Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG)
Infrastructure
History of Family Medicine at UCLA
The UCLA Department of Family Medicine started as a division of the Department of Medicine in 1974, achieving departmental status in 1997. Patrick Dowling, MD, MPH, became the first permanent chair in 1998. He is a former migrant health center physician who had previously directed Family Medicine residency programs at Cook County Hospital, Brown University, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His focus as Chair has been on caring for underserved populations, including opening up a residency training site in a Latino neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
The Department maintains active clinical services, with residency clinic sites in the San Fernando Valley and in Santa Monica. It also has a Division of Sports Medicine with a 2-year fellowship. We have an active research division, including Dr. Lillian Gelberg, a member of the Institute of Medicine and an internationally-known researcher in the area of access to care for the homeless, and Dr. Michael Rodriguez, a researcher in community health with an emphasis on the underserved. Besides the residency program, our department is active in medical education at all levels. Family Medicine faculty members chair the Doctoring 1 and Doctoring 2 courses, the 3rd year Longitudinal Preceptorship, and the 4th year Primary Care College. Our department also houses and staffs the student-run Salvation Army Homeless Clinic, in which 100 students from all years receive academic credit for seeing patients and running the clinic, in additional to volunteering many hours. The Family Medicine Department is the leader in this effort, particularly impressive in view of our relatively small numbers, and now students are realizing that Family Medicine is the specialty on this campus that does more than provide lip service to the concept of service.
Our Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) has been in existence since the beginning of our department. Moving from informal meetings at the Pre-doctoral Director’s home where students could meet practicing Family Medicine physicians, we now have a full schedule of meetings and activities with the largest number of students participating than ever before. Gradually students have taken over more and more of the administrative and organizational functions of the group, and in the past year, the number of students wanting to get involved at the officer level has also increased. Although the number of students matching in Family Medicine is declining nationwide, we have held steady at 10% of the graduating class (17 students in 2002-03, 17 in 2003-04, 18 in 2004-05, 20 in 2005-06, and 13 in 2006-07) choosing Family Medicine as their specialty, an excellent record for a primarily research-oriented institution.
Role of the Faculty Advisor
Dr. Susan Stangl has served as the faculty advisor for the group for the past five years. A graduate of UCLA School of Medicine and the Santa Monica residency program, she practiced in Santa Monica for fourteen years, doing the full range of Family Medicine, including obstetrics. She joined the UCLA faculty as a volunteer in 1980 and has taught full-time since 1993. As the Pre-doctoral Director in Family Medicine, she serves as Chair of the 1st year Doctoring course, Chair of the 3rd Year required Family Medicine Clerkship, and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
Her primary role is to serve as a resource for students, act as a liaison with the faculty and department chair, suggest possible speakers for events, and provide guidance as students plan and organize events. She hosts the 1st year students in the first meeting of the year, advocates for the group within the department to obtain funding and faculty support, promotes Family Medicine summer and research opportunities for students within the department, and hosts a yearly dinner for 4th year students preparing for the annual match in Family Medicine.
Goals
- To increase awareness and interest for Family Medicine amongst medical students
- To demonstrate the vast array of options within the specialty of Family Medicine
- To provide support and mentorship for students interested in applying to Family Medicine residencies
- To expand our knowledge about the practice of Family Medicine
- To provide networking opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in Family Medicine
- To advocate for the value of primary care in a rationale healthcare system
- To be an avenue for student service of the medically-underserved