UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - September 9, 2025/EDUCATION

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Education

Ethics Corner

Announcements

Presentations and Publications

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Resources

Message From the Chair

I hope you all found some time for fun and family over the summer. This week at UMass Chan included the White Coat ceremony, and Convocation, with the investment of 11 new endowed chairs, among other events to launch another academic year.

Much important work continues across the department. I am optimistic while recognizing the fiscal challenges our school, the clinical system, and our patients face. Please plan to attend our next Town Hall on October 7th at noon. As the financial climate remains very challenging, we will need to find ways to support each other and do the most we can with available resources. The senior leadership team will follow-up with visits with faculty for discussion about how to meet the challenges.

Due to the ongoing financial recovery efforts at UMass Memorial, this week begins a new management structure for Hahnemann and Benedict, moving to one Operations Manager. Kori Berardino will be responsible for both health centers. I want to acknowledge that this was a difficult decision, and especially, thank Colleen Bregman for her many years of service and dedication to our patients, staff, learners and faculty. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.

In the midst of all the challenges, it is more important than ever to celebrate our amazing faculty. Our Annual Awards Ceremony will be held on October 28th at 18 Chestnut Street, co-hosted by RISE for Health. All faculty are encouraged to nominate deserving colleagues- see details below.

Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds

Tuesday, September 9th, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, the Steven L. Putterman, MD 27th Annual Memorial Lecture will be presented by guest speaker Matilde (Mattie) Castiel, MD, City of Worcester's Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Family Medicine.

Location: Albert Sherman Center, #AS7-2072 or virtual via zoom.

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

Tuesday, September 16th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Top 10: EBM Updates from the Medical literatures", presented by Frank J. Domino, MD.

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

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

Tuesday, September 23rd, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Billing Strategies: Credit Where Credit is Due", presented by Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, MD.

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

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

Tuesday, September 30th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "From Vision to Practice: Innovating to Deliver the Quadruple AIM", presented by David Gilchrist, MD, MBA, FAAFP, CPE.

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

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

We invite all department faculty and chief residents to submit nominations for the 2025 DFMCH Annual Awards. We hope nominations will come from all parts of the department. Awards recognize individuals with a DFMCH faculty appointment who demonstrate excellence in:

• Diversity, inclusion and health equity (1 award)
• Education (2 awards)
• Mentorship (Judy Savageau award) 
• Service as a Community Clinician

Please click here for award criteria, past winners, and nomination form. Nominations are due Friday, September 26, 2025. We look forward to celebrating nominees and winners at the Annual Awards Celebration on Tuesday, October 28 at Worcester RISE for Health. https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eVDZGtxuh5f1qzs

WFMR had a beautiful, sunny day for the Fall Retreat on Tuesday, September 2nd.

We spent the day relaxing and building community with each other at Cedar Pond Recreation Area in Sturbridge. Thank you to all the faculty who covered inpatient services to make this day possible!

Intro to Pocus Hands On Course (Introduction of Point of Care Ultrasound)

October 25th, 8:00 - 5:00pm, iCELS Simulation Lab, Albert Sherman Center

Please see flyer for additional information. https://www.umassmed.edu/icels

Question 2: What are possible ethical issues when AI is used in precepting?

Answer 2: Beyond issues of bias and transparency, AI use by preceptors may disrupt the mentoring and modeling inherent in precepting: learners might struggle to differentiate between AI-generated content and preceptor insight. There's also a risk of overreliance on AI use which can erode opportunities to foster clinical judgment and model adaptability to specific patient encounters.

Question 3: How should AI be ethically integrated into precepting in family medicine?

Answer 3: Preceptors should disclose when they're incorporating AI and use AI primarily to stimulate critical thinking rather than generating definitive answers. If AI is utilized, preceptors should leverage that use as a teaching opportunity and model how to appraise, question, reflect, and ultimately accept or reject AI suggestions.

Summary: AI can potentially enrich clinical education in family medicine by offering informational support that frees educators to model clinical reasoning and patient-centered practice. Similar to other uses of AI in healthcare, transparency of use, reflective judgement, and a sensitivity to bias are crucial to ethical use of AI in clinical teaching.

References:

1) Masters K. Artificial intelligence in medical education. Med Teach. 2019;41(9):976–980 2) Katsakiori PF, Kagadis GC, Mulita F, Marangos M. Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Family Medicine: Challenges and Limitations. Cureus. 2024 Dec 11;16(12):e75518. doi: 10.7759/cureus.75518.

Announcements

Help Improve IUD Insertion Care at UMass – 5-Minute Provider Survey

Please help this student project. If you currently perform IUD insertions at a UMass Memorial Health clinical site, please share your insights in this quick, confidential survey. Your input will help improve patient comfort and standardize care across clinics. Click here to take the survey. Thank you for your time and contribution!

Tips from Faculty Affairs on managing your @UMassmed.edu email.

Change or forward your @UMassmed.edu email for better communication.

Click the links below to find out how to forward your @UMassmed.edu emails or change your preferred email in the UMass Chan system.

How To Forward Your UMass Email

Helpful link: Outlook on the web

How To Change Your Preferred Email

Helpful links: Faculty profiles & Preferred Email Change Request Form 

The Society of Teachers in Family Medicine is hosting a series of five webinars, "Stages of GME Leadership - From Idealism to Sustainability". These real-time conversations with seasoned GME leaders are 1 hour in length. The first webinar is "Balancing Strategic Priorities With Day-to-Day Fires”, on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 1:00 pm eastern time. For information and to register: https://stfm.org/gme-webinars/

The Massachusetts Society for Addiction Medicine is hosting their annual Pearls for Practice Conference on Friday and Saturday, September 19th-September 20th at MMS in Waltham. This year's conference is titled, Equity and Innovation in Addiction Care. There is a special focus on pain management in the context of opioid use disorder on Friday afternoon that may be of particular interest, though I believe family physicians will find all of the content incredibly valuable. There are sessions on GLP-1 agonists, gambling, addiction consult services, engaging youth in treatment, and more! Please check it out and register today!  https://www.masam.org/pfp-main-page.html



Rising Together: In support of Health Equity for Refugee and Immigrant communities, Friday, October 17th

RISE is committed to serving refugees and immigrants now and always. 

Please join RISE for a night of celebration, connection and impact. Savor flavors from around the globe, and help raise funds to advance health equity in our community. 

Secure your ticket soon! https://givebutter.com/RISE4Health See flyer for additional information.

UMass Chan 30th Research Retreat, October 28th-29th, 2025

We cordially invite you to attend the UMass Chan 30th Annual Research Retreat, October 28-29, 2025. The retreat is scheduled on-site at the UMass Chan Medical School University Campus and typically features talks from new UMass Chan faculty and students, and offers opportunities for networking. More details regarding the agenda will follow as we get closer to the event. See flyer.

The Global Tuberculosis Institute, a CDC-funded Tuberculosis Center of Excellence, will partner again this year with the Brown University ECHO hub and health departments across 20 TB program areas in the Northeastern United States to offer a Regional Tuberculosis Infection (TBI) ECHO Course in Fall 2025 for primary care team members. This is a six-session virtual and interactive TBI ECHO course. Participants can receive up to 6 CME credits and the course is free. Please see the attached brochure and link below for more information.

https://iecho.org/public/program/PRGM175441303441283QHZ1Y0QM

Looking for Volunteers

Mission of Mercy is coming to Worcester on November 15th. They will provide free dental care for 300 patients at the DCU. Looking for medical clinicians to volunteer to provide medical clearance. Sign up here or contact Hugh Silk hugh.silk@umassmemorial.org.

Teaching of Tomorrow (TOT) is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed interprofessional 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. The workshops will be held at the Wellsworth Hotel in Southbridge, MA, on November 14-15, 2025, and March 13-14, 2026. Attendance is required for all four conference days. For more details, please refer to the attached flyer. Registration is now open. CME credits are granted by the American Academy of Family Physicians (and accepted by organizations such as AAPA, ANCC, NCCPA, and AANPCB).

Registration link https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bBoZ9s7WSfhUdyC

Presentations and Publications

Dr. Anna McMahan, family physician in our department and Medical Director for Edward M. Kennedy Health Center, was a central part of an article in the Telegram and Gazette last week on defending patients needing transgender care at a time when the federal government is denying care.

Department Member Recognition

The MassAHEC Scholars program is pleased to share that they accepted 49 first year medical students to their rural and urban focused learning opportunities (biggest group ever!). This includes 35 Worcester based students who could be accepted due to the faculty and residents who volunteered to be a longitudinal preceptor!  Thank you!!!! (12 PURCH and 2 LEAD students were also accepted.) Students and LPs will be matched by the end of this week. 

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. In this episode, we discuss new evidence linking high compliance with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet to lower risks of colorectal cancer, reinforcing the DASH diet's well-established role in managing hypertension while also highlighting its potential to reduce cancer risk. Gain Practical insights into translating these findings into actionable nutrition guidance to support your patients' overall health. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MPAS, PA-C, presents, "DASHing Away Colon Cancer". Frankly Speaking Episode #449. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367

Resources

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