Health Promotion Rotation

The 2nd year residents all partake in the Health Promotion rotation, which is always scheduled during the month of February.  The Center for Family Medicine faculty saw a need to increase expertise of residents via more formal training in Health Promotion.  The rotation focuses on key health risk areas from Healthy People 2010.  Focus areas include:  key health risks; evidence-based recommendations; behavior change, and practical office implementation strategies. 

Rotation topics include:  behavior change theory/models; USPSTF Review; alcohol abuse; smoking cessation; obesity management; nutrition; exercise; stress reduction; STEP UP Study Review; office time management; self-assessment (chart audit) and a group project. 
 

There have been positive results from the rotation.  The residents benefit by getting individual evaluations each session, focus groups following the rotation, pre- and post-tests, and self evaluation of health promotion practices.  Resident evaluation comments include:  "The rotation really changed my practice.  I try to spend time during every visit on health promotion."; "It was useful seeing how to apply different weight management techniques to different people...I'm much more comfortable individualizing my approach." 

All faculty are involved in teaching this rotation, which promotes faculty development and team building among residents and faculty. 
                                                                                               
Our mission is to be providers of high quality patient-focused healthcare that is readily accessible, cost effective and meets the needs of our community. 

 Sports Medicine Education

The Family Medicine Residency Program at Fairview Hospital, in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Department, offiers a well-rounded and exceptional education in the field of sports medicine.  Not only do our residents rotate and work with the team physicians for the Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers, but they have the opportunity to participate in the medical coverage of such sporting events as the Cleveland Marathon, the Mid-American Conference Basketball Tournament, and teams such as the Lake Erie Monsters Hockey Team and Cleveland State Unviersity athletics. 

Additionally, residents have the unique opportunity of providing sports medicine coverage to local area high schools.  Currently, as part of a longitudinal elective in sports medicine, residents from our program serve as the team physician at Westlake High School and participate in weekly training room athletic injury clinics, and provide sideline medical coverage for the academic year. 

These experiences, along with a Sports Medicine Lecture Series, organized by the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health faculty and precepting at our Family Medicine Clinics by the primary care sports medicine fellows, provides Fairview's Family Medicine Residency Program with an outstanding educational experience and exposure to the field of sports medicine.

If you would like information regarding the Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Fellowship, you can click on the link or call the Sports Medicine Department at: 216-444-2185. 
     

International Health

The Family Medicine Residency Program offers an International Health Track.  The educational goals of this track include achieving heightened awareness of the health needs in developing countries, and experiential training in the provision of that care. 

The International Health Track curriculum will consist of two one-month rotations.  The first month elective occurs in the second year and includes seminars and conferences about various aspects of international health.  This rotation is organized in collaboration with international health faculty at Case Western Reserve University.

The second month is an away rotation in the third year under the supervision of  our faculty member Dr. David Eberlein.  He undertakes an annual medical mission trip, usually to Guatemala.  He has also been to Nigeria in the past, and he has recently returned from a trip to Peru in January of 2008 with one of our third year residents, Dr. Oscar Cornelio.  Residents may choose to participate in one of Dr. Eberlein's trips or they may design a different overseas experience related to their own geographic area of interest.   

Acupuncture at the Center for Family Medicine

In 2004, Drs. Flynn and Kelly completed a comprehensive acupuncture course for physicians offered through the Helms Institute based in the UCLA School of Medicine. In April they successfully passed the American Board of Medical Acupuncture Examination. They each do 3-5 treatments a week, and accept outside patients for treatment as well as existing Center for Family Medicine patients.

Modern acupuncture grew out of traditional Chinese medicine. There are many “acupuncture points” that have been mapped on the body, and these points are connected by pathways or “meridians.”  According to traditional Chinese philosophy, meridians conduct a type of energy, “Qi”, that represents both positive and negative forces. Acupuncture is intended to maintain an energy balance, thus restoring health. During a treatment procedure, very fine, solid needles are placed just below the skin's surface at different points. These points are areas of electrical sensitivity that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of specific health problems. Typically, needles are left in place for 5-30 minutes. For many conditions, twisting, gentle heating, or applying a very weak electrical current to the needle can be used to improve the result.

Researchers around the world are actively trying to sort out how and why acupuncture is effective, and there are a number of possible theories. For example, endorphins and other neurohumoral substances are released during acupuncture and may partially explain its observed effects. Acupuncture is either used alone or in combination with other therapies to treat a wide range of painful conditions such as back pain, headache, arthritis, and fibromyalgia, as well as some chronic illnesses such as asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, and addictions (like cigarette smoking).