Blog
Need a Reason to Attend the AAFP National Conference? Here Are Five
As one of the newly appointed Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) Coordinators for the David Geffen School of Medicine in the spring of 2011, I was anticipating an eventful year of promoting and learning more about family medicine through workshop planning, networking, and service in the community. In addition, I was excited for the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, MO at the end of July. CAFP provides scholarships to first-time conference attendees, and I was selected as one of the...
read moreAdmiring a Pioneer in the FMRevolution
Posted from Kansas City, MO In spite of the whirlwind of excitement, status updates and tweets whilst chairing the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC) here in Kansas City, it was important to take a deep breath and pause to admire Dr. G. Gayle Stephens as he delivered his plenary session on the evolution of family medicine in America from counterculture to revolution. It was not solely because he is an original Family Medicine Revolutionary – it was the gumption he displayed as he reminded us that our first...
read moreWhy Understanding Newtonian Physics is Imperative for the Future of Family Medicine
Remember Newton’s Second Law of Motion? To review, force = mass x acceleration. In other words, to determine the force of an object in motion, an observer must know the mass of that object multiplied by its change in speed over time. Now, work with me. Imagine that the force is that which will shift a vector and that the vector, in this case, is the incentive system that drives rational physician behavior. At the present moment, that incentive system is designed to encourage one thing: volume of services and/or procedures. A doctor decides to...
read moreHow Nice it is to be Wanted
In a down economy, with family practice residency graduation looming, I am a hotter commodity than gold right now. Recruiters compete for my attention with emails, phone calls, and fancy dinners. They’ve met my husband (who fortunately was willing to be my front line in this sudden assault of suitors) and they know my likes and dislikes. According to a survey by the American Academy of Family Physicians, “Primary care physicians have become a particular focus of recruiting efforts for several reasons”. In particular, the...
read more2011 AAFP NCFMR, #FMRevolution and Origin Stories
Greetings, fellow Family Medicine Revolutionaries! The 2011 American Academy of Family Physicians’ National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students begins today in Kansas City, MO. Many of you have flown in from every nook and cranny of our vast nation (and beyond) to explore all that Family Medicine has to offer you: not only the future of our great specialty, the future of American medicine. As a soon-to-be not-so-young physician, I am stoked about our collective future as Strong Medicine for America because of the...
read moreLeadership From the NCSC
It has been said that the mere act of showing up is an act of leadership. That would be true for the vast majority of family docs who remain present for their patients and communities. However, I believe that the time is upon us for a paradigm shift. Merely showing up is not enough. I have been trying to wrap my mind around how family medicine and civic engagement, natural fits for one another when you think about it, sometimes mix like oil and water. Then I remembered that we all went to medical school and therefore are physicians first....
read moreTrying to Find Closure
With three months of residency left to go, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Three eventful years full of emotions, full of expectations, full of trials and tribulations. Alas, how will I ever find closure? My winter months were spent hibernating with chiefing duties in the hospital, so little was left in the way of sitting down and reflecting. Recovering from those high cortisol months has been a slow downhill crawl, like the three weeks it took to break the delirious uneasiness before falling asleep. Since those inpatient...
read moreIs There an Underlying Specialty-Bias in Medical Schools?
Cross posted from Future of Family Medicine A multitude of factors drive students towards, or away from, the path of family medicine. Much has been made recently of reimbursement schemes that incentivize specialty practice. Certainly, medical students strapped with debt are showing preference to more lucrative fields for residency. But is there more to this choice beyond the surface of financial incentive? What about the very environment that cultivates the growth and decision-making of our medical students? Does an underlying, or perhaps...
read more#FMRevolution = Family Medicine Revolution
Ah, change. Isn’t it lovely? With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) last year, much change has been afoot and most of it has been rapid and frantic change. Many stakeholders, from physicians to health plans and from patients to employers, are probably not entirely comfortable with the ground beneath them moving and so quickly (though I would argue that here in California, we’re accustomed to the ground shaking). I would also argue one of the main reasons why folks are so darned uncomfortable is...
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