Board Reports

President's Report

Jeannette South-Paul, MD

The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine has grown over the past few years into a professional society more responsive to the needs of its members and the changing academic environment. Our committed Board of Directors and dedicated staff have partnered in a vibrant strategic planning exercise that builds on the process begun in 2001 and dovetails with the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) initiative launched by the entire family of family medicine.

Early in the year, the Board revisited the strategic plan to ensure that its priorities were consistent with current member needs. Indeed, it was reassuring how closely the 2001 priority areas of faculty development, diversity, quality improvement, role of the family physician, and information technology reflected our current views. We then examined FFM Strategic Initiative #8 being led by STFM and have crafted an implementation plan to expand and diversify the workforce of the discipline.

We continue to evaluate our dependence as family medicine educators on Title VII dollars to support and expand our educational mission. The Board of Directors Executive Committee and executive staff have met on more than one occasion with the new director of the Division of Medicine and Dentistry, Tanya Pagan-Raggio, MD, MPH, to understand the dynamic priorities of this division and to learn how best to generate mutually beneficial programs.

The Society has consistently prioritized its regular meetings—each with a particular focus. We had good attendance at the Conference on Patient Education in San Francisco in spite of an ongoing labor dispute. We engaged in dialogue with many of our members regarding how to interface under the strike circumstances and will continue to examine how best to respond on an organizational level to such political/social events.

Shortly thereafter, the world saw devastation in South Asia from the earthquakes and tsunami. Not only have Society members been involved in helping those countries most affected, but we also sent a message to members providing information regarding charitable organizations involved in relief efforts and how they could contribute. The Predoctoral Education Conference in Albuquerque was a success. Its theme was “The Future of Family Medicine Is Now: Innovations in Service, Learning, Technology, and Research.” Nearly 400 attendees participated.

We expanded our successful faculty development workshops this year by offering a freestanding workshop in Chicago. We continue to encourage members to be creative in providing educational offerings in new settings that meet member needs. In keeping with this philosophy, we are delighted that a new Family Medicine Digital Resource Library project—as a result of the wonderful efforts of Jacob Reider, MD, and the STFM Communications Committee—has been funded by the National Library of Medicine. This project will provide for the development of curricular resources in an electronic library for the STFM membership.

As academic medicine faces continuing pressures to find resources, we often find ourselves competing for funding, curricular time, space, and student interest. Because family medicine educators are increasingly involved in a variety of activities and educational exercises, the tensions of those competing for scarce resources affect those of us within the family as well as those with whom we interface. These stressors are compounded by the societal events outside the academic environment. This year has been an even greater challenge for our uniformed and federal members and those most close to them because we have had so many troops deployed to theaters of conflict. Fulfilling our mission as educators and maintaining a strategic focus is challenging under these pressures.

Many leaders and members of the Society had the privilege of attending the triennial meeting of Wonca—the World Organization of Family Doctors—in Orlando, Fla, in October 2004. STFM was able to host a meeting of other STFM-like organizations. Academicians from Europe, Canada, Africa, and South America gathered to share priorities and explore ways to collaborate. The STFM International Committee coordinated a well-attended workshop spotlighting family medicine education and training across the educational continuum around the world. It is clear that STFM has many features that allow us to take a leadership role in such environments.

In summary, 2004–2005 has presented many opportunities and challenges that have allowed STFM to demonstrate that it is an organization that is nimble and responsive to a diverse constituency in a rapidly changing environment.