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By Merin C. MacDonald  | Date published: July 30, 2024

Sonia Bagga, MD

Conference Series Offers Providers Opportunities to Learn the Latest Advances and Updates on Primary Care-Relevant Topics

There is a strong desire among providers to learn about new advances and updates on various topics applicable to primary care. Yet, relevant conferences that do not have significant expenses and travel associated with them can be difficult to find, creating barriers to attending these activities.  

In 2023, providers including Elizabeth Murphy, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and program director for the Primary Care Track of the Internal Medicine Residency, recommended a revival of weekly CME conferences or case studies, a practice that had lapsed over the years. Sonia Bagga, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, agreed and noted other typical barriers to attending CME conferences such as cost and travel time. With support and encouragement from Deborah Blazey-Martin, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and vice chair for ambulatory affairs in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Bagga assumed the role of director for a new Primary Care CME conferences series.   

Conferences officially launched in April 2023 with an inaugural session featuring Howard Sachs, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, who delivered a talk titled, “Medical Malpractice: When Intuitions Fail.” “It was an excellent start to our CME sessions with a great speaker and a relevant topic,” said Dr. Bagga. “Since then, we have had a total of 50 talks.” 

Guided by the overarching goals of selecting topics that allow providers to learn about advances and updates on diseases relevant to Primary Care and to offer opportunities to collaborate with specialty colleagues to provide better patient care at UMass, Dr. Bagga has since carefully curated a regular series of conferences based on feedback and comments compiled from each talk.   

“The support from our wonderful UMass community has been incredible,” said Dr. Bagga. “Our physicians eagerly step forward to teach and learn from one another. This collaborative spirit is truly the beauty of working in an academic setting.”  

The 2024-25 season will kick off on September 11 with a talk titled, “Review of MASH/MASLD: How to Manage and Risk Stratify Patients with Fatty Liver Disease,” presented by Anita Krishnarao, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology.  

For more information about the Primary Care CME Conference Series and how to attend, check out the Department of Medicine’s Need to Know, On the Go weekly calendar of events.