Our Mission
The Tufts Department of Family Medicine is committed to training future physicians to combine compassionate and patient-centered care with the best evidence-based medicine. This integrated approach emphasizes what we as family physicians believe to be essential to clinical excellence: applying current clinical knowledge to our patient’s unique personal health situation. All students at Tufts University School of Medicine, regardless of the specialty they choose, benefit from learning about the real-life application of evidence-based medicine in the clinical setting – a skill called Information Mastery. We also cultivate compassion and a patient-centered approach in our students and residents, teaching communication skills, cultural competency, and strategies for behavioral change. When all of these skills are combined, physicians and their patients are able to work together toward a healthier future.
Family Medicine News
Record Number of Tufts Students Match in Family Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine matched 22 medical school students, or 12% percent of its graduating class, to residency programs in family medicine. This is the largest number of matches ever in family medicine at Tufts, more than double the average percentage of the previous three years, and approximately four percentage points above the national average of students matching in family medicine. (Read the complete article here. For a complete list of the FM residencies where TUSM students have matched, click here. A profile of M12 student Elizabeth Baltaro can be found here.)
Family Medicine Chair, Dr. Randy Wertheimer, Leading Leaders
Randy Wertheimer, MD, began her third year as Jaharis Family Chair of Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in July, 2011. She continues to lead a team of exceptional faculty at the medical school, residency, and in the community.
Family Medicine Faculty Leads Several Courses in the New Curriculum
In the new medical curriculum at Tufts, Family Medicine has taken the lead in many courses. The Family Medicine Clerkship was expanded from four weeks to a six-week third-year core clerkship. The new Foundations of Patient Care Course directed by Family Medicine Director of Medical Student Education, Dr. Wayne Altman, includes three courses: Medical Interviewing and the Doctor-Patient Relationship (led by Dr. Jody Schindelheim), Physical Diagnosis (led by Dr. Brien Barnewolt), and a one-year course called CAP (Competency-based Apprenticeship in Primary care, led by Dr. Kristen Goodell).
Family Medicine Faculty-lead CAP Course Cited in The Chronicle of Higher Education
In a Chronicle of Higher Education article by Katherine Mangan, the Competency-based Apprenticeship in Primary Care course, directed by Family Medicine faculty members Dr. Kristen Goodell and Dr. Wayne Altman, is used as an example of a new model of medical education in the context of a changing economic and political landscape. Read the complete article here.
An Innovative Model for Teaching Family Medicine Residents
"The novelty of the new Tufts Family Medicine model stems from the use of hospitalists, doctors who specialize in treating patients after they are admitted to a hospital, to both co-teach residents and to provide care for the residents’ patients at night." Read the complete article here.
Family Medicine Residents, Fellows, and Faculty Honored
Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, Kathe Miller, MD, was named both "Preceptor of the Year" and "Physician of the Year" by the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians for 2010-2011.
Boston Magazine recognized Family Medicine Director of Medical Student Education, Wayne Altman, MD, FAAFP, as "one of Boston's Top Docs" in 2010 and 2011.
An article titled "Old Drugs, New Tricks" by Professor of Family Medicine, Allen F. Shaughnessy, PharmD, MMedEd, published in British Medical Journal was selected as Editor’s Pick for their February 2011 issue.
CAP Course Director and Vice-Chair of the TUSM Curriculm Committee, Kristen Goodell, MD, is scheduled to receive the Emerging Leaders Award from the Family Medicine Educational Consortium (FMEC) at the October Northeast Region Meeting in Danvers.
Second year resident at the Tufts Family Medicine Residency, Bethany-Rose Daubman, MD, was voted the first place winner in two categories in the FMEC Poetry and Prose contest. "View From the Train" took first prize in the prose category, and her piece, "Woman of the Night," garnared the top prize in the poetry-prose category. Both works will be published in the program for the upcoming FMEC regional conference.
A textbook titled Botanical Medicine for Women's Health authored by third-year resident Aviva Romm, MD, was awarded the American Botanical Council's James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award for 2010.
Learning His Lesson
On the last day of the Family Medicine Clerkship, students are asked to share the greatest lesson they learned from their recent experience. Here is what Robert Gaudet, M10, shared:
One great lesson I learned on my Family Medicine Clerkship was from a patient I had on my second-to-last day. The patient walked into the exam room with a limping gait and looked very upset. I introduced myself as a third-year medical student and asked him, "What brings you to the office today?" (Read more...)
