In this month's edition of NCFM Today, NCAFP Communications Consultant Peter Graber interviews our latest Family Physician of the Year, Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, Director of Health Equity for the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University. 
 
 In the episode, Dr. Martinez-Bianchi discusses her childhood in Argentina, how she came to the US for her Family Medicine Residency, and how she ultimately became a leader locally, nationally and on the international level. She also discusses the intersection of public health and clinical care, her work with WONCA (the World Organization for Family Physicians) and her work with the Latin-X community in North Carolina throughout COVID-19. You don't want to miss this inspiring episode. 

In this episode, new NCAFP President Dr. Dimitrios "Takie" Hondros discusses his leadership journey in family medicine and outlines a few of his goals for the next year, including mentoring the next generation of family physicians and harnessing the promise of value-based care.  If you missed his inspiring installation speech, you can hear much of the same content in this conversation about his goals as president of NCAFP.

In this episode, current NCAFP President Dr. Jessica Triche reviews the Academy's activities in 2021, including how the Academy helped our members throughout COVID, the NCAFP's new strategic initiatives, how NCAFP is helping members with administrative burden, her goals for the future and even a few humorous moments from her year as President.  It's a must listen.  

In this episode of NCFM Today, we talk to Shawn Parker, JD, MPA, General Counsel and Chief of Staff for the NC Academy of Family Physicians about physician employment contracts.  Shawn discusses different elements in an employment contract, what physicians should look for, and where to find more help.  You don't want to miss this episode.  

In this episode of NCFM Today, we talk to five different family physicians who have all made transitions in their careers.  They share pearls about how they made these decisions, what personal and professional influences led them to these decisions, and what other family physicians should consider as they think about transitioning jobs.  They also discuss the unique ability of family physicians to practice in different settings and wear different hats from telehealth to Direct Primary Care to system-based practice to independent practice to the VA.  You don't want to miss this informative episode as we hear from Dr. Vickie Fowler, Dr. Talia Aron, Dr. Thomas White, Dr. Takie Hondros and Dr. Liz Baltaro.  

In this month's edition of NCFM Today, learn about some of the NCAFP's advocacy efforts around masking in schools and Medicaid Transformation, and an update on our recent member survey about administrative burden in primary care.  In addition, you will hear from our new Manager of Workforce Initiatives, Perry Price, and from VP & COO Brent Hazelett, who will discuss both the Academy's recent virtual CME offerings and plans for our Annual Meeting in December.  

This month's podcast focuses on Long COVID with a discussion of how some patients are having symptoms for months after first testing positive for COVID-19.  We first talk to Dr. John M. Baratta with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the UNC School of Medicine.  Dr. Baratta is founder and co-director of the COVID Recovery Clinic at UNC, which was opened in February to specifically address long-term COVID cases.  Dr. Baratta discusses symptoms of long COVID as well as some of the testing and treatment regimens they are trying at UNC.   Later we talk to NCAFP Past President Dr. Conrad Flick who still has some symptoms from his COVID diagnosis early last December.  Dr. Flick discusses the long-term impact COVID has had on him, particularly how it has impacted his fitness regimen.  Finally, we provide a few quick updates from the NCAFP.

This month's episode focuses on the importance of mentoring future healthcare professionals.  We talk to two current residents to learn about how mentors impacted their decision to go into medicine and specifically family medicine.  We also talk to NCAFP President Dr. Jessica Triche on why she thinks it is so important to teach and mentor medical students and how that has actually helped her in practice.  Finally, we provide a few updates from the NCAFP.  

This month, we discuss the precipitous drop in immunization rates during the coronavirus pandemic and the need to catch up on missed vaccines as patients return to their primary care physician.  Dr. Leonard Friedland, a pediatrician and Vice President and Director of Scientific Affairs and Public Health at GSK, shares statistics about the drop in immunizations, what the impact of missing immunizations for preventable diseases could be, and how we can work to ensure patients across all life stages catch up on missed vaccines as we move forward.  Dr. Friedland reminds us of how many preventable diseases we no longer see because of immunizations and the importance of making sure patients receive their COVID-19 vaccine and other recommended immunizations. 

This month we discuss a family physicians efforts to prevent diabetes.  Dr. Karen Smith, a former president of the NCAFP talks about her involvement in Diabetes Free NC and how she screens patients and refers them to one of our state's Diabetes Prevention Programs.  In addition, Franklin Walker, Vice President of Rural Health Innovations for the NC Medical Society, talks about how physicians can get involved in Diabetes Free NC.  Finally, we provide brief updates on efforts to advocate for dedicated teaching time and payment for our state's community preceptors and the role of family physicians in COVID-19 vaccine efforts, particularly combating vaccine hesitancy.  You can find additional information about Pre-Diabetes and prevention programs in NC at ReversePrediabetesNC.org