Beck Fellowships
BECK FELLOWSHIPS:
Supporting Advanced Training for Young Physicians
It’s no secret that the U.S. is facing a shortage of primary care doctors. According to research by the American Association of Medical Colleges, primary care medicine will be hit hard in the next 15 years — with a projected shortfall of 65,000 primary care physicians. Many young physicians entering the field find specialty or procedure-based medicine offers a more manageable lifestyle and greater financial rewards. As new healthcare reforms go into effect, physicians who treat chronic conditions or complicated medical situations will be the ones most affected by the new law.
Peggy Plews-Ogan, MD (center), and Daniel Becker, MD (right), of the UVA Division of General, Geriatric, Palliative & Hospital Medicine, with (left) colleague Madaline Harrison, MD, of the UVA Department of Neurology.
Recognizing the challenges ahead in healthcare, Ann and Ted Beck of Glasgow, Virginia, have committed a generous bequest to fund two fellowships at UVA: one for advanced training in general medicine and the other providing advanced training in neurodegenerative disease management.
“We’ve been very pleased with the quality of care we’ve received at UVA,” says Ted Beck. “We hope that doctors will get good grounding in these fields and will benefit from advanced fellowship training at UVA, where there is very good medical care and very good science at the same time.”
The gift is a boost to general medicine, says Dan Becker, MD, a UVA internal medicine physician. “This fellowship acknowledges the pivotal role of primary care,” Dr. Becker says. “Primary care is not a popular specialty choice these days. But the Becks have appreciated doctors who listen and who demonstrate interest in their personal story, and they want to promote that. That doctor-patient relationship is a hallmark of general medicine.”
Peggy Plews-Ogan, MD, who served as chief of UVA’s general medicine division for 10 years — she stepped down in August 2014 — points out that primary care doctors often are the educators and mentors in healthcare systems. Despite the critical nature of this field, little funding is available for advanced training.
“The timing of this commitment couldn’t be better,” Dr. Plews-Ogan says. “Our strengths in general medicine are needed to move health-care forward in the U.S. This fellowship will help us to enhance physicians’ relationship-centered skills and their focus on quality of care, patient safety, and care for the vulnerable in our population.” Dr. Plews-Ogan indicated that the fellowships will be an excellent recruiting tool. Recipients will have the opportunity to pursue research initiatives while developing their clinical and teaching expertise.
“The Becks are such wonderful people, and this is an incredibly generous commitment,” says Dr. Plews-Ogan. “The fellowship-trained physicians become the true leaders in general medicine. They set the standard and example for everyone they touch —whether it’s their patients, their trainees or their medical students. This gift will have a huge impact.”