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Recognizing the importance of leadership in family medicine, MU’s Department of Family and Community Medicine developed an annual three-day workshop for new family medicine chairs. The primary goal of these workshops has been to prepare new chairs for the challenges, expectations, and responsibilities of their role.

2023 workshop participants
L-R: Front row: Jack Colwill MD, University of Missouri; Ginny Lee Gottschalk MD, University of Kentucky, Lexington; Caroline Richardson MD, Brown University, Providence, RI; Erin Kavanaugh MD, FAAFP, Christianacare, Wilmington, DE; Shivani Malhotra MD, FAAFP, University of Alabama at Birmingham-Huntsville Campus; Tina Korownyk MD, University of Alberta, Canada; Jinping Xu MD, MS, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI;  Elisabeth Wilson MD, MPH, MS-HPEd, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH; Richelle Koopman MD, MS, University of Missouri; Mike LeFevre MD, MSPH, University of Missouri
Back row: Gabriel Neal MD; Texas A&M, Bryan; Stacy Brungardt MA, STFM; Phillip Rodgers MD, FAAHPM, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Jamar Williams MD, MPH, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY; Amanda Weidner MPH, ADFM; Steve Zweig MD, MSPH, University of Missouri


MU has hosted more than 100 new chairs at this workshop, which was initially held from 1991 and 1998, and then reinstituted in 2012. The Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM), the national organization of academic family medicine departments has partnered with MU in this second iteration making it an even more valuable professional development experience for new family medicine leaders. Its success is based on the group work of 8-10 new chairs with a supportive group of mentors.

The New Chairs workshop was described in the 2012 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, University of Missouri’s “Reincarnated” Workshop for New Chairs of Departments of Family Medicine, and evaluated three years later in an ADFM Commentary also in the Annals.

Comments from past workshop participants include:

  • Tremendously helpful, lots of resources, well-organized.
  • Being with such wonderful people, both the participants and faculty. The atmosphere of honesty and engagement, and discussions.
  • The workshop helped me to think about small changes in many areas, rather than one big change.
  • Best workshop I have been to in years! I loved the small size and hands-on approach of the faculty. I felt taken care of, challenged and inspired. Great to hear what people in other roles want from chairs. I was impressed by the transparency of host program (including sharing the budget). I loved meeting new peers and working on problems together. I would recommend this to a colleague at the drop of a hat, it’s a “must” for all new FM chairs!
  • I was so impressed by their level of engagement, it set a great tone and inspired us (the participants) to be equally engaged.
  • Networking with experienced faculty in a strong department and also to meet and develop relationships with other new chairs.

For more information, please contact:

Richelle Koopman, MD, MS
Department Chair, University of Missouri Family and Community Medicine
573-882-1758
koopmanr@health.missouri.edu

Amanda Weidner
Executive Director, Association of Departments of Family Medicine
aweidner@adfm.org