Aug. 11, 2017 — The Council of Florida Medical School Deans held its annual meeting Aug. 4-5 in Orlando in conjunction with the Florida Medical Association annual meeting.

The deans and other leaders of the state’s public and private colleges of medicine, including Michael Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine, discussed issues such as graduate medical education, medical student and resident well-being, pain management and the rising rate of opioid misuse and addiction.

“It is a privilege to work together with medical school dean colleagues from around the state on initiatives that aim to improve the health of all Floridians,” Good said.

It was the second time the council meeting coincided with the Florida Medical Association meeting, allowing leadership of each group to share common goals regarding patient care and research. It was also an opportunity for the state’s deans to interact with the students, residents and faculty who make up the Florida Medical Association’s education and advocacy programs.

Members of the council also served as judges for the 2017 Florida Medical Association David Paulus, M.D., Poster Symposium. Paulus was a professor in the department of anesthesiology at the UF College of Medicine who passed away in 2012. More than 130 posters were on display from medical students and residents, and UF College of Medicine resident Caitlin Butler, M.D., received first-place recognition for her clinical case poster titled “Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma Mimicking Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in a Patient Presenting Fevers of Unknown Origin.”

The Council of Florida Medical School Deans was formed in 2001 to provide a forum for Florida’s medical school deans to discuss the future of Florida’s medical education. The council meets monthly via teleconference and annually in Tallahassee during Florida’s legislative session to share with legislators the successes of Florida’s medical schools, residency programs and teaching hospitals.