The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is excited to select physician and dedicated Kentuckian Ginny Gottschalk, MD, as the new chair of family and community medicine.
Dr. Gottschalk has served as acting chair of the department for nearly a year. She is an associate professor in the clinical title series and has been part of the department faculty since 2014.
“Kentucky is my home, and since joining the UK College of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine, I have been committed to the patients, learners, faculty, and staff,” Dr. Gottschalk said. “I am excited for the opportunity to continue leading the department to provide excellent patient care, outstanding education, and exceptional research.”
As chair of family and community medicine, Dr. Gottschalk will help recruit and retain physicians, advanced practice providers, staff, and trainees to join the college while mentoring her current team to succeed in career and professional development. She also will collaborate with leadership across the College of Medicine to establish interdisciplinary programs and conduct transformative research; promote educational activities; advance a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and pursue extramural funding for endowments along with the Office of Philanthropy.
Dr. Gottschalk has garnered leadership experience as medical director of the UK HealthCare Family Medicine Clinic at Turfland. From 2016-2021, she served as clerkship director for the Office of Medical Education, helping students gain exposure to family and community medicine. She also has logged several hours mentoring residents, fellows, and medical students one-on-one.
In 2017, she was honored with the Abraham Flexner Excellence in Medical Education Award for her outstanding teaching. She has been awarded the UK College of Medicine Clinical Teaching Award three times, as well as the Family Medicine Faculty of the Year in 2016.
Dr. Gottschalk is an alumna of the UK College of Medicine. Before earning her Doctor of Medicine, she received her Bachelor of Science, Biology, and Chemistry at Murray State University. She completed a family medicine internship and family medicine residency at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.
Her professional activities include serving as a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians.
In her new role, Dr. Gottschalk will oversee a department that has experienced growth in recent years, particularly in research activities. In 2020, for the first time, the department made it on the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) rankings. Additionally, the department continues to provide exceptional clinical care, logging 1,625 discharges and 103,000 outpatient visits in fiscal year 2022. Family medicine units span across Kentucky from Georgetown to Hazard and Hindman. The department trains future doctors through four graduate medical programs: two Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited family medicine core residency programs, one preventive medicine residency, and a primary care sports medicine fellowship program.
Dr. Gottschalk’s new leadership role will take effect July 1.