Earl Salser, Jr., M.D. with students Robyn Wilson (far left) and Jessica Willis from the Dean's Primary Care Scholars Program.Primary care specialties include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, geriatrics and a combination specialty in medicine and pediatrics. Data from the Annals of Family Medicine shows that more than 52,000 additional primary care physicians will be needed nationwide by 2025 to meet projected demands brought on by population growth, population aging and insurance expansion from the Affordable Care Act.“Alabama has an urgent need for more primary care physicians. As the largest medical school in our state, UAB is committed to great primary care, just as we are committed to excellence in specialty care and in research,” said William Curry, M.D., associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health in the School of Medicine and senior vice president for Population Health in the UAB Health System. “I am excited about our students’ increasing interest in primary care specialties and their commitment to underserved patients and communities. These students aim to make a difference.”
Primary care figures prominently in AMC21, the School of Medicine and UAB Medicine’s strategic plans. Educating and training primary care physicians to meet the state of Alabama’s needs is a critical component of the School of Medicine’s mission. The School of Medicine has several pipeline programs, including the Dean’s Primary Care Scholars Program, the Tuscaloosa-based Rural Medical Scholars Program and the Huntsville-based Rural Medical Programs—all created to increase the number of primary care physicians.
Alexus Perry, student Primary Care Week chair, says she knows her calling is in primary care and wants other students to “see the importance and the privilege of being a primary care physician. The first step is to create interest in primary care. With the help of amazing faculty like Dr. Bill Curry, Primary Care Week is designed to do just that.”
Each event for Primary Care Week begins at noon in Volker Hall Lecture Room E and is open to all School of Medicine students, faculty, staff and alumni. Boxed lunches will be served at each event.
Monday, Dec.1 – “Primary Care Q & A with Panel of Providers from Each Primary Care Specialty.” Physician representatives from each of the primary care interest groups—Benjamin A. Davidson, M.D., H. Hughes Evans, M.D., Ph.D., Brian P. Gleason, M.D., Hennessy H. Williams, M.D., and James H. Willig, M.D., MSPH—will engage in a discussion. Hughes Evan, M.D., Ph.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education, will welcome attendees before the panel discussion.
Tuesday, Dec. 2 – ““Student Financial Support Opportunities in Primary Care” with speakers Carolyn Bern, program manager for the Alabama Office of Primary Care and Rural Health’s National Health Service Corps, and Kelly Parker, executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Scholarship Awards.
Wednesday, Dec. 3 – “The Business of Primary Care Medicine in Alabama and Beyond.” Successful School of Medicine alumni primary care providers will engage in a panel discussion. Speakers are Dr. Cecil Calvert Dodson III, M.D., FACP, Pink L. Folmar, Jr., M.D., FACP, D. Bruce Irwin, M.D., and Juan M. Johnson, M.D.
Thursday, Dec. 4 – “Public Health and the Importance of Primary Care” with speaker Mark E. Wilson, M.D., Jefferson County health officer.
Friday, December 5 – “Primary Care and our Patients”with speaker Alan Blum, M.D., professor of Family Medicine at the Tuscaloosa Regional Medical Campus.
For full details of the Primary Care Week events and guest speakers, click here.
To support UAB primary care students and initiatives, give online here.