Tag Archives: health

Is It OK if Our Residency Graduates Work for Walmart?

Joseph Scherger, MD, MPH

Joseph Scherger, MD, MPH

I attended a health care forecast conference recently and learned a sobering new reality. In the near future, Americans will be getting their primary care services in many different locations.

Walmart has announced that it soon will be offering comprehensive primary care in many of its stores. Walgreens, already the largest provider of immunizations outside the government, will expand its Take Care clinics and manage four common chronic diseases: diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and asthma. A longtime colleague and family medicine educator recently went to work for Kroger’s new clinic system, The Little Clinic. Large employers are setting up workplace clinics to provide common health services while keeping their employees on the job.

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I Have a Confession

Cheryl Seymour, MD

Cheryl
Seymour, MD

WomenInFMThis is the fourth in a work/life balance series written by members of the STFM Group on Women in Family Medicine.

The ACGME Draft Program Requirements for GME in Family Medicine include a requirement that all core faculty work full time. Please consider the implications of this requirement for your program now and in the future as you read this post.

So I have a confession… I really do want it all.

Doesn’t everyone?

I want to practice full spectrum family medicine: deliver babies, round on the floors and in the ICU, care for families in the clinic, nursing home, and at home and I want to teach residents and students, have a vibrant academic career, serve as an advocate for the health of my community and I want to be an engaged and loving parent and spouse.

Is this possible?

My mentors and heroes are physicians who have delivered three generations of babies, attend funerals as a matter of course, and have literally spent thousands of hours listening to residents’ H&Ps in the middle of the night. They have served the same community for decades and are still going strong, taking call without complaint, into their sixth and seventh decades.

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Day in the Life: My Visit With OHSU and STFM’s President-Elect

Stacy Brungardt, CAE STFM Executive Director

Stacy Brungardt,
STFM Executive Director

Most of you will not have the opportunity to serve on the staff of an amazing nonprofit organization like STFM. This is the first of a new blog series that will highlight some behind-the-scenes work at our staff offices and with our members to transform health care through education.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

10:35 am PT
Hello Portland, Oregon! Picked up by STFM President-Elect John Saultz, MD, at the airport. (Pretty nice to have the incoming president meet me at the airport!) Great lunch at Mother’s—I highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich and homemade rolls. A brief Oregon Health and Sciences University tour set the tone for good conversations throughout the day. This visit had dual purposes: for John and me to discuss our STFM work for the upcoming year and for me to see and hear some of the amazing work going on in the Oregon family medicine department.

1–3 pm       
Met with John. This is where John and I began the first of several conversations about how we’re going to work together to move the strategic plan forward using his specific talents and interest. Getting a glimpse of members’ offices is a side benefit that shares insight into a person’s personality.

3–4 pm    
Met with first-year family medicine residents. This was a treat. I meet a lot of faculty but don’t get to interact with residents very often. This group of bright doctors was willing to share their thoughts about teaching and how they see themselves (or don’t) in this role. Thank you for your time and candor.

4–4:15 pm 
Surprise visit with second-year resident Laurel Witt, MD. I coached Laurel when she played for Power Angle Juniors, her high school volleyball club team. What a pleasure to reconnect after all these years. I’m still proud to have been a part of her life.

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