About
Peter J. Carek, M.D., M.S., attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC where he completed his family medicine residency training. He completed a fellowship in sports medicine at the Ohio Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Clinic and the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Dr. Carek served as the Director of the MUSC/Trident Family Medicine Residency Program (1995-2012), Chair of the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine (2013 – 2021) and Campus Dean for MUSC/AnMed Clinical Campus (2021-2022). Dr. Carek has authored/co-authored over 130 articles for peer-reviewed journals as well as chapters, monographs and articles for non-peered reviewed journals, He has presented over 150 invited presentations and over 140 submitted presentations during meetings of national and international medical organizations. Dr. Carek has reviewed for medical journals, including of Family Medicine, JAMA, and Annals of Family Medicine. He was the recipient of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Parker J. Palmer “Courage to Teach” Award in 2009, the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Nikitas J. Zervanos Outstanding Program Director Award in 2010, the 2015 Family Practice Management Award for Practice Improvement, the F. Marian Bishop Leadership Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) in 2017, and the 2019 Thomas W. Johnson for Career Contributions to Family Medicine Education from the AAFP.
How their research is transforming health care
Implementing Quality Improvement Activities and Informational Technology into Family Medicine Patient Care Activities. Quality improvement is a technique commonly used in business for many years. This method has only begun to be incorporated into the daily activities physicians and other health care providers. Additionally, information technology can be used to assist quality improvement activities. The implementation of these activities or services that improve care for patients seen by family medicine physicians is an active area for my research. Examining Specific Patient Care Activities of the Graduates of Family Medicine Residency Programs. Minimal literature is available regarding the effectiveness of current medical education methods on objective measures of student performance and patient care quality of care indicators. To improve the education provided during family medicine residency training, I studied the patient care activities of program graduates and incorporated them into residency training. These findings created a better training environment and better prepared the residents for independent practice. Incorporating Scholarly Activity into Graduate Medical Education. Historically, family medicine residency programs provided little if any structured activities that promoted research or quality improvement for faculty or residents. As a residency program director in family medicine, incorporated program specific requirements in terms of research and quality improvement activities for the residents. These requirements improved the level of critical thinking and quality of care by program graduates as well as increased the academic productivity of the program.
Health research keywords
Graduate medical education, Health services and workforce, Quality improvement in patient care and medical education, Preventive medicine, Sports medicine.
