General Session Speakers Talk About Health Care Disparity and Equity in Education and the WorkplaceThis year's STFM Conference on Medical Student Education superb speaker lineup will share ways to address health care disparities and equity within medical education and the workplace. Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, president of Loyola University Chicago, will speak about the pace of change across the health care landscape but will stress that we cannot speak about the new or the innovative without an honest evaluation of issues surrounding health disparities, health care equity, or access to health care. Doing so will only widen the gap in what is already an alarming situation. Joedrecka Brown Speights, MD, chair in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Florida State University, will share how achieving health equity through medical education presents a tremendous opportunity for academia to impact the barriers to health and improve the health of all. She will explore strategies in which family physicians can contribute individually and as a part of systems to attain health equity. Roberto Montenegro, MD, PhD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington, will address micro-aggressions, racism, and discrimination in the medical workplace. He will share how educators can cultivate a positive learning environment in the face of mistreatment and help trainees have difficult conversations that can help them address, process, and confront situations of covert discrimination. "As family physicians, we strive to fill our communities’ most salient, immediate health care needs. Family physicians often confront these needs head-on through providing care for medically underserved populations, who, without the care of family physicians and their teams, would be unable to access the medical care they need. At the 2019 STFM Conference on Medical Student Education, you will have the ability to explore topics related to health care equity and access, and to network with other family medicine educators," said Karly Pippitt, MD, 2019 conference chair. Register for the conference, make hotel reservations, and browse educational sessions by the end of this week on the conference website. Results From the 2018 Member SurveyIn preparation for strategic planning and as part of general operations, STFM sent an online survey to members to assess members’ satisfaction with STFM and to gauge their needs and recommendations for priorities for the organization. Most members reported they were satisfied with their STFM membership and are likely to recommend membership to a colleague. They also highly rated STFM resources, particularly the conferences, the journals, and the STFM Resource Library. Key takeaways from the survey are included in the news release. STFM Foundation Turns Underrepresented in Medicine Campaign Into Long-Term InitiativeThe Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Campaign has been expanded into a two-phase, long-term initiative to better address the critical shortage of URM family medicine educators. The first phase will be the initial 2-year, $150,000 campaign to raise funds to support existing programs and to increase URM participation in STFM. As of October, more than $115,000 has been raised. In the second phase, the Foundation will expand existing activities and partner with other organizations, and will focus on mentorship, leadership, the pipeline, and scholarship. Education ColumnStatewide Collaboration to Promote Research by Family Medicine Residents and StudentsIn order to help meet increased requirements for residency scholarly activity and to promote research in family medicine, four program directors and two department chairs from came together to organize a statewide research day. Residents and medical students were encouraged to submit abstracts for a poster presentation during the state chapter's annual Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly. ABFM Proposes Alternative Examination Pilot ProgramThe American Board of Family Medicine plans to launch a pilot program in 2019 that will assess the value and feasibility of a longitudinal assessment option to the 10-year secure examination. The alternative examination follows a similar process to what the American Board of Pediatrics has currently in place: 25 questions are sent each quarter for the physician to answer, for a total of 300 questions to be answered within a 4-year period. This 4-year period gives the physician flexibility to complete the examination if there is a life event that would delay the ability to answer quarterly questions. When physicians sign up this December, they will have the option to take either the traditional exam or opt into the pilot program. The pilot program will be presented for approval to the American Board of Medical Specialties' Committee on Continuing Certification in November and more detail of the plan will be released afterward. Annals of Family Medicine Seeks New EditorThe Annals of Family Medicine, a peer-reviewed research journal dedicated to advancing knowledge essential to understanding and improving health and primary care, is seeking a new editor. The editor has overall responsibility for the scientific and clinical content of the journal, including the development of journal features; solicitation of authors, articles, and editorials; writing editorials; making manuscript decisions; recruitment of reviewers; clinical editing; and developing and managing the editorial team, editorial office budget, and Annals of Family Medicine Editorial Advisory Board. Rhe Editor is ultimately responsible for the relevance, accuracy, and depth of information presented in the journal and for maintaining an appropriate number of accepted articles to permit the production of balanced issues. Fifteen Scholarships of $750 Available for ResidentsThe STFM Foundation supports 15 scholarships of $750 to help cover travel expenses for residents to attend the full-day Faculty for Tomorrow Preconference Workshop at the STFM Annual Spring Conference. Applicants must be a resident who is strongly interested in a career in academic family medicine and a current member of STFM. Member KudosCongratulations to Ted Epperly, MD, for receiving the Thomas W. Johnson Award for Career Contributions to Family Medicine Education. The award was presented at the AAFP FMX last week in New Orleans, La. EventsOctober 24: December 6-9:
DeadlinesOctober 22: Application deadline for open positions on STFM Committees November 1: Application deadline for Faculty for Tomorrow Resident Scholarship November 2: Application deadline for Leading Change Institute and Emerging Leaders Fellowship November 7: Application deadline for Behavioral Science/Family Systems Educator Fellowship November 9: Nominations are due for STFM Best Research Paper Award and Curtis G. Hames Research Award
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