The AFP family is pleased to welcome our newest editorial fellow, Uma Jayaraman, MD. Dr. Jayaraman accepted the 2007-2008 John C. Rose Fellowship in Medical Editing and has been part of the AFP medical editing staff at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., since her 12-month term began on July 1.

Sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, the John C. Rose fellowship is designed to develop medical writing and editing skills and help provide future leaders for medical editing projects and family medicine faculty.

Dr. Jayaraman earned her bachelor's degree in combined sciences at Youngstown (Ohio) State University and her medical degree at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown. She completed her residency at the Georgetown University–Providence Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, where she served as co-chief resident from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007.

Dr. Jayaraman applied for the AFP fellowship because she has always had an interest in writing and editing. She felt that this would be a wonderful opportunity for her to grow and branch out as a professional, and she looks forward to gaining experience as a writer and editor and to facing the challenge of balancing the various aspects of her position in the coming year. She also said that she is excited to be working with some very talented people.

During her fellowship, Dr. Jayaraman will divide her time among medical editing, faculty development, and clinical duties. For the medical editing portion, she will be working closely with Jay Siwek, MD, editor of AFP, while reviewing and editing manuscripts, soliciting manuscripts from authors to cover the core curriculum, writing patient education material, and evaluating the clinical content of cover art, among other responsibilities. She'll teach Georgetown medical students and precept family medicine residents as part of the faculty development portion of the fellowship. For the clinical portion, she will see patients at a Unity Health Care, Inc., community health center in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Jayaraman says she always knew that she wanted to work with the underprivileged and help people to better themselves. Her passion is working with the underserved; she says it feels good knowing that she's been able to help the people who need it the most. This commitment to the underserved population was influenced in part by her grandfather, who was a family physician in India. “He was very committed to helping the underserved; he ran a clinic out of his house and would very often treat patients for free. I would definitely say that he was a strong influence on me and my choice to become a family physician,” she said.

As she continues to grow as a family physician, Dr. Jayaraman would like to continue to practice medicine in a compassionate and caring way, and to provide quality care to all patients. She said she also hopes to continue to write and edit for AFP even after the fellowship is over, and would also like to continue teaching residents and students. “I think that teaching is a great way to stay on top of one's fund of knowledge.”

“I think having a balanced life and keeping an open mind will help me to be a better physician. Having interests outside of medicine helps me to stay well rounded, but it also gives me better insight into my patients' lives and helps me to relate to them in a more meaningful way.”

Dr. Jayaraman grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where her parents still reside. She lives with her husband, an attorney, in Arlington, Va., and has a brother who is a senior at Ohio State University, Columbus.