Table of Contents

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Education

Announcements

Faculty Presentations/Publications

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Clinical Services Spotlight

Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds 

Tuesday, September 13th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. "High Risk Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Program", presented by James Lindberg, MD, FACS.

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09

Focus of the Week - Education

Congratulations to the following FMEC award winners. We have an incredibly talented faculty group and so much to be proud of with three award winners this year.  Next week at the Annual FMEC meeting the awardees will be celebrated. Join me in congratulating these amazing physicians.

2022 FMEC Family Physicians

Who are Changing Our World

Award Winner

Sara G. Shields, MD, MS

2022 FMEC Emerging Leader Award Winner

Nicholas Hajj, MD

2022 FMEC Visual Arts Award Winner

Lisa Gussak, MD

photograph entitled:  “Shattered: Our Healthcare System in COVID”

UME

The Vista curriculum is now fully underway! The new class of medical students have begun their Discovery Phase of the Vista curriculum. The Exploration Spokespersons Meeting occurred on September 12, 2022. Dr. Trish Seymour as the Clinical Pillar Lead will continue to share the active building and integration of the exploration phase of Vista. Find much more information on the Vista updates at the following links:

Other Helpful Vista Links: 

• VISTA SharePoint (core topic templates and build team dashboard linked here)  
• VISTA Website (public facing)
• VISTA Podcast Library
• DRIVE materials
• Meetings and Presentations 

Our fourth year medical students enter an exciting time of their career this month with the start of Match season. Best wishes to all the talented students who now explore the next chapter of their medical education.

GME

Similarly, our graduate medical education programs start their search for their next class of learners. Our fellowships are first to start interviewing with the residencies shortly behind. Interview season will start for the Worcester Family Medicine Residency and the Fitchburg Family Medicine Residency at the end of October. Our programs will be showing their stuff and meeting many students at the upcoming FMEC conference this week in Washington DC. Much gratitude to the faculty and residents who put in so much effort to ensure that our outstanding programs are shared with students near and far. 

Fellows and Chief Resident Welcome Dinner – September 29, 2022, 6:30-8:30pm at Mezcal. RSVP to Erica White erica.white@umassmemorial.org

Faculty Development

Thank you to Warren Ferguson for presenting “How to prepare a conference proposal” last Wednesday. Please access the recorded presentation at: How to Prepare for a Conference Proposal.mp4.

FMCH Faculty Awards Nomination coming soon. Keep your eyes out for an invitation to nominate our outstanding faculty for the annual FMCH Faculty Awards.

Awards will be presented at the Department Annual Awards Celebration on November 15, 2022.

Announcements

Drs Judson Brewer and Lia Antico in conjunction with the Brown Mindfulness Center is conducting a research study to test if a short mindfulness-based training is effective at reducing burnout in physicians. Participants must be physicians. If you are a physician and you are interested in helping us to learn about burnout, please contact Brown affiliated contact person at burnout-research@brown.edu. Use of this message for recruiting participants has been approved by Brown's Human Research Protection Program. Protocol # 2022003296. 

The annual Family Medicine Education Consortium meeting is September 16-18 in Arlington, VA. The residencies will be represented at the recruitment fair, and many faculty, residents, and students will be presenting their great work. Find more information here: 2022 Annual Meeting (fmec.net). Medical student scholarships are available. Consider encouraging enthusiastic students.

There will be an evening celebration on Thursday September 15^th for Larry Bauer, the founding CEO of the FMEC. If you are interested in joining, please contact Stacy Potts, she will be sponsoring a table for department members. 

Stacy.potts@umassmemorial.org.

We are only weeks away from the 2022 ICGMV Conference! A VIRTUAL conference dedicated to all things related to group visits! You are invited to join for two days of engaging presentations by leaders, researchers, and colleagues on Friday, September 16th and workshops on September 17th to build your skill set and learn financing and facilitation strategies. This year's conference is dedicated to the power of community and connection through group visits. Presenters from all over the globe will be meeting to share their best practices and insights. You can check out the final schedule and preview the sessions on our website. Continuing Medical Education credits will be available. Thanks to our amazing sponsors, scholarships are available and our costs are low! If you could benefit from a scholarship to attend the conference, please apply here.

Putterman Lecture: SAVE THE DATE

Please join us on Tuesday, September 20^th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, for our Family Medicine and Community Health Grand Rounds 23rd annual Putterman Lecture, being presented by Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH. Her lecture topic will be on "Building Alliances and Sharing Power for Health Equity and Racial Justice". For those of you who wish to join us in person, a location is to be determined. As for those who would like to join via Zoom, please copy this link into your calendar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09.

We look forward to you joining us for this event.

Calling All Fellows and Chief Residents

The FMCH Fellows and Chief Residents are invited to a dinner gathering and get to know each other on September 29th, 2022, 6:30 - 8:30pm. Location TBD.

Please RSVP through your Outlook invite or contact Erica White at Erica.white@umassmemorial.org.

Teaching of Tomorrow (TOT) is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed faculty development program that focuses on building and refining foundational skills for effective clinical teaching in inpatient and ambulatory settings. Preceptors from any specialty and discipline will enhance their clinical teaching skills through discourse and practice. Workshop dates are November 18-19, 2022 and March 10-11, 2023 and will be held at the Hotel Northampton. Participants must attend all four days. See brochure for details and how to register. 

Faculty Presentations/Publications



The current oral health work that Hugh Silk and Judy Savageau are conducting (with some great administrative support from Diana Rinker) was recently highlighted in a newsletter from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health which has been funding our 100 Million Mouths Campaign this year. Check it out – with the link below. 

A new CareQuest Institute blog post highlights the 100 Million Mouths Campaign — an initiative that will create 50 oral health education champions over the next decade, one in each state, to work with health profession schools and programs to integrate oral health into their primary care curricula and help bridge gaps in oral health access.

In addition, CareQuest selected a quote from this project (by the co-PI on the grant, Shenam Ticku, BDS, MPH, Instructor in Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine) as it’s Quote of the Week: “This project started from a bold idea that we could reach millions of Americans who may not have access to a dentist by enlisting the greater health care workforce as partners in oral health.”

Department Member Recognition

Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, FAAFP, was nominated by the UMass Chan Medical School's Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society into the AOA Society and accepted.

Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367.

Please join us for an overview: Evidence informs us that almost one-third of antibiotic prescriptions written for children in the United States are inappropriate, meaning they are not in line with evidence-based guidelines. Antibiotics are tremendous tools and beneficial when used appropriately; however, as with all pharmacological therapy, there are risks of adverse effects and healthcare cost. When prescribed inappropriately, they unnecessarily put children at risk and cause financial burden on individuals and the system. Please join the podcast team as we discuss recent evidence on these risks and burden and consider how this evidence can help improve practice.. Guest: Susan Feeney, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, presents: "Wait before Writing That Antibiotic Prescription! Is it appropriate?". - Frankly Speaking Ep 293.

COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID-19 MA

• The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 are 1,852,576.
• Confirmed MA cases in the last 7 days: 6,623.
• The 7-day average percent positivity is 7.13%.
• There are 57 new confirmed deaths with a total of 20,169 confirmed deaths.

COVID-19 UMMMC

• The 7-day average of COVID cases is 29. High 53 and Low 28.
• Of the 29 cases today, 66% are fully vaccinated. 
• The 7-day average percent positivity is 10%.
• Four patients are in the ICU with COVID and 3 are fully vaccinated. 

Polio

Since 1979, polio has not originated in the US. In July 2022, a polio case was diagnosed in NY. The 20-year-old man was unvaccinated but had not traveled to an area with polio. 

• Presentation: flu-like syndrome, that includes headache, fever, and nausea. 
• When the virus attacks the spinal cord or brain, it can result in meningitis. 
• People can develop muscle paralysis decades later. 
• Polio is not spread as easily as COVID-19. 
• The etiology of recent polio is less clear. Other countries report vaccine-derived polio. 
• Recently polio was identified in wastewater near NY City. 
• There are no reported cases in MA.
• Prevention is the best approach. Parents should follow recommended vaccine schedules. 

Monkeypox

• Currently, there are 21,894 cases in the US and 57,527 globally.  
• MA has 347 cases of Monkeypox.
• Maine has the lowest number of cases in New England, 7. 
• Clinical Use of Tecovirimat (Tpoxx) for Treatment of Monkeypox Under an Investigational New Drug Protocol — United States, May–August 2022 | MMWR (cdc.gov)
• Please see the recent updates on recognition on the CDC website @

Clinical Recognition | Monkeypox | Poxvirus | CDC

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.