Department of Family Medicine

The Larner College of Medicine medical Class of 2023 Honors Night on May 15 featured recognition and awards for graduating medical students, faculty, and staff.

(MAY 14, 2023) Megan Malgeri, M.D.’12, assistant professor of family medicine, says climate change is extending the growing season, bringing allergies earlier and creating more severe symptoms for Vermonters, WCAX-TV reported.

(MAY 10, 2023) Natasha Withers, D.O., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, will soon start treating depression with a mind-altering drug that’s shown promise in helping people who don’t respond to traditional medicine — despite lingering questions about the drug’s long-term safety and effectiveness — Seven Days reported.

(MAY 3, 2023) Vermont has become one of the only states in the nation to grant out-of-staters the right to exercise medical aid-in-dying. Palliative medicine specialist Diana Barnard, M.D., associate professor of family medicine — the Middlebury doctor who’s credited with helping to change the law — says it’s a victory for equal access to health care, WCAX-TV reported. (Click on headline for more.)

(MARCH 29, 2023) Palliative medicine specialist Diana Barnard, M.D., associate professor of family medicine, commented in a New York Times article about a terminally ill Connecticut woman’s desire to take advantage of a Vermont law that allows certain in-state residents to seek and self-administer a lethal dose of medication to hasten their death.

(MARCH 23, 2023) The Partners Aligned in Transformative Healing (PATH) program at UVM Medical Center’s Comprehensive Pain Program has been awarded the 2023 Blue Cross Provider Innovation Award, according to the Rutland Herald.

(SEPTEMBER 9, 2022) MarketWatch featured Robert Gramling, M.D., professor of family medicine, and Diane Button, an instructor in the College’s online end-of-life doula professional certificate program, in a story about so-called death doulas who provide nonmedical care and support for people who are dying and their loved ones.

On May 13, the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held Honors Night for graduating medical students in the Class of 2022. Accolades presented included the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society faculty, housestaff, and community physician awards; the Arnold P. Gold Foundation's Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine faculty and student awards; Area Health Education Center Scholars; department awards to students; and awards from the Class of 2022.

University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine faculty, leaders, and colleagues gathered virtually for the Teaching Academy’s 2022 Snow Season Education Retreat January 20-21. Highlights of the two-day event included a plenary session by representatives of the Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine, the Induction and Award Ceremony, and an in-person poster session.

UVM Larner College of Medicine alum Melissa Houser, M.D.'12 founded and partnered with the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Family Network, Waterbury EMS, and a group of volunteers to create All Brains Belong VT—a nonprofit neuroinclusive primary care and community center offering patient-centered healthcare and inclusively-designed community events. The organization hosted its first sensory-friendly COVID-19 community vaccination clinic in December 2021.

Bob Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., has witnessed grief in its many forms. As the inaugural Holly and Bob Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine and a professor of family medicine, he counsels seriously ill patients and their families while they navigate the challenging terrain between life and death.

Understanding what happens during important conversations between seriously ill people, their families and palliative care specialists – and how they vary by cultural, clinical, and situational contexts – is essential to guide healthcare communication improvement efforts. A new computer model developed by a team of UVM researchers offers an automated and valid tool for conducting large-scale scientific analyses of these conversations.

(JUNE 24, 2021) The UVM End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate program, as well as comments from Francesca Arnoldy, program director, are featured in a New York Times article, titled "‘Death Doulas’ Provide Aid at the End of Life."

Thanks to health outreach groundwork laid prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, farm worker communities across Vermont had access to on-site vaccine clinics through a partnership between UVM Extension, the Vermont Department of Health, UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UVM Larner College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center.

In a salute to graduating medical students’ accomplishments and to honor the faculty and staff who have supported them during their medical education journey, the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine launched a virtual 2021 Honors Celebration on May 6, 2021.

The Larner College of Medicine was ranked 24th for medical education in primary care and 13th for training in rural care in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings, released March 30, 2021.

A new study shows that individuals who receive stroke care at facilities that offer consults via stroke telemedicine, known as telestroke, fare better than patients who get stroke care at places without such services, according to researchers from the University of Vermont and the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.

Medical education leaders and scholars gathered virtually on January 13 and 14, 2021 for the Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy’s 2021 Induction and Award Ceremony and Snow Season Education Retreat. Co-presented with the University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group, the ceremony recognized medical educators and kicked off the annual education program, which this year featured several sessions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Thomas Peterson, M.D., chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, was invested as the inaugural Morris Goldman ’29 MD’32 Professor of Family Medicine. The ceremony was the first of its kind to be held remotely, via Zoom, on August 13, 2020.

John King, M.D., M.P.H., professor and vice chair for academics and regional development in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, has been appointed associate dean for continuing medical and interprofessional education (CMIE) at the institution.