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Education
The Family Medicine Scholars Training and Admission Track (fmSTAT) is a unique program with two components:
1. The dual admissions process is designed to identify and select individuals who come to medical school intending to be family physicians.
2. The four-year curricular track provides participants with tailored experiences that nurture, develop, and support this select group of medical students toward their family medicine career goal.
Benefits
Expectations
Family Medicine Scholars Training and Admission Track
fmSTAT is a dual admission program to the VCU School of Medicine. The admissions component of fmSTAT is designed to identify and select individuals who are committed to a career in family medicine upon matriculation.
The opportunity to apply to fmSTAT is automatically extended to a select group of VCU School of Medicine applicants during the supplemental application process.
Those who receive offers, and wish to apply, complete the online fmSTAT application. The School of Medicine and fmSTAT applications are reviewed by family physicians who participate in the admissions process.
If recommended, the fmSTAT Educational Director will call applicants with an invitation to interview. In addition to the standard School of Medicine interviews, fmSTAT candidates, attend an information session to learn more about the program and a separate one-on-one 30 minute interview regarding their family medicine interest. The information session and fmSTAT interview occur either on the same day at the School of Medicine interviews or the prior afternoon.
fmSTAT emulates the School of Medicine process with rolling admissions and offer dates. 8-10 fmScholars are selected each academic year from those accepted to VCU School of Medicine.
The scholars' training component of fmSTAT is a 4 year longitudinal program designed to explore key concepts "through a family medicine lens" with personal values and core values of the specialty of family medicine in mind. This is accomplished in part by required participation in two seminars and two retreats each academic year. Learning activities are designed to be engaging (e.g. panels, debates, group work, etc.) and relevant. Each session includes good food, enthusiastic faculty, and time to connect with other fmScholars. Foundational to fmSTAT is having seminars and retreats with fellow fmScholars at all levels of training.
Curricular themes rotate annually to ensure exposure to all material over the course of four years.
Retreats are weekend activities held off campus once each semester. The fall retreat includes an overnight stay; the spring retreat is a day-long event. These events enable participants to "dig deeper" into the core content, provide time for meaningful connection with other fmScholars through team building and casual social time together.
Participation in one dinner seminar each semester, each year is also required. Topics focus on the the particular year’s curricular theme. Seminars are typically preceded by an optional social where fmScholars can socialize and share their current experiences.
"I think the dinner was an important opportunity for all of the classes to catch up with each other as well as to see to members of classes above/below. It was cool to get everyone together in an informal setting like that, especially in the middle of the year, and just to see how much the program has grown over the past 4 years. I've done a lot of traveling here recently and I am floored by people I meet on the [interviewing] trail who come from schools that don't even have a family clerkship! fmSTAT has been a total game changer and re-centering program for me over the past 4 years and for sure one of the reasons I'm pumped for a FM career." - Suzanne, 2016 Class
Mentorship is a cornerstone of fmSTAT. Each fmScholar is paired with a family physician whose role is to support and nurture the student through through medical school. Mentors are very carefully selected and oriented to the program structure and expectations. The "matching" of fmScholars to mentors is based on getting to know students through the fmSTAT interview process and a pre-matriculation survey. Mentors and mentees meet each other during the first weeks
of medical school with the intent of developing a relationship over the course of training.
While there are some optional ocassions for groups, the mentorship is designed as a 1:1 relationship initiated by mentor and student with the support of the program directors.
fmSTAT Co-directors provide ongoing support for participants. With input from other faculty and fmScholars, they develop the curriculum, plan and evaluate all program events and hand-select mentors and preceptors to work with each enrollee.
Judy S. Gary, M.Ed.
Family Medicine
Judy S. Gary, M.Ed.
Family Medicine
Family Medicine Medical Education Programs
Judy Gary, MEd,
Assistant Director, Medical Education
Phone: (804) 828-5685
Email: judy.gary@vcuhealth.org
Address/Location:
West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing, Room 14-103
1200 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298
Carolyn Peel, M.D.
Carolyn Peel, M.D.
Department of Family Medicine & Population Health
Associate Professor
Medical Director, fmSTAT Program
Medical Director, VCU Nelson Family Medicine Clinic
Phone: (804) 827-4167
Email: carolyn.peel@vcuhealth.org
Address/Location:
West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing, Room 14-103
1200 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298
Steve Crossman, M.D.
Steve Crossman, M.D.
Department of Family Medicine & Population Health
Associate Professor,
Vice Chair for Family Medicine Education & Clinical Operations
Phone: (804) 828-9779
Email: steven.crossman@vcuhealth.org
Address/Location:
West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing, Room 14-109
1200 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298
The Department of Family Medicine and Population Health involves nearly 200 family physicians across the Commonwealth of Virginia to help train VCU medical students. Since its founding in 1970, the department has intentionally selected community family physicians (preceptors) -- many who are alumni, to serve as teachers and role models allowing students to experience family medicine where it is practiced most often. As a benefit of the fmSTAT program, fmScholars are preferentially placed with preceptors with the students' particular interests and needs in mind for all of their clinical experiences.
Each fmScholar has a specifically selected family physician mentor who supports his/her scholars' personal and professional development. Though many mentors teach medical students, care is taken to avoid having a mentor directly teach or evaluate his or her mentee. See Mentorship section for more information.
Class of 2021
Class of 2022
Angela
New York
Angela
New York
University of Chicago
Biological Sciences, Specialization in Neuroscience
Email: liuac@mymail.vcu.edu
Rachel
Arizona
Rachel
Arizona
University of Arizona, Nutritional Sciences
Nutritional Sciences
Email: smithrm24@mymail.vcu.edu
Sarah Beth
Virginia
Sarah Beth
Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University
Biomedical Engineering
Email: nealse@mymail.vcu.edu
Class of 2023
Class of 2024
Brandon
North Carolina
Brandon
North Carolina
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Biology
Email: yeattsbl@mymail.vcu.edu
Chris
North Carolina
Chris
North Carolina
East Carolina University - Biology and Philosophy
North Carolina State University - Physiology
Email: leec10@mymail.vcu.edu
Danielle “Dani” Austen
UC San Diego Med Ctr-CA
Soumya Choudhury
Valley Med Ctr-WA
Michael Crowgey
Mountain AHEC-NC
Molly Favour
U Minnesota Med School – MN
Daniel Jordan
VCU Bon Secours Health System – VA
Paulius Mui
VCU Shenandoah Valley – VA
Paula Nguyen
Sutter Med Ctr of Santa Rosa - CA
Hannah Rak
University of Virginia – VA
Justin Riederer
Mountain AHEC - NC
Michelle Baer
Kaiser Permanente – Santa Rosa, CA
Kathryn Gouthro
Madigan Army Medical Center, WA
Eli Hammer
University of Virginia, VA
Laura Hoeg
Brown Family Medical, RI
Mitchell Hustad
Swedish Medical Center, WA
Ifechukwude “Iffie” Ikem
Montefiore Medical Center, NY
David Killeen
NYP Hospital-Columbia University Medical, NY
Rochelle LaCaze
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, CA
Sydney Davis
University of Colorado SOM – Denver, CO
Zach McRae
Fort Belvoir-VA
Alfred Tanglao
Jackson Memorial Hospital – FL
Alexandra “Lex” Tee
Kaiser Permanente-San Jose – CA
Margaret “Maggie” Woodward
Mountain AHEC, NC
Graduates 2017 [View Image]
Rachel Ehrman-Dupre
Thomas Jefferson University, Family Medicine, PA
Andrew Lyell
Scott Air Force Base, Family Medicine, IL
Yeri Park
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Family Medicine, MA
Erica Pritchard Peak
VCU Internal Medicine / Pediatric Residency, VA
Adam Sadik
Advocate IL Masonic Med Center, Family Medicine, IL
Grant Woodfin
Self Regional Healthcare, Family Medicine SC
Group shot of 2016 fmScholars [View Image]
Andaleeb Rahman
VCU Fairfax Family Medicine Residency, VA
Suzanne Giunta
Swedish Medical Center, Family Medicine, WA
Sheerin Habibullah
Columbia Presbyterian Family Medicine Residency, NY
Erin McLaughlin
Valley Medical Center, Family Medicine, WA
Shaheen "Sha" Ali
VCU Psychiatry Residency, VA
The greatest benefit of fmSTAT is the community of students who share similar goals. fmScholars have a variety of personal interests and envision doing a myriad or combination of things, but all aspire to be family physicians taking care of individuals, families and communities!
Our fmScholar's career interests:
While fmSTAT is beneficial to its students, its influence reaches further. As Dr. Jerome Strauss, former Dean of the VCU School of Medicine, said "The fmSTAT program reflects the innovative thinking of our faculty and the School of Medicine's strong commitment to meeting the primary care workforce needs of Virginia and the Nation."
Gifts to the fmSTAT Scholarship fund will build an endowment to provide future fmScholars the equivalent of one year’s tuition disbursed in a manner to both attract and retain students who will become family physicians.Click to Donate!
Judy Gary, M.Ed.
judy.gary@vcuhealth.org
(804)828-5685
VCU Department of Family Medicine and Population health
Box 980-251
Richmond, VA 23298-0251
West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing, 14-103
1200 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298-0251