President's Welcome
Features
Highlights

February 22, 2010

 
I want to update you on the activities of the board and board leaders since my last communication in January. 
 
Elissa Palmer, Joe Gravel, Jay Fetter, and I represented our membership in the semi-annual meeting of the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) and Working Party. CAFM is composed of the four family medicine academic organizations – AFMRD, STFM, ADFM, and NAPCRG. Working Party is composed of the same academic organizations plus the ABFM, the AAFP  and the AAFP Foundation. 
 
The CAFM organizations discussed areas of common interest including our ongoing advocacy efforts, the PCMH and mental health integration, engaging the Veterans Administration in education, and others projects. A more complete list of projects can be found at the CAFM website at http://www.academicfamilymedicine.org/
 
One measure of our advocacy impact is that the AAMC and others have singled out organized family medicine, represented by the AAFP and the academic organizations of CAFM, for their joint positions taken during the recent health care reform debate. I have heard, and I agree, that it is especially powerful to have the signatures of the four presidents and the chair of CAFM in each letter.   The signatures represent the fact that these organizations, all with diverse member needs, are agreeing on an issue.  That represents a powerful coalition. The voices of these groups do not get lost in a homogenized way as in other specialty disciplines.   (You may recall that our recent survey of our membership indicated that over two-thirds of our members believe that the unique needs of our program directors cannot be met by having only a single academic organization.) 
 
Two new CAFM strategic priorities for the coming year include residency innovation and preparing a response for the anticipated release of the RC-FM new program requirements in the fall 2010. On a final note regarding CAFM, I am pleased to report that I have been elected as chair of CAFM to a one-year term beginning in August 2010.
 
The AFMRD board just completed its winter meeting to further develop the strategic plan for the next three years. The plan will be released at the Program Directors Workshop in June and pieces of the plan will be highlighted in the Annals of Family Medicine over the next 12 months. While the plan is not yet ready for release at this time, I can tell you the focus of the plan will be to raise the bar for quality in residency education. We are also working to increase the transparency of the board, improve its governance and increase the participation of non-board AFMRD members in the ongoing committee work of the organization. 
 
If you have an interest running for a board position, it is not too late. Please contact Elissa Palmer or any other board member to get more information. If you would like to serve on an AFMRD committee, please contact a board member or the AFMRD staff.
 
Stan Kozakowski, MD
AFMRD President
 

President's Welcome Archive

Register Now for NIPDD +

NIPDD+ is a new program that will be offered on Saturday, June 5, the day prior to the annual AAFP Program Directors Workshop. The NIPDD Academic Council, along with Dr. Brian Wong, will present sessions designed for the seasoned program director, including Advanced Finance, Real World Confrontations, and Thriving Not Just Surviving. To register, you must be a graduate of NIPDD I and currently working in a family medicine residency environment.  Download more information here. You may conveniently register online, paying by check or credit card. Contact Sam Pener, 800-274-2237, ext 6707, with questions.

Got Answers? Volunteers Needed!

If you currently subscribe to the AFMRD discussion list (listserve), you know it’s a busy place! You may also observe that the traffic can be redundant, with patterns of recurrent questions. Your AFMRD Communications Committee has chosen a list of FAQs that reflect many of the threads of discussion and inquiry from the discussion list. We are now seeking volunteers among our members to share your best practices by writing concise 250-word answers to the FAQs. The questions and answers will be posted in the PD Toolbox on www.AFMRD.org as a resource for new PDs and a quick reference for established directors.

To volunteer to submit an answer to one of the questions, please contact Stoney Abercrombie, Chair of the Communications Committee or Katy Robb, AFMRD Staff. To access the list of FAQs, click here.

Got Connections?

Membership in the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors offers the opportunity to connect with other program directors, associate program directors, and NIPDD fellows throughout the United States.  Members connect through the AFMRD email discussion list around challenges and opportunities in teaching, administration, finance, and regulatory issues associated with residency education.  The new AFMRD website provides links to resources, as well as specific samples in the PD Toolbox.  Leaders in family medicine provide up-to-date information surrounding important issues impacting family medicine and the training of future family physicians.

We invite you to join today!  To learn more about the types of membership, click here.
 

Partnering with ABFM to Serve Program Directors

The AFMRD Board of Directors and the American Board of Family Medicine are in frequent contact around the concerns of family medicine residency directors.  The AFMRD Board and ABFM staff meet annually to address opportunities for collaboration and improved communication.  As a result, they have developed a set of frequently asked questions and responses.    The list of FAQs includes questions about the In Training Exam, communication, the Board certification exam, and other common topics that appear with some frequency on the AFMRD listserve.  This resource will be located in the PD Toolbox section of this website, as well as on the ABFM's website.  Feel free to share the information with your program administration, faculty, and residents. 

Click here to get to the FAQ list.

2009 Program Director Recognition Award Recipients

The AFMRD Program Director Recognition Awards were presented at the 2009 Program Directors Workshop in June. Four Gold, two Silver and seven Bronze Awards were presented to a total of thirteen family medicine residency directors. These individuals were recognized for their achievement in the areas of peer development, professional development and recognition, scholarly activity, and service to academic family medicine organizations.

Click here to see the list of the 2009 recipients.

2009 Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarship

The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD), the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) have developed the Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarship to both recognize resident scholarly activity and, by doing so, promote increased capacity building in family medicine research and scholarly activity. One award may be made by each family medicine residency program annually. In the case where a group of residents collaborated on one scholarly activity, certificates will be provided for each resident.

Click here to see a list of the 2009 recipients.

 

 



 

For an archived listing of Features, click here.

2010 Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarship

The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD), the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) have developed the Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarship to both recognize resident scholarly activity and, by doing so, promote increased capacity building in family medicine research and scholarly activity. One award may be made by each family medicine residency program annually. In the case where a group of residents collaborated on one scholarly activity, certificates will be provided for each resident.  For more information, click here.
 

Program Directors -
Get Recognized!


The AFMRD Board is pleased to offer the Program Director Recognition Award. The Program Director Recognition Award is a self-initiated mechanism for recognizing the achievements of program directors in light of their unique roles, responsibilities and challenges.

The award program consists of three levels (bronze, silver and gold), based on the completion of more substantial accomplishments in each category. The Program Director must complete an application, listing his or her accomplishments in each of the predetermined categories. Awards will be presented at PDW, June 6-8. To learn more, click here.

Debt Management for Residents

Links have been added to the PD Toolbox which provide debt management information for residents. You will find these resources under Financial Management.


PCMH Powerpoint Available

"A few weeks back I was asked to present information on the PCMH to medical students attending one of the newer medical schools in the Northeast. The students I spoke to were engaged and savvy beyond my best expectations. The recent White House forum on the PCMH, and subsequent interest in the concept, is likely to increase your opportunities to talk with stakeholders and learners about the concept.”

Dr. Amy McGaha, Assistant Director of the Division of Medical Education, writes to AFMRD members today to encourage you to seek out opportunities to talk with medical students and residents about the PCMH. To help you the AAFP Division of Medical Education makes available a student oriented presentation that can be used by medical school and residency faculty.

To access this presentation for your next talk addressing the Patient Centered Medical Home, simply follow this link.

Archives
AFMRD maintains an archives of Highlights for one year.  For a list of Highlights by month posted, click here.