Department of Family Medicine

(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.

(AUGUST 24, 2022) Center for Health & Wellbeing medical director Michelle Paavola, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, and infectious disease specialist Keith Collins, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, told WPTZ-TV NBC5 that while it’s not a threat to the public right now, UVM does have a plan in place should monkeypox come to campus.

(JULY 31, 2022) In response to statistics showing that lung cancer kills more Vermonters than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers combined, family medicine professor John King, M.D., and colleagues at the UVM and Dartmouth Cancer Centers are spearheading a new community education program called Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer, the (Nashua, N.H.) Telegraph reported.

(JULY 12, 2022) John King, M.D., M.P.H., professor of family medicine, who practices in Milton, urges all high-risk patients to get screened for lung cancer, according to the Milton Independent. The Dartmouth and the University of Vermont Cancer Centers have named Milton an area of focus to promote early detection of lung cancer.

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.

On May 11, awardees from the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2020, faculty and staff were recognized through an online Honors Celebration featuring remarks from Dean Page and videotaped presentations of each award.

Class of 2002 UVM alumnus Ben Katz is a detective in the Vermont State Police’s major crimes unit whose work to investigate homicides, process crime scenes and interview witnesses has changed in the world of COVID-19. His wife, Megan Malgeri, a Class of 2012 alumna of the Larner College of Medicine and family medicine specialist, now sees most of her patients via telehealth visits. They are working to safely balance their roles as professionals and parents of two young children during the pandemic.

As president and CEO of a Delaware organization that includes major health systems and research universities, UVM medical alum and family physician Omar Khan, M.D. ’03, is at the frontlines of the COVID-19 response. He and his team are working to ramp up testing and treatment, source PPE for healthcare workers, and keep the community informed.