The Department of Family Medicine (DFM) held its 2009 Renner/Hansen awards ceremony on September 23 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

After a welcome from DFM Chair Valerie Gilchrist, MD, the department's many faculty, staff, and friends enjoyed an evening celebrating this year's winning recipients.

2009 Renner / Hansen Award Slideshow

Marc Hansen, MD, Lectureship Award

DFM Professor and Vice Chair for Education William Schwab, MD, introduced the first award winner of the evening: Kathleen Carr, MD, recipient of the 2009 Marc Hansen, MD, Lectureship Award.

Established in 1994, the Hansen Lectureship honors a junior faculty member who has made a substantial contribution to student and resident education.

In her lecture, "My Knee Hurts, Doc," Dr. Carr discussed the need for family physicians to be able to manage patients with common musculoskeletal (MSK) or sports medicine problems.

She then outlined the integrated MSK/sports medicine curriculum she and other colleagues developed, presented preliminary outcomes of competency-based assessment methods, and suggested applying similar models to other areas of the family medicine residency.

The John H. Renner, MD, "Wisconsin Idea" Award

James Shropshire, MD, presented the next award of the evening, the 2009 John H. Renner, MD, "Wisconsin Idea" Award, to the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP).

Established in 2002, the Renner Award recognizes an individual or group who has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to family practice and the health needs of Wisconsin.

The WAFP was selected for its continued commitment to family medicine in Wisconsin. Dr. Shropshire specifically praised the WAFP's legislative work and its advocacy of the concept of the patient-centered medical home.

WAFP President Andrea Gavin, MD, received the award on behalf of the Academy. During her acceptance speech, she gave a mini-history of the WAFP, highlighted accomplishments that grew out of collaborations with the DFM, and outlined the Academy's goals for the future.

DFM Faculty Excellence Awards

Dr. Gilchrist then introduced the next set of awards: the DFM Faculty Excellence Awards. These awards recognize and faculty for excellent performance and service to the mission of the department.

Four DFM faculty received these awards:

• Dennis Breen, MD (Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic), for his tireless efforts to develop educational curricula on practice management and musculoskeletal medicine, offer ECG stress testing to patients at the Eau Claire Clinic, and lead electronic medical record implementation there.
• Jeffrey Patterson, DO (Northeast Family Medical Center), for his long-term clinical work in prolotherapy for chronic pain, and for his lifelong efforts as a physician-activist.
• Beth Potter, MD (Access Community Health Centers/Wingra Family Medical Center), for driving the implementation of an advance-access scheduling system at the Wingra Clinic, and for facilitating the clinic's affiliation with Access Community Health Centers.
• David Queoff, MD (Sun Prairie Clinic), for serving as a volunteer role model for numerous clinic initiatives, including the MyChart pilot, anticoagulation strategies, and Kanban inventory management techniques.

Robert Drachenberg Staff Excellence Awards

Similarly, the next set of awards-the Robert Drachenberg Staff Excellence Awards-honor staff for excellence and service to the DFM's mission.

Three DFM staff received these awards:

• Claire Ann Boyce (Office of Medical Student Education PCC coordinator) for 18 outstanding years as the "face, heart, and soul" of medical student education.
• Michelle Grosch, MA (Madison residency program education coordinator) for her professionalism, enthusiasm, and genuine desire to create the best educational and emotional environment for DFM residents and staff.
• Jane Meyer (Wausau Family Medicine medical program assistant) for her positive outlook, dependability, and contributions to the success of the Wausau residency and clinic for 23 years.

James E. Davis, MD, MS, Award for Quality Improvement

The final award of the evening-the 2009 James E. Davis, MD, MS, Award for Quality Improvement-was presented to Byron Marquez, DO, and his staff at the UW Health Monona Clinic.

The award recognized their success in decreasing wait times and increasing patient satisfaction through a new "no-wait" rooming process.

Congratulations to all the winners!