News

April 3, 2012: 2013 U.S. News & World Report Ranking

The U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School completed their 2013 rankings, and the Department is pleased to announce that it is ranked 7th in the nation in family medicine training. The Department has received consistently high ratings for more than ten years.
  
The U-M’s overall rank as a primary care training school is rising from 20th last year to 8th this year, largely on the strength of the number of graduates going into primary care.

“It is very gratifying to see that our excellence in patient care, education and research continues to be highly recognized despite the fact we currently are undergoing a national search for a permanent chair. We are so lucky to have such a large number of superb faculty, fellows and residents who make us so successful in so many ways,” says Philip Zazove, M.D., professor and interim chair.

To learn more, visit the U.S. News & World Report or the UMHS Newsroom.

March 27, 2012: Drs. Cohen and Kaufman Earn Additional Board Certification

The Department is pleased to announce that Alicia J. Cohen, M.D., lecturer, integrative medicine fellow, and Amanda J. Kaufman, M.D., assistant professor, are now board certified by the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.

They join the Department’s other integrative medicine faculty members, Ricardo R. Bartelme, M.D., assistant professor, integrative oncology chief; Amy B. Locke, M.D., assistant professor; and Sara L. Warber, M.D., associate professor, director of University of Michigan Integrative Medicine (UMIM).

Learn more about the Department’s integrative medicine program.

March 5, 2012: Men's Health in Family Medicine

Joel J. Heidelbaugh, M.D., associate professor, was featured in the most recent edition of STFM's Messenger. In the Education Column, Dr. Heidelbaugh's article entitled "Men's Health: Development of a Niche Curriculum in Family Medicine," maintained that "A defined multi-disciplinary men's health curriculum is paramount to ensure training future family physicians in providing optimal care for men across all socio-economic strata, ethnicities, ages, and sexual orientations." He also explains that dedicated, required teaching of men's health is lacking in most medical school and family medicine residency curricula. Read the complete article at STFM.org.

January 12, 2012: Resident Original Project Leads to Publication

Julie Phillips, M.D., M.P.H. (Residency 2007), assistant professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Family Medicine, published a paper in the most recent edition of Family Medicine. The paper entitled, “How Do Medical Student View the Work Life of Primary Care and Specialty Physicians” is a result of her work on her resident original project at U-M. Through the use of a cross-sectional survey of medical students, Dr. Phillips found that students view the work life of all physicians, especially primary care physicians, negatively. However, she also reports that career choices are not based on the negative perception of primary care because students planning to enter the specialty share the same negative views. Read the complete publication at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (PDF). Katherine J. Gold, M.D., M.S.W., M.S., assistant professor, and Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., emeritus professor, are listed as co-authors.

 

January 9, 2012: Other People's Stories

In a moving article entitled, “Other People’s Stories” featured at The Hastings Center, Nell Burger Kirst, M.D., co-chief resident, details the phenomenon of physicians being intrinsically involved in their patients lives, while at the same time relinquishing control of patient stories to the patients themselves. “At the end of the day, we may have been drawn deeply into our patients’ stories and changed by them in real, tangible ways. But all of those stories—even the ones we are materially part of—must belong finally to the patient, and not to us. This asymmetry is built into the law and the Hippocratic oath: patients may retell these stories at dinner parties or around the water cooler, fleshing them out with whatever level of detail they desire, but we may not—if we do, we must strip out the details to protect the patient’s privacy.” Read the complete article (free registration required).

 

December 9, 2011: Beyond the Original Project

Michael Johansen, M.D., house officer III, presented data from his original project at the North American Primary Care Research Group’s annual meeting in November. His presentation was entitled, “Investigation of the use of Statins in Primary Prevention: A National Survey.” Katherine J. Gold, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., assistant professor, and Lee A. Green, M.D., M.P.H., professor, are co-authors.

 

November 3, 2011: Resident Returns Home

Recent residency alumna, Jamie Szelagowski, M.D. (Residency 2011), was featured in her local paper the Wapakoneta Daily News. Upon completion of her residency, Dr. Szelagowski moved to her hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio and began working at the same local practice she visited growing up, Auglaize Family Practice. “It’s really cool working with the doctors I grew up with. I see them from the patient’s perspective and now from the physician’s perspective. I’m glad to be back in the office where I initially learned about family medicine,” said Dr. Szelagowski. 

 

October 19, 2011: Leadership of the Clinical Simulation Center

James M. Cooke, M.D., residency director and assistant professor, was named as Executive Director of the Clinical Simulation Center (CSC). Dr. Cooke has a long history with the CSC, being an active user as well as one of two Medical Directors for the Center. He brings to the Executive Director position a wealth of experience in educational innovation and an understanding of the challenges of teaching learners at multiple levels in a dynamic and fluid clinical environment. 

Dr. Cooke notes, “Since its development almost eight years ago, the CSC has been an extraordinary resource for medical education, research and innovation and has transformed educational delivery throughout the health system and medical school.  It is a distinct honor to be selected to lead the next stages in the centers development as we continue to work with our residency education, medical school and hospital colleagues to improve the education, quality of care and patient safety at U-M.”

 

September 19, 2011: Ramadan Fast-A-Thon

In observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, University of Michigan Medical School students, faculty and leaders participated in “Fast-a-thon 2011” by not eating or drinking for an entire day during daylight hours on August 22, 2011.
 
U-M’s Muslim Medical Students’ Association organized the event in observance of Ramadan, an annual observance in which more than one billion Muslims fast daily for 29-30 days worldwide. It is considered a month of blessing that includes prayer, fasting and charity.

James F. Peggs, M.D., professor, senior associate chair, assistant dean for student programs, was one of several faculty members and assistant deans who attended the Fast-a-thon event at the end of the day.

“There were an impressive number of medical students who fasted all day. I was honored to have been a part of the festivities,” Dr. Peggs notes.

The day ended with the traditional breaking of the fast at sundown with biting into a fig followed by a dinner of traditional foods. The event finished with the guests gathering for a brief program explaining the origins of Islam and the purpose behind the fasting period of Ramadan.

 

August 22, 2011: Faculty Members Wins Teaching Award

Jean Wong, M.D., assistant residency director at Ypsilanti Family Medicine, is among a select group of physicians honored by the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation for her commitment to education in the field of family medicine. Dr. Wong was selected to receive a 2011 Pfizer Teacher Development Award based on her scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and dedication to family medicine.

"Pfizer Teacher Development Awards spotlight the best of our profession: those in active practice who give of themselves to teach, mentor, and inspire residents and students. Tomorrow's family doctors and their patients will be better because of their efforts. My congratulations to Dr. Wong and my thanks to Pfizer for preserving the noble tradition of the clinician-teacher," said Richard G. Roberts, M.D., J.D., AAFP Foundation President.

"Family physicians are teachers by nature, whether we are teaching medical students and residents to be the next generation of medical practitioners or educating our patients about their health and illnesses. In turn, we ourselves are continually educated by the students we teach and the patients we work with," said Dr. Wong. Read more about this teaching award at AAFP Foundation.

 

August 19, 2011: Medical Students Choose Family Medicine

Third year medical student, Ron Romero, was featured in an article entitled, "Finding Their Future" in the latest edition of Medicine at Michigan. Romero, who completed his family medicine clerkship at Ypsilanti Family Medicine discussed his time working with patients. "I really responded to the family medicine environment," he says. "I loved the patients — Ypsilanti has a diverse population, and some patients were disadvantaged, which I could relate to from my own background in Miami as the son of a single parent struggling to get by." He states that family medicine was his favorite rotation because of its patient-centered approach and the continuity of seeing patients repeatedly over time. Equally important to Romero is the ability to get involved in psychosocial issues that can impact a patient's health.

 

August 16, 2011: CRLT Grants Improve Resident Education

Eric P. Skye, M.D., assistant professor and associate chair for education programs, Leslie A. Wimsatt, Ph.D., educational planning and development administrator, recently completed a project entitled, Extending Use of Assessment Data to Support Long-term Curricular Improvement. The project, funded by a grant from U-M's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), allowed the Department to complete an extensive analysis of the family medicine educational module user patters and pre-/post-testing results. The grant also enabled Drs. Skye and Wimsatt to plan an ongoing assessment protocol for the module curriculum that can be used to periodically review the effectiveness and application of the module curriculum over time, and in relations shifting clinical demands.

CRLT also funded a project led by James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor and residency program director entitled, Development of an Interdisciplinary Leadership Curriculum for Medical Residents. The project, which began in 2009, brought together faculty from the Department the School of Public Health and the Ross School of Business and resulted in the development leadership curriculum to meet the needs of the current Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Two leadership tracks were piloted with success and 9 were added last month. The tracks include sports medicine, global health, clinical practice, healthcare administration, delivery of medical care to the underserved, obstetrics, geriatrics and palliative care, and behavioral science. There are plans to continue this project beyond the grant period. Two additional required course sessions, finance and human resources, and several elective tracks will be launched during the 2011-2012 academic year and beyond.

 

July 25, 2011: The Class of 2014 Shows Off Their Cooking Skills

Armed with plenty of food, the intern class of 2014 donated their time and planned and prepared a unique, healthy dinner for the residents of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor. "As the RMH expands it's presence to the new Women's Hospital as well the Departments support and engagement of this community resource remains a wonderful testament to our community commitment," said Eric P. Skye, M.D., assistant professor and associate chair for educational programs.

 

July 1, 2011: Welcome Resident Class of 2014

The newest resident class begins today and the Deparment is very pleased to welcome them to the University of Michigan. The Class of 2014 has the distinct honor of being the largest resident class in the history of U-M's Department of Family Medicine with 11 members.

 

June 30, 2011: Congratulations to the Resident Class of 2011

The residents of the class of 2011 are completing their last days with the Department. The Department has been very fortunate to have such a great group family physicians and wishes them the best as they move forward in their careers.

	Marisyl de la Cruz, M.D. Women's Health Fellowship University of Michigan
Elizabeth K. Jones, M.D. Academic Fellowship University of Michigan
	Jeffrey L. Kim, M.D. Loma Linda University Medical Center
Kei Miyazaki, M.D. Department of Family Medicine Mie University, Tsu City, Japan
	Thomas A. O'Neil, M.D. Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship University of Michigan
Adaku Onyeji, M.D. Private Practice Greensboro, N.C.
	Suzanne V. Ross Undecided
Jamie A. Szelagowski, M.D. Private Practice Wapakoneta, Ohio
	Huong Tran, M.D. Private Practice Boston, Mass.
Alisa P. Young, M.D. Briarwood Family Medicine University of Michigan

 

June 21, 2011: Resident Elected to Leadership Group

Joanna Lee, D.O., house officer II, has been elected as a representative to the U-M House Officers Association (HOA), one of the oldest house officer associations in the United States. Her term starts in July and runs for one year. The HOA works to advance the cause of resident physicians and address the issues affecting their patients through quality improvement projects.

“I am honored to have been chosen for this position, and I look forward to serving my fellow house officers,” says Dr. Lee.

 

May 26, 2011: Away Rotations

The U-M Office of Graduate Medical Education recently approved five “away” rotations to start in the upcoming academic year. This allows resident physicians to have a more personal and customized experience in caring for people who are underserved.

• Jacob J. Bryan, M.D., house officer II, and Michelle L. Tortorello, M.D., house officer II, will be going to Fort Portal, Uganda, Africa, as part of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program at Virika Hospital. The hospital has approximately 2,500 deliveries per year. There is no established protocol for routine neonatal resuscitation after delivery, resulting in high newborn fatality rate. The main goal of this away rotation is to develop and implement a sustainable protocol for neonatal resuscitation in this limited resource setting. These efforts are part of a larger ongoing initiative through the William Davidson Institute. Drs. Bryan and Tortorello hope to gain the necessary skills necessary for educating and supervising other health professionals, including physicians, nurses, and midwives. They also hope to refine their own skills for obstetrical care and neonatal resuscitation.
  


• Michael T. Kopec, M.D., house officer II, will be going to Chinle, Ariz., to work for the Indian Health Service. The medical staff provides care to over 37,000 patients in adult intensive care (four bed unit), general surgery (including laparoscopic surgery), routine and operative obstetrics (700 deliveries per year), and 24-Hour emergency room services (25,000 patients per year), and includes family physicians, internists, pediatricians, general surgeons, obstetricians, anesthesiologists, and a psychiatrist. There are strong Navajo cultural traditions in that community, offering Dr. Kopec an opportunity to learn the Navajo language, or to learn about traditional Navajo medicine.


• Tyler J. Southwell, M.D., house officer II, will be going to rural southern Colo., to care for a unique, medically underserved population. This will include pediatric, geriatric, occupational, women’s health including obstetrics and deliveries, outpatient and inpatient care, urgent care, and preventive care. He will also focus on clinical practice management, quality improvement, and advocacy and policy issues related to rural Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and its community of patients. He will also spend some time with the Colorado Community Health Network’s quality improvement and policy and advocacy divisions in Denver.


• Kristi L. VanDerKolk, M.D., house officer II, will be going to Quito, Ecuador to participate in clinical care and research with the well-established U-M Quito Project. She hopes to develop her skills as a physician and researcher within a global context. She further plans to increase her knowledge and use of the Spanish language, gain understanding of a healthcare system far different from the U.S., and further work toward her goal of underserved care, immigrant and refugee health, and global health.

 

May 12 2011: Member-at-Large

Michelle L. Tortorello, M.D., house officer, has agreed to be the 2011-12 Residency Education Committee (REC) member-at-large. She will represent the other residents at the REC meetings, along with the co-chief residents. Items such as curriculum, resident problems, clinic site issues and other issues related to residency are discussed at the meetings.

 

May 12, 2011: The Hope Clinic

The Department has long been affiliated with the Hope Clinic in Ypsilanti, Mich., a health center that provides free medical services to low-income children and adults without medical insurance. The Department recently received approval to supervise clinical sessions during several weeks each year so as to enhance resident training in community outreach.

Joy C. Williams, M.D., assistant professor, who directs the residency community health curriculum, and Stefani A. Hudson, M.D., lecturer, medical director at Ypsilanti Family Medicine, and Hope Clinic advocate, will be leading the effort to coordinate residents and faculty participation.

“Hope Clinic offers a wonderful opportunity for residents to care for individuals with limited access to healthcare and offers all of us in the Department one more way to give back to the community and promote healthy lifestyles in our communities,” says James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor and residency director.

May 12, 2011: Clerkship Receives High Ratings…Again

The M3 clerkship is again the highest rated of the medical school’s seven required clerkships, making it the highest rated clerkship for 14 of the 15 years since it began in 1996.

“We have many reasons to be proud of the Department’s clinical, research and educational programs. The continued success of our M3 and M4 clerkships is a great example of how our clinical, research and educational excellence overlap in such positive contributions to the education of all U-M medical students,” says Kent J. Sheets, Ph.D., professor and clerkship co-director.

May 12, 2011: New ARD at Ypsilanti Family Medicine

The Department is pleased to announce Jean H. Wong, M.D., as the new assistant residency director at Ypsilanti Family Medicine.

Dr. Wong completed her residency training with the Department (2007), where she also served as co-chief resident. She completed an academic fellowship with the Department (2008), and has been in private practice at Packard Health in Ann Arbor, Mich., for the past three years.

James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor and residency director, comments, “Dr. Wong brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the position, and we are very pleased to have her join us as a faculty member, educator and residency leader.”

She replaces Kristy K. Brown, D.O., lecturer, who is moving with her family back to the New England area at the end of July.

The Department would like to offer many thanks to Dr. Brown for her contributions to the residency program, and a heartfelt welcome to Dr. Wong!

May 12, 2011: Resident Starts Free Clinic

When he was a medical student at Wayne State University (WSU), Tyler J. Southwell, M.D., house officer II, led the initiative to start a free clinic. Located on WSU’s campus, Dr. Southwell’s vision was to serve people who are uninsured in the Detroit area. The process began in 2007, when he was serving as the peer-elected Student Senate president. The clinic opened in May 2010, available to patients once a month and recently expanded their hours to be open weekly. Dr. Southwell has a special interest in caring for underserved people, and will be working on a rotation in rural Colorado over the summer.

Read more about the clinic online in The South End.

 

May 2, 2011: Family Medicine Participates in Undergraduate Research

 

Undergraduate student, Dana Schnieder, (center) stands in front of her research poster with her sponsors Leslie Wimsatt, Ph.D., and Eric P. Skye, M.D.

The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) held it's annual Spring Research Symposium on April 20. Ten students worked with department faculty to complete and present a research project. To see more pictures from the symposium, please visit the Department's Facebook page.

Participating faculty and students, along with their research topics include:

Katherine J. Gold, M.D., M.S.W., M.S., associate professor

• Chrystina James, The Effects of Birth Outcome on Depression

Zora Djuric, Ph.D., research professor

• Perry Ahn and Ian Waters, Colon Cancer and Cell Proliferation
• Leah Askew and Thomas Ferreri, Recruit to a Diet Intervention Study in Persons at Increased Colon Cancer Risk

Michelle A. Thurston, clinical research coordinator

• Frank Richards, Anatomical Mapping and Animation of Preventative Services Delivery from Doctor-Patient Encounters.
  

Eric P. Skye, M.D., assistant professor and associate direcor of education programs, and Leslie A. Wimsatt, Ph.D., educational planning and development administrator

• Dana Schneider, Exploring the Relationship Between Physician Experience and Quality of Care

Masahito Jimbo, M.D., M.P.H., M.A., associate professor

• Lauren Truong, Perspectives of Japanese Men and Women on Cancer Screening
  

Grant Greenberg, M.D., M.H.S.A., M.A., assistant professor and medical director at Chelsea Family Medicine

• Michael Wyderko, Instant Messaging in a Clinical Setting
  

Leslie A. Wimsatt, Ph.D., educational planning and development administrator

• Deepika Yuvaraj, Cost and Benefits of Online Learning Modules

Learn more about the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.

 

April 27, 2011: Annual STFM Conference

Several Department faculty members and residents are departing for the annual STFM Spring Conference.The conference offers presentations focusing on best practices, new teaching technologies, emerging research, and public policy issues and also proves to be a powerful networking forum for family medicine educators, with attendance of more than 1,000.

 

Presenations at this year's conference by Department members include:

Thursday, April 28th

Time	Presenter	Title
Breakfast Round Table Discussion	Anne Kittendorf	Advocacy Curriculum
10:00 a.m.	Tom O’Neil	The Effects of a Virtual Paycheck on Resident Billing and Coding Patterns (poster)
10:30 a.m.	Kei Miyazaki	Cultural Acceptability of Group OB Visits to Japanese Women in the United States (poster)
2:00 p.m.	Thomas Schwenk James Peggs	When Bad Things Happen to Prominent People
4:00 p.m.	Marisyl de la Cruz Adaku Onyeji	Perceived Barriers and Potential Solutions In the Implementation of a Residency-Based Peer Evaluation System (poster)

Friday, April 29th

Time	Presenter	Title
7:00 a.m.	Kei Miyazaki	Interest Group on Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Activities
2:45 p.m.	James Cooke Joel Heidelbaugh	The Future of Family Medicine: How do we Recruit the Next Generation

Saturday, April 30th

Time	Presenter	Title
10:30 a.m.	James Cooke Leslie Wimsatt	Development of an Interdisciplinary Leadership Curriculum for Family Medicine Residents
10:30 a.m.	Marisyl de la Cruz Alisa Young	The Role of HPV Testing in Cervical Cancer Screening for Low Risk Women Ages 30-65 (poster)
1:45 p.m.	Kristy Brown Maggie Riley Joel Heidelbaugh Tara Master-Hunter	Best Practices for Precepting and Teaching Billing and Coding
1:45 p.m.	Amy Locke Sean Zager	Precepting Integrative Medicine and Wellness in Residencies and Medical Schools
1:45 p.m.	Vijay Singh Arch Mainous III Andrew Coco	Saving Time, Money, and Work: How to do Secondary Data Analysis
3:45 p.m.	Maggie Riley Susan Bettcher Lee Green	The Impact of Clinical Prompts on Prenatal Care

 

April 19, 2011: Department Earns Education Grant

Eric P. Skye, M.D., assistant professor and associate chair for education programs, Leslie A. Wimsatt, Ph.D., educational planning and development administrator, were awarded a grant from U-M's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). The project entitled, Extending Use of Assessment Data to Support Long-term Curricular Improvement, will complete a curriculum review of all of the Department's online education modules. The grant was funded through CRLT's Instructional Development Fund to support innovative activities to improve teaching and learning.

 

March 28, 2011: Faculty inducted into AOA

Kent J. Sheets, Ph.D., professor, was elected as an honorary faculty member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Sheets is among a small and elite group of non-M.D. faculty members to receive such an honor at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Sheets noted, "To say I was floored by this great honor would be a tremendous understatement."

Alpha Omega Alpha is the only national honor medical society in the world. Its mission is to recognize and perpetuate excellence in the medical profession. To fulfill this role, Alpha Omega Alpha elects outstanding medical students to its ranks. Individual members must have excelled academically and shown promise of becoming leaders in the profession. Candidates are considered from among those whose scholastic qualifications place them in the upper 25 percent of their class. The University of Michigan chapter of AOA was established in 1907.

 

March 17, 2011: Match Day!

After a rigorous interview process and months of waiting, the following medical students will be joining the U-M Department of Family Medicine Residency Program:

Chelsea
Yasir Afzal, Eastern Virginia Medical School
John Breck, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Annelie Ott, University of Michigan Medical School
Kathryn (Kate) Shaffer, Medical College of Wisconsin
Bryan Vos, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Allison Wessel, University of Michigan Medical School

Ypsilanti
Weyinshet (Winnie) Gossa, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Joanna Hurrell, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Christina Li, University of Michigan Medical School
Ravishankar (Ravi) Rao, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Deepti Reddy, Wayne State University School of Medicine

James M. Cooke, M.D., residency director said, “We are very pleased to welcome this fine group of accomplished physicians to join the largest class of family medicine residents in the program's history.”

 

March 17, 2011: Online Learning in Residency

Does online learning help resident physicians meet educational goals? That was the question asked by Eric P. Skye, M.D., assistant professor and associate chair for education programs, Leslie A. Wimsatt, Ph.D., educational planning and development administrator, Tara A. Master-Hunter, M.D., assistant professor and assistant residency director, and Amy B. Locke, M.D., assistant professor. 
 
Their next question was whether the modules were effective. Through a Web-based survey and focus groups, they found that residents felt the modules met their educational goals and contributed to understanding of core content. While overall the results were positive, they also found that the greatest challenges were using Web authoring software and scheduling time to work on the modules.
  
"We developed these modules with the hopes of overcoming barriers to learning. Starting with three modules in the pilot phase, there are now over 30 that are incorporated into the residency curriculum. We are pleased to be able to quantify their success," says Dr. Master-Hunter.
  
You can read their recently published paper, "Developing Online Learning: Modules in Family Medicine Residency," in the journal, Family Medicine (vol. 43, no. 3, March 2011).

 

March 16, 2011: Family Medicine Recieves High Rankings

The U.S. News & World Report released its 2012 Best Graduate Schools rankings on March 15. Once again, the Department had an excellent showing, ranking 4th (tied) out of more than 120 departments of family medicine. The University of Michigan Medical School ranked 10th among all research-intensive medical schools.

Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine, noted that "the Department has ranked in the top 5 in seven of the last eight years, reflecting the quality of its faculty, staff and residents, and their enduring commitment to excellence in all of its missions."

View the complete rankings at U.S. News & World Report.

March 15, 2011: Former Fellow Honored in Japan

Dr. Hirotomo Asai with his mentor, Dr. Michael Fetters, working with the Japanese Family Health Program at Family Medicine at Domino's Farms.

Hirotomo Asai, M.D., a U-M fellow in 2009-2010, was recognized as one of Japan's promising new doctors. Dr. Asai, who was inspired to become a family physician after being introduced to the concept at U-M, will begin work at a group practice clinic in Tokyo in the coming months. The ability to build a long-term relationship with patients drew him to primary care.

“I was surprised when I was selected for the interview about the new generation of doctors. I had just returned from U-M and received my board certification of Family Medicine from the Japan Primary Care Association. I learned a lot at the University of Michigan. Compared to the Japanese Family Medical field, the American system is really organized, not only the clinical field, but also the research aspect. Fortunately, I was able to experience both sides at family medicine’s clinic at Domino’s Farms and their research office,” said Dr. Asai. 

"I am very excited for Dr. Asai to receive this very prestigious recognition. Speaking for the program, we are very excited that the Japanese Family Health Program and its faculty are receiving international recognition for the many years of work promoting the growth of family medicine as a discipline in Japan. His recognition further highlights JFHP faculty efforts to train tomorrow's leaders of family medicine," said Michael D. Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.A., director of the Japanese Family Health Program who inspired Dr. Asai to pursue a career in family medicine.

Dr. Yukishige Ishibashi, along with the Jitsukoukai Medical Foundation, supported Dr. Asai during his fellowship at U-M and was happy to learn he had received a high honor. Dr. Asai feels that his training at U-M prepared him to better address the issue of primary care in Japan’s unique health care environment. He would like to see his country focus on primary care as a specialization. 

Dr. Asai added “I feel it is important as a medical doctor to continue to keep in touch with clinical practice, clinical research and clinical education. In Japan we are standing at the dawn of Family Medicine, I and the new generation of Family Medicine practitioners should work to encourage our medical establishments to build a good system suited to the Japanese situation using examples from the United States. Finally, I would like to say thank you to all the members of the University of Michigan Family Medicine program.”

 

March 3, 2011: Legislative Advocacy Day: A Great Experience
 

(L-R) Christine W. Krause, M.D., instructor; Senator Rebekah Warren; James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor and residency director; Nell Burger Kirst, M.D., house officer; Anne L. Kittendorf, M.D., assistant professor; and Elisa J. Kolk, U-M medical student.

The Michigan Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) hosted its annual Legislative Advocacy Day on February 16, 2011. There were about 50 physicians from around the state of Michigan, including James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor and residency director; Anne L. Kittendorf, M.D., assistant professor; Christine W. Krause, M.D., instructor; and Nell Burger Kirst, M.D., house officer from the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine. Elisa J. Kolk, a 4th year University of Michigan medical student also joined the delegation.
 
Designed to teach MAFP members effective methods for engaging lawmakers in health advocacy, the agenda focused on graduate medical education funding and how the Patient Centered Medical Home improves care and reduces costs, while developing relationships between legislators and family physicians. The University of Michigan delegation met with Senator Rebekah L. Warren from Michigan's 18th District. Dr. Kirst and Ms. Kolk found a sympathetic ear in Ms. Warren, an advocate for expanding access to healthcare, as they spoke passionately about their choice to pursue a family medicine career and the burden of debt from medical education. The group was also able to sit in on an appropriations committee meeting.
 
Dr. Kittendorf says, “It was a worthwhile experience for all of us.”