UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - February 10, 2026/EDUCATION | | |
Table of Contents
Message From the Chair and Vice Chair
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Education
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Resources
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Message From the Chair and Vice Chair for Education
M. Diane McKee, MD, MS, Professor & Chair, UMass Memorial Ledwith Chair in Family & Community Medicine
Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, MD, Vice Chair of Education
We are pleased to announce this Call for Proposals for Daniel H. Lasser Education Innovation funds:
We are accepting proposals for up to $2000 for projects that support resident, fellow, and/or junior faculty career development. Funding must be spent by June 30, 2026. Requested travel or conference expenditures must be to cover remaining expenses after the use of available practice allowance and cannot exceed $2000. Examples include:
- Fees for conference travel to support faculty or learner presentation of scholarly work
- A CME course that supports departmental goal areas
- Funds to support small projects
Departmental priorities include POCUS, ambulatory procedures, evidence-based maternity care, and equity, inclusion, and belonging; other topics may also be considered. All proposals should include a description of how the funds will be used to promote department mission areas and how the information will be shared across the department.
Proposals should be limited to 250 words and follow this outline:
Name of Applicant:
Proposal Summary (200 words):
Proposal Timeline (25 words):
Proposed Budget (25 words):
Proposals should be sent to Natalia.Tobon@umassmed.edu by March 1st, 2026.
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Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, February 10th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Matthew Morrow, DO, Opeoluwa Olukorede, MD, MS, and Zoe Onion, MD, present "2026 Nutritional Guidelines: The Changes, the Data, and How to Talk About It".
Meeting ID: 191 986 273
Passcode: FMCH
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09
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Focus of the Week - Education
Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, MD, Vice Chair of Education
The Palliative Care Division is pleased to announce that we matched with two terrific individuals for our Palliative Medicine Fellowship. Ben Cook, MD is well known at UMass as he did medical school and med-peds residency here and is completing his pediatric chief residency this spring. Shir Oring, MD, a third-year family medicine trainee at Brown, has a deep interest in medical education and scholarship. Both are stellar students and doctors and will bring warmth and intellectual rigor to our fellowship.
We are looking forward to a terrific year of learning!
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The Peers for Promotion program is a longitudinal cohort program designed to support, motivate, and prepare faculty for the promotions process. By the end of the program, faculty will have 1) an increased understanding of the promotions process, 2) identified tasks to strengthen their promotion materials, and 3) a timeline for submission of those materials. The cohort model allows each participant to give and receive feedback on the elements of a promotions package (CV, narrative statement). All application materials must be submitted by February 20, 2026. Applicants will receive notice regarding acceptance into the program by early March. For more information contact Emily Green (Emily.Green@umassmed.edu). Link to webpage here.
UMass Chan Medical School’s Summer Intensive for Presentation Skills (SIPS) is a three-day in-person program (July 22-24) for faculty interested in improving their ability to design and deliver outstanding presentations.
The program includes training on the following elements:
- Content selection and organization
- Purpose and use of learning objectives
- Integration of opportunities for active learning
- Evidence-based principles of slide design
- Presenting on virtual platforms
- Communicating with data
- Use of audiovisual technology
- Public speaking
Information sessions for interested faculty will be held on February 25th at 4pm & February 26th at 12pm via Zoom (attend one). Register for an information session here. Applications for one of the 10 faculty slots are due by March 20th, 2026. The program is open to faculty nation-wide but several slots will be held for UMass Chan faculty. All UMass Chan faculty are encouraged to apply.
Please help the family medicine clerkship recruit community faculty! Because of the increased class size and a decrease in the number of clerkship sessions over the year
(decreasing from 12 to 10 blocks) we will need to expand the number of community doctors who precept our students. If you have friends or past acquaintances that you recommend, please let Mary Lindholm know (Mary.Lindholm@umassmemorial.org).
Faculty Development
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Getting Started: Qualitative Research Methods, February 24th, 12-1pm, presented by Catherine Dube, EdD. Register here.
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Research Rx: Design Smart, Analyze Right, and Write Well, March 24th, 12-1pm, presented by Tasneem Zaihra Rizvi, PhD. Register here.
Amber Cahill, Kristina Gracey, and Fariha Kohistani (MS3) coordinated and delivered a session for all MS2s on Sensitive Physical Exams & Procedures in the Context of Sexual Violence: Learning from Our Patients, which also included a lived experience panel hosted by Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC).
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Ethics Corner
Philip G. Day, PhD
Virtual Conference on Research Ethics
The University of Minnesota’s 11th Annual Research Ethics Day is virtual, free to attend, and offers continuing education credits. The theme this year is, “The Future of Research Ethics: Threats and Opportunities.” They have quite an impressive lineup of distinguished speakers and experts, including Christine Grady, PhD, the former Chief of Bioethics for the NIH.
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You can find more information and the registration link here: https://consortium.umn.edu/event/research-ethics-day-2026-future-research-ethics-threats-and-opportunities
Here’s a summary from the registration page:
The history of research ethics shows that ensuring the ethical and responsible conduct of research requires investment of time, personnel, and resources. Major shifts under way now raise questions about the future of research ethics — how to ensure needed safeguards while taking advantage of potential opportunities. Speakers will consider the impact of significant changes in federal ethics personnel and research funding, including debate about overhead (“indirect cost”) recovery on grants, which at many institutions supports crucial ethics oversight. This conference will consider how to preserve key safeguards while making improvements.
Join national experts from multiple disciplines and perspectives to consider a wide range of questions: what is the current state of research ethics, how can we strengthen Institutional Review Boards and research oversight, what steps will best support research integrity and trustworthy science, what strategies will advance ethics in community-engaged research, and how should research ethics evolve to manage emerging technologies including artificial intelligence.
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Announcements
Joint Commission Readiness
Beginning Monday, February 9th, we’re officially kicking off the Joint Commission Readiness Countdown—our very own prep rally for the big upcoming triennial survey. Each week leading up to survey, we’ll post a fun and informative activity on the Hub.
- Go to the Hub and scan the weekly QR code with your phone or click the link.
- Complete the activity for the week.
- Get entered into our weekly prize drawing
Spread the word to your teams, encourage everyone to join in, and let’s make this a fun, team-powered push toward readiness. We’re excited to launch our very first weekly Joint Commission Newsletter starting March 1st. Each edition will spotlight key JC focus areas and “easy wins” in a clear, concise, and totally actionable way—think of it as your weekly cheat sheet for survey success. Each week we’ll share tips, reminders, and little nuggets of wisdom to help you and your teams stay ahead of the game.
Worcester's Black Community Calendar has some great events planned for Black History Month! Check them out:
www.tinyurl.com/worcbcc2026
Save the Date for the MassAFP 2026 Annual Meeting & Spring Refresher
Friday-Saturday, March 13-14, 2026. Watch the www.massafp.org website for more information.
Save the Date-Warren Ferguson Community Health Professor Grand Rounds-April 14th
Former Worcester District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj will talk about how we can engage in our communities as medical providers, researchers, and educators. Etel has a background in advocacy and justice - she will share her story of fleeing violence in Albania, serving the public in the Attorney General's office, and working nationally on homeless issues at National Healthcare for the Homeless. The event will be hybrid.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. Discover how flexible physical activity patterns can reduce mortality and cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes. This episode translates evidence on "weekend warrior" vs regular exercise into practical counseling strategies, empowering you to help time-constrained patients achieve the mortality benefits of weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity-regardless of scheduling pattern. Guest: Jill M. Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC, presents, "Weekend Warrior or Daily Mover? Exercise Counseling for Patients with Diabetes". Frankly Speaking Episode #471. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367
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