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Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. We are delighted in your interest in the OU Health Sciences Center and our department.

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The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine is one of the 4 original departments of Family Medicine, so we have a long history of training outstanding physicians, providing amazing care, and guiding scholarship in family medicine. Excellence is in our DNA as evidenced by OU Medical School’s ranking by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top U.S. medical schools for primary care and by our hospital’s designation as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America by Becker’s Healthcare .

Our mission: To enhance the nature, quality, and availability of primary care service for all people in Oklahoma

This mission includes many initiatives: 

  • Education:  training medical students, physician assistant students, family medicine residents and fellows to provide excellent primary care to all patients
  • Service:  Providing excellent health care of patients in our communities—rural to urban, regardless of their life situation
  • Scholarship:  Conducting cutting-edge primary healthcare research to inform patient care and the educational mission of the Department while providing research opportunities to medical students, residents, fellows, and other health professionals.

We lead using the principals of our PACCT with each other—valuing People, Accountability, Collaboration, Compassion, and Transparency.  These guide our actions in the department and on the entire campus.

I am particularly proud of our residency and its impact on our state.   Over the past 50 years, we have trained over 300 family physicians who practice from Woodward to Idabel, Miami to Altus and all areas in-between.   They have an enduring impact on their communities and our state.

We have a vibrant and diverse department, which we invite you to explore on our website and in person. If you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Jim Barrett, M.D.                                                                  
Chairman of Family & Preventive Medicine