UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - September 14, 2021/EDUCATION
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Education
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Department Member Recognition
Clinical Services Spotlight
Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds/Steven L. Putterman, MD Memorial Lecture
Tuesday, September 21st, 12-1pm; J. Nwando Olayiwola, MD, MPH, FAAFP presents "Moving Towards Health Equity: Why Anti-Racism Must be a Core Value in Medicine".
Meeting ID: 978 9009 6832 Password: 015450
https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/97890096832pwd=NHJiM0pMMmR2N0szd2dndnFVeUtvQT09

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Septemberfest!
Hopkinton State Park, Saturday, September 25th,11:00 – 3:00pm.
Catering by Café Reyes, activities for the kids, canoe, sailboat and kayak rentals
Don't miss out on the fun at Septemberfest. Please RSVP to Jennifer Masoud by Wednesday, September 15th, 2:00pm to reserve your spot. Include the number and names of everyone in your party.
Carpooling is recommended as the parking lot fills up fast on weekends.

The WFMR is happy to announce a Fall Resident Retreat date
10/5/21 8am to 5pm at Camp Selah, Orange, MA
We appreciate faculty who will be doing additional service to allow the residents this important wellness and team building time. Also, residency faculty who are interested and able to be free are invited to join. Please mark your calendars and contact Hilda Alers for further details.

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 - Education

UMMS Curriculum Revolution (CR22) Update
Lots of exciting progress continues on the undergraduate medical student curriculum revolution set to role out next year. 
 
LPAT: The longitudinal progression and assessment team has completed their review of the UMMS physician competencies and has started collating evaluation instruments and methodology to share with build teams, blocks and rotations. The new "physician as healthcare navigator" competency to reflect our new pillar of Health Systems Science will be voted on by the EPC at their upcoming meeting. There is discussion regarding the use of standard clinical skills assessment rubrics consistently applied across the entire medical school experience. 
 
Clinical Years Update: The clerkship phase build team has spent time thinking about learner density on the ambulatory block within each section, our evaluation strategy for this phase and the integration of HSS into our clerkship curricula.  We are excited about the expansion of our clinical sites to include new clinical partners. The advanced studies team has developed a set of guiding principles for planning the 4th year of medical school and is deeply considering the required rotations and their objectives.  
 
Foundational Update: The foundational blocks are in the detail phase of planning and are actively meeting with longitudinal consultants around integration of their content.  EPC presentations began during August for the final three foundational blocks, NSB, Endo/Repro & Respiratory. Early Clinical and Clinical Integration/applications will be presented this month to EPC Rules.  The early clinical team continues to iron out the learning-community based Wednesday curriculum that includes small group sessions, physical diagnosis, longitudinal preceptorship program, social determinants of health curriculum and simulation.  
 
3 Year MD Update: The three-year build team has decided on a first summer experience including a boot camp coupled with a single clerkship experience for all accelerated students regardless of their intended discipline. 1st year (January - May) augmentation experiences will occur weekly and focus on high yield topics in the MS2 time frame that will prepare them for that initial clerkship. Two subgroups are meeting from this team including "the augmentation experiences" team and the "ideal clerkship team."  
Announcements


Family Medicine Moments
The new academic year brings the re-start of the Thursday Morning Memo – under a new name, Family Medicine Moments. It is important to highlight as often as we can Family Medicine and the relationships we build. Editor Hugh Silk welcomes your poems, haikus, 55-word stories, or photos – please send to [email protected].  If you are not on the listserv or would like to ensure that a group of learners, faculty or staff are on the listserv, please contact [email protected].

Please share your thoughts as we develop a departmental diversity plan that responds to identified needs among our faculty, staff, and learners on both the school and clinical sides. Your participation in this survey will help us to see where we are as a department and will direct meaningful, data-driven action toward a more inclusive workplace.  This survey is intended for faculty, staff, and learners who identify as current members of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (FMCH). Your responses are anonymous and data will only be shared in ways that protect individual identities. Please get your responses in before Friday, September 17. Thank you.

Tend Health COVID-19 Recovery Course Faculty Development Opportunity
You matter! The Department wants to support you through your COVID recovery efforts. We have hired Tend Health 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. 
Here are the dates:
Cohort 1: Mondays 8-9:15am 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29
Cohort 2: Fridays 4-5:15pm 10/29, 11/5, 11/19, 12/3
RSVP as soon as possible to Jennifer Masoud to reserve your spot in your chosen cohort, Jennifer.masoud@umassmemorial.org.

Hepatitis C and General Hepatology
Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)
You are invited to join an exciting virtual collaborative learning opportunity!
What? Hepatitis C ECHO, a virtual case-based tele-mentoring educational model
Who? Primary care interdisciplinary team members (providers, nurses, social workers, community health workers, patient navigators, etc.)
Why? Tele-mentoring model that links specialists to primary care providers (PCPs) via video conferencing from any computer; Case based, iterative learning facilitated by specialists and related experts; through guided practice, PCPs become proficient in specialty care
When? A new cohort begins Friday, September 10th, 2021, 12:30 - 1:30pm ~ with 10 sessions held bi-monthly.
Curriculum content includes:
  • HCV screening
  • Acute HCV
  • Chronic HCV: Workup
  • Treatment of non-cirrhotic patients
  • Treatment of cirrhotic patients
  • Monitoring during treatment
  • Monitoring post treatment
  • "Topic by request"
  • Other hepatitides in the context of HCV/Hepatitis A&B
  • Treatment of special populations

UMass Family Medicine & Community Health Apparel Orders 2021
The pandemic has limited what we are able to order for Department gear, and thus the order form is changing significantly. Below is a Google Link, for which people can order Department gear from. Pricing will depend on quantity ordered. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions. Submission Deadline: Tuesday, September 21st. https://forms.gle/GT1YrtDfBST1R8cb9.

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.

Massachusetts Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) ECHO. Come join us!
What? Massachusetts Latent TB Infection ECHO, a virtual case-based telementoring educational model.
Who? Primary care interdisciplinary team members (providers, nurses, social workers, community health workers, patient navigators, etc.).
Why? The USPSTF guidelines urge primary care teams to test high risk populations for TB & treat latent TB infection within primary care.
When? Thursday 12:15 - 1:15pm for 11 monthly sessions; 10/14/21, 11/18/21, 12/16/21, 1/13/22, 2/17/22, 3/17/22, 4/21, 5/26/22, 6/16/22, 7/21/22, 9/15/22.
This course is designed for beginners and more advanced practitioners. Those who are new to LTBI management will receive introductory material from our previous LTBI ECHO courses. We welcome previous course participants to join for new curriculum content and more advanced considerations in LTBI management.
Curriculum content includes:
  • Latent TB infection testing and treatment recap
  • Short course regimen considerations
  • Ruling out TB disease - advanced considerations
  • LTBI advanced testing and treatment considerations in special populations (i.e., pediatrics, pregnant people, liver disease)
  •  CME available

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

Medical School Applicant Interviews
The School of Medicine is seeking raters for the Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) to choose the next class of medical students. It is a great opportunity to meet enthusiastic MD applicants. Please forward any questions to Stacy Potts at [email protected] or Brenda Fusaro at [email protected]. Here is the doodle link for the training sessions:
Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Join us to discuss whether you have considered continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for your patients with suboptimally controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on at least 3 injections of insulin per day? This session will give you the information you need to confidently initiate CGM in appropriate patients. You will walk away with a clear understanding of the different CGM options and the benefits and challenges of CGM. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MPAS, PA-C presents: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) - Frankly Speaking Ep 240.
Faculty Presentations/Publications

Katharine Barnard, MD's poetry submission entitled "Portraits in Dignity" was awarded Second Place in the 2021 FMEC Creative Writing competition. 
 
Paula Gardiner, MD's recent publication entitled "Incorporating Acupuncture Into American Healthcare: Initiating a Discussion on Implementation Science, the Status of the Field, and Stakeholder Considerations" appeared in Global Advances in Health and Medicine Journal.
Department Member Recognition

Thanks to Kathleen Barry, MD for being the lead-panelist and presenting on the value of primary care for the 7th year of the Primary Care Principles Optional Enrichment Elective. Sixteen students attended!  
Clinical Services Spotlight:
COVID-19 UPDATES
 
COVID-19 MA
The Mu variant is in MA according to recent reports. The Mu variant is stated to be more virulent than the delta variant. 
  • As of 9/7, there have been 23,858 breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated individuals in MA. Of these, 762 people have been hospitalized and 162 have died. There were 4415 cases last week. 
  • The vaccination rate in MA is at 64%.
  • Total confirmed cases in MA 725,359. 
  • Current hospitalizations: 624 with 168 in the ICU and 86 intubated.
  • 7-day average percent positivity 2.52%.
  • To date, there are 17,972 confirmed deaths. 
  • Currently western Mass has case rate and hospitalizations > central Mass > Boston. 
 
COVID-19 UMMMC
  • The capacity crisis continues due to COVID and other factors- as of this morning there were 25 ICU level borders across the medical center.
  • The system has task forces addressing both alternative care sites and staffing solutions as we enter a third surge.
  • West 2 is now a COVID unit at Memorial in addition to West 1.
  • 7-day average in-house test positivity is 8.2%.
  • Current inpatient COVID positive patients are 55 at the medical center.
  • COVID positive employees last week = 41.
 
COVID Vaccine Boosters
  • The system is currently awaiting further guidance from various organizations before making a recommendation for employees to get a booster. We expect more information in the next 2 weeks.
  • In the meantime, emphasis is on immunizing the remaining unvaccinated employees.
 
Health Tips for the Fall
Flu season occurs in the fall and winter in the United States. During the last flu season, cases were down compared to previous years. (0.2% of those tested for flu). Although the cases were very low in 2020-2021, we must prepare for the 2021-2022 flu season. 
 
Reminder for providers
Flu symptoms can be very much similar to COVID-19. The most common symptoms are fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, body aches, fatigue, and headache. Remember the patient can have both diseases simultaneously, 
 
FAQS
  • All flu vaccines will be quadrivalent. The quadrivalent can be given to patients 2 years and older.
  • According to the CDC and APP, the flu shot can be given at the same time as the COVID vaccine. 
 
Health Equity
As we approach the end of the fiscal year, the Well Child True North project is close to evaluating the outcomes. Congratulation to the system for achieving the Reach Goals for both the Hispanic and African American/ Black Group. (74% and 69% respectively)
 
Congratulations to Family Medicine University Benedict and Barre Family Health Center for meeting the Reach Goal for both the Hispanic and African American/ Black Group. Congratulations to Hahnemann Family Health Center for meeting the Target for the Hispanic Group and the Reach Goal for the African American/ Black Group. With a few weeks remaining, we anticipate that all of our sites will reach this goal.
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

Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am over ZOOM, Thursday evenings at 6:15pm**(30 Anna Street, NEW tall, spacious indoor location), some Saturday mornings at 9:15am 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. Join Zoom meeting: https://kennedychc.zoom.us/j/5578995952 pwd=bzVnY0xXdFNTQkpQQ1hmZkw3Snh6Zz09.