Updated: June 10, 2009
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FROM THE CHAIR
Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D. the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine
Family Medicine Receives High
National Rankings!
According to two prominent sources, the Department of Family Medicine at the U-M has risen significantly in its national rankings.
First, the department is now ranked 3rd in the nation (tied with two other universities) in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of primary care disciplines, up from 7th last year. This recognition of the excellence of the Department’s clinical and academic programs positions it to take a leadership role in establishing family medicine as the foundation for any discussions about national health care reform.
Secondly, in January 2009, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U-M Medical School announced that the department’s research funding had risen by a third, and is now ranked 6th in the nation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, up from 11th in FY 2007, with total NIH funding of $1,669,483.
“This is spectacular. Our clinical excellence and innovation, our educational quality and leadership, and our outstanding research programs, all speak to our commitment to the principles of family medicine and demonstrate the department’s importance to the U-M Health System and the U.S. health care system,” said Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine.
In addition, the U-M Medical School’s ranking among all medical schools for its primary care quality moved up from 45th in 2007 to 17th place in 2008 and is now ranked 12th (in part due to the restructuring of the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking methodology, according to the U-M Department of Public Relations).
And, for the first time in U-M Medical School history, annual NIH grant funding awarded to the school’s clinical researchers and biomedical scientists exceeded $300 million. U-M placed 2nd in FY 2008 among medical schools affiliated with public universities, and moved from 11th place in FY 2007 to 7th in FY 2008 for NIH grants awarded to all U.S. medical schools.
Overall, “These rankings reflect tremendous dedication from the faculty and support staff responsible for research…. In the discipline of family medicine, we are one of the few departments that has made the investment to continue to bring new insights to the care of patients through federally-supported research,” noted Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., M.P.H., professor and associate chair for research programs.
May 21, 2009: Family Medicine Research Day XXXII
Location: Genoa Woods Conference Center, Brighton, Michigan.
The planning committee for the Michigan Family Medicine Research Day invites submission of abstracts of original research pertinent to family medicine and primary care. This annual event is designed to encourage and assist new researchers and scholars in family medicine, nursing and the behavioral sciences in a collegial atmosphere where we can all learn and exchange ideas that may improve patterns of practice and the health of patients under our care.
Deadline for abstracts is April 24, 2009.
For additional information, contact:
Deb Richardson, Conference Assistant at (517) 884-0400, or deb.richardson@hc.msu.edu
Blythe Bieber, Conference Assistant at (734) 615-2688 or bbieber@umich.edu.
Lodging is available at the Brighton Courtyard by Marriott directly adjacent to the conference center. For reservations, please call (810) 225-92000.
May 18, 2009: American Thoracic Society International Conference Poster presentation - The abstract entitled “An Internet-Mediated Walking Program Promotes Free-Living Ambulation in COPD,” written by Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor will be presented at the 2009 ATS (American Thoracic Society) International Conference in San Diego, California. The poster will appear in the Poster Discussion session, B107 - FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASE.
CURRENT DEPARTMENT NEWS
Download the Department of Family Medicine Fall 2008 Newsletter
April 2009
April 30, 2009: Research methods presentation - Michael D. Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., presented as visiting professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA., on “Introduction to Mixed Methods Research: Why the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
April 15, 2009: UMHS in 7th place among top 15 Major Teaching Hospitals - Thomson Reuters Announces 1000 Top Hospitals Award Winners. Thomson Reuters’ “National Balanced Scorecard” evaluates performance in nine areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, patient satisfaction, and adherence to clinical standards of care. See press release
Publications
April 8, 2009: Guidelines for Venous Thromboembolism - Lee A. Green, M.D., M.P.H., professor, leads update of clinical practice guideline for Venous Thromboembolism from Ann Arbor, MI: Faculty Group Practice, University of Michigan Health System, 2008. Available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); other authors include: Frey KA, Froehlich JB, Harrison RV, Kleaveland MD, Kronick S, Williams DM, Weg JG, Wakefield TW.
April 8, 2009: Women's Health - Barbara D. Reed, M.D., M.P.H., professor, writes chapter for book entitled Female Sexual Pain Disorders: Evaluation and Management. In it she concludes that “despite the associations in some studies,” there is not necessarily a link between women who report dispareunia (occurrence of pain during sexual intercourse) and those who’ve experienced sexual abuse (SA). Bibliograhic information: Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 1st Edition, 2009.
March 2009
March 27, 2009: Best Practices for Depression Screening and Case-finding in Primary Care Practice - Donald E. Nease Jr., M.D., associate professor, presented at the Depression Center Colloquium Series at the Rachel Upjohn Building. Depression Center website www.depressioncenter.org.
March 26- 27, 2009: Seminar - Impact of Integrative Medicine in Primary Care: A Practical Update. This course was designed to provide an evidence-based update in integrative approaches to common health concerns for the practicing primary care provider. Several Family Medicine and Family Medicine Integrative Medicine doctors gave presentations as follows:
- Welcome by Sara L. Warber, M.D., assistant professor
- Integrative Strategies for Treating Depression by John S. Stracks, M.D., lecturer and Fourth Year Fellow with Integrative Medicine
- Medical Acupuncture: A Practical Experience by Andrew H. Heyman, M.D., M.H.S.A., lecturer
- Bringing Energy Healing from Beyond Your Grasp to Within Your Reach Early Detection & Successful Treatment by Elaine M. Grohman, CHTP, APP, ATP & Sara L. Warber, MD, assistant professor.
- Integrative Oncology: How to Support the Cancer Patient in Various Phases of Treatment by Ricardo R. Bartelme, M.D., assistant professor.
- A Modern Day Epidemic: Vitamin D Deficiency by Amy B. Locke, M.D., assistant professor.
- Their Pain Is Real: An Experiential Workshop on Strategies for Healing Chronic Pain Using Affective Self-Awareness by Howard Schubiner, MD, FAAP, FACP, FSAM; and John S. Stracks, MD., lecturer.
March 17, 2009: Nutrition: Wunder discusses benefits of Healing Foods Pyramid during National Nutrition Month
March 2, 2009: New Outlook on Exercise - The truth seems elusive when it comes to calculating the amount of time a person really needs to exercise in order to improve weight loss and stay healthy. Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor, has addressed this question...more
Recent Grants Awarded
March 2009: Veterans Walk to Beat Back Pain - Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor, receives $120,000 award from the VA of Ann Arbor Healthcare System (HSR&D). The Stepping Up to Health System, developed by a team at the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine, will be expanded, managed and maintained for their VA HSR&D study. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of an internet-mediated pedometer based intervention designed to increase walking among individuals with chronic back pain.
March 2009: Clinical Translational Research Aims to Improve Chronic Disease Management - Lee A. Green, M.D., M.P.H., professor, receives $100,000 award from Westat. Co-Investigators are Donald E. Nease Jr., M.D., associate professor and Michael D. Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.A., associate professor. This project will develop a sustainable collaboration between the Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA), a statewide network of Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), focusing on clinical translational research; specifically for improving chronic disease management to benefit underserved populations. In Phase II, the Honest Broker-Cielo (the secure HIPAA-compliant information interchange system) link will be applied, providing a clinical reminder system’s ability to deliver targeted disease- and need-specific reminders at the point of care.
Recent Publications
March 2009:
Importance of Patient-Physician Dialogue about Colorectal Cancer Screening Options - Mack T. Ruffin, M.D., M.P.H., professor, Masahito Jimbo, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor and Michael D. Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., associate professor, learn from working with varied populations among race, gender, and geographic region demographics that the openness of discussing colorectal cancer screening, lack of knowledge about colorectal cancer and screening costs, and diversity of preferences expressed suggest the importance of patient-physician dialogue about colorectal cancer screening options. Their article entitled “Factors Influencing Choices for Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Previously Unscreened African and Caucasian Americans: Findings from a Triangulation Mixed Methods Investigation” appears online at the Journal of Community Health. View at www.springerlink.com
See the News section of this site for more news.
University of Michigan Health System's Department of Family Medicine, is a nationally recognized leader in patient care, education, and research. Since the department was founded in 1978, our presence has exemplified the principles of family medicine and promoted them throughout the health system.
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Our Residency Program
Residents' outstanding performance on the recent In-Training Exam and the 100% pass rate for residency graduates on the ABFM Certification Exam demonstrates the quality of Family Medicine residents and of the teaching and training at U-M. Read more about the program.
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Department of Family Medicine
30th Anniversary Celebration
October 2008
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