropp, MD |
Ohio |
Debbie Sullivan, PhD, PA-C |
Lawson Wulsin, MD |
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Arkansas |
Oregon |
Sarita Prajapati, MD |
Christopher Anderson, MD |
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California |
Pennsylvania |
Faheem Jukaku, MD |
Denise Bonanni, RN |
Panna Lossy, MD |
Stephen Miller, DO |
Todd May, MD |
Ridgley Salter, MD |
Mary Murphy, MD |
Tara Scheufler, DO |
Jonathan Trost, MA |
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Rhode Island |
Florida |
Joanna Brown, MD |
Todd Brinker, MD |
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Joedrecka Brown, MD |
South Carolina |
Sonya Dominguez, MD |
Maria Gibson, MD |
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Georgia |
Texas |
William Fricks, MD |
Susan Berkley, PA |
Illinois |
Becky Hamilton |
Carolyn Fitzpatrick, MD |
Karlene Hendershot, LBSW |
Kristin Hitchcock, MSI |
Mark Nadeau, MD |
Lisa Vargish, MD, MS |
Tim Presley, BS |
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Mara Rubio, LCSW, LMFT |
Indiana |
Kathleen Soch, MD |
Justin Clutter, MD |
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Virginia |
Kentucky |
James Haynes, MD |
Mary Humkey |
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Washington |
Louisiana |
Ross Colt, MD |
Heather Guillot, MD |
Gregory Engel, MD, MPH |
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Chris Gaynor, MD |
Maryland |
Pat Gemperline, MD |
Kenia Mansilla-Rivera, MD |
Lari Kackman |
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Heather Rudisill, MD |
Massachusetts |
Joe Shamseldin, MD |
Bernadette Cookson-Stone |
Fred Smith, MD |
Laura Sullivan, MD |
Julie Taraday, MD |
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Robin Virgin, MD |
Michigan |
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Sasha Savage, MD |
Wisconsin |
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Judy Payne, MS |
Minnesota |
Brian Wolter, MD |
Carie Roseboom, |
Gilbert Rice |
Victor Yapuncich, MD |
Jeannie Sperry, PhD |
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Missouri |
Canada |
Maurice Oelklaus, DO |
Preston Smith, MD |
Michael Ohl, MD |
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Singapore |
New Jersey |
Lim Hwee Boon |
Lucia Weiss, MS |
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New Mexico |
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Bradley Samuel, PhD |
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New York |
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Melanie Bernitz, MD |
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Dalia Brahmi, MD |
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LeWanza Harris, MD, MPH |
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Peter Wentzel, MD |
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STFM Conference Calendar
39th Annual Spring Conference—April 26-30, 2006, San Francisco
27th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine—September 14-17, 2006, Chicago
STFM Northeast Region Meeting— October 26–29, 2006, Danvers, Mass
Annual Conference on Practice Improvement: Health Information and Patient Education—November 9-12, 2006, Denver
33rd Annual Predoctoral Education Conference—January 25-28, 2007, Memphis
27th Annual Conference on Families and Health—February 28–March 4, 2007, Austin