Primary Care/Family Medicine

Concentration Director: Shira Goldstein, MD  

Director of Student Research: Jude des Bordes MBChB, MPH, DrPH, CPH  

Overview: Family Medicine is a primary care specialty which serves people from all spheres of life from birth to death. The long-term relationship with the primary care provider (PCP) helps patients understand, improve, and maintain their health. A family physician is an essential part of building a healthy community through preventive medicine, chronic disease management, and health education. A family physician in an academic program is also an academic leader who shapes the future of medicine. Family physicians help patients maintain their complex and multiple health problems through developing and practicing evidence-based medicine, collaborating with multiple specialties, and communicating plans with patients and caregivers. The journey of a patient’s health life begins by establishing with a PCP. A family physician can carry this relationship throughout the patients’ life; helping him/her navigate through all stages of life while being with the patient during his/her most important and critical moments. 

Mission: Aligned with the mission of the McGovern Medical School, the Primary Care/Family Medicine scholarly concentration aims to promote high quality and cutting-edge education though clinical and scholarly exposures and experience. The ultimate goal is to produce high quality physicians, educators, clinical leaders, and researchers. 

Purpose/Goals: To provide an opportunity to enrich student experience in family medicine through learning and scholarly activities related to primary care specific health topics via a longitudinal educational program throughout the medical school years. 

The program goal is to provide: 

  1. Clinical experience in both in- and out-patient settings
  2. Mentorship and guidance for academic and personal growth/development
  3. Understanding the breadth of the primary care specialty
  4. Leadership in clinical practice in primary care 

Basic requirements: 

  1. Clinical experience 
  2. Guided scholarly project 
  3. Attending specific academic meetings 
  4. Becoming members of interest groups and professional societies 
  5. Attend family medicine grand rounds 
  6. Optional – a quality improvement project in addition to guided scholarly project 

Student Selection Process: 

During their MS1 year (and MSII, if they are committed to complete the requirements for MS1 year), students will submit an application via the Scholarly Concentration website: https://apps.uth.edu/scholarlyconcentrations/ which includes a personal statement detailing why they aim to become a primary care physician. The co-directors will review the applications and will select admission based on the students’ commitment to primary care. Upon selection into the scholarly concentration, the co-directors will help students identify a mentor and monitor the students’ progress. Only students in good academic standing will be admitted. Four students will be admitted each year. 

Successful completion of all Scholarly Concentration requirements will result in special recognition in the commencement program; a program-specific certificate of completion; and a program-specific scholarly designation on the student’s academic transcript. Participation will also be reflected in the student’s “Medical Student Performance Evaluation.” 

Year 1 

  • Application and acceptance to the Family Medicine Scholars Program Join and participate in Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG)
  • Join and participate in Harris County Chapter of Texas Academy of Family Physicians
  • Complete Doctoring 2 course with a primary care faculty 
  • Identify a mentor and attend quarterly meetings
  • Initiation of scholarly project by the end of MSI year with guidance from mentor  

Year 2 

  • Participation in Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG)
  • Complete Doctoring 3 course with a primary care faculty
  • Continue to meet quarterly with faculty mentor
  • Attend meetings of Harris County Chapter Texas Academy of Family Physicians
  • Continued work on scholarly project with guidance from mentor 

Year 3 

  • Complete 3rd year Core Clerkship in Family Medicine
  • Quarterly meetings with mentor

Year 4 

  • Quarterly meetings with mentor
  • Complete Ambulatory Medicine rotation in family medicine or internal medicine
  • Complete Advanced Inpatient Care rotation of a Family Medicine Service at MHH or LBJ Participate in FMIG
  • Join Primary Care Focus Track
  • Complete an independent study in order to complete the scholarly project. (if this is a research or QI project and the student worked on it throughout his/her participation in scholarly concentration, no new independent study is required)
  • Present scholarly activity at departmental meeting and at a state or national meeting
Faculty Name  Contribution(s) to 

Concentration 

 Interests 
Goldstein, Shira MD  Director and 

Mentor 

 Medical Student and Residency Education, 

Women’s Health, Quality Improvement, Practice Management, Preventive Medicine 
Rianon, Nahid MD  Former director, mentor  Bone health, geriatrics 
Mahmood, Naveen MD   Mentor   Mood disorders, Preventive Medicine 
Northrup, Thomas PhD  Research Mentor  Behavioral Medicine, Research 
Stotts, Angela PhD  Research Mentor  Behavioral Medicine, Research 
Tyler, Chermaine PhD  Research Mentor  Behavioral Medicine, Research 
Wah, Yu MD  Mentor  Dermatology in Primary Care 
Zamora, Elena MD   Mentor  Obesity medicine, Procedures, Osteoporosis