A-OPTICgram - A-OPTIC Newsletter

9/13/2010 - WELCOME READERS!

Eastern Tennessee landscapes are breathtaking.

Race Fans Welcome! Bristol Motor Speedway

LOCAL LINKS:

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	City of Bristol Website
	City of Kingsport Website
	Johnson City Website
	Washington County, TN Website
	Sate of Tennessee Website
	Appalachian Trail Conservancy

ASSOCIATED LINKS:

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AOA Statistical page for ETSU


Residents In Action

Hands-On Learning

In This Issue:

Residency Spotlight:

East Tennessee Family Medicine Residency

Local & Associated Links

Three Great Programs In Three Unique Locations:

Dates & Reminders

Plenty To Do in The Tri-Cities Area

Other Options For Time Off

Osteopathic News

RESIDENCY SPOTLIGHT

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	ETSU Department of Family Medicine Programs
(Click here to view website.)

ETSU was ranked 6th in Rural Medicine and 20th in Family Medicine in the 2011 Best Graduate Schools issue of US News and World Report.

The program’s mission is to provide community focused medical education and evidence based, patient centered care; to improve health in rural southern Appalachia, especially among the underserved population; to model compassionate and efficient care during effective communication skills; and to advance scholarly investigation.

ETSU Department of Family Medicine Programs has three sites: Johnson City Family Medicine, Family Physicians of Kingsport, and Family Physicians of Bristol.

New study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine ranks ETSU the top school in the nation for producing primary care physicians and 12th among U.S. medical schools on a “social mission” scale, as detailed by the lead author Dr. Fitxhugh Mullan, a professor of health policy at George Washington University.

NIH $1.5 million grant awarded to study weaving storytelling and medicine to teach effective communications skills to physicians and other healthcare providers who treat patients diagnosed with cancer.

ETSU Family Medicine Residency Programs add clinical pharmacists to their medical staff: Because medications and their interactions with each other are so complex and there are so many of them available, having a certified clinical pharmacist on site is a great resource to the medical staff and patients alike.

Three Great Programs In Three Unique Locations:

Bristol Family Medicine Residency

Johnson City Family Medicine Residency

Kingsport Family Medicine Residency

In The News:
New Study Ranks Quillen College Of Medicine First In The Nation For Producing Primary Care Physicians (Originally Published June 15th in ETSU Media Relations Pub)

"ETSU and East Carolina University were the only two medical schools with more than half of graduates practicing primary care."
Read more....

DATES & REMINDERS

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September 14
- 12 p.m. Eastern Time, OGME Committee meeting online via Connect Pro.

September 14
- 1 p.m. Eastern Time, Executive Committee meeting online via Connect Pro.

September 15-17
- TRI-AD Midwestern Hospital Days.

October 23-27
- ACOI Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.

November 3-6
- OSTEOQUAD.

PLENTY TO DO - THE TRI-CITIES OF TENNESSEE & VIRGINIA:

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Natural Tunnel, called the eighth wonder of the world by William Jennings Bryan, has been attracting sightseers to the mountains of southwestern VA for more than 100 years.

Plenty of options for things to do in the Tri-Cities The Bristol Motor Speedway is just down the road. NASCAR comes to town twice a year for the excitement of short track racing.

Twilight Alive Downtown Concert Series is a popular series of concerts in Kingsport, TN featuring artists like Jack Ingram, a popular country musician who had recently performed on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Lifetime’s popular show, Army Wives.

OTHER OPTIONS:

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	The Appalachian Trail is a great place to see the beauty of nature.
	The East Tennessee area is known for its fine food. Recently, Bone Fire Smokehouse, in downtown Kingsport, won the “Best Ribs Recipe” competition on “Live! With Regis & Kelly.” They are now in the running for the “Ultimate Grill Off” Best Overall Category.
	Historical Abingdon, VA has many attractions and shops. The Martha Washington Hotel and Spa, originally built in 1832 as a private residence by a Virginia general, is a great place to visit for a dinner or an extended stay.
	Also in Abingdon, Barter Theatre, a starting place for such Academy Award-winning actors as Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty and Earnest Borgnine, has 674 seats in two different venues.
	The Bristol Caverns is a beautiful place to visit. Paved, well-lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that created these magnificent caverns. Stalactites and stalagmites, some larger than tree trunks and others smaller than straws, fascinate and give play to the imagination.

NEWS:

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Media Statement
August 19, 2010

AOA Disappointed by UNT Board of Regents’ Decision to Support MD Program

(CHICAGO)— The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is deeply disappointed to learn that the University of North Texas System Board of Regents approved a proposal to develop an MD degree program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Forth Worth (UNTHSC), where the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) has been graduating osteopathic physicians (DOs) for more than three decades.

The AOA, which represents the nation’s more than 70,000 DOs, opposes the addition of an MD degree at UNTHSC out of concern that the new program could divert resources away from TCOM and threaten the school’s ability to produce primary care physicians to meet the state’s health care needs.

TCOM has consistently achieved high standards of academic quality, which has helped them rank among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 50 Medical Schools for Primary Care Medicine since 2002. TCOM has also maintained a steady increase in class size and number of applicants which has contributed steadily to the primary care physician population in the state of Texas.

Despite UNTSHC’s assurance that it has confirmed relationships with area hospitals for student rotations and graduate medical education, the AOA is concerned that a second medical school in the region could create a shortage of already scarce graduate medical education training program slots, which would force TCOM graduates to leave the area for their intern and residency training.

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) proudly represents its professional family of more than 70,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs); promotes public health; encourages scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for DOs; is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical colleges; and has federal authority to accredit hospitals and other health care facilities. More information on DOs/osteopathic medicine can be found at www.osteopathic.org.

Read more news releases at http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=mc_newsrelease.

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