Schneider selected to lead Family and Community Medicine
By Ron Durham
Dr. F. David Schneider, a nationally recognized leader in family medicine, has been selected as Chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
In his new role, Dr. Schneider will develop additional sites of training and clinical care through UT Southwestern’s partnership with Texas Health Resources (THR), starting with the opening of a new family medicine residency program in July 2017 at Texas Health Dallas. He also will lead new initiatives in population health.
“I want to strengthen the presence of Family Medicine at UT Southwestern,” said Dr. Schneider, who will hold the Perry E. Gross, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Family Medicine. “Family Medicine is the direction our health care workforce is going to today. The clinical partnership with THR is geared toward communitywide practice, as are UT Southwestern’s community care clinics.
“I want to expand our clinical footprint, train the best doctors, and establish a research infrastructure that advances primary care. Being at an academic medical center provides us the ability to do research – to understand what works, what doesn’t work, and how to best help our patients – and to provide cost-effective, high-quality care.”
Dr. Schneider was recruited from Saint Louis University, where he served as Professor and Chairman of Family and Community Medicine since 2008. Dr. Schneider previously served within the UT System as a faculty member at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio (1992-2008), rising to Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Vice Chair of the Department prior to moving to St. Louis.
UT Southwestern conducted a nationwide search led by Dr. Mack Mitchell, Vice President for Medical Affairs at UT Southwestern and Chief Medical Officer of THR’s physician network. The committee also included Drs. Carol Croft, Professor of Internal Medicine, Mark Feldman, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern who serves as a gastroenterologist at THR, and Angela Mihalic, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Professor of Pediatrics.
“David Schneider is accomplished as a physician, investigator, and teacher,” said Dr. J. Gregory Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School. “He will focus these considerable skills on the growth and development of the Department on this campus and with our partners at Southwestern Health Resources.”
What attracted Dr. Schneider to UT Southwestern?
“The commitment to academic excellence,” he said. “That’s what got me to first take a look. As I went through the interview process, I was struck with the academic atmosphere, the collegiality, as well as the opportunity to make a difference and build Family Medicine at UT Southwestern.”
Dr. Schneider’s academic work focuses on violence and traumatic stress and its effect on health. He has received support from the Health Resources Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Schneider is engaged in studies on trauma screening, post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, violence and injury prevention, and the use of narcotics for chronic, nonmalignant pain.
“I’m interested in the consequences of violence and traumatic stress in regard to health,” Dr. Schneider said. “When I got to UT (Health Science Center at San Antonio), I partnered with a colleague when my interest primarily was in substance abuse, an area in which I had some additional training. As our research progressed, the interaction between violence and substance abuse became more apparent, which led to my interest in violence and health.”
Dr. Schneider’s involvement and interest helped establish the Academy on Violence and Abuse about 10 years ago. “It’s a professional membership society that includes physicians, researchers, nurses, counselors, physical therapists, and other healthcare professional and cuts across disciplines and endeavors to improve how we work with patients,” he said.
Dr. Schneider is nationally recognized for his work with the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse and the Academy on Violence and Abuse. He also served as President of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. His honors include the Texas Academy of Family Physicians Sam A. Nixon Leadership Award. His publications include book chapters, journal articles, and reviews on family violence.
Dr. Schneider attended Boston University as an undergraduate and as a medical student in the BU School of Medicine, and completed his family medicine residency at Duke University’s Southern Regional AHEC program. He also earned a Master of Science in Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Missouri.
Dr. Croft holds the Baldridge Family Professorship in Internal Medicine and Preventive Care.
Dr. Fitz holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science, and the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Mitchell holds the Nancy S. and Jeremy L. Halbreich Professorship in Gastroenterology.
