Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship

The Department of Family Medicine offers full-time Faculty Development Fellowships in two tracks:

• Master Educator track
• Clinical Researcher track

Master Educator Track

History

Our Family Medicine Master Educator Fellowship began in 1982 with a single fellow at St. Margaret Memorial Hospital in Pittsburgh (now UPMC St. Margaret).  With HRSA support since 1992, our Fellowship is recognized as one of the leading programs in the country and probably has graduated more fellows than any other full-time program.  Our graduates:

• Serve as full-time and part-time faculty in departments and residency training programs across the country
• Enjoy accelerated advancement: graduates include 8 residency directors, 2 department chairs, and 3 fellowship directors
• Are prepared to provide leadership in faculty development in their chosen organizational settings

In 2003 the Fellowship formally became part of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. As a result, Fellows now have access to faculty, on-going projects, grant development support and other resources in the Department and across the University.  In addition, Fellows serve as junior faculty at the Department’s three family medicine residency training programs ( UPMC McKeesport, UPMC Shadyside , and UPMC St. Margaret .

The Setting

The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh has a strong record of providing care for the underserved, as well as designing training curricula and teaching methods to instill in residents and medical students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to thrive as primary care providers.

Through the Department, Fellows have access to the most modern equipment, research and procedures through a city-wide network of resources and technologies including a variety of general and specialty hospitals and private physicians’ offices. The Department’s three hospital-based family medicine residency programs offer Fellows the opportunity to teach in distinctively different training settings, mentored by deeply experienced faculty and program directors.

In addition to the University of Pittsburgh hospitals and the Family Medicine Residency Training programs at UPMC McKeesport, UPMC Shadyside, and UPMC St. Margaret , Fellows teach residents and medical students, and see patients from diverse populations, at six Family Health Centers and ten Community Health Centers.

The Faculty Development Fellowship Seminar Series take place at UPMC St. Margaret’s Lawrenceville Family Health Center, in a modern conference room with digital presentation equipment, high-speed Internet connectivity, videoconferencing capacity, and excellent computer resources.

Learning Community

The mission of the Faculty Development Fellowship is to prepare highest-quality faculty for family medicine residencies and departments.  Building upon the platform of expertise, resources, and proven strategies developed over 20 years, we also provide faculty development for community preceptors, junior faculty, and office-based faculty across Southwestern Pennsylvania.  Thus our Fellows benefit from a strong tradition and culture of teaching, research and service in faculty development. Our graduates are prepared for leadership roles in faculty development wherever they choose to work.

Master Educator Fellows have the opportunity to learn with and work in partnership with, Sports Medicine and Geriatrics Fellows, and PharmD residents, throughout their training experience.

Personal Perspectives

Faculty

The experienced core faculty of the Faculty Development Fellowship program includes Fellowship-trained, board-certified physicians in family medicine as well as area specialists:

• Frank D’Amico, PhD, Associate Director for Family Practice Research, UPMC St. Margaret
• David Garzarelli MD, Associate Fellowship Director, UPMC McKeesport
• Janine Janosky, PhD, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Family Medicine
• Mark Knox MD, Associate Fellowship Director, UPMC Shadyside
• Brenda Manning, PhD, Director for Faculty Development, UPMC St. Margaret
• Joel H. Merenstein, MD, Director for Research & Fellowships, UPMC St. Margaret
• Stephen Ritz DO, Director for Osteopathic Education, UPMC St. Margaret
• Jeannette South-Paul MD, Professor & Chair, Department of Family Medicine
• Stephen Wilson MD, Associate Fellowship Director, UPMC St. Margaret

Other faculty from the Department and its three Family Medicine residency training programs regularly teach in Fellowship seminars, mentor fellows and supervise fellows’ teaching on-site.

One- and Two-Year Options

Master Educator fellows may choose from the following options:

• Master Educator Fellowship (One Year)
  The one-year fellowship includes the basic Fellowship curriculum plus electives at the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Master Educator Fellowship with Master’s in Public Health Degree (Two Years) The two-year fellowship encompasses all aspects of the one-year program, including community-oriented primary care practice, teaching, and research.  The fellow completes course work for the Master’s in Public Health degree on a part-time basis over the two years, adapting the fellowship research project to fulfill the essay requirement for the Master’s degree. GSPH offers quality training in biostatistics, epidemiology, health services administrative, medical informatics, and health care policy.
• Master Educator Fellowship with Master’s in Medical Education Degree (Two Years) Offered through collaboration with the Schools of the Health Sciences and Education, the Clinician-Educator Training Program is designed for individuals whose career focus is medical education and clinical teaching, including fellows and faculty in general medicine, subspecialty medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.

Curriculum Content & Structure

The Master Educator Fellowship curriculum has been developed, evaluated and refined in five domains over many years of fellowship training:

• Clinical Domain
  Fellows will sharpen their clinical skills by seeing patients in the hospitals, health centers, and clinics associated with the Department’s three family practice residency programs. Fellows will serve as clinical role models for students and residents and will develop efficiency and competence with increased responsibility as family physicians. Fellows are encouraged to broaden their clinical experience in alternative environments including care for the homeless and recent immigrants.
• Teaching and Learning Domain
  The “Teaching and Learning in Different Settings” program is a structured learning process in which fellows read and discuss published articles about teaching, observe experienced faculty teaching, and review videos of themselves teaching in different settings. Settings include inpatient rounds, morning report, lectures, precepting, teaching in the office etc. Fellows are encouraged to design and test innovative approaches to teaching difficult or controversial topics such as pain management, death and dying, and feedback to difficult learners.
• Research Domain
  Fellows learn the research process and the critical appraisal of published research reports, as well as statistical analysis and research design skills, in order to be critical consumers of research as well as generators of original research studies. Each Fellow is expected to develop an original clinical and/or educational research project. Two-year Fellows are expected to conduct the research and produce a publishable manuscript. (Note: Those interested in a clinical research career should apply for the Clinical Researcher track.)
• Administrative & Management Domain
  Fellows learn administrative & management skills, including the administration of a family medicine residency and department, through didactic sessions, simulations, assignments, and discussions with experienced directors and department chairs. Topics include leadership skills, mentoring, budget development, recruiting, managing meetings, professional writing, and time management. Fellows will have the opportunity to critically review the fellowship experience, contribute to the design of future programs, and participate in residency evaluation and curriculum development processes.
• Medical Decision Making
  Fellows learn the art and science of informed medical decision making, and how to teach MDM to residents and medical students during patient care.Topics include Introduction to MDM, Using and Teaching MDM, Inforetriever I and II. Fellows co-facilitate MDM Journal Club for residents.

Fellows meet four half days each week in July and August for the intensive Summer Seminar Series. Beginning in September, the Fellows Seminar meets on Thursday mornings. Fellows develop individual plans for research, clinical, follow-up teaching, and learning activities in consultation with faculty.

Sample Schedules

Sample fellows weekly schedule (pdf file)

Fall 2004 Schedule (pdf file)
Spring 2005 Schedule (pdf file)
Summer 2005 Schedule (pdf file)

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Eligibility

The applicant must be a graduate of an approved family medicine residency program or have comparable clinical experience and an interest in part-time or full-time teaching in family medicine.  The applicant must be Board Certified or Board Eligible in Family Medicine.

Stipend & Benefits

Both Fellowship tracks offer an excellent stipend and benefits package which is highly competitive with fellowship programs elsewhere and is commensurate with the previous training and experience of each fellow. Stipends are adjusted annually.

For information on other Family Physician Fellowships please visit the Society of Family Medicine. This directory is produced by the American Academy of Family Physicians in cooperation with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
 

Clinical Researcher Track (3 years)

For information on other Family Physician Fellowships please visit the Society of Family Medicine. This directory is produced by the American Academy of Family Physicians in cooperation with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.