Department of Family Medicine

Letter from the Chair

Kathryn M. Larsen, M.D.

Welcome to the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California.  Our department goals are synchronous with those of the UC Irvine School of Medicine: quality patient care teaching, research, and community service.  Faculty members teach medical students at our three faculty practice sites in Santa Ana and Anaheim (both FQHC clinics) and the Gottschalk Plaza in Irvine, adjacent to the UC Irvine SOM campus.

Our three-year family medicine residency program (30 residents) is located at the Santa Ana Family Health Center, and just received a maximum five-year accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.  Our faculty research is focused in multiple areas including medical education, chronic disease management, geriatrics, and integrative medicine.  We take particular pride in our commitment to the underserved at Orange County.

Michael Prislin, M.D., is the vice Chair for Educational Affairs and is also Dean for Student Affairs in the UC Irvine School of Medicine.  Dr. Prislin is nationally recognized for his research in medical education and was awarded the California Academy of Family Physicians Award for Educational Excellence in Honor of Barbara Harris.

Our residency program is under the direction of Charles Vega, M.D.  Last year's Match was one of our best and is testimony to the leadership of Dr. Vega and the dedication and quality of our faculty, residents, and staff.  Dr. Vega was also recently appointed the Director of the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community  (PRIME-LC), an innovative program dedicated to training physicians to serve the Hispanic community.

Our pre-doctoral program is led by Wadie Najm, M.D. M.S.Ed., and David Morohashi, M.D., directs the third-year clerkship in family medicine, required of all medical students and the Scholars Program.  Several faculty participate in the UC Irvine SOM doctoring course, which was recently restructured as the Clinical Foundations Course.  Desiree Lie, M.D. M.S.Ed., leads the Research and Faculty Development Division of the Department.

Laura Mosqueda, M.D., directs the UC Irvine Academic Geriatric Research Program and is recognized nationally for her work in elder abuse.

Kathryn M. Larsen, M.D.                                                   Health Sciences Clinical Professor                                   Chair, Department of Family Medicine                          Gerald B. Sinykin, M.D., Endowed Chair in Family Medicine