Students, Residents Build Connections at National Conference

Hands-On Learning

Second-year resident Kristina Lim, MD, was back for her 4th National Conference and participated in skills workshops.

“We do this on a daily basis on the labor-and-delivery floor,” she said after simulating repair of a 2nd-degree perineal laceration on a sponge. “But it’s helpful to review skills in a safe and supportive environment.”

Students also participated in the clinical procedures workshops, giving them experiences they don’t get on a daily basis.

“It’s different to put your hands on something and see how it works rather than watching others or reading about it in a textbook,” said Aliah Moore, a 3rd-year student at St George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada, who attended a workshop that used models to simulate vasectomies.

Packed Expo Hall

Finding the perfect fit for residency was the goal of Gabriela Elias, a 4th-year medical student from St George’s. Elias, a Florida native, said she visited with programs.

Elias found the Expo Hall’s more than 600 booths overwhelming at first, but the AAFP events app helped her locate programs and connect with their websites, and a new system of grouping programs by region also simplified the experience.

“Everything has been amazing,” said Elias, whose highlights included a mainstage event with Jen Caudle, DO, a session for international medical graduates and a presentation about residency interviews. “I attended online 2 years ago, but nothing compares to being here in person.”

Picture Perfect

Students will need to provide a recent professional headshot when they begin submitting applications in ERAS. The AAFP Foundation took the cost of photos and questions about ERAS specifications out of the equation by providing new headshots for more than 500 attendees.

“I’m applying this year, so I’ll probably use this for my ERAS photo,” said Jenna Kanner, a 4th-year student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “We also had headshots at my school, but they don’t give you a ton of time or choices, so it’s nice to have a 2nd option.”

Mission Accomplished

The conference drew 4,815 registrants, including 1,453 students. That’s an increase of nearly 400 people compared to 2022, which was the 1st in-person version of the event after 2 years of virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Derek Southwick, a 4th-year student at the University of Washington School of Medicine - Moscow, Idaho, did his part to boost attendance. Southwick noticed that several states had not sent student delegates to the National Congress of Student Members in recent years. As the Family Medicine Interest Group regional coordinator for the Western United States during the 2022-23 school year, Southwick reached out to state chapter executives in his region multiple times throughout the academic year and urged them to send delegates. Seventeen of the 18 chapters did.

Southwick, not to be denied, found students from the 1 remaining state on site and convinced them to participate in the congress. Thus, the 18 states in his region (including Alaska and Hawaii) provided 30 student delegates.

“I love how educational and motivating it is to get involved in advocacy,” he said. “I didn’t know much about parliamentary procedure when I first got involved, but when I did experience it, I thought it was amazing.”

Southwick will get to experience AAFP policymaking on a bigger stage this fall. The National Congress of Student Members elected him to serve as a student alternate delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates, which will be held in October 25-27, 2023 in Chicago.

“It’s super exciting and humbling,” Southwick said. “I saw my role as bringing the Idaho view to the Student Congress. Now I’ll be bringing the student viewpoint to the Congress of Delegates.”

Mentorship Matters

Aerial Petty, DO, managed 2 big accomplishments during the 3-day conference. Petty, a 3rd-year resident at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, was a winner in the AAFP Foundation’s Emerging Leader Institute (ELI) program, and she also was elected as a resident alternate delegate to the Congress of Delegates during the National Congress of Family Medicine Residents.

Petty’s 1-year ELI project focused on integrating training related to health policy in residency curriculums. She credited her ELI mentor, former AAFP President Reid Blackwelder, MD, associate dean for graduate medical and continuing education at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine, with her successful week.

“He gave me specific, actionable and thoughtful feedback that required me to be reflective, think outside the box and not limit myself,” Petty said of Blackwelder, who also helped her make connections with others who could contribute to her project. “I got really lucky. He was so engaged and supportive throughout. He believed not only in my project, but in me. He encouraged me to run for a leadership position here.”

Family Medicine Interest Group Leadership Summit

More than 80 students stuck around after the conference for the first Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) Leadership Summit on July 29, 2023.

Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine student Ernie Rodriguez, MBA, who was elected National FMIG Coordinator during voting earlier in the day, said he hoped the new post-conference event would “inspire the next generation of family physician leaders” to establish an FMIG on their own campus or to improve the workshops and programming in an existing FMIG.

“Workshops are important,” he said, “but it goes beyond didactics and clinical workshops. Innovation is needed to grow student interest in family medicine.”