In his lecture, Dr. LaCombe offered a genealogy of the current generation of UA College of Medicine physicians, fellows, residents and students stretching back to their Greek and Arabic ancestry, then presented Dr. Chuck Cairns, the dean, with a poster version of that academic delineation with some help from students.
“The Importance of Family History” is the topic of a special lecture on Thursday, Oct. 6, at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.
The presentation will be given by cardiologist Michael A. LaCombe, MD, FACC, MACP, LHD (hon), and is part of the bi-annual Donald K. Buffmire Visiting Lectureship in Medicine series, sponsored by the Flinn Foundation.
Dr. LaCombe is a cardiologist who has practiced in Maine for more than 40 years. He is associate editor of the “On Being A Doctor,” “On Being A Patient” and “Ad Libitum” sections of the Annals of Internal Medicine and is a professor of medicine and medical humanities at the University of New England.
He has developed a career that blends writing with the practice of medicine. He has published more than 100 essays and stories in peer-reviewed medical journals, as well as 13 books. A collection of his stories, “Bedside: The Art of Medicine,” was published by the University of Maine Press in 2010. His articles and compositions have been turned into performances and are used for teaching ethics and humanism in medical schools.
Dr. LaCombe’s presentation will showcase the importance of teaching and mentoring. He will answer the thought-provoking question “Is there anything to be learned from old professors?”
The American College of Physicians presented the Nicholas E. Davies Memorial Scholar Award for Scholarly Activities in the Humanities and History of Medicine to Dr. LaCombe in April 2011. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Southern Maine in May 2012. He is immediate past-President of the Harvard Medical Alumni Association.
The free presentation on Thursday, Oct. 6, will include the lecture from noon to 1 p.m. (light lunch available at 11:45 a.m.), followed by a meet-and-greet reception from 1 to 1:30 p.m., in Kiewit Auditorium, University of Arizona Cancer Center, 1515 N. Campbell Ave. Please RSVP by Wednesday, Sept. 28, to glinda@email.arizona.edu. For more information, please contact the UA College of Medicine – Tucson Office of the Dean by email glinda@email.arizona.edu or call 520-626-1530.
PLEASE NOTE: The lecture also will be broadcast live and archived for future viewing on the Internet at https://streaming.biocom.arizona.edu/event/index.cfm?id=26864 (visit “site requirements” on the webpage prior to the lecture to ensure that you have the proper components installed).
About the Donald K. Buffmire Visiting Lectureship in Medicine
Initiated in 1997, the Donald K. Buffmire Visiting Lectureship in Medicine series continues the Flinn Foundation’s commitment to bring to Arizona leading practitioners and thinkers in the medical field. The lectureship offers physicians, students and community members opportunities to hear from distinguished leaders in the field of medicine and medical education. In 2008, the annual lecture was expanded to a bi-annual event and includes presentations at both the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix and UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
The lectureship is named for the late Donald K. Buffmire, MD, in recognition of his distinguished career as a medical practitioner in Arizona and his leadership role with the Flinn Foundation in supporting the UA Colleges of Medicine. Dr. Buffmire, who died in July 2008 at age 85, served on the board of the Flinn Foundation for 36 years, from 1965 to 2001, including 14 years as its chair.
The Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation is a privately endowed organization that awards grants to non-profit organizations in Arizona, primarily to improve the competitiveness of the state’s biomedical research enterprise.
About the UA College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is advancing health and wellness through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research, and advancements in patient care in Arizona and across the United States. Founded in 1967, the College ranks among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care and is leading the way in academic medicine through its partnership with Banner – University Medicine, a new division of one of the largest nonprofit health-care systems in the country. For more information, please visit medicine.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu