General Internal Medicine
The mission of the Division of General Internal Medicine is to improve the health of all patients by:
- providing outstanding clinical care,
- educating the next generation of physicians, and
- engaging in research and scholarship that promote both the science of discovery and the translation of existing knowledge to the care of patients.
The Division is committed to excellence in all of these endeavors.
The Division of General Internal Medicine plays an integral role in our award winning medical center. The Division is comprised of over 20 highly talented faculty members engaged in all aspects of academic medicine. These faculty members practice in a variety of clinical settings, educate students and residents of all levels, and engage in important research that covers a wide array of clinical interests.
The Division works closely with other Divisions and Departments at VCU Medical Center to ensure the delivery of optimal patient care.
About the Chief
Faculty
Division of General Internal Medicine
- Brian Aboff, MD
- Ruma Adams, MD
- Renee Carter, MD, MPH
- Kathie Cho, MD
- Ralph R. Clark, MD
- Stephen Clark, MD, MPH
- Lisa Ellis, MD
- Amanda George, MD, PhD
- Robert Hoyt, MD, FACP, FAMIA, ABPM-CI - affiliate faculty
- Stewart Jennings, MD
- Danielle Johnson, MD
- Jeffrey Kushinka, MD - Division Chief
- Bennett Lee, MD, MPH
- Megan Lemay, MD
- Thokozeni Lipato, MD
- John McCurley, MD
- John Morgan, MD
- Sara Mears, MD
- Suzie Park, MD
- Andy Pinson, MD
- Wally Smith, MD - Associate Chief of Research
- Gustave Weiland, MD
- Darren Witte, MD
- Devon Wojcikewych, MD
- Susan Wolver, MD
Advanced Practice Providers
- Natasha Clingempeel, RN, BSN, MSN, FNP
- Elias D'Alessio, FNP
- Mica Ferlis, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC
- Katherine Houston, FNP-BC, BSN, CMSRN
- Whitney Mayer, NP - Women's Health
- Alyssa Waitkus, NP
- Gail Weatherford, FNP
Clinical Areas
Learn more about our clinical services.
With 20 faculty members who practice in a wide array of clinical settings, the Division of General Internal Medicine is an integral part of the Department of Internal Medicine and cares for both inpatients and outpatients in a number of different practice sites. The Division also has faculty members dedicated to research activities, which cover a range of topics and involve collaborators from the Department, the School of Medicine, and the University community at large.
Ambulatory Medicine
Division faculty members provide direct patient care at two sites: the Faculty Practice in the Ambulatory Care Center, located on the main medical campus in downtown Richmond; and the Women’s Health Center at Stony Point, located just south of the James River while remaining within the city limits. Faculty provide comprehensive, expert primary care to a diverse population of adult patients. The faculty also act as supervising attending physicians in the Primary Care Resident Clinic, which is one of the major ambulatory teaching sites for Internal Medicine residents and is located in the Ambulatory Care Center. In addition to their educational role in the ambulatory practice, many faculty members in this section also attend on the inpatient housestaff services, where they supervise both students and residents in the care of hospitalized patients.
Research
Learn more about our cutting edge research.
While there are many faculty members engaged in research in addition to their clinical practice, the Division also has talented faculty whose efforts are dedicated entirely to research endeavors. Faculty in the Division of General Internal Medicine conduct research that is intended to improve the health of both individual patients and the population at large. This is accomplished through a wide range of research interests within the Division, whether that involves disease-specific clinical research to advance the knowledge base in a specific entity, educational research to improve the training of future physicians, or health information research to improve the application of technology to the care of patients.
Division faculty have received research funding from a wide range of sponsors, including several arms of the NIH (the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities), the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, the Virginia Department of Health, as well as various foundations and industry sponsors.
As previously stated the Division’s research efforts are wide and cross many disciplines and types of research. Current research conducted by Division faculty includes the following:
- Clinical decision-making in cancer care
- Cancer screening in underserved populations
- Undergraduate medical education
- Graduate medical education
- Database development for clinical trials
- Substance abuse
- Sickle cell disease
- Patient-physician communication
- Interprofessional communication and education
The continued growth in research activities, research funding, and dissemination of research is a key priority for the Division moving forward. With the wide array of research interests, the Division is well-placed to accommodate the diverse scholarly interests of academic general internists.
Contacts
Division of General Internal Medicine
Division of General Internal Medicine
1101 East Marshall Street Sanger Hall 1-010
Box 980102
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0102
Phone: (804) 828-9357
Division Contacts
Medicine
Jeffrey T. Kushinka, MD
Division Chief
Box 980102
Richmond, VA 23298-0070
Email: jeffrey.kushinka@vcuhealth.org
Wally R. Smith, MD
Vice Chief for Research
Box 980102
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0102
(804) 828-6938
Email: wally.smith@vcuhealth.org
Administration
Samantha Flatley, MS, MBA
Division Administrator
1101 East Marshall Street
Sanger Hall, Room 1-010L
Box 980102
Phone: (804) 628-4907
Email: samantha.flatley@vcuhealth.org