Family Medicine Midwest 2016

The following blog post was written by U of M Department of Family Medicine faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, chair of the Family Medicine Midwest Foundation and presenter at this year's conference.

Indianapolis, IN

On October 7-9, 387 physicians, residents, and medical students gathered at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, IN for the annual Family Medicine Midwest Conference. The event combined scholarly work and research presentations, community-based practice and best practice sharing, and promoted cooperative and collaborative health care innovation. There was also a residency and fellowship fair, “speed date our specialty” session, poster presentations, and pre-conference sessions.

The University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and other individuals contributed to provide scholarships for medical students. Because of these efforts, 11 medical students from Minnesota were able to attend the conference.

“I'm one of the recipients of the FMM scholarship that allowed my colleagues and me to attend the Family Medicine Midwest Conference and I just wanted to sincerely thank you for your contribution that made this possible. The conference was both informative and educational, and it provided me with an opportunity to learn more about family medicine--the challenges and means to overcome those challenges. I was also able to network with family physicians, residents, my fellow students, and other professionals from all around Midwest. Again, thank you very much.” 

- Jafary Fafara, University of Minnesota third-year medical student

In addition to medical students, 10 other University of Minnesota resident physicians, family physicians, and other medical professionals attended. A total of nine U of M Department of Family Medicine faculty and U of M medical students presented educational sessions and/or posters during the conference. This conference is an excellent venue to demonstrate the amazing works of family physicians in Minnesota. See photos from the conference.

UMN Presentations at FMM 2016

Educational Sessions

• Developing Resilience to Create Lifelong Physicians for the Underserved - North Memorial faculty Laura Miller, MD, and Tanner Nissly, DO 

• Increasing Rural Family Physicians’ and Vietnam War Veterans’ Understanding of Agent Orange Exposure and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 - Adjunct faculty Linda Olson Bergum, MD, and U of M third-year medical student Kirsten Larson

• Opioids for Chronic Pain, CDC Guidelines and Family Medicine - North Memorial faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, and Tanner Nissly, DO

• A model for Interprofessional Team-based Post-hospital Care in the Academic Family Medicine Clinic - North Memorial faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, and Jerica Berge, PhD, MPH, LMFT

• Looking Back at a Community Family Medicine Resident Research Project: What Worked?- Methodist faculty Lynn Manning, MD

Posters

• Leaf Libraries: Promoting Childhood Literacy in Community Waiting Spaces - U of M fourth-year medical student Lucas Boyle 

• Increasing Rural Family Physicians’ and Vietnam War Veterans’ Understanding of Agent Orange Exposure and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 - Adjunct faculty Linda Olson Bergum, MD, and U of M third-year medical students Kirsten Larson and Kayla Schenheit

About Family Medicine Midwest

The Family Medicine Midwest (FMM) Foundation launched in 2012 with a core mission of identifying and supporting students interested in Family Medicine. It is committed to communicating the value of family medicine to practicing colleagues, future colleagues, and the public. Andrew Slattengren, DO, University of Minnesota North Memorial Family Medicine Residency faculty, is chair of the FMM Foundation.

Next year's conference will take place in Rosemont, Illinois on October 6-8.