News from the 2012 C. Frank Webber Lectureship

Family physicians gather to expand clinical knowledge, advance the specialty

posted 03.06.12

More than 400 physicians, residents, and medical students gathered at the Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark to attend this year’s C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session, March 1-3, 2012. In addition to CME lectures and TAFP business meetings, the busy weekend included an ABFM SAM Group Study Workshop and the 2012 Texas Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Students.

TAFP continued interacting with members through social media outlets Facebook and Twitter. View the series of tweets from the conference at www.twitter.com/txfamilydocs or enter our hashtag—#TAFP—in the search box at the top of your Twitter browser.

TAFP’s SAM Group Study Workshop was held Thursday, providing an opportunity for diplomates of the American Board of Family Medicine to get credit for the Self-Assessment Module portion of their Maintenance of Certification. Attendees discussed preventive care and completed the 60-question knowledge assessment portion of the module. Attendees were then eligible to complete the clinical simulation online to receive full credit.

View photos from the weekend.

The lectureship on Friday featured CME topics mirroring the broad scope of family medicine, including  pain management, chronic disease management, menopause, bipolar disorder, rheumatology, and medical ethics.

TAFP hosted the 23rd annual Texas Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Students on Saturday, which combined lectures tailored to future family physicians with an interactive resident-led residency and procedures fair. Morning speakers addressed the business of medicine, legislative challenges, and the many ways to customize your family medicine career to your interests.

In the “business of medicine” lecture, TAFP past president Doug Curran, M.D., a rural family physician from Athens, Texas, gave attendees practical advice about staying involved in the financial side of running a practice, what items to include in a practice contract, and about continuing membership in professional organizations like TAFP to ensure they have a larger advocate in the health delivery system.

He ended with sage advice from a physician who has been in practice for decades. “Don’t get so involved in all of the dollars and numbers just to keep your practice going that you lose focus. It’s about the patients you care for, it’s about your community, it’s about serving other people. When you do that, the rest of it happens. You’ll make more money than you ever dreamed of making and you’ll have unbelievable job satisfaction. You’re becoming a member of the greatest profession in the world and the best segment of that profession. Welcome and enjoy.”

That afternoon, residency programs from around Texas set up booths to promote their programs and show medical students the full scope of family medicine through hands-on procedure demonstrations. Students practiced simulations of joint injections, ultrasounds, and circumcisions, and connected with their peers from other schools and networked with residents.

During TAFP commission, committee, section, and task force meetings on Friday and Saturday, TAFP members discussed topics that touch every aspect of family physicians’ practices, and developed policy that will guide the Academy through the year. At the Commission on Legislative and Public Affairs meeting Friday night, TAFP CEO Tom Banning discussed the past Texas legislative session and actions the Academy is taking in the interim and election cycle to positively position the specialty. He introduced Charles Bell, M.D., an internal medicine physician and former deputy executive commissioner for health services at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, who updated the Commission on his work to develop policy recommendations to be presented to elected officials and crafted into potential legislation in the upcoming 83rd Texas Legislature.

The Commission on Academic Affairs discussed leadership and advocacy training for family medicine residents and medical students that would prepare them for further involvement in the Academy. And the Section on Special Constituencies discussed current challenges to special constituency communities, including low rates of underrepresented minorities applying to medical school.

The TAFP Board of Directors meeting concluded the weekend when board members heard all of the reports and recommendations from TAFP’s business meetings, and reports from TAFP and AAFP officers and delegates. Among other business, the board voted unanimously to support the candidacy of Lewis E. Foxhall, M.D., for re-election to the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees.

Mark your calendars now to join TAFP for next year’s C. Frank Webber Lectureship at the Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark on March 1, 2013. Also plan to join TAFP for its largest symposium, Annual Session and Scientific Assembly, July 11-15, 2012, at the Hilton Austin Hotel in downtown Austin. In the fall, TAFP will host Primary Care Summit – Houston, Oct. 26-28, 2012, at the Westin Oaks, and Primary Care Summit – Dallas/Fort Worth, Nov. 2-4, 2012, at the Westin Galleria Dallas.

Stay connected to TAFP year-round through our social media outlets. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/txafp, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/txfamilydocs, and read and comment on TAFP’s blog at www.tafp.org/blog.