Reaching Potential Teachers Like Me

Sonya Shipley, MD,

One day I received an email from STFM about a task force that seemed awesome, but I did not want to apply. My initial thought was, “That seems great, but I am not qualified for that.” You see, I had only been back on faculty for a little over a year, and I wondered, “What do I have to contribute?” Well, in comes my work mother, also known as my department chair, who says, “Apply! You have lots to offer.” Fast forward to today. Guess who is serving on the Faculty for Tomorrow Taskforce—Moi!

The mission of the task force is to prepare faculty today for family medicine tomorrow—to reach those excellent clinical teachers from residency or community practice who have what it takes to shape the next generation of family medicine clinicians. Fantabulous mission, right?

And—the icing on the cake—4 years ago, I was exactly the girl whom this task force is trying to reach.

I adored teaching and had initially considered a career in academic medicine during my final year of residency, but I just couldn’t take the plunge. I was afraid that taking on the responsibility of someone else’s education would prove to be too much. After a while, I realized I missed teaching. So I came back to academics.

So why do we need to prepare faculty today? Let’s look at a bit of math, if you will. Primary care shortage = shortage of primary care physicians (which by default) = shortage of primary care teachers. We need primary care doctors, but how can they learn without teachers? Answer: they can’t.

And how can we prepare more teachers? Through your GivingTuesday donations, which will support the Faculty for Tomorrow campaign and its great mission.

Think about this:

• Average amount per year spent by Americans who regularly buy coffee throughout the week =$1,092.
• The price of tea in China =due to market conditions, apparently no one really knows right now.
• Ensuring family medicine’s future = priceless.

Give today as a part of the GivingTuesday campaign to support the future teachers of family medicine! Your donation ensures that future teachers like me join the academic fold and encourage others to do the same.