Society of Teachers of Family Medicine

11/07/2025

A generous donor to the STFM Foundation has issued a challenge to the family medicine education community! From now through the end of 2025, every new gift to the STFM Foundation's 50th Anniversary Fund will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5000.

Double the impact of your gift by making your first ever donation to the Foundation or, if you're a past donor, making an extra gift.

Jump in and make a donation to start the match: https://stfm.my.site.com/STFM/OrderApi__campaign?id=a0q1N000006tGcwQAE&site=a0d1N00000HejpNQAR

11/06/2025

In one of our latest blog posts, read “Reflections on Participating in Community Outreach Event” by Sarah Willoughby, LCSW, Freeman Health System, who attended a community outreach event hosted by the Neighborhood Resilience Project in collaboration with McAuley Ministries and STFM:

On Sunday, Sept 7, 2025, I attended a community outreach event hosted by the Neighborhood Resilience Project in collaboration with McAuley Ministries and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine …

11/05/2025

Big update regarding the 2026 STFM Annual Spring Conference in New Orleans, LA!

The Call for Presentations for Fellow, Resident, and Student Completed or Works-in-Progress Research Poster is now open: https://www.stfm.org/conferences/annual/callforpresentations/

Engage in a competitive and peer-reviewed process that provides a unique opportunity to present at a national conference. Receive constructive feedback on your research from seasoned researchers and peers, enriching your understanding of your area of study.

11/04/2025

Two STFM awards close nominations this week!

Nominate individuals for the Curtis G. Hames Research Award: https://www.stfm.org/awardsscholarships/awards/curtisghamesresearchaward/overview/

Nominate a research paper from you, a colleague, or a faculty member in your department for the STFM Research Paper of the Year Award: https://www.stfm.org/awardsscholarships/awards/stfmresearchpaperoftheyearaward/overview/

Submit nominations by this Saturday to be considered!

10/31/2025

Last month, US senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Health Care Workforce Expansion Act (S. 2954) to tackle the national health workforce shortage—an issue especially critical in rural areas.

The bill would:
- Make nonprofit medical school tuition free for students who commit to practicing primary care for at least 10 years
- Invest more than $5 billion in medical, nursing and dental schools to increase enrollment, recruit and retain faculty, modernize clinical and classroom spaces and more
- Add more than 50,000 new slots for the Medicare Graduate Medical Education program, dedicating 30% to primary care
- Expand the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, adding 15,000 new community-based primary care residency positions
- Provide $20,000 relocation grants to doctors, dentists and nurses who agree to practice in rural communities

Read about the bill here: https://www.help.senate.gov/dem/newsroom/press/news-sanders-merkley-introduce-legislation-to-make-medical-dental-and-nursing-schools-tuition-free-and-expand-the-health-care-workforce

Looking to get involved in advocacy? STFM offers several great resources to help you take action. Visit the CAFM Advocacy Action Center (https://www.stfm.org/about/advocacy/advocacyoverview/) to participate in active Voter Voice campaigns—including efforts urging Congress to act on funding for THCGME, CHCs, NHSC, and telehealth waivers. You can also explore STFM’s free Advocacy Course, which provides practical strategies for engaging legislators, supports residents in meeting Milestones 2.0 advocacy requirements, and offers a certificate upon completion: https://www.stfm.org/facultydevelopment/onlinecourses/advocacycourse/overview/

10/31/2025

Our previous US surgeon general declared a loneliness epidemic, recognizing the increasing prevalence of loneliness and the associated risks of poorer physical and mental health and premature mortality. As specialists in whole person, comprehensive care, family physicians are uniquely equipped to inquire about and address loneliness in their patients.

STFM presents the recording of the third and final plenary session from the 2025 Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement last month in Pittsburgh, PA. “Addressing Loneliness in Primary Care: Opportunities for Practice Improvement” was presented by Sebastian Tong, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington.

In this talk, Dr Tong reviews the health risks and comorbidities associated with loneliness and discusses a framework to think about how to address loneliness in our practices and communities. He then identifies some concrete steps we can each take to reduce loneliness and social isolation not only in our patients but also in ourselves, our colleagues and our communities.

Listen through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the STFM website: https://stfm.org/stfmpodcastCPQI25closing

10/27/2025

It's that time of year again!

Registration is OPEN for the 2026 STFM Conference on Medical Student Education, January 29–February 1. Join us in Charlotte, NC, to learn the skills and resources to guide and inspire your medical students to become proficient, empathetic, cooperative, and innovative physicians.

Here's a link to our new and improved conference website with more information and a link to the registration portal: stfm.org/mse

10/25/2025

Don’t forget! The STFM Bishop Society is hosting a webinar this week: Learning From Adversity—Lessons for the Future.

When: Monday, October 27, 5-6 pm Central Time

Presenters:
Dean Seehusen, MD, Augusta University
Tricia Elliott, MD, John Peter Smith Hospital FMR, Fort Worth, TX
Viviana S. Martinez-Bianchi, MD, Duke University Medical Center FMR, Durham, NC

This session will tap into the personal and professional experiences of the presenters and the participants in meeting and overcoming adversity in the past, and how this can assist with the issues of the present and the future. It will help us formulate approaches that are supportive of our values and efforts for ourselves, our groups and organizations, and our discipline.

REGISTER HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/94J2rD9kRzmya8FRTfTAgg

This webinar is sponsored by the STFM Bishop Society.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Save the Date: Bishop Society Webinar (Time Change). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

10/24/2025

LAST CHANCE!

Apply to join the STFM 60th Anniversary Task Force. Help plan the yearlong celebration of the organization’s 60th anniversary in 2027. This task force will not only design events and activities but also support the creation of a commemorative book documenting STFM’s history, the first such publication in 35 years.

Apply right away to be considered: https://stfm.org/news/2025-news/091125-help-shape-stfm-s-60th-diamond-anniversary-celebration-and-its-history/

10/23/2025

Reminder to listen to this month’s episode of the STFM Podcast, which features Lou Edje MD, MHPE, the senior associate dean for medical education at the University of Michigan. Dr Edje introduces the master adaptive learner framework and shares strategies to help learners overcome barriers to learning, to “fail forward” productively, and to acquire habits supportive of a lifetime of Master Adaptive Learning.

“When I started to think about the learners I interact with today, I realized they’ll still be practicing in 2060. It’s scary to think about what parts of what we’re teaching to them now will still be relevant then. What we teach in formal training will only be a fraction of what they need to know. There are new medications and therapies coming out all the time.”

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the website: https://stfm.org/stfmpodcast102025

10/21/2025

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2025 STFM Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement. Didn't make it to Pittsburgh, PA? Here's a video showing some of what you missed -- and why so many health care professionals love this conference!