The AFMRD president communicates with members by posting messages on the discussion forum as well as on this website. The following is a message from President Dr. Karen Mitchell.


March 20, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

I am looking forward to seeing you all at the AFMRD Annual Meeting this Saturday, March 24th. Join us from 10am-12pm to elect members to serve on the AFMRD Board of Directors, recognize members' accomplishments, openly discuss important issues, and review the organization's activities over the course of the year. Members may submit resolutions, in writing, until 10am on March 23rd. All AFMRD members are welcome -- and encouraged -- to attend the Annual Meeting!  While any attendee can participate in our open mic discussion time, only AFMRD Program Director members (director of an ACGME accredited residency program) or their proxies are eligible for official votes. 

Forms & Documents:
Resolution Form - Please submit completed form to afmrd@aafp.org.
All resolutions must be submitted by 10am on Friday, March 23, 2018.
Proxy Form
2018 Candidates for AFMRD Board of Directors
Packet

March 12, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Happy Match Week! The future of family medicine is bright. Last year a record number of medical students and graduates matched to family medicine residency programs and we hope that number continues to grow this year. I wish you all a successful Match!

March 9, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) has created a document entitled “FAQs About the ACGME Resident Survey for Program Directors.” We recently became aware of this document created by council members of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) and the Internal Medicine Residency Review Committee in response to the survey often being identified as a high stressor for residency faculty and staff. While it was written for internal medicine, it may also be useful to family medicine residency programs both when the survey results are released in the Spring and for preparation for next year's survey. You can find it in the PD Toolbox.

March 2, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Deanne St. George as the organization’s executive director. In addition to her role as the AFMRD executive director, Ms. St. George will serve as the Graduate Medical Education department manager for the AAFP.

Ms. St. George has several years of experience in graduate medical education. Her work has included residency operations, management, compliance, curriculum, and supervision in support of the Allina Health System Family Medicine Residency Program (MN) and the University of Minnesota Medical Center Family Medicine Residency. She also served as the clinic manager for the residency teaching clinic of the University of Minnesota Family Medicine Residency.

During her time at the University of Minnesota, Ms. St. George served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Family Medicine Administration (AFMA), including a year as the organization’s president. Since 2015 she has worked for HealthPartners in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Current executive director, Vickie Greenwood will retire on March 30, 2018. She will work closely with Ms. St. George for the next month to ensure a smooth transition. Be sure to say hello to Ms. St. George during PDW/RPS later this month!

February 21, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The 2018 Residency Performance Index (RPI) is now open.  RPI is an AFMRD tool for family medicine residency program improvement. It is available at no cost to AFMRD members for individual programs to gauge and improve their performance in the metrics measured.  Your program will need to have data on at least three classes of residents to submit.  If you are a new program, AFMRD staff can provide you with the aggregate data for reference. The software now allows you to download your program’s RPI report to PowerPoint, Excel, or Word. RPI is available until April 6, 2018.

Click here to get started with RPI.

February 12, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

In 2015 Family Medicine for America’s Health developed 20 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) which define the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of family medicine resident physicians upon graduation. The AFMRD EPA Task Force developed resources and tools to help our members use EPAs. You can find these resources in the PD Toolbox. The AFMRD would like to know if you are currently using these EPAs in your program and if so, in what ways. Please help us out by taking this brief survey.

January 30, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

This is a reminder about some important upcoming dates for AFMRD members:

February 5th: Applications due to run for the AFMRD Board of Directors. This is a week away-apply soon!
February 9th: Previously selected PDW and RPS workshop presenters must turn in their presentations by this date
February 20th: Deadline to book hotel at conference rate for PDW and RPS. Don’t delay, space is limited.
February 28th: CERA Program Directors’ survey due. This was sent to all Program Directors via email.  
March 24th: AFMRD Annual Meeting. Join us to hear updates from AFMRD and to elect new board members.  

January 23, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Don’t miss out on AFMRD member benefits! All 2017 memberships expired on December 31st. Members with a 2017 membership were granted a grace period to carry their membership through January. This grace period will end on January 31st. Renew your membership by this date to ensure you can still take advantage of members-only benefits, including the online discussion forum and the PD Toolbox. 

January 8, 2018

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The deadline to apply for the 2018 Program Director Recognition Awards is quickly approaching! This award recognizes the unique roles and responsibilities of program directors. The AFMRD is currently accepting applications for the three levels of the award (gold, silver, and bronze). Click here to view criteria for the various levels.

Applications will be accepted through January 26, 2018.

December 19, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Happy Holidays! At this joyous time of year, I hope you take the time to reflect on how fortunate we are to be program directors, shaping the future of family medicine. Thank you for all the good you do in your communities and for the AFMRD.  Family medicine benefits from our members' hard work, creativity, and enthusiasm.  I look forward to our work together in 2018! To you and your families I wish you peace, joy, and health.

December 11, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

New this year: Program Directors and other AFMRD members are eligible for scholarships to participate in the Family Medicine Advocacy Summit (FMAS). The AFMRD Board of Directors is pleased to provide scholarships for 3 members in addition to the 10 scholarships for residents. The conference takes place May 21-22, 2018 in Washington DC.  Scholarship recipients are reimbursed up to $1,500 for approved FMAS travel, lodging, meals, and registration expenses.

Click here to apply by Friday Dec. 15, 2017!

December 6, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Dear Program Directors,

As you may recall, the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is conducting a National Graduate Survey. To ensure that your program will have sufficient data to create a meaningful report, we urge you to send an immediate last-minute reminder to your 2014 graduates. The survey deadline is December 31. Per the ABFM privacy policy, data will be shared only in aggregate and with all identifiers removed. To protect confidentiality, the ABFM will not provide programs with their own program-specific data in 2018 if fewer than 3 graduates responded to the survey; instead, they will get data in 2019 on combined results over two years.

The information from the survey will be used to create aggregate reports for each residency class’s satisfaction with training, preparation for practice, and scope of practice, intended to be shared with the residency program.  The programs can then use the information to improve the quality of residency training. This will fulfill the ACGME RC-FM requirement for programs to conduct a graduate survey.

Below is a sample email to send to your graduates, encouraging them to complete the survey.  Feel free to modify as needed for your program.

Thank you for your attention to this matter to help make the National Graduate Survey a success.

Karen B. Mitchell, MD


SAMPLE EMAIL TO GRADUATES

Since you are a graduate of our residency, I’m writing you to ask that you complete the American Board of Family Medicine’s (ABFM) Graduate Survey to help me improve our residency education.  If you have not completed it already, please take 10-12 minutes to do so.  If you have completed it, thank you!

The survey was jointly developed by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) and the ABFM with input from other family medicine organizations and recent graduates.  The data you, and other recent graduates, provide will help our program in multiple ways.  First, it will help us understand what our graduates are doing in practice, how well we prepared you to practice, and allow us to compare these outcomes to other residencies in the country to see where we are doing well, and where we need to improve.  Second, the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires family medicine residencies to survey their graduates and your responses will help us meet this requirement. 

 The survey asks about satisfaction with training, preparation for practice, and scope of practice and should only take around 10-12 minutes to complete.  The survey should be completed by December 31.  Please log on to your ABFM portfolio (https://www.theabfm.org/) and help me to continue to further improve the quality of education we provide.

November 30, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Results are in! The information from the 2017 AFMRD Salary Survey is now available to members.  This data provides a look at the current compensation within family medicine residency programs. Thank you to all those who took the time to help us with this valuable tool! 

Click here to view the results of the survey.

November 28, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

There is still time to submit a discussion table topic for the PDW and RPS Residency Education Symposium. Hosting a table is a great opportunity to discuss hot topics and network with your peers. You do not need to be an expert on the topic or an expert in facilitation. Just submit the topic and get the conversation going at your assigned time and table.

  • Complete the proposal form and return to pdw-rps@aafp.org by December 1, 2017.
  • Topics will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis.
  • Topics received by December 1 will be printed in the symposium program.

Submit a discussion table topic by December 1st and help make the PDW and RPS Residency Education Symposium a success!

November 20, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you can take time away from the busy recruitment season to celebrate with loved ones. This year, in addition to family and friends, I’m thankful for the privilege to serve our members as AFMRD President. It is an honor to work with dedicated and supportive members. Have a safe and joyous holiday!

November 14, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Congratulations to the newly accredited family medicine residency programs!  We are happy to see the hard work of so many programs pay off. For the current academic year, 29 programs have received ACGME accreditation.  The community of family medicine residency programs continues to grow—there are now 566 accredited programs! 

November 6, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Working on population heath? HealthLandscape is an interactive web-based mapping tool that brings together various sources of health, socio-economic, and environmental information to help answer questions and improve health and healthcare. This tool can be used to create maps from publicly available data sets such as regional criminal justice, education, healthcare, and demographic data. Users of HealthLandscape can discover community characteristics and share information with health professionals, policy makers, and legislators.

Click here to learn more about HealthLandscape.

October 30, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

AFMRD Members,

By now you have received the message below from the ABFM.  Because you will be entering confidential scores in the RTM system, we believe it is in your best interest to have a signed release from your residents that gives you permission to do so.  The AFMRD and the ABFM collaborated to develop this release form for your use.  This form lives in the PD Toolbox under Administration.  We recommend the form be placed in the resident’s academic file.  It should not be sent to either AFMRD or the ABFM.

 We hope the data collected will result in information that is beneficial to all parties.



abfm.jpg

Dear Program Director,

We have great news! In response to feedback regarding the Bayesian Score Predictor (BSP) at the 2017 Program Director's Workshop, the ABFM is developing a way to collect both COMLEX-USA scores and USMLE scores from residency programs through our RTM system. This will allow the BSP to make predictions based on either COMLEX-USA or USMLE scores, and to be periodically updated. 

The data fields to enter COMLEX-USA and USMLE scores are now available in the RTM system. When we have approximately 3,000 data points connecting USMLE Part 2 scores with PGY1 ITE scores, we intend to add USMLE scores to the BSP.

This is where we need your help. 

Please enter as many of your residents' USMLE scores and COMLEX-USA scores into the RTM system as soon as you can. Here's how:

  • Go to the RTM landing page
  • Under the Resident Profile heading, click on Medical License Exam Scores
  • Select the resident's profile you want to update. This will bring up a page that looks like the image below. If he or she has more than one score for an exam, please use the most recent one. We hope to incorporate this page as part of the regular process for adding new residents into the RTM system soon. 

Thanks for your help! 

Thomas R. O'Neill, Ph.D.
Vice President of Psychometric Services
American Board of Family Medicine

 

October 25, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

In Case You Haven't Heard:

Warren Newton, MD, MPH, has been selected by The American Board of Family Medicine's (ABFM) Board of Directors to become the next President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Newton has been a family physician for 33 years and has taught extensively in medical school and fellowship programs. From 1992-1997, Dr. Newton served as residency director at UNC. He is currently the Director of the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program and Vice Dean for the UNC School of Medicine.

Dr. Newton’s knowledge, experience, and commitment to family medicine will truly be appreciated in this new role. Best wishes on this new endeavor!

October 23, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Need help understanding the requirements of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) track of the Quality Payment Program (QPP)? AAFP’s 2017 MIPS Playbook: Making Sense of MACRA is a step-by-step guide to understanding and reporting for MIPS. In addition to helping members navigate the MIPS track, the playbook also provides checklists and actionable steps to prepare for a successful performance in the QPP. 

This book is free to AAFP members. Click here to download or purchase the book.

October 16, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Recently the AFMRD, at the behest of the ABFM, put out the word for volunteer programs to participate in the PRIME population health registry program.  We had ten programs volunteer and we passed along the five programs selected by the AFMRD Board of Directors to the ABFM.  We were pleased to hear back from the ABFM that they had the capacity to include all ten programs in PRIME.  The family of family medicine continues to show there are high levels of cooperation as we all look to strengthen the specialty and provide better health for the public.

October 11, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

I wanted to add my thanks to all the programs who took the time to participate in the 2017 Salary Survey.  The large turnout will make the final product far more robust and useful for program directors.  We have turned the data over to our statistician to get all the numbers crunched properly.  We will let everyone know when everything has been completed and it is available on the AFMRD website.  Thank you. 

October 3, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD Board of Directors was asked to support the Shared Principles of Primary Care as presented by the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and Family Medicine for America’s Health.  After thorough consideration, the Board decided not to sign on behalf of AFMRD.  I have attached a letter with a full explanation of this decision.  On your behalf, the AFMRD Board of Directors remains committed both to primary care principles and to supporting physicians on primary care teams. If you would like to ask questions about the decision, feel free to contact me or Vickie Greenwood directly.

September 26, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Family Medicine organizations heard a report from Health is Primary at the 2017 Summer Working Party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Health is Primary is a communications campaign program of Family Medicine for America’s Health that advocates for family medicine and focuses on messaging aimed at policy makers and influencers.

A recent campaign showed how primary care improves patient outcomes and health care quality while reducing health disparities and costs. A new ad was launched that focused on cost effectiveness of primary care. One of the messages being emphasized is the positive economic effect of primary care: for every dollar spent on primary care $13 can be saved in downstream health care costs. 

Click here to learn more about Health is Primary.

September 20, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Special thanks to Stan Kozakowski, MD, for his over six years of service as Director of the Medical Education Division at AAFP.  Dr. Kozakowski is a former AFMRD Board of Directors member and served as president from 2009-2010.  Since joining the AAFP team, he has provided valuable knowledge and support as the Academy’s liaison to AFMRD. We wish Dr. Kozakowski well as he sets out on his next adventure! 

September 11, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Program Directors, have you completed the AFMRD Salary Survey?  This survey has been created to obtain data that will provide a glimpse of the current compensation within family medicine residency programs across the country. The results of this survey are available at no cost to AFMRD members.

Please be sure to complete your survey no later than September 29th, 2017.

A worksheet is available to help you collect all data before you begin the survey process. Once you have gathered all necessary information click here to begin the survey.

If you have any questions, please contact Vickie Greenwood at 800.274.2237 ext. 6738 or Sam Pener at 800.274.2237 ext. 6707.

August 30, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Do you know a program director who has made a lasting impact on the community they serve? It’s time to recognize their commitment to advancing family medicine by nominating them for the 2018 Nikitas J. Zervanos Outstanding Program Director Award. A program director may be nominated by other family medicine residency directors, faculty, residents, or a state chapter of the AAFP.

Information and nomination forms are available at the AFMRD website.  Don’t delay! Nominations are due by September 30, 2017.

August 24, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

AFMRD is happy to announce an addition to the staff supporting our mission.  Kathleen Ingraham was recently hired in the role of Online and Emerging Media Specialist.  Ms. Ingraham comes to us with a strong background in writing (including an MFA) and editing as well as knowledge of different communication platforms.  She will oversee the website and create the messages going to our membership and to the organizations and individuals we work with to support AFMRD.  Her first week on the job included the National Conference for Residents and Students so she was dropped in the deep end of medical education in a hurry. We welcome Kathleen and look forward to working with her. 

August 15, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD Board of Directors endeavors to stay up to date with the ever-changing landscape of payment reform and we look to give assistance to all our members as they prepare their residents for life in the real world of practice management and payment models. 

Dr. Sherri Morgan, AFMRD Board Member and Program Director for the Baylor Family Medicine Residency Program at Garland prepared a simple information sheet to inform program directors and the residents in their charge about a possible impact moonlighting could have on a physician post residency in regards to their Merit-based Incentive Payment (MIPS).  This document is available in the members only PD Toolbox on the AFMRD website

August 8, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Eight qualified candidates ran for the AFMRD Board of Directors resident position at the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students.

Katie Hartl, MD, was elected to serve as the 2017–2018 Resident Representative. Dr. Hartl is a PGY-2 at the University of Arizona Family Medicine Residency in Tucson, Arizona. She received her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. Congratulations, Katie!

Click here to learn more about Dr. Hartl.  

August 2, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Will your program apply for PRIME? As a reminder, the deadline is August 15 to apply through the AFMRD to be one of the 5 programs with fees waived for three years. The five programs will be selected by AFMRD based on a set of criteria that will ensure diversity among the participating programs.  The criteria are outlined in the questions on the application form. 

PRIME is  a population health and performance improvement tool offered through the ABFM. 

Click here for a brochure with more information about eligibility, costs, return on investment, EHR compatibility, data security, and how the registry works. 

If you would like to see a demo of the PRIME registry, you can access a recorded webinar here: 

http://uofw.adobeconnect.com/p7y9ghupa24i/

If your program would like to apply, complete the application form by August 15.

If you have questions about the application or selection process, please contact Vickie Greenwood at 800-274-2237, ext 6738.  If you have questions about PRIME, please contact Sarah Hajjar at the ABFM.

July 25, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

AFMRD representatives attended the Starfield II Health Equity Summit, including Karen Mitchell MD (AFMRD President), Vickie Greenwood (Executive Director of AFMRD), and Chuck Carter MD (Program Director from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine/Palmetto Health Program). The summit brought together a diverse and dynamic group of people with interest in decreasing health disparities and achieving health equity. As a result, our AFMRD Board plans to review our strategic plans for actions related to diversity and health equity. We will promote access to information and resources to help residency programs address health equity, including in their clinics and communities.

Click on http://www.starfieldsummit.com/starfield2/ for highlights, presentations, and documents from the Health Equity Summit.

July 20, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Residents are still needed to run for the AFMRD Board of Directors position. The National Conference – Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students is about a week away. To be placed on the ballot at the National Conference, a few materials must be submitted by the candidates, including a letter of recommendation and support from the resident’s program director. 

Please encourage residents who show an interest in education, leadership and advocacy to throw their hats into the ring and to prepare the necessary materials. The resident AFMRD Board member supplies a necessary perspective for the board and gets to work with leaders in family medicine.

Go here for all the information and access to the application. 

July 10, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

“The hardest job you’ll ever love” was a phrase used recently on the AFMRD discussion forum to welcome a new program director to the family.  Seeing the new blood coming into the role reminds us of all that makes this a special community of professionals. 

The time has come once again to nominate a program director who exemplifies all this unique job can bring out in the individuals called to take on its challenges.  The 2018 Nikitas J. Zervanos Outstanding Program Director Award will be given at the AFMRD Annual Meeting. 

All the pertinent information and the nomination forms are available at the AFMRD website.  Nominations will be accepted through September 30, 2017. 

July 6, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

As the calendar page turns from June to July each year the passing of time is felt a little more acutely.  Another class of graduating residents is sent out into the world to fend for themselves.  Program directors have done all they can and the residents have put their blood, sweat, tears, and EHR frustrations into preparing for their lives as full-fledged family physicians.  We have created an article to commemorate this yearly ritual for your enjoyment.  Click here to read it. 

June 27, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Is there a resident in your program who shows an interest in leadership and would like an opportunity to have a voice in family medicine residency education?

At this year’s National Conference Resident Congress there will be an election for the resident representative to the AFMRD Board of Directors, the only association solely dedicated to family residency program directors.  For more information about how residents can apply and be on the ballot visit the AAFP website

If you have a resident who would appreciate the opportunity and whom you are willing to support in attending AFMRD Board meetings and related work, please take a moment to forward this information. 

June 19, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Are you using Epic or Cerner? Then there’s a community discussion forum just for you! There are two new EHR communities now live on the AFMRD website.  Programs using Epic or Cerner can communicate and commiserate with each without distracting others on the mainstream discussion forum. The two communities have their own discussion forums and file libraries for sharing ideas and issues. 

Your AFMRD leaders are well aware that the discussion forum is very important to the membership.  It has been a priority to allow it to live and breathe on its own so it can be a true forum for all.  Recently we started these “splinter” discussion forums in an effort to help members with more specific needs. 

If you need help subscribing to the community contact Chris Pyle at 800.274.2237.

June 13, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

By now you have all had a chance to see the results of the National Graduate Survey which are available through the ABFM's RTM for all programs with at least 3 respondents.  We'd like to hear from you about specific ways you have used the survey results to improve your program.  Give us your examples and/or feedback here

June 1, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Physician wellness is a high profile issue.  AFMRD created a task force to look at the issue from the specific point of view of family medicine residencies.  Dr. Steve Brown, as the chair of the task force, led a group of dedicated AFMRD members as they collected and created materials for program directors to enhance wellness for physicians and residencies.  The final document created is a board approved Action Plan for Residency Wellness.  All the materials can be found in the PD Toolbox on the AFMRD website

We wish to thank all the members of the task force for doing such good work for the good of us all. 

May 10, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The Single Accreditation process is a daunting task for the entire family of family medicine. We would like to take a moment to spotlight one program as an example of all those AOA programs moving to ACGME accreditation.

Lora Cotton, DO, and her staff at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Program received initial accreditation at the recent RC-FM meeting. Dr. Cotton participated in the Accreditation Navigation course created by the AFMRD and co-sponsored by the ACOFP. She also served on our EPA Task Force. We congratulate Dr. Cotton and thank her for her engagement with our association.

May 2, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Make your Annual Program Evaluation easy! The brand new Residency Performance Index (RPI) has launched.  This new and more robust software makes the RPI more immediate, efficient, and user friendly.  Easily download your program’s report to use the data in your Annual Program Evaluation and quality improvement process.

Those programs who participated last year were all added to the online database and are ready to go.  If you haven’t participated in the past, please go here to fill out a short application form and AFMRD staff will contact you when your program is ready to go.  If you have further questions go here or contact Chris Pyle 800.274.2237 ext 6724. 

April 27, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The sheer volume of things going on means things can get lost in the shuffle.  Don't forget the results of the Graduate Survey are now available on the RTM page of the ABFM website.  In particular question 18 would be useful in providing information about graduates' sense of preparedness for practice in a number of areas after leaving residency.  It can also tell residencies how many of those activities recent graduates are doing in practice.  We appreciated the opportunity to partner with ABFM on this endeavor. 

April 7, 2017

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: KAREN MITCHELL, MD
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The EPA Task Force has created a treasure trove of material for programs to use to get the most out of the Entrustable Professional Activities. They presented at the recent PDW and now all of their materials are available in the AFMRD PD Toolbox. Thank you to task force chair, Roger Garvin, MD, and all the task force members for their hard work and the wonderful products they created.
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March 27, 207

A Message from the New AFMRD President

Thank you for electing me to serve as the president of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. I am honored.

Since my election, I have engaged in meaningful conversations with many of you, and greatly appreciate the support and ideas you have offered.

I look forward to working with the AFMRD Board of Directors, and all of you, to arrive at effective solutions to problems​ common to all of us – and to move family medicine forward in delivering the best health care our nation has to offer.

 

Messages from Immediate Past President Dr. James Jarvis.