U of M Family Medicine Graduation 2015

Mac Baird, MD, and wife Kris
at our Photo Stop

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health held its annual resident and fellow commencement on June 2, 2015, at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

The event was catered by D'Amico & Sons, and music was provided by Four Voices String Quartet.

Fifty-four residents graduated from across our eight family medicine residency programs, along with fellows in sports medicine (two graduates), hospice and palliative medicine (three graduates), human sexuality (one graduate), and behavioral medicine (one graduate).

Twenty-five junior faculty and fellows also completed faculty development training in curriculum design, evaluation, and teaching skills. 

A number of family medicine residents and faculty were honored for excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Excellence in Research Award

The Excellence in Research Award was presented to St. Joseph's graduating resident Amanda Weinmann, MD, for a breast cancer screening modality, called molecular breast imaging. 

Weinmann's main roles on the research team were to develop methodologies to reduce patient exposure to radiation, improve image quality, and develop biopsy capability, allowing the imaging technique to be used for screening purposes. Throughout residency, she disseminated her research through peer-reviewed publications and national presentations.

"I was impressed with her ability to use resources wisely in conducting a background literature search to frame the problem, to use her computer programming skills to build a simulation model, and to apply scientifically sound judgement to thoroughly test and validate her design," said Carrie Hruska, PhD, associate professor of medical physics at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, "Ultimately, her design was manufactured and put into clinical use on the molecular breast imaging system. It was designed so well that it simultaneously improved our ability to visualize small breast lesions while also improving the sensitivity of the camera such that patient imaging could be conducted using a lower radiation dose."

Amanda Weinmann, MD

Faculty Awards

Two faculty were recognized for excellence in education of residents, medical students, and other health professionals: Phillip Fallt, MD, Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year, and Mark Yeazel, MD, MPH, Faculty Teacher of the Year.

Fallt is an affiliate faculty, teaching OB/GYN in the family medicine clinic to North Memorial residents. One nominator wrote that Fallt's "dedication goes beyond that of a preceptor," that he is "dedicated to the field of family medicine as a whole." 

Phillip Fallt, MD

Yeazel is faculty in our research area and at our North Memorial and University of Minnesota Medical Center residency programs. He also co-leads our faculty development training. Nominators said that Yeazel is "supportive, ready to teach, compassionate, deliberate, and thoughtful." 

Mark Yeazel, MD, MPH

Community Service Award

The Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award is given to the graduating resident whose family medicine training has resulted in a unique service contribution. St. Cloud's Jennifer Taves, MD, was honored for her work with Reach Out and Read. 

Under Taves watch, St. Cloud's residency clinic site distributed 250 to 300 books annually. 

The director of Reach Out and Read Minnesota, Lynn Burke, had this to say about Taves, "Her dedication, perseverance, and enthusiasm are the reason her clinic's program is thriving." 

Jennifer Taves, MD

STFM Resident Teacher Award

Nine residents from across our eight residency programs were presented the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Resident Teacher Award for demonstrated interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine.

Awardees included Jennifer Belisle, MD, Karen Borchert, MD, Stephen Clappier, MD, Alisha Fahley, MD, Scott Hanson, DO, Andrew Houghton, MD, Elycia Matushin, MD, and Jennifer Taves, MD.

STFM Resident Teacher Awardees

MORE

• View photos from our fun Photo Stop. 
• Read tweets using the hashtag #umnfamilymedgrad. 
• See our formal graduation photos. 

Duluth residency faculty, staff, residents

UMN Family Medicine Maintains High Ranking With NIH

Top ranked principal investigator Susie Nanney, PhD, MS,
front, during a community research presentation

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research recently released ranking tables of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to U.S. medical schools in 2014.

The University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health consistently ranks among the top NIH-funded family medicine departments. This year, we ranked third in the nation for the second year in a row.

Three department faculty also ranked in the top 20 for principal investigators:

• Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH
• Susie Nanney, PhD, MS
• Sharon Allen, MD, PhD

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ABOUT UMN FAMILY MEDICINE RESEARCH

Research is an integral component of our mission. We are committed to evaluating important practice innovations in family medicine and primary care.

Unlike other clinical science departments, we do not maintain a specific disease-related research focus. Instead, we embrace translational research that explores health care delivery in a primary care setting, the roles and activities of primary care providers, and the engagement of community members in advancing clinical science and addressing health disparities in the communities we serve.

Research foci include:

• Behavioral and mental health
• Chronic diseases
• Health disparities
• Human sexuality
• Medical education
• Practice-based research
• Sports medicine
• Women's health

More at familymedicine.umn.edu/research.

UMN Family Medicine Resident and Fellow Commencement

McNamara Alumni Center

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health held its annual resident and fellow commencement on June 5, 2014, at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

The event was catered by D'Amico & Sons, and music was provided by the Daddy Squeeze Trio.

Fifty-eight residents graduated from across our eight family medicine residency programs, along with fellows in sports medicine (two graduates), hospice and palliative medicine (three graduates), human sexuality (one graduate), and behavioral health (one graduate).

Seventeen junior faculty and fellows also completed faculty development training in curriculum design, evaluation, and teaching skills.

A number of family medicine residents and faculty were honored for excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Excellence in Research Award

The Excellence in Research Award was presented to Mankato graduating resident Joanne Genewick, DO, for her study of advance directives.

While working on hospital service, Genewick routinely saw patients who had not taken action to direct their care at end-of-life. A 2013 study from the American Journal of Public Health revealed that "more than 60% of adult participants wanted their end-of-life wishes to be respected; yet, only a third had completed advance directives." As Genewick found, this gap is not uncommon.

To understand the gap, Genewick studied patients who completed advance directives to gain a better understanding of what motivated them to take action.

Among her findings, she discovered:

• Language mattered—how physicians approached the conversation of end-of-life care impacted patient action.
• Targeting various age groups based on readiness to listen showed a direct correlation to patient action.
• Individual patient factors, like education level, had an impact on patient action. 

Joanne Genewick, DO

Faculty Awards

Two faculty were recognized for excellence in education of residents, medical students, and other health professionals: Deanna Bass, MD, Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year, and Andrew Slattengren, DO, Faculty Teacher of the Year.

Bass is affiliate faculty, teaching and providing integrated psychiatry services at three of our family medicine residency programs: St. John's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital, and University of Minnesota Medical Center. She was honored for her innovative teaching methods and development of unique tools like the Rapid Interview for Psychiatry model and 50 smart phrases for primary care providers (to improve diagnostic and treatment planning skills). Bass has been a valued member of our teaching team for nearly two decades. She is an advocate for primary care and integrated behavioral medicine.

Deanna Bass, MD

Slattengren is faculty at our North Memorial Family Medicine Residency and currently chairs the planning committee for the 2014 Family Medicine Midwest Conference. He was recognized for his passionate, innovative teaching; commitment to scholarship; and patient care delivery. In their nomination letter, North Memorial residents wrote, "Slattengren created an environment where inquisitive learning is supported and valued."

Andrew Slattengren, DO

Community Service Award

The Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award is given to the graduating resident whose family medicine training has resulted in a unique service contribution. North Memorial's Keri Bergeson, MD, was honored for building a partnership between North Memorial residency and Exodus House, a homeless shelter in Minneapolis. More specifically, she designed a longitudinal rotation for residents in North Memorial's underserved medicine pathway to provide clinical care at Exodus House once/week.

Throughout her medical training, Bergeson has demonstrated a passion for underserved medicine and a commitment to community service. The director of health services for Catholic Charities, which operates Exodus House, said, "Keri Bergeson, MD, has both head and heart, which is the best combination for a physician."

Her community outreach and service extends beyond this noteworthy project; she has also been actively involved with the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, a free clinic in Minneapolis, and the Interprofessional Street Outreach Program.

Keri Bergeson, MD

STFM Resident Teacher Award

Nine residents from across our eight residency programs were presented the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Resident Teacher Award for demonstrated interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine.

Awardees included Eli Horn, MD, Joanne Genewick, DO, Elizabeth Meichsner, MD, Maiken Strohm, MD, Susan Pleasants, MD, Natalya Lyadova, MD, Kate Brown, MD, Brittany Kalmi, MD, and Gaurav Nigam, MBBS.

MORE

• Check out Storify to read tweets from the event. 
• Visit our Facebook page to see an event photo album. 

A fun shot with our UMMC residency grads and faculty

Researchers Actively Communicate with Decision-makers

University of Minnesota family medicine faculty Susie Nanney, PhD, MS, and her research team are taking an active role in communicating research findings of the School Obesity-related Policy Evaluation (ScOPE) study to decision- or policy-makers, i.e., state agencies, advocacy groups, and lawmakers.

ScOPE is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study primarily looks at school obesity-related policies to examine the impact on students.

Susie Nanney, PhD, MS, seated front, and team presenting
preliminary findings to decision-makers.

Most often research is published in academic journals and read by few non-academics. Yet, Nanney’s group has taken the unique approach of inviting decision-makers to hear and respond to the study’s preliminary work versus waiting to learn findings several years down the road. The results are communicated in an easy to understand way, specifically targeted to a lay audience of non-researchers.

Initial findings suggest:

1. It is important to monitor school weight-related policies and practices—for changes over time and with a health disparities lens.

2. The quality of school district wellness policies vary by region in the state of Minnesota.

3. Minnesota school and food activity policies are having a positive effect on student fruit, vegetable, and pop intake as well as physical behaviors and weight, especially among students in schools in low-income communities.

Nanney is the principal investigator of the ScOPE study. She is active in research and community initiatives promoting school wellness. Nanney earned her PhD in public health research and holds an MS in community nutrition. She is also a registered dietician.

Learn more about ScOPE at www.healthdisparities.umn.edu/research/scope.

Safety of E-cigarettes Remains Unknown

There is no question that e-cigarettes have been sky-rocketing in popularity in the U.S.

Consider these stats:

• The CDC estimates that 6% of U.S. adults have smoked e-cigarettes, compared to 18% who smoke tobacco. 
• Forbes reported e-cigarette sales surpassed $1 billion in 2013.
• In 10 years, Wells Fargo estimates the e-cigarette industry will be as big as the tobacco industry.
  
  

What Are E-cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes for short, are battery-powered devices that emit doses of vaporized nicotine that are inhaled. 

Are E-cigarettes Safe? 

The safety of e-cigarettes is an unknown and will remain an unknown until the FDA starts regulating the content of e-cigarettes, says University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health faculty Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH. Without regulation, researching the full effects of e-cigarettes are difficult.

Okuyemi directs the University of Minnesota Program in Health Disparities Research and the Minnesota Center for Cancer Collaborations. He has devoted his career to improving the health of minorities and eliminating health disparities using pharmacological and culturally tailored behavioral interventions.

Okuyemi was interviewed for an article in the February 2014 edition of Minnesota Medicine about the safety of e-cigarettes. The article identifies some known pros and cons of e-cigarette use (see below), and Okuyemi encourages physicians to have an open, honest discussion with patients about the possible health risks and benefits. 

Potential Pros of E-cigarette Use

• E-cigarettes are less toxic than tobacco cigarettes.
• Studies show switching to e-cigarettes may reduce use of tobacco.
• E-cigarettes are cheaper and cleaner.

Potential Cons of E-cigarette Use

• E-cigarette users often use both electronic and tobacco cigarettes. Some evidence suggests use of both makes you less likely to quit tobacco.
• E-cigarettes contain known carcinogens and potentially other harmful ingredients whose effects on health have not been adequately studied.
• Nicotine remains addictive.
• Nicotine is a potential poison.

Read the Minnesota Medicine article on e-cigarettes. 

NIH Ranks UMN Family Medicine Third

Faculty Susie Nanney, PhD, MS, (pictured
right, with staff Sherri Fong, MPH) at an
event promoting an NIH-funded school
breakfast study.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research recently released ranking tables of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to U.S. medical schools in 2013.

The University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health consistently ranks among the top NIH-funded family medicine departments. This year, we ranked third in the nation, with more than $5 million in funding.

Four department faculty also ranked in the top 30 for principal investigators:

• Sharon Allen, MD, PhD
• Jerica Berge, PhD, MPH
• Susie Nanney, PhD, MS
• Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH
  

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ABOUT UMN FAMILY MEDICINE RESEARCH

Research is an integral component of the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health mission. We are committed to evaluating important practice innovations in family medicine and primary care.

Unlike other clinical science departments, we do not maintain a specific disease-related research focus. Instead, we embrace translational research that explores health care delivery in a primary care setting, the roles and activities of primary care providers, and the engagement of community members in advancing clinical science and addressing health disparities in the communities we serve. 

 

Research foci include:

• Behavioral and mental health
• Childhood and adolescent obesity
• Chronic diseases
• Health disparities
• Human sexuality
• Medical education
• Practice-based research
• Sports medicine
• Women's health

MDH/UMN to Study the Integration of Primary Care Delivery and Public Health Services

Photo: Kevin A. Peterson, MD, MPH,
center, performing clinical research.
Credit: Richard Anderson

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and University of Minnesota (UMN) received nearly $450,000 in grant funding to study how the integration of primary care delivery and public health services will benefit community health. The study will specifically look at the impact of this integration on health outcomes related to immunizations, tobacco use, obesity, and physical activity.

The three-year study, led by MDH and the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, will collect data from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington. It will be the first study to quantify the degree and effectiveness of public health and primary care integration in these states.

“Minnesota and other states are facing increasing costs and suffering related to chronic diseases. It is clear that we cannot afford to just try and treat our way out of this problem,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Ed Ehlinger, MD, MSPH. “Prevention is the answer, and that is why we’re very excited to partner with the University and explore the question of how doctors and public health officials can better join forces to promote health.”

Minnesota researchers will examine organization, finance, and delivery of public health services, along with the impact on community health.

Study aims include:

• Examine variation in the degree of primary care and public health integration
• Identify factors that may contribute to or impede integration
• Assess whether areas of increased integration have better health outcomes

“Primary care and public health share a similar goal of health improvement and are uniquely positioned to play critical roles in addressing the complex health problems which exist in Minnesota and nationally,” said Macaran Baird, MD, MS, UMN Family Medicine and Community Health department head. “This collaboration provides an exciting opportunity to enhance our work together to achieve improved health outcomes for our citizens.”

MDH and the University of Minnesota received 1 of 11 new research awards totaling $2.7 million. The awards, facilitated by the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) with guidance from the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research (NCC), are funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“In this era of health reform, it is imperative that we not forget that public health holds a key to improving the population’s health, a major tenant of the Affordable Care Act,” said Douglas Scutchfield, MD, co-principal investigator of the NCC. “These grants will help us use research to further the efforts to develop public health’s capacity to perform in this changing health care environment.”

In Minnesota, this project will be managed by Beth Gyllstrom, PhD, MPH (MDH Office of Performance Management) and Kevin A. Peterson, MD, MPH (UMN Department of Family Medicine and Community Health director of research). Practice-based research networks representing public health and primary care in Colorado, Washington, and Wisconsin are also participating in the project.