UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - May 6, 2025/CLINICAL

Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. 

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Clinical

Announcements

Presentations and Publications

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Resources

Message From the Chair

Last Week to Register for the Department Retreat on May 15th. 

Register here by May 9th: 

https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cUwmB3V3FXJ7Wnk 

The agenda is available here.

Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds

Tuesday, May 6th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Advanced Mindful Eating: Lifestyle Support for Patients with Obesity and Related Conditions", presented by Leonard Finn, MD. Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

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

FMCH Grand Rounds - Thomas Zand Refugee Health Lectureship

Tuesday, May 20th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Migration Medicine: Notes On a Young Science", presented by Patricia Walker, MD, Albert Sherman Center; ASC Cube Function Suite; AS3-2119 or for those who can't join in person: Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Tuesday, June 17th, 8:00 - 5:00pm, "Early Childhood Mental Health: a Primer for Pediatric Primary Care Clinicians"

Registration Ticket Price by June 3rd $100, late registration or on site $115.

Link to register Early Childhood Mental Health below. https://umassmed.ungerboeck.com/prod/emc00/PublicSignIn.aspx?&aat=6d7637774c6f7967462f4a4e6d693431483859376a43514e32384a573455357633426855627055475071453d

For more information see flyer.

Overview and Highlights

• A Growing Force: Women now make up more than 50% of medical school entrants in many countries, including the U.S.
• Excellence in Care: Research shows that women physicians often spend more time with patients and may achieve better outcomes in certain areas.
• Strong Representation: Women are especially well represented in fields such as pediatrics, OB/GYN, and family medicine.

Despite these advances, significant challenges remain:

Current Landscape and Ongoing Challenges

• Pay Gap: Women physicians still earn less on average than their male peers, even after adjusting for specialty and hours worked.
• Leadership Gap: Women remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions within hospitals, academic medicine, and professional organizations.
• Work-Life Balance: Caregiving responsibilities disproportionately affect women, often limiting career advancement opportunities.
• Bias and Discrimination: Gender bias continues to influence evaluations, promotions, and even patient perceptions.

Let’s use this month to recognize achievements in our department, raise awareness of the work still to be done, and commit to equity and inclusion in medicine.

Spotlight on STIs.

Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (Doxy PEP) for Bacterial STI Prevention

Key Points:

• Healthcare providers may follow CDC guidelines to prescribe doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP) to reduce the risk of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
• Engage in shared decision-making by discussing the benefits and potential risks of doxy PEP with gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as transgender women, particularly those who have had a bacterial STI in the past year.
• If prescribing doxy PEP, instruct patients to self-administer a single 200 mg dose of doxycycline as soon as possible—ideally within 24 hours and no later than 72 hours—after condomless sex.
• Integrate doxy PEP into a comprehensive sexual health strategy that includes regular STI screening, HIV prevention, and risk-reduction counseling.

New Discussions about Bacterial Vaginosis.

Reconsidering the Classification of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)

Emerging research is reshaping how we understand bacterial vaginosis (BV). Long viewed as a non-sexually transmitted condition, a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that simultaneous antibiotic treatment of both women and their male partners reduced BV recurrence from 63% to 35%. These findings strengthen the case for reclassifying BV as a sexually transmitted infection and are expected to influence future clinical guidelines. Here is the full citation:

Bradshaw, C. S., Vodstrcil, L. A., Kong, F. Y.-S., et al. (2024). Antibiotic Treatment of Male Partners to Prevent Recurrence of Bacterial Vaginosis. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(11), 1051–1061. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2308115

Announcements

Private Funding Opportunities

The Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) team distributes via email a bi-weekly digest summarizing upcoming private funding opportunities to the UMass Chan Medical School community. Sign up today by emailing

DevelopmentFundingDigest@umassmed.edu. The CFR team is here to help members of the UMass Chan community generate curated lists of foundation and institutional philanthropy opportunities. Contact us to learn about tools and foundations that support faculty, postdocs, predocs, graduate students and medical school students. Please contact the CFR team before approaching any foundation or private philanthropic funder.

The Road to Care Mobile Clinic will be hosting the final cohort of Transforming Care ECHO: Harm Reduction, Overdose Prevention, and Management of Opioid Use Disorder. This is a unique remote learning opportunity that will cover the basics of caring for patients with OUD as well as offer feedback and expert guidance on patient cases. Sessions will run remotely on Thursdays from 12-1pm every other week from April 27-June 26. This ECHO is made possible through the generous support of the RIZE foundation. Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/X8z25aNFsH

New Faculty Orientation

If you are a UMass Chan faculty member hired in the last 12 months, 

consider registering for the New Faculty Orientation on May 19th, on zoom from 9-11:30am.This event gives new faculty the opportunity to hear from and connect with institutional leadership and with other new faculty.

UMass Chan Cares Days

May 20-21. This is a brand new event for UMass Chan to show the community how much it cares through community service. School employees can use paid volunteer time off to participate. Katie Stickney in the Office for Community and Government Relations has multiple site activities arranged. Learn more and register. 

UMass Med Moth is back!

Med Moth is looking for speakers for its spring/summer event, scheduled for Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 at 5:30 pm in the Albert Sherman Center Multi-Purpose Room/Cafeteria - MARK THE DATE. Med Moth is an event based on the Moth Story Hour where 6-8 members of the UMass Community (SOM, GSN, GSBS, Baystate, and Lahey) share stories for 5-10 minutes each. Past talks have been about the speaker's journey into medicine, meaningful patient encounters, or other experiences that have shaped one's personal or professional identity in health care. Looking for a diverse set of speakers and stories. Those interested in sharing a story can contact the event organizers Aly Wayne (alysandria.wayne@umassmed.edu) or Mariam Tolba (mariam.tolba@umassmed.edu) for more information. 

Film Premiere of VITAL SIGNS and Panel - Advocating for Deaf Health Access

Tuesday, June 17th, 4-6pm

Hosted by UMass Chan Medical School, Center for Living and Working, and DEAF YE - Center for Deaf Empowerment and Recovery. 18 Chestnut Street, Worcester, MA.

RSVP melissa.anderson@umassmed.edu.

The 2025-2026 BRC Fellowship Call for Applications Is Open

The Building Research Capacity (BRC) Fellowship has 3 aims:

• Coaching: Provide coaching support to build research and scholarship capacity within a program or institution
• Support: Develop a peer support network among other individuals or teams trying to build research capacity
• Strategic Planning: Create a strategic plan for research and scholarship within their home program/institution

Applications are due July 30, 2025. Learn more and apply here!

Presentations and Publications

NEAETC’s dental director, Helene Bednarsh wrote a chapter related to oral care and HIV in Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice (6th edition). The book was awarded the 2025 TAA's (Textbook & Academic Authors Association) Textbook Excellence (“Texty”) Award.

Dr. Ekaterina Pivovarova recently published an open-access paper titled "Receipt of medications for opioid use disorders among veterans by race/ethnicity and legal involvement: an observational study of electronic health records" in the Health & Justice journal on the interaction of race/ethnicity and legal involvement in receipt MOUD in VA patients.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40352-025-00336-6?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oa_20250429&utm_content=10.1186/s40352-025-00336-6

50th Anniversary Video!

Check out this video about our Department’s 50 years: 

https://vimeo.com/1067353936/5af9ebbea9?share=copy

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Please join us for a weekly Podcast series for an overview: Tune in as we discuss the updated WHO and CDC hepatitis B guidelines, specifically focusing on screening, vaccination, and management. Learn how to apply these recommendations in clinical practice to support the WHO's goal to eliminate hepatitis B by 2030. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents, "A Clear Path to Acne Management: Key Takeaways from the Latest Guidelines" - Frankly Speaking Ep 430. Listen on Apple Podcasts:

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

Resources

Resources to promote Family Medicine Proud and celebrate our 50th Anniversary: 

a PowerPoint template, Zoom backgrounds, logo etc:  

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/department-logos/

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk are available at 

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/ under Resources.

The UMass Memorial Caring for Caregivers Program is available at 508-334-HELP,

EAP at 866-263-3525, and the UMass Chan EAP at 800-322-5327.

www.LiveandWorkWell.com 

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban.

New members always welcome. 

Please join us on Wednesday(s), 6:30-7:30am, for a gentle awakening yoga session led by the talented Liz Erban.

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91343267992?pwd=ZHF3NHVrVlR1MVdMV09HSE5lTzdsQT09