UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - October 26, 2021/RESEARCH
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Message from the Chair
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Research
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Clinical Services Spotlight
Message from the Chair

Please plan to join us for a FMCH Town Hall next week, Tuesday, November 2nd, from 12:00-1:00pm. 
Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, October 26th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, "The 4th Trimester: Preparing Birthing People and Families for Challenges". Presented by Sara Shields, MD, Kristina Gracey, MD, MPH, Jordan Howard-Young, MD and Kathleen Barry, MD.
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

Faculty Development Workshops
Thursday, October 28th, 7:30 - 8:30 am, Build Quick Actions - Epic Workshop
Please RSVP to [email protected].

UMass Cancer Center
Wednesday, November 17th, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, "Community Engagement: Informing Awareness, Uptake, and Research to Improve Cancer Screening". Presented by Karriem S. Watson, DHS, MS, MPH.
Password: 919204

Faculty Development Workshops
Thursday, November 4th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Build Speed Buttons - Epic Workshop
Please RSVP to [email protected].

American Board of Family Medicine Maintenance of Certification
KSA (SAM) Workshop: “Care of Children”
Thursday, November 18, 2021, 8:00 – 10:00 AM
WEBINAR (no need to leave your desk) Link will be sent prior to 11/18/2021
We will complete the latest (just released) 60 question Care of Children KSA via a virtual CME event. You will record your answers while we work through the KSA, then after completion, log into your ABFM account and enter the results and claim your CME credits through the ABFM. Successful Completion of the Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) Module is eligible for up to 10 ABFM Credit Hours.
See the attached invitation for a WEBINAR to complete the ABFM KSA: Caring for Children. To register, please complete and follow the directions on the attached registration form.
Focus of the Week - Research

New Beginnings
Dear FMCH Colleagues! I am marking my third week with the UMass FMCH and so far the transition seems to be going well. Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me and for making time to meet with me this month. If we haven’t met yet, I will look forward to getting acquainted in the next few weeks. Part of my new role is to prepare the content for this monthly RESEARCH focused newsletter. I have done my best to find some news that might be of interest to folks in FMCH related to research. In future editions, I hope to garner news that will be of interest to everyone in our community. In the meantime, feel free to offer ideas for content that would be of interest to you. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you and hope you are doing well. Warm wishes, Suzanne

November 9th Grand Rounds – Dr. Deb Dreyfus hosts a panel discussion on palliative care decisions for individuals living with disabilities. Please join our colleague, Dr. Deb Dreyfus, who will host this important discussion about the ethical dilemmas we face while trying to meet the needs for people living with disabilities and serious illness. Panel discussants will include leaders and advocates from the disability community as well as legal and medical experts. The conversation is sure to be lively and informative. See you there!
 
New eIRB GOES LIVE
Today begins the first full week of the new Research Management System (RMS) eIRB. The IRB folks are reaching out with important information regarding user accounts:
  • Faculty and staff who have UMass Chan single sign-on credentials automatically appear in the pick list when someone goes to select a principal investigator, primary contact, or study team member. At this time, however, students only appear when they are also UMass Chan employees. To add a student who is not an employee as a study team member on a study in RMS eIRB, please follow the attached job aid. We are actively working on steps to include students in the pick lists and will let you know once this change is implemented.
  • All users must log in to RMS eIRB with their UMass Chan single sign-on credentials.
  • If your CITI training information appears to be missing, verify that CITI is using your umassmed.edu email as your institutional email in your UMass Worcester institutional profile.
  • Job aids regarding student accounts, single sign-on, and CITI are available on the RMS eIRB SharePoint site: https://umassmed.sharepoint.com/sites/RMS/IRB  
 
Need Help? eIRB OFFICE HOURS are here!
The IRB staff is offering Office Hours at various time throughout the coming weeks! This time is used to answer specific questions regarding the eIRB and/or overall RMS that might come up while you are completing various tasks in the system.
 
UPCOMING IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE WEBINAR ON NOVEMBER 4th
Why might you care about PRISM and RE-AIM? Use of this framework helps stakeholders consider an intervention's reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance or, more pragmatically, "who, what, where, how, and when" an intervention is successful. Please join us on November 4th, 11:00 am (MT) as we provide a preview on our updated RE-AIM/PRISM website and discuss a recent e-book collection of 21 recent articles on PRISM/RE-AIM.  Please feel free to distribute the flyer above and note that registration is required (link on the attached flyer will take you to website or click on url below).
 
Become a Delivery System Science Fellow - Now Accepting Applications
AcademyHealth’s Delivery System Science Fellowship (DSSF) offers a paid, year-long, learning opportunity for post-doctoral researchers to gain more practical experience in a delivery system setting. As part of this fellowship experience, individuals are placed within a unique delivery system to work with mentors who will take a personal interest in their success. Through this program, fellows can engage with AcademyHealth’s widespread network to impact health care in a meaningful way.
Why become a DSSF Fellow?
1. Train with unique delivery systems across the nation using evidence to improve the performance of the health system.
2. Collaborate with talented researchers on multiple complex projects.
3. Apply analytic skills to relevant and timely topics in delivery systems.
Application Deadline: Monday, January 3, 2022
Note: Once applicants submit a brief Intent to Apply form, they will receive a link to the full application.

Trying to Keep Up with the Literature?
The department pulls together the tables of contents (TOCs) for about 15 medical journals and distributes this bundle monthly to a select listserve that people can easily sign up for. The TOCs include 4-5 FM journals, JAMA, NEJM, AJPH, Health Affairs, Medical Care, JGIM, Am J Prev Med; etc. – lots of great articles that can easily be accessed through links within the bundle. We are also open to adding more journals if there’s an interest expressed! Take a look at what's been posted in the past several months by going to the department's web pages under the section on Research. You will see a tab in the left-hand margin for these TOC bundles that we post monthly (www.umassmed.edu/fmch/research)
If you’d like to be on the distribution list, please send an email to Judy Savageau ([email protected]). 

Research Forums
In September, we started the first of this academic year’s research forums and invite all of you to attend (held through zoom). These run from September through June on the 3rd Friday of each month from noon-1pm. We would be happy to add you to our list of upcoming presentations (it’s very informal) if you’re working on a new project idea or an on-going project and would love some feedback from attendees. Please contact Judy Savageau ([email protected]) if you would like to be on our schedule of an upcoming presentation.
                                                                                                                                       
Research Web Pages
Our department’s web pages have a specific section for ‘research’ (www.umassmed.edu/fmch/research) where we list publications, presentations, student/resident projects, information on getting support from the department for your particular project, etc. Please be sure to let us know (or make sure you send a notice to the Tuesday Talk about, for example, a new publication) so that we can highlight your great work!
Announcements

FMCH Vision 2030 Strategic Planning Fall Listening Sessions 
With 2021 drawing to a close, the department would like to continue work on a strategic planning process.  Vision 2030 is a project to look at the department’s long-term goals. What do you want our department to achieve by 2030? What will we be known for? We want your voice to be heard, please consider attending one (or more) listening sessions which will occur over the next two months. Site specific sessions will occur during standard meeting times to allow for easy access and minimize scheduling issues.
This week:   Hospitalist Medicine 10/27 1-2pm
                    Hahnemann Family Health Center 10/28 12-1pm
Dates and times will be forthcoming about other groups that will be open across sites.
                    Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
                    Community Health
                    Undergraduate Medical Education

Hello from the Population and Community Health Clerkship! We’d like to extend an invitation to attend the events on this week’s Shared Calendar

White Belt Training Opportunity - Upcoming LEAN Training
UMassMemorial Health is committed to disseminate LEAN management tools to all physicians and clinicians and offer leadership development to our providers. Practicing LEAN principles enables team building and promotes respect to our fellow caregivers. It’s a platform that fosters innovation and improves the care we provide to our patients — as well as to advance our own work environment. LEAN is practiced by many caregivers in our health care system. Physicians and clinicians should be educated and have the tools needed to implement successful huddles, idea board systems and process improvement efforts. Our department will offer LEAN white belt training through two upcoming grand rounds. The first session will be a great refresher for those trained many years ago and the second session will include important updates including how to use Innovation Station. For individuals who have not done LEAN training in the past, this is an opportunity to meet the institution's requirement for white belt certification.  
  • November 16th ,12-1pm: LEAN White Belt: Part 1 
  • January 25th 12-1pm: LEAN White Belt: Part 2 - Innovation Station
If you are unable to make these trainings and are in need of certification, additional Lean White Belt training registration is available through E-learning 4U.  

TendHealth Faculty COVID Recovery Series
You matter! The Department wants to support you through your COVID recovery efforts. We have hired TendHealth to provide recovery courses for our faculty.  A series of four sessions over two months will guide you through recovery and build resilience. 
Objectives:
Learn new concepts, build resiliency, and find community through live courses.
The team of expert and diverse instructors bring together a community of like-minded health professionals to learn new skills and expand our insights.
Faculty will need to choose one cohort and stick with it for all the sessions. 
TEND is able to move the start date of the faculty cohorts back to hopefully avoid cancelling patient sessions. Here are the new dates:
Cohort 1: Mondays 8-9:15am, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29, 12/13
Cohort 2: Fridays 4-5:15pm, 11/5, 11/19, 12/3, 12/17
RSVP as soon as possible to Jennifer Masoud to reserve your spot in your chosen cohort, Jennifer.masoud@umassmemorial.org.

UMass Chan Medical School is implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to information systems. MFA is a digital authentication method that requires two or more forms of verification factors before access is granted. Prior to MFA, only a valid username and password have been required. Adding a second form of authentication is a best practice. MFA registration is required for all who use UMass Chan information systems, including email. Students, faculty, and staff must register by Friday, December 17th. You will need to choose at least one secondary authentication method: a text to a mobile device; a phone call to a mobile device or landline; or an alert on the Microsoft Authenticator mobile app. Similar to our current use of the Duo app to access HR Direct, Microsoft Authenticator provides a secure method for multi-factor authentication. To learn more about multi-factor authentication and how to register, visit the MFA information page. The Help Desk will also host training sessions on Thursdays from noon to 12:30 to assist users in learning how to register. Register here for a session. By December 31st, all users will need to use MFA. If you have any questions, please contact the IT Help Desk via chat, email or phone (508-856-8653).
 
REQUIRED TRAINING: School faculty and staff
In compliance with the requirements of Title IX, 34 C.F.R. §106.45(B)(1)(III), UMass Chan requires training for all faculty and staff entitled 'Title IX for Higher Education' by October 29, 2021. The course takes an estimated 17 minutes to complete. Please access it in the Learning Management System (LMS): LMS Access and Information Page or direct access: https://umassmedical.litmos.com/. You will need to log in using your employee ID#.

The WFMR Structural Oppression and Anti-Racism (SOAR) Committee is planning a number of upcoming didactic sessions as part of the SOAR framework for residents. We are looking for faculty and residents interested in co-facilitating the following sessions:
  • Intersectional Feminism and Reproductive Justice on 11/16/21 (specifically looking for faculty co-facilitator)
  • Anti-AAPI Racism (AY21)
  • Oppression Against Indigenous Peoples (AY21)
  • Anti-Latinx Discrimination (AY21)
  • Disability, Ableism, and Holding Medicine Accountable (AY22)
  • Immigration and Colonialism (AY22)
  • Medicine and the LGBTQ+ Community (AY22)
If you are interested or have questions, please contact Jordan Howard-Young, MD at

Please consider for in-person learning Pri-Med East 
Thursday−Saturday, December 9−11, 2021 at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center. Many of our colleagues will be presenting for 19 AAFP CME hours. This year’s keynote speaker is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD on: “Themes From the Future of Medicine”. I hope to see you there.

STEP UP
Program Dates: September 1st, 2021 to October 31st, 2021.
Using your smart phone and/or smart watch track the number of steps each week and enter it into the data base link that will be sent out at the end of each week by your designated team leader. You can choose your own team, designate a name for your team and a leader who can keep track of data by each team member using a smart link. Your team leader will complete the first sign up survey after which we will create a “team link” for you where each member of your team can enter their own numbers/data. It will take less than a minute for the whole week’s activity tracking. Incentive: Improve team bonding, improved physical activity, friendships among co-workers, recognition in the Tuesday Talk and system wide recognition at the end of the program.

FMCH Teacherless Writing Group Opportunity
Are you wishing you could write more? Would you like to move it up on your priority list?
Would seeing friends and writing make it easier to put it up higher in your goals? Join family medicine faculty at our monthly Teacherless Writing Group where we read our work to each other, give and receive loving feedback and write for 12 minutes. We have been meeting on Tuesday nights, previously over dinner at Fatima’s, this past year on Zoom, and lately outside in warm weather. We are open to other options for time and place. If you would like to participate in a doodle poll for the date and time of our next meeting, send an email to one of the following members: Lucy Candib ([email protected]); Lisa Gussak ([email protected]); Katharine Barnard ([email protected]); or Stacy Potts ([email protected]). We hope you will join us!

Teaching of Tomorrow (TOT)
January 7-8 and March 25-26, 2022
Registration is Open! 
For over 25 years, UMass faculty from the departments of Family Medicine and Community Health, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics have trained over 1,500 clinical faculty and preceptors from across the Northeast and beyond. TOT focuses on building and refining foundational skills for effective clinical teaching in both the inpatient and ambulatory settings. Preceptors from any specialty and discipline will enhance their clinical teaching skills through discourse and practice. TOT also provides valuable opportunities to network with other clinician educators. Our award-winning faculty utilize the principles of adult learning, drawing on participants’ experience and building knowledge through dialogue. The conference provides frequent opportunities to practice and assess new skills in a safe and fun environment.
Audience:
  • Clinical educators – MDs, DOs, NPs, PAs, RNs, Behavioral Health, Pharmacists
  • Primary Care and Specialty providers
  • Teachers of students, residents, and advanced learners
  • Teachers in both In-patient and Ambulatory settings
Frankly Speaking Podcast

A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Join us for an overview: When it comes to chronic migraines, your first-line prevention is probably medication, but according to a new study, it may not have to be. Certain foods may play a role in increasing and decreasing migraine recurrence. Join us to review a recent randomized controlled trial aimed at preventing migraines in those with chronic migraines. Guest: Alan Ehrlich, MD, FAAFP, presents: "A Fishy Method to Prevent Migraines". - Frankly Speaking Ep 247.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID-19 UMMH
  • Across the system, there are 64 COVID confirmed cases [22 of 64 (34%) are fully vaccinated].
  • At the medical center, current in-patient census is 29 (8 in ICU).
  • The current in-house test positivity for symptomatic patients is 9.4% (down from 11.2%), and 1.8% for asymptomatic patients (down from 2.1%).
  • Worcester Stop-the-Spread test positivity is 5.3% (down from 7%).
  • There have been 7 employees out due to COVID-19 since Friday (1 unvaccinated).

COVID -19 Massachusetts
  • Total confirmed cases, 786,143.
  • 7-day average of percent positivity, 1.78%.
  • Hospitalized patients, 519. There are 144 patients in the ICU with 82 intubated.
  • Confirmed deaths, 18,520.

COVID Vaccine Boosters
  • Both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for boosters.
  • The CDC has also approved a mix and match approach, but the original vaccine is recommended.
  • The COVID-19 booster is available for people who have completed the Pfizer or Moderna at least 6 months after 2nd vaccine. 
  • 65 years and older
  • Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings
  • Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions
  • Age 18+ who work or live in high-risk settings
  • Individuals may receive the Johnson & Johnson booster if they are 18 years or older and had the vaccine at least 2 months prior.

COVID Booster Education
A CDC webinar on "What Clinicians Need to Know about the Recent Updates to CDC's Recommendations for COVID-19 Boosters" will take place on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, 2:00 - 3:00 PM. To join, please click on this Zoom link a few minutes before the webinar begins. 
 
Mandatory Vaccine
Important Deadlines:
  • November 1, 2021
All caregivers must receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; those who have not will be subject to PPE, distancing, and testing requirements. 
  •  November 15, 2021
All caregivers who have not received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be placed on a two-week suspended leave without pay. 
  •  December 1, 2021
All caregivers who still have not received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will lose their jobs and will not be able to work at UMass Memorial Health until they become vaccinated. 
  • December 1, 2021
Deadline to submit requests for exemption from the flu vaccine (deadline extended). 
  • December 15, 2021
All caregivers must receive a flu vaccine by this date. 
Wellness Resources

The Caring for the Caregiver Program provides resources such as the Caregiver Support Line (508-334-HELP) and The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers a variety of services and supports (including virtual peer support and wellness tips. EAP can be accessed at 866-263-3525, or www.LiveandWorkWell.com, [company code UmassMemorial]. More information is available on the Caring for the Caregiver page.
Working on Wellness
Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban
Please join department members for early morning gentle yoga, Wednesday mornings 6:30am via Zoom.

Much appreciation to Dr. Erban for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom Meeting
Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng

Zumba Monday 6am is on hold.
On hold until the new year in 2022. 

Thursdays 6:15pm: Live/in-person or ZOOM
Please join department members Thursday evenings at 6:15pm**(30 Anna Street: tall ceilings, spacious indoor location) and get moving with Zumba. Please note details and any changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. ZOOM still possible for all classes.
 
Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. New to the class? If it's your first class or you are interested in joining, please email Dr. Zheng at [email protected] to register, complete brief health screen and receive the ZOOM link.