Committee Reports

Education Committee Report

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.

Predoctoral Education Conference
As our most significant contribution to the Society, the 33rd Annual Predoctoral Education Conference was held January 25–28 in Memphis. Ask any attendee about the ducks and fountain story! The theme was “The Future of Family Medicine Begins With Our Students,” and the meeting was chaired by Kent Sheets, MD, and cochaired by Katie Margo, MD. Attendance at 400 almost matched our all-time high, and given concerns about decreasing Title VII funds, this was a remarkable achievement. It speaks to the enormous value this meeting has for educators involved in the teaching of medical students. Our plenary speakers Betsy Garrett, MD, MSPH; Tom Schwenk, MD; and Larry Bauer, MSW, MEd, each challenged the audience in their own ways. We have a rich history in teaching and patient care, and we have enormous opportunities to evolve our teaching and resources to meet the needs of physicians in the 21st century. As is our custom at this meeting, we awarded student scholarships to five exemplary students. It is remarkable how our learners contribute to their communities.

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
Faculty development remains an ongoing responsibility of the Education Committee. Once again, we held workshops at the Predoctoral Education Conference and the Annual Spring Conference, including a new offering on “Leadership Development.” We will continue to offer these sessions, cyclically to meet the needs of our membership. This year another new workshop will be added on “Educational Scholarship,” led by Deb Simpson, PhD. Committee member Dave Steele, PhD, has agreed to take over the leadership for oversight of these workshops, which have been managed the past 2 years by Dr Chumley.

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
Dr Delzell, with Dr Castro, led a successful series of workshops at the 2006 AAFP National Conference for Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students. They included another oversubscribed session on preparing for the Match. A new session will be added on “How to Seek and Receive Feedback.”

National Board of Medical Examiners
Continuing discussions are being held with representatives from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) regarding the family medicine shelf exam. A group met at the Predoctoral Education Conference with NBME representatives and reported positive progress in changing the focus of questions from inpatient to those more appropriate to what most family medicine students experience in their ambulatory settings. Actual tests were reviewed, and STFM members felt the test was becoming more appropriate for our learners. Several more suggestions were received positively by the NBME representatives. Additionally, discussions continued regarding our having increased control of the content and the potential of forming a family medicine-specific committee. Participants will continue to review and write new questions for exams.

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
Aurora/Sinai Samaritan Medical Center
Milwaukee, Wis

Daniel Castro, MD
LA BioMed Institute at Harbor-UCLA
Harbor City, Calif

Jason Chao, MD, MS
Case Western Reserve University

Heidi Chumley, MD
University of Kansas

John Delzell, MD, MSPH
University of Kansas

Sara Kim, PhD
University of Washington

Andrea Manyon, MD
SUNY Upstate Medical University

David Steele, PhD
Florida State University

STFM Resident Representative
Kristen Goodell, MD
Tufts University Family Medicine Residency
Malden, Mass

STFM Student Representative
Terri Nordin
University of Iowa

AAFP COE Liaison
Inis Bardella, MD
Indiana University

AAFP Staff Liaison
Amy McGaha, MD
American Academy of Family Physicians
Leawood, Kan

STFM Staff Liaison:
Stacy Brungardt, CAE