UAB Students Organize Lectures, Raise Awareness About Primary Care

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Lower pay, longer hours and fewer job offers discourage many medical school graduates from pursuing a career in primary care and foreshadow an increased shortage of physicians. Already, 60 out of 67 counties in Alabama need more of these front-line caregivers, which include family physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians and internists. This week, during National Primary Care Week, students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) hope to turn this trend around by generating interest in the field through a series of lectures.

October 8, 2007 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Lower pay, longer hours and fewer job offers discourage many medical school graduates from pursuing a career in primary care and foreshadow an increased shortage of physicians. Already, 60 out of 67 counties in Alabama need more of these front-line caregivers, which include family physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians and internists. This week, during National Primary Care Week, students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) hope to turn this trend around by generating interest in the field through a series of lectures.

  • Today, Oct. 8: Internal Medicine lecture by Cooper Green Mercy Hospital Chief of Staff of Internal Medicine Nassif Cannon, M.D.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 9: The pediatrics interest group, Nuts about Pediatrics, will present lecture on about the pediatrics field and community outreach. This lecture will be led by Steven Russell, M.D., pediatrician and internist at the UAB Moody Health Center.
  • Thursday, Oct. 10: Lecture led by Scott Twilley, M.D., a rural family medicine physician from Dora and Sumiton.
  • Friday, Oct. 11: The OBGYN interest group hosts panel of local private practice physicians led by Ashley D. Przybysz, M.D.

 

“I hope that these lectures help expose the first- and second-year medical students to what primary care is about,” said Timothy Williams, chair of the UAB family medicine interest group and a second-year medical student. “In my opinion, primary care is the most important part of our health care system. It’s the patients’ first interaction with a doctor. Unfortunately, the primary care field has taken a hit in the past 10 years because many graduating students are choosing to go into specialized fields instead. We really hope to change the attitude.”