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 online 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; send your ideas and comments to Traci Nolte, tnolte@stfm.org.
CONFERENCE NEWS
Register Online Now for the 2007 STFM Annual Spring Conference in Chicago
The STFM Annual Spring Conference will be held April 25–29 in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. STFM members can now register online and make their hotel reservations at www.stfm.org/annualconf/an07/index.htm.
Chicago is always a popular destination for STFM conferences, and room blocks tend to sell out quickly. Make your reservations now and ensure your accommodations for the 2007 conference. The Hyatt Regency Chicago STFM conference rate is $179 single/double. Reservations can be made by calling 800‑233‑1234. You may also make your reservations online at http://www.stfm.org/annualconf/hotel.htm.
NEW this year! Check out the Online Personal Conference Scheduler to choose your sessions at the conference. Visit the STFM Web site at www.stfm.org to select the sessions you’re interested in attending. Once you have chosen your itinerary, you can print out a personalized schedule so you don’t miss a single minute of this year’s Annual Spring Conference.
Preconference Workshops:
| Tuesday, April 24 | |
| Noon–2 pm | Preconference Workshop Registration ONLY |
| 1-5pm & 7-8:30 pm | (450; 2-day workshop; workshop continues on Wednesday, April 25) |
| Wednesday, April 25 | |
| 8am - 5pm | (2-day workshop; workshop continues from Tuesday, April 24) |
| 8am - 5pm | ($100. Preregistration required) |
| 8am - 5pm | ($195; Enrollment for this workshop is limited to 25; Preregistration required.) |
| 1 - 5 pm | ($100; Enrollment for this workshop is limited to 25; Preregistration required.) |
| 12:30 - 5:30pm | ($125; Enrollment for this workshop is limited to 40; Preregistration required.) |
Absentee Ballots
STFM members who will not be attending the Annual Spring Conference in Chicago may request absentee ballots to vote for the following Board positions: president-elect, CAS representative, and member-at-large. Eligible voters include all active full-time faculty physicians and active full-time nonphysician members whose dues are current. To be counted in this year’s election, absentee ballots must reach the STFM office no later than April 18. Requests for absentee ballots must be made in writing and sent to STFM, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211. Requests may be faxed to 913-906-6096 or e-mailed to mruhl@stfm.org. Completed ballots must be signed by the eligible member and can be returned to STFM via fax. View the candidates’ biographies and position statements.
A Gallery of Snapshots From the Conference on Families and Health Held February 28 – March 4, 2007, in Austin
Anthony Suchman, MD, MA, FACP (left), Relationship Centered Health Care, Rochester, NY, presented an engaging plenary session on changing organizational culture to support relationship-centered practice. The talk-show presentation format used was ideal for audience participation. William Gunn, PhD (right), New Hampshire Dartmouth FMR, Concord, NH, served as moderator of this session.
John Cavacece, DO, Grand Rapids Family Medicine, Grand Rapids, Mich (center), and Catherine Serio, PhD, conference chair, Healthwise, Inc., Boise, Idaho, visit with a conference attendee about upcoming events at the conference.
Sayantani DasGupta, MD, MPH, (right), Columbia University, discusses her plenary, “Narrative Medicine From the Margins: Witness, Voice, and Vulnerability” with conference attendees. Dr DasGupta also held a special session on this topic, titled “Narrative Medicine at Work: Reading and Writing for Better Medical Practice.”
David Waters, PhD, University of Virginia (left) and Julie Schirmer, MSW, Maine Medical Center FMR, Portland, Me, take a minute to connect during a networking break at the Conference on Families and Health.
STFM 2007 Conference Calendar
40th Annual Spring Conference—April 25–29, 2007, Chicago
STFM Entering Resident Academy—May 18–20, Houston and Philadelphia
28th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine—September 27-30, 2007, Chicago
STFM Northeast Regional Meeting—October 19–21, 2007, Pittsburgh, Pa
2007 Annual Conference on Practice Improvement: Health Information and Patient Education—November 8-11, 2007, Newport Beach, Calif
Registration to Open March 15 for Entering Resident Academy
STFM’s new program to help international medical graduates (IMGs) prepare for their first year of residency has created quite a buzz among IMGs and the family medicine community. Interest and response has been overwhelming for this new program.
Developed for IMGs who have recently matched with a family medicine residency program, this workshop orients participants to the principles of family medicine and other critical communications skills. This program is an initiative of STFM in response to the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) recommendation related to workforce.
STFM will offer the Entering Resident Academy May 18–20, 2007, in Houston and Philadelphia.
“The contribution of family medicine to the health of populations is unquestioned. The STFM Entering Resident Academy acknowledges the growing role of IMGs in the family medicine workforce. The Academy is intended to help IMGs acculturate to the US health care and medical education system to be successful in their first 3–6 months of family medicine residency training,” said John Rogers, MD, MPH, MEd, FFM Special Task Force chair.
STFM will open registration for the workshop on Match Day, March 15. Eligible participants for the May 2007 program include IMGs who have matched with a family medicine residency program and will enter that program in 2007. The class size at each site will be limited to 32 participants. Due to class size limitations, individuals are not eligible for this program if they have not been accepted into a family medicine residency program as a first-year resident beginning July 2007. Registrants will be required to have their residency program director confirm their acceptance into the residency before they are guaranteed a slot in the Academy.
More details are on the STFM Web site at http://www.stfm.org/img/index.htm. Contact Stacy Brungardt, CAE, with questions. sbrungardt@stfm.org or 800-274-2237, ext. 5406.
STFM Board Actions
The STFM Board of Directors met March 3–4 in Austin, Tex, in conjunction with the Conference on Families and Health. Board actions included:
- Elected Kim Marvel, PhD, as member-at-large to fill the unexpired term of Nancy Baker, MD
- Approved publication of abstracts from STFM meetings as well as the NAPCRG annual meeting in Family Medicine
- Approved continuation of the FFM Special Task Force for 2 years
- Agreed to support a dues increase requested by the Alliance for Clinical Education
- Approved a survey by the STFM Group on Pharmacotherapy, subject to final review by the Communications Committee
- Agreed to appoint the incoming president-elect to represent STFM at the Association of Deans and Directors for Primary Care meetings
- Supported a set of principles and two recommendations on gender equity in Wonca
- Asked the Education Committee to look into the development of a workshop on cultural competence for the Faculty Development Series
- Endorsed the concept of the development of an online core curriculum for family medicine residencies
- Discussed core values of STFM in response to an exercise conducted by the Strategic Planning Committee
The next Board meeting will be held April 24 in conjunction with the STFM Annual Spring Conference in Chicago.
A Future Family Docs Success Story
Mentors influence careers and thus change lives. As family physicians, frequently serving as mentors, we often do not recognize the lasting impact we have on others. In our ongoing effort to chronicle mentoring success stories, this month’s installment highlights an interaction that initially did not seem terribly notable, yet years later the impact was realized. In addition to our success stories, resources to support you in your ongoing mentoring efforts can be found at www.futurefamilydocs.org. If you have a mentoring story to tell, please send it to me, Teresa Kulie, MD, Future Family Docs stories coordinator, at teresa.kulie@fammed.wisc.edu.
Mentoring Success Story—Mentoring the Pre-med Student
As family medicine residents at Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania, we had the opportunity to mentor pre-med students at a local college, Franklin & Marshall. Students worked one on one with a resident, either in the office or the hospital, so they could learn more about the field of medicine and the different opportunities available to them.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with these students, sharing with them my love for family medicine and encouraging them on their educational journey. However, I never knew what impact the program had on the students, other than providing them with another activity to add to their medical school applications.
Then, this past July, more than 3 years after I finished my residency, I learned that it could have a much greater impact. As I was sitting in my office at Georgetown University, where I am a faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine, a young woman knocked on my door.
She said, "Dr Duane, I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Christina. I don't know if you remember me, but when I was a college student in Lancaster, I worked with you in the Family Health Service. You were an intern then, and I remember how much you loved what you did. I just wanted to say that your excitement and encouragement made a huge difference to me, and it is why I am here today."
I was stunned and so excited to learn that Christina was now an intern at the Georgetown Family Medicine Residency Program. What a delight to learn that those moments do make a difference.
By Marguerite Duane, MD, Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IDEAS
This feature of the STFM Messenger is sponsored by the Group on Faculty Development. If you have a submission that will teach us something about embracing the knowledge and skills of our colleagues as educators in 400 words, send it as a Microsoft Word attachment along with your name and contact information to Faculty Development Ideas Feature Editor Deborah Simpson, PhD, at the Medical College of Wisconsin. dsimpson@mcw.edu.
Reading List for Faculty Development
| Book: | What the Best College Teachers Do |
| Author: | Ken Bain |
| Commentators: | Kayleen Papin, MD; Kendall Novoa-Takara, MD; Nancy Havas, MD, assistant professors, Medical College of Wisconsin kpapin@mcw.edu |
Of course we want to be great teachers to our learners—if we could just find the list of what it takes to be a good teacher. Like learning the alphabet, if we do “A, B, C” on the list of what good teachers do, “D” will always come after. Thus, in search of “the great teacher list” we began to read Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, published in 2004 by Harvard University Press.
Bain selected outstanding college teachers and reviewed their courses, course materials, and conducted extensive interviews with students and teachers. Using specific questions to frame each chapter (eg, “How do they know about how we learn?” “What do they expect from their students?” “How do they prepare to teach?”), Bain describes the qualities common to outstanding college teachers.
As we read this book, we didn’t find “the list” or a focus on “nuts and bolts” of teaching but rather an opportunity to think about what it means to be a good teacher and where good teaching comes from. The book is simultaneously inspiring and challenging.
What we learned from Bain’s synthesis of what the best college teachers do is that the common denominator among all these teachers, independent of subject matter, is their focus on the learner. The best teachers:
- Care about their learners as people; they treat their learners with respect, and they trust that every learner has the potential to do well.
- Challenge students with new ideas and concepts and expect learners to apply them to personally relevant projects.
- Focus on how students think, keeping their focus on the big picture rather than on minutia. They want their students to have deep learning and understanding—not just to do well on the test.
- Make appropriate exceptions when needed (eg, the student with horrible test anxiety or one who can’t make the deadline for the project).
As junior faculty, we learned that it takes a long time to be a good teacher and that who we are as teachers will evolve over time.
Implications for Faculty Development: Individual and Program
Two of us read this book as a part of a faculty development program focused on assessing, reflecting on, and improving our teaching (KP and KNT), while the third read it independently (NH). Whether this book is read alone or as part of a structured faculty development program, we found that by selecting one or two take-home points, we could each test out those ideas in our teaching.
For use in structured discussions among faculty, there are ample content and associated reflections upon which to draw. For example, we found drawing comparisons between college teaching and medical education and/or to our roles as physicians helpful. By identifying and discussing skills we as physicians use in patient-centered care, we then sought to translate those skills to the parallel task of the teacher: learner-centered care.
We believe that teaching and medicine are parallels. Who wants a doctor who has only medical knowledge but is inflexible in the moment with the patient? Who wants a teacher who is focused only on “covering the content”? As physicians, we take a patient-centered approach, knowing that what works for this patient may not work with the next. “Why don’t we apply those same skills to our learners?” we asked ourselves.
In Summary: Bain’s book is a thoughtful and stimulating reminder that a shift from the focus on the teacher to the learners will make our next class or precepting interaction better for learners and teachers.
What the Best Teachers Do is available for purchase online through the STFM Amazon.com portal at www.stfm.org/bookstore.
News From the International Committee
Members of the International Committee have been busy since the 2006 Annual Spring Conference. Many attended and presented in the successful AAFP International Consultation meeting in Portland, Maine. Others are editing and writing for the 2007 special edition of Family Medicine dedicated to Global Health Education in our discipline. We have restarted the periodic newsletter for the Committee after a 3-year absence and have begun to plan for the 2007 Gabe Smilkstein Award and events for the 2007 Annual Spring Conference in Chicago. Mike Miller will be the International Committee's chair for 2007–2008. For more information, contact Andrew Bazemore (abazemore@aafp.org).
Open Calls for Papers
The following conferences are now accepting submissions. Consider submitting today.
2007 Conference on Practice Improvement: Health Information and Patient Education
The 2007 Conference on Practice Improvement, sponsored by STFM and the AAFP, will be held November 8–11 in Newport Beach, Calif. The conference attracts family physicians, residency faculty, residents and medical students, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, patient educators, certified health education specialists, dietitians, and other health professionals from primary care settings. This year’s conference theme is "Moving Into the Future," and the clinical focus is infectious and communicable diseases. Submission deadline extended until midnight, March 18, 2007. For more information or to enter a submission, visit www.stfm.org/stfmpresenter/submission/start.cfm?confid=144.
28th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine
The 28th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine, sponsored by STFM and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Family and Community Medicine, will be held September 27–30, 2007, at the Hilton Suites Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago. The forum will offer practical teaching sessions and plenary presentations dedicated to advancing behavioral science training in family medicine. The conference theme is "Harnessing the Cascade of Change in Family Medicine: The Critical Role of Behavioral Science." Submission deadline for this conference is March 12, 2007. For more information or to enter a submission visit www.stfm.org/forum.
35th NAPCRG Annual Meeting
The 35th Annual Meeting of the North American Primary Care Research Group will be held October 20–23, 2007, at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. Submission deadline for this conference is April 17, 2007. For more information or to enter a submission, visit http://www.napcrg.org/napcrgpresenter/submission/.
2008 Predoctoral Education Conference
Submission deadline for proposals to be considered for the 2008 meeting is June 11, 2007. This year's conference theme is "Igniting Students' Passion for Serving the Underserved." This meeting will be held January 24-27, 2008 in Portland, Ore. Plan on submitting your proposals soon. The convenient online submission process is available at http://www.stfm.org/stfmpresenter/submission/start.cfm?confid=147.
MEMBER NEWS—
New Chairs
STFM has received news of the following new chair appointments:
Montgomery Douglas, MD
New York Medical College
Eugene Hong, MD
Drexel University
Research Committee Seeks Family Medicine Fellow
The STFM Research Committee is looking for a full-time family medicine fellow to replace the current representative who will rotate off the committee at the Annual Spring Conference. Those interested should be starting a 2-year fellowship and be able to participate in the Research Committee tasks/meetings for the next 2 years. If interested, contact Erik Lindbloom, MD, MSPH, chair, at lindbloome@health.missouri.edu.
New Member Orientation at Annual Spring Conference
Are you a new member, or is the Annual Spring Conference your first meeting with STFM? If so, please make plans to attend the New Member/New Attendee Orientation and Reception on Wednesday, April 25, 6–7pm. Get an orientation to the conference program and learn about STFM activities and how to become involved in the Society.
NEW MEMBERS—
| Arizona | New York |
| Michael Underhill, DO | Elizabeth Brown, MD, MPH |
| Robert Dachs, MD | |
| California | Adjoa Duker, MD |
| Manju Deshpande, MD | Liliya Gekhman, DO |
| Penina Segall-Gutierrez, MD | Charles Hinz, MD |
| Elisabeth Wilson, MD, MPH | Jennifer McCaul, MD |
| Sanjeev Nischal, MD | |
| District of Columbia | Susan Rubin, MD |
| Jaya Vijayan, MD | Perlita Young, MD |
| Florida | Ohio |
| Authrine Whyte, MD, PhD | Scott Merryman, MD |
| Sherry Weathers | |
| Georgia | |
| Nichole LeBoyd, MD | Oregon |
| Pam Plunkett | Joel Marrs, PharmD |
| LeDeadra Sullivan-Brown | |
| Pennsylvania | |
| Illinois | Gwen Breuer, DO |
| Mark Macumber, MD | Shannon Keel, MD |
| Adriana Tobar, MD | Bradley Miller, DO |
| Robert Motley, MD | |
| Iowa | Margot Savoy, MD |
| Neal Sheeley, MA | |
| Rhode Island | |
| Kansas | Edward McGookin, MD |
| Ashley DeVilbiss | |
| Texas | |
| Kentucky | Julie Adkison, PharmD |
| Chris Marshall, MD | Thomas Cole, PhD |
| Neela Patel, MD, MPH | |
| Maine | Darryl Newell Steele, MD |
| Erica Lovett, MD | |
| Utah | |
| Maryland | Peter de Schweinitz, MD |
| Chidinma Osefo | |
| Virginia | |
| Massachusetts | Stacey Hinderliter, MD |
| Katherine Gergen Barnett | Michael Soroka, DO |
| Helen Manson, MD | Terry Thompson, MD |
| Alysa Veidis, MS, RN, FNP | |
| Washington | |
| Minnesota | Michael Erickson, MD |
| Sean Hearn, MD | Mark Johnson, MD |
| Kathy MacLaughlin, MD | Charles Mayer, MD |
| Nevada | West Virginia |
| Marcia Lu, MD | David Baltierro, MD |
| New Mexico | |
| Syed Sultan, MD | |
Do You Have an Open Position to Fill? Consider STFM’s Positions and Opportunities Book
STFM will publish its annual Positions and Opportunities Book for distribution with conference materials at the Annual Spring Conference April 25–29, 2007, in Chicago. This publication will be a valuable, organized reference to current opportunities in family medicine education.
Programs and institutions with positions available should submit copy to Family Medicine Classifieds, c/o Russell Johns Associates, PO Box 1510, Clearwater, FL 33757-1510. E-mail: familymedicine@medical-admart.com. 800-237-7027. Fax: 727-445-9380. When you send in your ad, be sure to note that the ad is being submitted for the STFM Positions and Opportunities Book.
Increase your ad exposure and take advantage of our special combination pricing. For more information on placing your ad, contact Susan Deakins, Russell Johns Associates, at 800-237-7027. Overnight delivery: 1001 S. Myrtle Avenue, Suite 7, Clearwater, FL 33756-3930.
Click here to see full pricing information for the Spring 2007 Positions and Opportunities Book.
FOUNDATION FOCUS—
STFM Foundation Increases New Faculty Scholars Award Stipend and Number of Awardees
This New Faculty Scholars Program has consistently been identified by STFM members responding to surveys as the Foundation program of most value to STFM members. Recently, members suggested that more Foundation funds be allocated to New Faculty Scholars. As a result of the increase in the amount of funds raised during the 2006 annual campaign, the Foundation has responded accordingly, increasing the amount of the award from $1,000 to $1,500 and selecting seven recipients.The usual number of recipients is four, and the most awarded previously in any one year is five.
The New Faculty Scholars Program, established in 1988, was the Foundation’s first ongoing leadership initiative. Scholarships to attend the STFM Annual Spring Conference are provided to STFM members who are in their first 2 years as full-time faculty and who exhibit outstanding leadership potential. Through 2006, 79 STFM members have been selected to receive this award.
We are proud that many of our scholars are now department chairs and have otherwise distinguished themselves in the field of academic family medicine. Many have gone on to key academic and volunteer leadership positions. They include Rick Kellerman, MD, department chair at the University of Kansas-Wichita and AAFP president; Alma Littles, MD, senior associate dean for Academic Affairs at Florida State; Charles Mouton, MD, MS, department chair at Howard University; and two STFM Board members, Sandra Burge, PhD (former Board), and Deborah Witt, MD (current Board).
We look forward to welcoming the following members of the New Faculty Scholars Class of 2007 in Chicago next month:
Richard Allen, MD, MPH
Associate Director
St Mark’s Family Medicine Residency Program
Salt Lake CityLia Pierson Bruner, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Texas Tech UniversityTroy Fiesinger, MD
Assistant Professor
Conroe Family Medicine Residency
Conroe, TexNathan Hitzeman, MD
Faculty Physician
Sutter Health Family Medicine Residency Program
Sacramento, CalifLisa Maxwell, MD
Assistant Director of Predoctoral Education
Family Practice Residency Program
Christiana Care Health System
Wilmington, DelLisa Marie Ward, MD, MSPH
Assistant Professor
University of California, San FranciscoCheryl Seymour, MD
Assistant Professor
Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency
Augusta, Me