Click to view the 2008 graduation photos!Many thanks to Cassie Boatwright (our photographer) and Becky Hamilton (our video producer). The photos and video are outstanding and I know our graduates will cherish them for years to come.
Friday, June 27, 2008
UTMB FMR Graduation 2008
Click to view the 2008 graduation photos!Many thanks to Cassie Boatwright (our photographer) and Becky Hamilton (our video producer). The photos and video are outstanding and I know our graduates will cherish them for years to come.
Monday, June 16, 2008
salary increases!
We are pleased to announce the pending salary increases for House Staff have been approved effective September 1, 2008, reflecting the October 1st paycheck.
PGY-1: $42,757
PGY-2: $44,015
PGY-3: $45,620
PGY-1: $42,757
PGY-2: $44,015
PGY-3: $45,620
Thursday, June 05, 2008
PHNP
Our Grand Rounds presentation June 5th was given by Dr. Ana Malinow. It was an excellent presentation covering U.S Health Care Policy. I encourage you to look at the following resources:
Physicians for a National Health Program
Healthcare for All Texans
One of the most sobering points in her presentation was when she asked how many of us in the room had ever been uninsured. This was an audience of medical students, residents and faculty physicians and other faculty members. About 50% of the people in the room raised their hand. I was one of them. Can you imagine?! Fifty percent of the healthcare professionals in that room have been uninsured at some time in their life. Unbelievable. And unacceptable.
Physicians for a National Health Program
Healthcare for All Texans
One of the most sobering points in her presentation was when she asked how many of us in the room had ever been uninsured. This was an audience of medical students, residents and faculty physicians and other faculty members. About 50% of the people in the room raised their hand. I was one of them. Can you imagine?! Fifty percent of the healthcare professionals in that room have been uninsured at some time in their life. Unbelievable. And unacceptable.
exciting faculty developments
Yesterday I met with our new part-time faculty member (Peter Curka, DO) who starts next week and we enjoyed planning our Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) conferences for next year and some of the other projects he will be involved with. DO and Alternative & Integrative Medicine track residents will be required to attend, our other MD residents are welcome and we have two MD faculty members who already have requested to attend the course.
Our OMM Consult Clinic will be open for scheduling in the next six weeks or so. Of course, all the DOs in our practice also are able to schedule OMM in their continuity clinic, but the consult clinic will allow our MD colleagues to easily refer patients for OMM.
We are in the process of setting up an interview with another DO candidate for a full-time faculty position with the residency as well.
Today I interviewed a faculty candidate for Residency who has a CAQ in Sports Medicine (MD) and will take the lead on development of our Sports Medicine fellowship if we are successful in recruiting him. You may remember that one of our 2007 graduates is starting his Sports Medicine fellowship next month and we hope to also recruit him back to join the faculty.
It’s exciting times around here at UTMB!
Our OMM Consult Clinic will be open for scheduling in the next six weeks or so. Of course, all the DOs in our practice also are able to schedule OMM in their continuity clinic, but the consult clinic will allow our MD colleagues to easily refer patients for OMM.
We are in the process of setting up an interview with another DO candidate for a full-time faculty position with the residency as well.
Today I interviewed a faculty candidate for Residency who has a CAQ in Sports Medicine (MD) and will take the lead on development of our Sports Medicine fellowship if we are successful in recruiting him. You may remember that one of our 2007 graduates is starting his Sports Medicine fellowship next month and we hope to also recruit him back to join the faculty.
It’s exciting times around here at UTMB!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Departmental Review
Recently, our Department underwent the most recent formal review. These occur roughly every 5 years and are rather a big deal in the land of academic medical centers. Among other things, the Departmental Review identifies strengths and suggests areas for improvement. For this post, I'd like to share with you the strengths identified by our reviewers.
- 8/8/8 FMRP scheduled for next review in about 18 months
- Adequate patient volume to support most aspects of outpatient and inpatient training, with the exception of maternity care. (Maternity care being an area we've been working on with various strategies for the past several years. More to follow on that front...)
- Resident graduates who remain to practice in the region
- Unusually high percentage of residents graduating this year entering various fellowship programs
- Strong commitment to rural education via a rural track residency program
- Residen tcohort who reports satisfaction with attending support in both the hospital and ambulatory settings
- Adequate administrative resources in support of residency training
- Strong faculty commitment to residency teaching in all clinical venues
- Appropriate educational relationships with other disciplines providing training for Family Medicine residents
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
AODME Conference
I've been away this week, attending the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators annual meeting.
Many of you know that we have received our Osteopathic certification this past year for the residency program. Our Osteopathic residents will be eligible upon completion of the program to sit for both the ABFM and AOBFM certification exams.
The meeting I'm currently attending includes educators from both undergraduate and GME settings, as well as across multiple specialties. One of the things I've been struck with during the course of the meeting is how closely aligned allopathic FAMILY MEDICINE is with Osteopathic Philosophy and Practice (OP&P). What I mean by that is primarily related to the bio-psycho-social approach, the doctor-patient relationship and communication skills. All of my allopathic/ACGME residents are being instructed in OP&P... you just didn't know it!
As a result of our recent certification and the inclusion of more DOs in our program from here forward, I will be making more of an effort to explicitly point out OP&P where it occurs in our training program. We will also begin an Osteopathic Manual Medicine workshop series as a component of our Thursday afternoon didactics. Our DO residents will be required to attend and the MD residents will be invited.
I've learned a lot of good things at this conference and I plan to share a number of them here through the blog over the next few days.
Many of you know that we have received our Osteopathic certification this past year for the residency program. Our Osteopathic residents will be eligible upon completion of the program to sit for both the ABFM and AOBFM certification exams.
The meeting I'm currently attending includes educators from both undergraduate and GME settings, as well as across multiple specialties. One of the things I've been struck with during the course of the meeting is how closely aligned allopathic FAMILY MEDICINE is with Osteopathic Philosophy and Practice (OP&P). What I mean by that is primarily related to the bio-psycho-social approach, the doctor-patient relationship and communication skills. All of my allopathic/ACGME residents are being instructed in OP&P... you just didn't know it!
As a result of our recent certification and the inclusion of more DOs in our program from here forward, I will be making more of an effort to explicitly point out OP&P where it occurs in our training program. We will also begin an Osteopathic Manual Medicine workshop series as a component of our Thursday afternoon didactics. Our DO residents will be required to attend and the MD residents will be invited.
I've learned a lot of good things at this conference and I plan to share a number of them here through the blog over the next few days.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
A FM kid turns 1!
Josie (& Family!) blow out the candle
My girls looking at a HUGE redfish in the aquarium
Abbye & Dani(children of Dr. Nash (L) and Dr. Alonso (R))
Dr. Montiel in the background
The big event was held at Moody Gardens and I think everyone had a blast. Many thanks to Dr. Montiel for inviting us to the party. :-)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Welcome, Class of 2011!!!
Michael Crawford – University of Texas Medical Branch – GalvestonRichard Donaldson – W. Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Cesar Gerez - Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, Tampico Mexico
Eduardo Guerra Valencia - Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru
Toni Hernandez – University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston
Jose Rodriguez – Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela
Lisset Parets - Saint George's University, Grenada
Bhanu Yadiki - Jss Medical College, India
Match Results Show Resurgence
According to AAFP, the 2008 Match results show a resurgence in interest in Family Medicine.
Although helpful, the increase still falls short of estimated manpower needs for 2020.
The fill rate for FM was 91% this year, which explains what the Scramble pool liked like to me... more US grads unmatched than I expected.
Read the full story on the AAFP website here.
Although helpful, the increase still falls short of estimated manpower needs for 2020.
The fill rate for FM was 91% this year, which explains what the Scramble pool liked like to me... more US grads unmatched than I expected.
Read the full story on the AAFP website here.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
filled!
We have filled our incoming class for 2008!!
I'd like to thank the applicants who made the trek to Galveston to interview. We have selected our final candidate and as soon as I have a chance to notify each of those who interviewed, I will post our new class here. We had 830-some-odd applications through ERAS for our two positions, so it was an extremely competitive field. That is not counting the emailed applications, phone calls and attempted faxes that we received. True to our word, we screened only those applications submitted through ERAS. Unfortunately, many people did no research to know that we would not accept email applications and I found myself deleting massive amounts of email several times a day just to keep my email working.
The Scramble (or re-Match as some now like to call it) is always a challenge. It's a much higher stakes, higher stress level process for all involved than the regular interview season, and that's saying something.
My staff did a wonderful job answering the phones, often redirecting frustrated applicants to ERAS submission and offering helpful advice. They screened calls directed at me so that I was able to focus on the business at hand, which was screening applications, selecting and interviewing appropriate applicants and making tough decisions. I'd like to thank them as well. If you tried and weren't able to get through to me directly, please know that my staff did pass on all messages from faculty members and medical schools and all applications referrenced in those messages were personally screened by me.
I also need to thank the faculty and residents who participated in the selection, pre-screening and interview process. In particular my residents found Scramble stressful and I was proud of the way they handled it. We would not have been as successful as we were in selecting our final two members of the class without the residents' help.
We have a great group of residents here at UTMB-FMR, and I'm confident our incoming class will continue the tradition.
I'd like to thank the applicants who made the trek to Galveston to interview. We have selected our final candidate and as soon as I have a chance to notify each of those who interviewed, I will post our new class here. We had 830-some-odd applications through ERAS for our two positions, so it was an extremely competitive field. That is not counting the emailed applications, phone calls and attempted faxes that we received. True to our word, we screened only those applications submitted through ERAS. Unfortunately, many people did no research to know that we would not accept email applications and I found myself deleting massive amounts of email several times a day just to keep my email working.
The Scramble (or re-Match as some now like to call it) is always a challenge. It's a much higher stakes, higher stress level process for all involved than the regular interview season, and that's saying something.
My staff did a wonderful job answering the phones, often redirecting frustrated applicants to ERAS submission and offering helpful advice. They screened calls directed at me so that I was able to focus on the business at hand, which was screening applications, selecting and interviewing appropriate applicants and making tough decisions. I'd like to thank them as well. If you tried and weren't able to get through to me directly, please know that my staff did pass on all messages from faculty members and medical schools and all applications referrenced in those messages were personally screened by me.
I also need to thank the faculty and residents who participated in the selection, pre-screening and interview process. In particular my residents found Scramble stressful and I was proud of the way they handled it. We would not have been as successful as we were in selecting our final two members of the class without the residents' help.
We have a great group of residents here at UTMB-FMR, and I'm confident our incoming class will continue the tradition.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Criteria
Please review our criteria for applicants here.
I WILL NOT REVIEW APPLICATIONS SENT BY EMAIL OR FAX. You MUST apply through ERAS.
Additionally, you must have graduated from medical school 2003 or more recently. Your medical school must be on the approved list for the Texas Medical Board, which you can review here. Click on the link "Substantial Equivalence".
We have one remaining position and will be interviewing selected applicants today and tomorrow.
I WILL NOT REVIEW APPLICATIONS SENT BY EMAIL OR FAX. You MUST apply through ERAS.
Additionally, you must have graduated from medical school 2003 or more recently. Your medical school must be on the approved list for the Texas Medical Board, which you can review here. Click on the link "Substantial Equivalence".
We have one remaining position and will be interviewing selected applicants today and tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
1 spot left
We have screened all applications submitted through ERAS for the Scramble. We have interviews scheduled with selected applicants today, tomorrow and Thursday. We have filled one position and have one remaining.
Because we require an in-person interview, there were several excellent applicants who are geographically challenged to get here in our timeframe. I am holding those applications for now and if we do not fill our remaining position with any of the applicants currently scheduled for interview, we will be contacting additional applicants to set up interviews.
Thank you all for your interest in our program, and I wish you the best of luck with the Scramble.
Because we require an in-person interview, there were several excellent applicants who are geographically challenged to get here in our timeframe. I am holding those applications for now and if we do not fill our remaining position with any of the applicants currently scheduled for interview, we will be contacting additional applicants to set up interviews.
Thank you all for your interest in our program, and I wish you the best of luck with the Scramble.
Scrambling for 2
We will be scrambling for two additional residents for the coming year.
We are accepting applications only through ERAS, so please do not call, fax or email. Just send your application through ERAS.
You can find our criteria here.
We do require an in-person interview, so you must be able/willing to travel to Galveston this week.
We will contact successful applicants as we screen your application.
We are accepting applications only through ERAS, so please do not call, fax or email. Just send your application through ERAS.
You can find our criteria here.
We do require an in-person interview, so you must be able/willing to travel to Galveston this week.
We will contact successful applicants as we screen your application.
Chief Residents 2008-09
I am pleased to announce our new Chief Residents for 2008-09!!!Dr. Donna Simmons (L) and Dr. Adriana Gomez (R)
Welcome, and I look forward to working closely with you over the next year.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
schedule oddities
Bear with me, this is complicated...
The FMR tries to maintain our schedule in accordance with the Dean's calendar for the medical students, as do most of the other GME programs at UTMB. We do this for many reasons, one of which is coordination. The more of us who are on the same schedule, the simpler it is to manage rotation orientations and that sort of thing. Periodically, the medical school alters the schedule by a week at the beginning of the academic year. This is one of those years.
Block 13 of AY2007-08 ends on June 22. Block 1 of AY2008-09 will not begin until June 30.
Graduating resident contracts end June 30. As has been our custom, R3s will be scheduled for their mandatory university checkout routine during that extra week. You may also use up any comp time you've accrued and/or take vacation days, once your checkout obligations are met.
Linda is in the process of investigating our options for the current R1s and R2s. If you are on the FM Hospital service, block 13 will be 5 weeks long for you, and you will remain on the hospital service. This may also be the case for certain other rotations - likely MICU, Newborn Nursery, ER, etc. We will let you know as soon as we know. For some, we will schedule you for R2/R3 Orientation activities during that week. Likely that will be no more than 3 days (hopefully just 2), so that may turn out to be a good time to take some comp or vacation days as well. Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available. See Linda if you have individual questions.
The FMR tries to maintain our schedule in accordance with the Dean's calendar for the medical students, as do most of the other GME programs at UTMB. We do this for many reasons, one of which is coordination. The more of us who are on the same schedule, the simpler it is to manage rotation orientations and that sort of thing. Periodically, the medical school alters the schedule by a week at the beginning of the academic year. This is one of those years.
Block 13 of AY2007-08 ends on June 22. Block 1 of AY2008-09 will not begin until June 30.
Graduating resident contracts end June 30. As has been our custom, R3s will be scheduled for their mandatory university checkout routine during that extra week. You may also use up any comp time you've accrued and/or take vacation days, once your checkout obligations are met.
Linda is in the process of investigating our options for the current R1s and R2s. If you are on the FM Hospital service, block 13 will be 5 weeks long for you, and you will remain on the hospital service. This may also be the case for certain other rotations - likely MICU, Newborn Nursery, ER, etc. We will let you know as soon as we know. For some, we will schedule you for R2/R3 Orientation activities during that week. Likely that will be no more than 3 days (hopefully just 2), so that may turn out to be a good time to take some comp or vacation days as well. Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available. See Linda if you have individual questions.
Attention R1s!
R1s who are interested in the Rural Training Track and/or Ball High Prenatal Clinic for next academic year need to submit:
Rural Training Track - updated/current CV, copy of your ITE scores, and letter or email outlining the reason(s) for your interest in the program. We will be scheduling interviews with the RTT faculty in the very near future. As a reminder, the RTT faculty choose the residents who will participate in the RTT. Current R2s will automatically be enrolled for PGY3 unless I hear differently from you... Jaime and Rene. Submit documents to the Program Director.
Ball High Prenatal Clinic - email or letter (to me) outlining the reason(s) for your interest in participating. Generally speaking, this opportunity is appropriate for residents who have a higher than average interest in including maternity care as part of their future practice.
Deadline is Friday, March 14 at 5pm.
Rural Training Track - updated/current CV, copy of your ITE scores, and letter or email outlining the reason(s) for your interest in the program. We will be scheduling interviews with the RTT faculty in the very near future. As a reminder, the RTT faculty choose the residents who will participate in the RTT. Current R2s will automatically be enrolled for PGY3 unless I hear differently from you... Jaime and Rene. Submit documents to the Program Director.
Ball High Prenatal Clinic - email or letter (to me) outlining the reason(s) for your interest in participating. Generally speaking, this opportunity is appropriate for residents who have a higher than average interest in including maternity care as part of their future practice.
Deadline is Friday, March 14 at 5pm.
Monday, March 03, 2008
A new addition to the family!
Congratulations to Dr. Liliana Andrade and family on their new addition:
Andres Eduardo was born on 02/26/08 at 12:46 pm. He weighted 6 lb and 2 Oz. and his length was 18 1/2 inches.
Andres Eduardo was born on 02/26/08 at 12:46 pm. He weighted 6 lb and 2 Oz. and his length was 18 1/2 inches.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Evaluations
R3 Evaluation Meeting was held today. R3s, please check the portfolio for a summary within the next few days.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Will There Be Enough Family Doctors?
Please watch this short video produced by TAFP. It features (among others) Dr. Falcon, who is one of our preceptors in Rio Grande City, Dr. Clare Hawkins who is the FMR PD in Baytown and Dr. Sam Adkins who is the FMR PD in Austin. Residency funding is addressed.
BTW, UTMB residents - on 2/12 the GMEC voted near unanimously (1 nay) to recommend a pay raise for next fiscal year. This recommendation goes to Finance. When further action is taken, I'll post an update.
BTW, UTMB residents - on 2/12 the GMEC voted near unanimously (1 nay) to recommend a pay raise for next fiscal year. This recommendation goes to Finance. When further action is taken, I'll post an update.
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