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All Committee ReportsCommunications Committee Report
During this year the Communications Committee spent some time analyzing the duties of the committee and developing a purpose statement that will guide the committee for the future. Goals:
In 2008, we will continue to develop the committee’s direction and align our activities under the above goals and the Society’s Core Purpose and Core Values. Some highlights of the committee’s work include: Family Medicine Dr Rodnick also spearheaded the development of our dedicated issue on Global Family Medicine Education. Family Medicine joined more than 230 other medical journals that published a global theme issue on poverty and human development on October 22, 2007. 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 most-visited page of the STFM Web site. 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 STFM continues to develop its Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (FMDRL). This library, initially 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 1,200 resources now reside on the FMDRL Web site, www.fmdrl.org. In 2007, STFM also introduced collaborative work areas for the STFM groups within FMDRL. All groups have access to a listserve, as well as collaborative Webspaces for their work. The STFM Messenger, the Society’s e-newsletter, continues to be a valuable source of Society news for members. This year it contained a series of special reports from the STFM Board of Directors related to the patient–centered medical home. It also contains all the information members need to keep up to date on the activities of the Society. You can visit the Messenger archive at http://www.stfm.org/messenger/index.html 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; John Delzell, Jr, MD, MSPH; Mark Ebell, MD, MS; Betty Gatipon, MD; Caryl Heaton, DO; Diana Heiman, 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. 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
This has been a spectacular year for the Education Committee! We set a record for submissions to the Predoctoral Education Conference, presentations at that meeting, and overall attendance (458). Included in the record attendance was the highest-ever number of students participating (76), who were engaged by the conference theme and a preconference titled: “Creating and Managing Student-run Free Clinics,” led by Ellen Beck and others. This success, as always, is attributable to the significant contributions by our Education Committee and the countless others who bring their energy and scholarship to our activities. I want to express my sincere appreciation to Daniel Castro, MD; Maryellen Goodell, MD; Robert Hatch, MD, MPH; David Little, MD; Julie Robbs, MA; David Steele, PhD; Joanne Williams, MD, MPH; STFM Resident Representative Jennifer Bacani, MD; STFM Student Representative Erin Corriveau; AAFP COE Liaison Suzanne Allen, MD, MPH; AAFP Staff Liaison Amy McGaha, MD; 2008 Conference Chair Katherine Margo, MD; 2008 Conference Cochair Heidi Chumley, MD; and STFM Staff Liaison Angela Broderick. Predoctoral Education Conference Our most successful Predoctoral Education Conference ever, the 34th Annual Predoctoral Education Conference was held in Portland, Ore, from January 24–27, 2008. While the weather was unusually cold, our reception by the hosts from Oregon Health Sciences University was warm and welcoming! As chair, Katie Margo truly lit the spark for attendees with her theme “Igniting Students’ Passion for Serving the Underserved.” The plenary speakers, Christine Stabler, Kenneth Ginsburg, and Tanya Page, each in their own unique way, stoked our fires and energies for the mission of teaching medical students and serving our communities. Attendees made difficult choices from the offerings of workshops, symposia, seminars, lecture-discussions, papers, posters, and breakfast roundtables. Students’ scholarships were awarded to five outstanding students, with clear commitments to community service. As a preconference, Katie Margo also led day 1 of the second offering of the Predoctoral Directors Development Institute. Based on feedback, a number of changes were made to format and content. Faculty this year were Katie Margo, Paul Paulman, MD; David Little, and Alison Dobbie, MD. Participants from last year’s Institute came to encourage and share their experiences, many who were presenting their projects, arising from their previous participation. Day 2 will be held at the Annual Spring Conference in Baltimore this spring. Evaluation of both years is underway, and continuation will be discussed at the spring Board of Directors meeting. Many thanks to the rest of PDDI Steering Committee members: Kent Sheets, PhD, Cathy Florio Pipas, MD, and evaluator Alec Chessman, MD. Faculty Development Dave Steele, PhD, led these specific efforts of the Education Committee this year, assisted by Julie Robbs, MA. During the Annual Spring Conference, a new offering on Educational Scholarship was led by Deb Simpson, PhD, with excellent evaluations. Two workshops will be held in Baltimore this year: Workshop 1: Teaching and Learning Skills led by Jeff Susman, MD, and a new workshop 7: Culturally Competent Care, led by Sonia Crandall, PhD, MS. Ohio State University sponsored and directed a successful regional faculty development offering: “Teaching One on One, the Basics and Beyond,” led by Holly Cronau, MD, and Lawrence Gabel, PhD (84 attendees). Heidi Chumley, MD, and Dave Little, MD, worked with the journal Teaching and Learning in Medicine to mentor faculty in developing abstracts from their presentations at the Predoc meeting in Portland for publication in the journal. We will submit 8–10 exceptional abstracts again this spring for consideration. Dan Castro, MD, assisted by Joanne Williams, MD, MPH, assumed leadership of our regular Education Column in the STFM Messenger and has put a new perspective on these offerings, both theme and content. We hope you are enjoying them! Dan Castro, MD, and Rob Hatch, MD, MPH, will lead STFM’s offerings at the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Students in Kansas City, which include: • International Rotations: How to Establish and/or Maintain an International Elective in Your Medical School/Residency • International Medical Graduates: Applying to Family Medicine Residency Programs (by the International Medical Graduate) • Seeking and Recognizing Feedback About Your Performance on Clinical Rotations National Board of Medical Examiners The Predoctoral Educators Group, the Education Committee, and the STFM Board of Directors continue to actively work with NBME regarding the family medicine shelf exam. Our participation is increasing and emphasis this year will be on creating an explicit curriculum for family medicine clerkships so that increasing standardization can take place for the exam questions. Caryl Heaton, DO, and Al Tallia, MD, are leading this effort. I consider it an honor and privilege to lead this exceptional group of STFM contributors! My special thanks go to STFM Executive Director Stacy Brungardt, CAE, who has supported this committee for many years. With her new leadership responsibilities, she will be passing this role on to Angela Broderick, and Dana Greco, CAE, will be the staff lead for PDDI. My thanks to both of you. Jeffrey Stearns, MD, Chair Education Committee Jeffrey Stearns, MD, Chair Daniel Castro, MD Maryellen (Melly) Goodell, MD Robert Hatch, MD, MPH David Little, MD Julie Robbs, MA David Steele, PhD Joanne Williams, MD, MPH Liaisons to Committee STFM Resident Representative STFM Student Representative AAFP COE Liaison AAFP Staff Liaison STFM Staff Liaison: Legislative Affairs Committee Report
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."—Sir Winston Churchill The words of Winston Churchill hold true today in the area of legislative affairs for academic family medicine. While we have been met with many difficulties, we remain optimistic by looking for the opportunities that lie within. Our optimism has contributed to our successes on several levels in both the legislative and regulatory arenas over the past year. Below are the highlights of our activities: Title VII Appropriations This past year, the President’s budget surprised us and did not zero out Title VII funding; instead, it was not even mentioned! Fortunately, Congress debated the issue and voted to keep Title VII level-funded at a total of $184.7 million. Of this allocation, the primary care medicine and dentistry cluster was slated to receive $48.8 million, the same as last year. After an across the board budget cut on Labor-HHS appropriations of 1.747%, the primary care medicine and dentistry cluster has an appropriation of $47.9 million. In the President’s proposed 2009 budget, Title VII was in the budget but with a recommendation for no funding. That would include the primary care cluster as well as Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and other primary care funding. To continue our advocacy efforts in this area, we played a large role in developing and participating in a briefing for Capitol Hill staff on the need for more funding for Titles VII and VIII. Under the auspices of the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition, we invited STFM Past President Denise Rodgers, MD, to speak at the briefing. In addition, former STFM Board member and Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, was one of the panelists. A strong case was made for fully funding these programs, and there was a great turnout, with more than 50 Hill staff attending. Title VII Reauthorization Discussions centering around reauthorizing Title VII programs, which we believe would make the battle for appropriations less difficult, have become reinvigorated over the past year. In February 2008, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) held a Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP) committee hearing titled “Addressing Health Care Workforce Issues for the Future.” STFM member Kevin Grumbach, MD, presented his workforce research at this meeting and stated, “Ongoing federal investment in the medical education pipeline to prepare and motivate physicians to participate in the NHSC and to work in CHCs should be considered an integral component of efforts to improve access to care for the underserved.” STFM staff was involved in prepping committee staff for this hearing and providing information to help staff prepare questions for the senators to ask. This hearing also has been useful in our staff’s subsequent conversations with Hill staffers, helping to lay the foundation for the reauthorization of Title VII programs. Graduate Medical Education The financing of graduate medical education has been hit on two levels this year, with the executive branch attacking the financing streams provided through both Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare financing issues continue to hinge on the point of having a teaching hospital assume “all or substantially all” of the costs for training with a volunteer preceptor. We are continuing to work both with CMS staff on a regulatory fix and Hill staffers on a legislative fix but are currently at a standoff. We did get a 1-year moratorium on attacking Medicaid financing of GME. However, this moratorium expires in May 2008. While CMS has estimated the impact of this rule at the level of $15 billion over 5 years, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has estimated the impact at $50 billion over 5 years. We are working on extending the moratorium for another year. The FY2009 President’s budget also would cut Indirect Graduate Medical Education Funding by huge amounts, reducing the update factor from its current 5.5% to 2.2%. We will continue to work on these issues that threaten our residencies, teaching hospitals, and the primary care workforce. Awards STFM presented its third annual Advocate Award to the WWAMI Residency Network. This network has developed ways to involve all residency faculty in these five states in legislative advocacy issues, both on a state and national level. In addition, they are discussing collaborative projects, such as the concept of an Educational Health Center, and working with legislators to find funding for these new educational models. This year also featured the first Legislator Recognition Award by the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Committee, convened by STFM. The winner of the inaugural award is Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO, 9th) for his work on graduate medical education financing. Future Visions The past year has also allowed for the Legislative Affairs Committee and the STFM Board of Directors to discuss some strategic changes that will help our committee to function better. First, the Board decided to extend the terms of its current members for 1 additional year to put our committee members’ appointments in sync with the Congressional calendar. This will allow us to select a committee that can have the maximum impact on the legislative process. Second, the committee has done some prioritization of legislative issues to help guide our staff to utilize their limited time in the best manner. Here is the committee’s prioritization: Must Do
Engage as Needed
Work with AAFP and other organizations on an as-needed basis
Kudos Once again, our Washington, DC, staff continues to do an incredible job in advocating for STFM’s legislative priorities. Hope Wittenberg, MA, works daily with other lobbyists, organization staff, and Hill staffers to advocate for academic family medicine. We would not be where we are today without Hope’s dedication and leadership. We also welcomed Eric Gascho to our staff as our government relations assistant. Eric has quickly integrated himself as part of our team and is doing an amazing job. As Legislative Affairs Committee chair, I thank the members of the STFM Legislative Affairs Committee for all of their efforts. Working with 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. As my time as committee chair draws to a close, I also 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. Your phone calls, e-mails, and letters make a difference! Terence Steyer, MD, Chair Legislative Affairs Committee Terry Steyer, MD, Chair English Gonzalez, MD, MPH Dan Lasser, MD, MPH Michael Meharry, MD Osman Sanyer, MD Rick Streiffer, MD STFM Liaison: Membership Committee Report
As chair of this committee, I would first like to recognize the contributions of Karl Miller, MD, of the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Unit, who ably served our Society as a member of the Membership Committee. Unfortunately, Dr Miller died unexpectedly this past year. We miss his intellectual excellence, his wonderful wit, his kind and generous nature, and his dedication to all that our Society represents. We continue our work in his absence to represent the needs of our members within the organization. We are blessed with excellent members on our committee: Jane Corboy, MD; Diana Heiman, MD; Charles Henley, DO, MPH; Susan Labuda-Schrop, MS; Rick Ricer, MD; and Sally Weaver, PhD, MD, who carried on the tradition that Karl brought to our committee through our work this past year. This past year we have worked to assess and understand the needs of our members and to recommend programs to help members further their careers in academic family medicine. We presented to the Board of Directors a recommendation to establish a competitive grant program targeted specifically to supporting educational research projects. The ERGO program (Educational Research Grant Opportunities) was directed by the STFM Board to the STFM Foundation for review and identification of funding. We conducted focus groups with “best practice” community-based residency program directors and with program directors who are not members of STFM to understand their different needs and reasons for their link to STFM. Directors of nonparticipating programs wanted more products, such as curricular modules, from meeting participation that would help them maintain their program’s accreditation. Best practice programs wanted an opportunity to showcase their program through presentations and dialogue with other members. We plan to link this information to activities to reach out to nonparticipating program directors. We also conducted a survey of our new members to understand how they got connected to STFM, what they value in our organization, and what their hopes and aspirations are. We are using this information to strengthen ties to new members and to engage them in the Society. A summary of these findings is posted on the FMDRL for review. In this spirit, we are also strengthening links to our fellow members because they are the future in academic family medicine and should be natural leaders in our Society. We proposed that the former Group on Fellows expand its focus and become a new group, the Group on New Faculty in Family Medicine. This group was approved by the STFM Board in 2008. Finally, we have also worked on strengthening the New Member Orientation at the Annual Spring Conference. We continue to integrate participants’ feedback into redesign of these activities. At the 2008 annual meeting, we will add a lunch activity as an additional way to connect to our new members. Membership in STFM continues to grow in spite of the trials and tribulations of academic family medicine. We believe that our organization is essential to supporting faculty in family medicine throughout the United States and the world. Sim Galazka, MD, Chair Membership Committee Sim Galazka, MD, Chair Jane Corboy, MD Diana Heiman, MD Charles Henley, DO, MPH Susan Labuda-Schrop, MS Rick Ricer, MD Sally Weaver, PhD, MD Mary Ruhl, Staff Liaison Program Committee Report
Meetings for 2007–2008 The committee has met three times to plan the 2008 Annual Spring Conference and will hold an open meeting at the conference in Baltimore. We encourage members to contact us about questions and/or concerns about the Annual Spring Conference. We strive to produce the best meeting for our colleagues. Please attend our open meeting on Saturday, May 3 during lunch. 2007 Annual Spring Conference The committee thanks the members who provided feedback on the 2007 Annual Spring Conference using the online evaluation form. The committee was especially pleased with the number of first-time attendees who participated in the meeting and the increased number of residency faculty who attended the conference. The results of the online survey showed that many respondents have attended five or more annual conferences. The committee pledged to work with other STFM committees to encourage new members and first-time attendees to attend. The survey also indicated that attendees want more teaching topics/presentations and more “nuts and bolts” educational programming. The committee considered these stated needs and the need for more sessions for senior faculty when planning the 2008 conference. The 2008 Annual Spring Conference The committee members and a dedicated group of external reviewers worked hard to review the 488 proposals that were submitted in September. We meet in Baltimore for 2 days to select the proposals for the meeting. We were impressed with the quality of the proposals and the range of topics they covered. Unfortunately, time and space limitations and duplication of topics prevented every good proposal from being accepted. Overall, we were pleased to accept 94% of the proposals. Special thanks to the committee members who responded to several members’ requests for individual feedback. Submissions and Acceptances for the 2008 Annual Spring Conference
*These acceptances include submissions moved from other categories. Get Ready for the Meeting in Baltimore! Why should you attend the Annual Spring Conference? Ask our members who have attended and this is what they’ll likely say: Preconference and Special Sessions Attendees can elect to attend one of eight exciting preconference workshops on Wednesday, April 30. See ADD LINK HERE for more information about these workshops, which range from 4 to 8 hours. Members can also attend a number of special sessions that are scheduled during the conference in Baltimore. See ADD LINK HERE for more information about these special sessions on topics such as revenue enhancement, “Sicko,” and a P-4 Update. Special “Pipeline” Activity Mark Johnson, MD, MPH, and several of his colleagues will host a special family medicine “pipeline” activity for minority students on Saturday. Students and their parents will be invited to attend a special session at the conference and talk with scholastic poster exhibitors. Use this time to encourage their students to become the next generation of family physicians! Scholastic Poster Awards For the first time, our scholastic posters will be judged by members of the Group on Educational Professionals, and an outstanding poster from each of the two poster sessions will be recognized with a “blue ribbon.” Tools for Submitters The “Orientation Guide for Submitters” by Peter Catinella, MD, MPH, was placed on the Call for Papers for the 2008 Annual Spring Conference. This valuable resource explains what reviewers consider when rating a proposal and suggests ways submitters can enhance their likelihood of having their proposals accepted. The committee wants to accept as many excellent proposals as possible, and this tool should help first-time presenters write competitive proposals. Submitters are also reminded that Program Committee members will consult with them on their proposals if contacted several weeks before the submission deadline. The Program Committee can’t accept many good proposals due to limitations of time and space and duplication of topics. Members who did not have a submitted proposal accepted are reminded that members of the committee will give them individual feedback that should help them on future proposals. Conference Partners Ray Rosetta, Patrick McManus, MD, and David Henderson, MD, have identified a number of “conference partners” in the Baltimore area. These partners work with the Society to support conference events (eg, Welcome Reception) and make attendees from outside the area feel at home. Please thank these conference partners for their special contributions to the annual meeting. 2009 Annual Spring Conference Please talk with your colleagues and start to plan your proposals for the 2009 Annual Spring Conference. See you in Baltimore! James Tysinger, PhD, Chair Program Committee Peter Catinella, MD Alison Dobbie, MD Wanda Gonsalves, MD Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD David Henderson, MD Patricia Lenahan, LCSW, MFT, BCETS Lisa Nash, DO AFMRD Liaison Ray Rosetta, CMP Research Committee Report
While this focus has been part of the committee’s agenda in previous years, this year the committee has developed strategies to specifically address this focus. These strategies have been endorsed by the STFM Board of Directors and include the following:
While a major focus is now on research for persons who are not career researchers, the Research Committee will continue with previous strategies that address the needs of more traditional family medicine researchers. These include:
Also as part of the Annual Spring Conference, we will highlight this year’s winner of the Hames Award, a career award for family medicine researchers. This year’s recipient, Howard Rabinowitz, MD, from Thomas Jefferson University, will discuss his work in research in family medicine. Finally, the research plenary address will be delivered by John Saultz, MD, of Oregon Health and Sciences University, who will discuss research regarding the attributes of the patient- centered medical home (PCMH). Since the theme for STFM for this year is the PCMH, the STFM Research Committee will also be conducting a study that will examine the extent to which family medicine clinical clerkship sites have achieved the principles of the PCMH. The study will be carried out by co-principal investigators John Saultz, MD, and Shawn Blanchard, MD, of Oregon Health and Sciences University, with two co-investigators from the Research Committee (Patty Carney, PhD, and James Gill, MD, MPH) and with oversight by the entire Research Committee. This study was funded by the STFM Board of Directors and is part of a larger project to determine whether the attainment of these PCMH principles improves over time and which interventions or factors are most likely to lead to such improvement. Also, STFM is collaborating with the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics on a large conference regarding the PCMH. The lead person for STFM is Research Committee Chair James Gill, MD, MPH. To facilitate the goal of advancing research in the discipline of family medicine as a whole, the Research Committee is also active with other organizations dealing with family medicine scholarship. The Research Committee chair serves as STFM representative to the Committee on Advancing the Science of Family Medicine, the Board of Directors of the North American Primary Care Research Group, and the Board of Directors of the Family Physicians’ Inquiries Network. A member of the committee (Richelle Koopman, MD, MS) also serves as the STFM liaison to the AAFP Commission on Science. 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. I would like to thank the committee and Staff Liaison Kay Frank for their hard work and dedication to this committee and to STFM.
Research Committee James Gill, MD, MPH, Chair Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH Patricia Carney, PhD Jesse Crosson, PhD M. Norman Oliver, MD Fellow AAFP Liaison to Committee 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 As the interest in international medicine continues to rise among medical students and family medicine residents, the interest in finding opportunities and building global health programs is increasing. To this end, many of the committee members attended and presented at the AAFP International Family Medicine Development Workshop held in Tucson, Ariz, in September 2007 with the theme “Equipping Others for Sustainable Health Outcomes.” Five of our members also served as editors for a special October edition of Family Medicine, which was devoted to global family medicine education (Fam Med 2007;39(9).) Annual Meeting Other Activities Goals
Michael Miller, DO, Chair International Committee Steering Committee: |
The STFM Research Committee is responsible for promoting and facilitating research among the members of STFM and in the discipline as a whole. Since STFM is the leading US organization dedicated to family medicine education and training, the primary focus of STFM is the interface between research and education. Research here is defined broadly, as the “generation of new knowledge.” This includes not only traditional investigator-initiated research but also evaluation of clinical programs (such as occurs with performance improvement) and educational programs, as well as scientific inquiry in general. The target audience for the STFM Research Committee includes ALL members of STFM, not just those who are primarily researchers. This concept is in line with the Future of Family Medicine goal that all family physicians should be actively involved in the generation of new knowledge. It is recognized that only a small percentage of this audience will consist of “career researchers” but that many in this audience will teach various research skills and methods to learners at all levels of medical education. Much of our audience is therefore made up of educators, clinician-educators, and those who are training to be educators and clinicians. Therefore, a major focus of the committee is on the type of research that is most relevant to this majority audience—evaluation of clinical quality and education.