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. Steve Brown

March 1, 2021

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Dear colleagues:

 

We are only days away from the AAFP Residency Leadership Summit (RLS) (formerly PDW/RPS)! I can’t wait to see you all there! 

One of our areas of focus this year as an AFMRD board is supporting new Program Directors (PD). In many years there will be over 100 new family medicine program directors each year! 

We recently conducted a survey of our new PD members about what topics were most important for development as a new PD. RLS can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t attended before. I wanted to provide a brief guide to sessions that I think will be most useful for a new PD based on the survey of new PDs. 

Topic: Residency Finance

18 - Medicare GME Payments - Background and Basics 

Topic: Resident in Difficulty 

7 - What Are We Gonna Do With That Resident? The Remediation and Probationary Process

9 - An Update from ABFM's Psychometric Services: Using the In-Training Examination to Identify At-Risk Residents & ABFM's Efforts to Reduce Bias 

Topic: Diversity and Health Equity 

2 - Diversity Milestones for Program Assessment: How to Move the Needle on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Residency Training 

Most PDs do NOT WANT TO MISS the main stage sessions: 

Nicholas J. Pisacano, MD, Memorial Lecture: Re-Envisioning Family Medicine Residency

Education 

Update From the ACGME Review Committee for Family Medicine (RC-FM) 

Charting the Future: ABFM, the Specialty and Family Medicine Residency Education 

Washington DC Climate and Advocacy Update: 117th Congress and New Administration 

Thomas L. Stern, MD, Memorial Lecture: Caring for Our Communities, Caring for Ourselves:

Addressing Our Complicity in Structural Inequity and Our Role in Community Health 

Additionally, don’t miss the Networking/Discussion groups! These sessions will be informal chats moderated by our board members about some of the “hot topics” in family medicine residencies today. 

See you soon, 

Steve

 

February 17, 2021

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD would like to share an opportunity for members to assist the Undergraduate Medical Education to Graduate Medical Education Review Committee (UGRC), convened by the Coalition for Physician Accountability. 

The UGRC invites you to share your knowledge about innovations or creative solutions being used or developed by medical schools, residency programs, sponsoring institutions or specialty societies to help improve the current UME-to-GME transition. 

The UGRC is aware of several important innovations and solutions through discussions within the committee as well as through personal communications, networking and published literature. However, to capture each of these innovations, as well as those that may be unfamiliar to the members, the UGRC is reaching out to stakeholders and the public. 

If you are aware of any innovations or creative solutions being used or developed please complete the survey below by Friday, March 12, 2021. 

Survey Information: 

The UGRC asks that if you are submitting your innovation or creative solution on behalf of your organization, please only submit one response per organization. If your organization has multiple independent sections involved in the transition, then the UGRC will accept additional responses if one uniform response is not appropriate. If you are submitting as an individual, please be sure to include your contact information and affiliated organization(s). 

The deadline to submit your response is Friday, March 12, 2021. 

Please begin the “Innovations and Creative Solutions” survey by clicking the survey link below. 

Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VKKNFMW 

If you have questions, please contact UGRC staff at aciccone.coalition@gmail.com

February 3, 2021

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The Coalition for Physician Accountability recently released updated recommendations on away rotations for medical schools and non-U.S. medical school applicants for the 2021-2022 academic year. These recommendations are an update to guidance published in May 2020.

The updated recommendations include the following guidance:

• As recommended in May 2020, the working group recommends that for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year (ending June 30, 2021), away rotations be discouraged, except under the following circumstances
• Learners who have a specialty interest and do not have access to a clinical experience with a residency program in that specialty in their school’s system.
• Learners for whom an away rotation is required for graduation or accreditation requirements. 
• For the 2021-22 academic year, away rotations resume no earlier than August 1, 2021, with the following guidance:
• After April 15, learners may begin applying for and scheduling in-person away rotations with a start date of August 1, 2021, or later.  
• Programs hosting learners for away rotations are encouraged to adhere to May 1 as the date to begin processing away rotation applications that begin on or after August 1. 
• Given the compressed timeline – paired with an inadequate quantity of electives available for completion – medical schools are encouraged to limit approved away rotations in any specialty to one per learner, except in cases where additional rotations are needed to complete graduation or accreditation requirements. Residency programs are encouraged to take into consideration if a learner exceeded the one-away-rotation limit during the residency selection process. 
• Programs may continue to offer virtual electives to provide opportunities for learners to explore the specialty and program.  

The workgroup will continue to monitor information and plans to provide an update to the community no later than April 15, either confirming that August 1 remains an acceptable start date, or creating a new start date. The AFMRD will continue to share information with members as we receive it.

Links:

January 25, 2021 Updated Recommendations: https://physicianaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Updated-Away-Rotations-Recommendations_Final.pdf

May 11, 2020 Recommendations: https://physicianaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Workgroup-C-2020.05.06-Final-Recommendations_Final.pdf

Coalition for Physician Accountability: https://physicianaccountability.org/

January 26, 2021

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Dear members:

Mentorship from members of the AFMRD has been an important factor keeping me going as a Program Director for almost 10 years. The NIPDD fellowship (Class of 2012) was an important part of my career development. As you know, NIPDD was suspended for 2020-2021. We look forward to the return of NIPDD in 2021-2022. In the meantime, our AFMRD Board of Directors wondered how we could support program directors during this challenging time in a virtual world. Coming up Feb 8th, 2021 (11 am -12 pm CST), we will try a pilot of our first “Mentor Monday” via Zoom. A link for members to join the Zoom meeting on February 8th can be found here: https://www.afmrd.org/page/mentormonday

I will present for 10 minutes on 3 topics. Mainly I will just be there to answer questions about being a program director and reflecting on my experience. We think this may be especially helpful for new program directors but of course, everybody is welcome.

Three topics I will start with:

• Scholarly activity in a family medicine residency
• Resident engagement
• Building a team and the 5 dysfunctions

I am also happy to answer any questions on any topic.

We will see how it goes and continue Mentor Mondays with leaders from the AFMRD and family medicine community as long as our members continue to express interest!

I hope to see you there!

Steve

Steven R. Brown, MD, FAAFP
President, AFMRD
Phoenix, AZ

January 7, 2021

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Join the AFMRD Board of Directors! The AFMRD is seeking residency director members to stand for nomination to the Board of Directors. This year, the membership will elect:

• Two members to serve three-year terms as member-at-large directors.
• One member to serve a one-year term as president-elect, followed by a one-year term as president and a one-year term as immediate past president.

 It is important that the AFMRD Board of Directors includes representation from the diverse members it serves. Including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, type/size of program, region, MDs, and DOs. All interested individuals are encouraged to apply by Monday, January 18, 2021. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Please visit https://www.afmrd.org/page/nominations-process for eligibility requirements and details on how to apply.

If you have any questions, please contact Deborah Clements, MD chair of the Nominations Committee, or Deanne St. George liaison to the Nominations Committee (800-274-2237 ext. 6362).

December 22, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Holiday greetings from the AFMRD! I know many of your communities (like mine) are experiencing a COVID surge which is leading to increased clinical needs and added challenges for your program. Of course, this is going on while we figure out virtual interviewing and approach a truly unique match season.

As Program Directors we provide a vitally important role for our programs and our communities training family physicians to provide comprehensive, continuous, coordinated care in the context of family and community. We can truly see the value of family medicine during this pandemic. I hope you (like me) are getting some hope from residents and faculty receiving COVID vaccines. Thank you science! While the tunnel may still seem long hopefully this is a small faint light at the end.

I am grateful for all of you and our remarkable AFMRD community and the incredible work you are doing.

I hope you have at least a few days to enjoy the holidays (safely) with loved ones.

Best,

Steve

December 7, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Thank you all for continuing to share advice and information as we all deal with the many disruptions to our programs. We are listening to your concerns and will continue to engage with the ACGME and ABFM as needed.

As a reminder, this past September an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) joint task force released guidance and expectations surrounding competency-based medical education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These recommendations are meant to be used to provide guidance for resident readiness for promotion or graduation. For easy access, we have placed copies of these guidelines in the COVID-19 section of the PD Toolbox. 

Links in this message:
ABMS: https://www.abms.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/abms-competency-based-medical-education-during-covid-19-guidelines.pdf
ACGME: https://acgme.org/Newsroom/Newsroom-Details/ArticleID/10639/Guidance-Statement-on-Competency-Based-Medical-Education-during-COVID-19-Residency-and-Fellowship-Disruptions

Guidelines in PD Toolbox: https://www.afmrd.org/p/do/sd/sid=2763

November 24, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD continues to work with the family of family medicine to help inform the ACGME as they work on a major revision of residency requirements.

Recently, the AFMRD held a series of listening tours to better understand the beliefs and attitudes of our members. A report of the information gathered during these listening tours may be viewed here: https://www.afmrd.org/d/do/4310.

Information on the upcoming summit and how all family medicine organizations are engaging their members can be found here: https://residency.starfieldsummit.com/.

The AAFP also recently released this article on the major revision process: https://www.aafp.org/news/opinion/20201118guestedstarfield.html.

 

November 16, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS 

The AFMRD and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) would like to thank Mike Tuggy, MD for his many contributions to the Family Medicine Residency Curriculum Resource. Dr. Tuggy has been the driving force behind the development and growth of the resource and recently completed his final term as Senior Editor. 

Thank you Dr. Tuggy for your leadership, hard work, and commitment to quality! 

Click here to learn more about Dr. Tuggy’s contributions to the RCR. 

October 19, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS 

With ERAS opening to programs on Wednesday, I just wanted to take a moment to send best wishes for a successful interview season. As we navigate through the many unknowns of the first virtual recruitment season, be sure to continue to use the AFMRD online discussion forum to ask questions, share tips and resources, and celebrate victories.

You may view virtual recruitment resources on the AFMRD website.

October 13,  2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS 

You deserve to be recognized! Applications for the 2021 Program Director Recognition Awards are now being accepted. This award acknowledges 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 the criteria for the various levels.

Award applications must be received by December 11, 2020.

September 25, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS 

In response to residency and fellowship disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) joint task force has released guidance and clear expectations surrounding competency-based medical education. 

The recommendations describe the expectations of both the ACGME and the ABMS and provides guidance for resident/fellow readiness for promotion or graduation, as well as recommendations for Board eligibility. Five Core Recommendations are outlined to assist program directors and clinical competency committees in assessing a trainee’s competency in their specialty or sub-specialty.

September 23, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

In 2019, the AFMRD engaged the AAFP’s National Research Network (NRN) to study factors related to program director tenure. Nationally recognized researcher Doug Fernald, BA, MA, and his team from the NRN spent the first phase of the study conducting interviews with program directors departing their positions.

We are pleased to announce that Phase 1 of the study is now complete. 25 program directors departing their positions were interviewed to understand factors related to this departure. The findings have been submitted for publication and have been accepted as a presentation at the virtual NAPCRG Annual Meeting in November 2020. We hope to present these findings at a future AAFP Program Directors Workshop.

Phase 2 of the study will focus on interviewing program directors who have been in their position for at least 12 years. Stay tuned for more information on how members may assist with the next phase.

September 14, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Join the AFMRD for another Zoom Open Mic this Wednesday, September 16^th at 12pm CT and 7pm CT to discuss virtual interviews and a holistic evaluation of applicants. Links to join the Zoom meetings may be found on the AFMRD website.

The AFMRD continues to gather resources for the upcoming recruitment season in a special section of the PD Toolbox and on a page on our website.  If you have resources that you would like to share with the membership, please email them to Kathleen or Chris. 

September 1, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

We know many program directors have made lasting impacts on the community they serve. It’s time to recognize their commitment to advancing family medicine by nominating them for the 2021 Nikitas J. Zervanos Outstanding Program Director Award. A program director who meets the eligibility criteria may be nominated by other family medicine residency directors, faculty, residents, or a state chapter of the AAFP.

Eligibility criteria and application information can be found on the AFMRD website.  Nominations will be accepted until October 1, 2020.

August 20, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The AFMRD Board of Directors would like to thank Michael P. Flynn, MD for serving as Resident Representative. Having a resident perspective on the board is crucial to our mission and we look forward to continuing to work with him throughout the next year.

Dr. Flynn recently prepared an annual report that was shared with AAFP resident and student members during National Conference. You may read the report here.

August 10, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

As you may recall, the Coalition for Physician Accountability’s Work Group on Medical Students in the Class of 2021 has made recommendations to assist students and programs in navigating the unique 2020-2021 residency interview process. The AFMRD joins the academic family medicine community in supporting these recommendations with additions applicable to family medicine. This guidance includes the recommendation that all interviews for the 2021 Match be conducted virtually to assure safety and equity.

In addition, the AFMRD has signed on to a letter to potential family medicine residency applicants encouraging them to utilize the AAMC’s Apply Smart data and to consult with advisors as they consider which programs to apply to and how many applications to submit. Please share the attached letter with the students you work with and/or in places where students can access it.

July 28, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The updated AFMRD Bylaws, approved by membership in April 2020, allows public members to chair committees and task forces. Historically, committees and task forces have been chaired by board members.

The AFMRD Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of three new chairs:

Program Director Toolbox Committee - Rob Danoff, DO, MS, FACOFP, FAAFP

Membership Committee – Shantie Harkisoon, MD, FAAFP

Diversity and Health Equity Task Force – Santina Wheat, MD, MPH

Click here to learn more about the new AFMRD chairs. We are grateful for their commitment to the AFMRD and look forward to working with them!

July 24, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Please see the below message from the ABFM regarding a short survey on the impact of the changes in Family Medicine Program Requirements made in June 2019. The survey will need to be completed by July 28, 2020.

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Colleagues, 

Greetings, and I hope you are well! I hope that orientation of your new interns under COVID has gone as smoothly as it can. 

I write to ask for your participation in a short ABFM survey on the impact of the changes in Family Medicine program requirements made in June 2019. 

As you know, the ACGME June 2019 requirements eliminated the requirement for protected time for core faculty, reduced the amount of time for Program Directors and added the role of Associate Director. In addition, the 2019 standards lowered the standard for passing board exams from 90% to 80%-either ABFM or AOBFM examinations-and eliminated the requirement that 95% should take the Board examination. 

ABFM is interested in whether these changes have had any practical impact on Family Medicine residencies and the education they provide. We have heard occasional anecdotes, but as we engage with the ACGME and consider the requirements for Board Eligibility, it is important to have data systematically collected from across the country. 

AFMRD and all the Family Medicine organizations are very concerned about this issue. 

The survey link is:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFDL3FF 

Please respond by July 28. This will allow our ABFM Board Eligibility Task Force to consider what steps to take, if any, to support the educational environment for Family Medicine residencies. We will, of course, report the results back to you and to the AFMRD. 

We understand that this is a very challenging time for you-thank you for your time! 

Warren Newton, MD MPH

President and CEO

American Board of Family Medicine

July 20, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently put out information concerning billing by teaching physicians during the public health emergency for services in which a resident is involved:

Teaching Physicians and Residents: Expansion of CPT Codes that May Be Billed with the GE Modifier 

Teaching physicians and residents: Expansion of CPT codes that may be billed with the GE modifier under 42 CFR 415.174 on and after March 1, 2020, for the duration of the public health emergency:

•         Residents furnishing services at primary care centers may provide an expanded set of services to beneficiaries, including levels 4-5 of an office/outpatient Evaluation and Management (E/M) visit, telephone E/M, care management, and some communication technology-based services

•         This expanded set of services are CPT codes 99204-99205, 99214-99215, 99495-99496, 99421- 99423, 99452, and 99441-99443 and HCPCS codes G2010 and G2012

•         Teaching physicians may submit claims for these services furnished by residents in the absence of a teaching physician using the GE modifier

Medicare Administrative Contractors will automatically reprocess claims billed with the GE modifier on or after March 1, 2020, that were denied. You do not need to do anything.

Additional CMS updates can be found in the latest issue of MLNConnects: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2020-07-09-mlnc.pdf

July 8, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

AFMRD members are invited to offer input on the future of clinical skills assessment by completing the survey below from the Clinical Skills Evaluation Collaboration (CSEC). If you are interested in participating, please complete the survey by July 12, 2020. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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As you may know, the COVID-19 outbreak and the need to social distance has caused the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) program to suspend administration of the Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) examination. Its suspension provides the opportunity to accelerate work aimed at charting the future of clinical skills assessment for licensure, and we are asking stakeholders like you who have expertise and insights for their input.  

You are invited to participate in a survey to help identify clinical skills important for licensure. This survey serves as a critical means to gather community feedback and make meaningful steps forward for performance-based assessment. Please let us know your thoughts and opinions by completing the survey through the link below:

https://www.viewpointforum.com/survey/?s=14023&ss=21

 The deadline for completing the survey is July 12, 2020. We value your input and will consider it carefully in the development of a revitalized component of a performance-based licensure exam.

Information gathered will inform the future competencies and constructs to be assessed for licensure purposes.  Our goal is to deliver a revised performance-based assessment in the next 12-18 months, as well as a plan for continuous improvements over the next 5 years.   

We appreciate your time and contribution to this important area of work.

 Kindest regards,

Chris Feddock, MD, MS
CSEC Executive Director

 June 23, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Wendy Barr, MD, MPH, MSCE and I are looking forward to our two remote Open Mic sessions tomorrow, Wednesday, June 24^th. ^.

Session 1: 1:00 PM EDT; 12:00 PM CDT; 11:00 AM MDT; 10:00 AM PDT
Session 2: 8:00 PM EDT; 7:00 PM CDT; 6:00 PM MDT; 5:00 PM PDT

Information on how to join the remote Open Mics can be found on the AFMRD website.

With the cancellation of the AAFP’s Program Directors’ Workshop we all missed the opportunity to be together. We hope these online sessions will give us a chance to recreate the Open Mic portion of the AFMRD Annual Meeting.

We’d like to hear:

• What is on your mind?
• What is most important in the work of the AFMRD over the next year?
• What are the most important challenges of your work right now that the AFMRD might be able to help with?
• Anything you would like to celebrate with your colleagues?

June 11, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

As you may recall, Wendy Barr, MD, MPH, MSCE was elected to the President-Elect position during our April virtual elections. This left the final year of her two-year Member-at-Large term open.

The board is pleased to announce that Leon McCrea II, MD, MPH, FAAFP, has been appointed to fill this one-year position. Dr. McCrea serves as Program Director at the Family Medicine Residency Program at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He also serves as Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Drexel University College of Medicine.

The new AFMRD Bylaws, approved by the membership in April, allow for the board to appoint an Associate Program Director to serve a one-year term as a non-voting member. We are excited to welcome Katina Rue, DO, FAAFP, FACOFP, as the new Associate Program Director Representative. Dr. Rue is the Associate Program Director – Osteopathic Education at Central Washington Family Medicine Residency in Yakima, WA where she also serves as the Medical Student Director.   

We look forward to working with our new board members. Welcome, Leon and Katina!

June 3, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

On May 11, 2020 the Coalition for Physician Accountability’s Work Group on Medical Students in the Class of 2021 Moving Across Institutions for Post Graduate Training made recommendations related to the impacts COVID-19 will have on the upcoming residency interview season. Five Family Medicine Organizations have responded to those recommendations through an open letter to the Family Medicine Community.

Recognizing the many challenges programs face related to training and the upcoming recruitment season, AFMRD has added new file drawers in the PD Toolbox. 2020-21 Best Practices for Residency Interviews and 2020-21 Students in the Clinical Learning Environment have been added directly below the COVID-19 drawer. We hope members will share resources in the Toolbox and continue to solicit ideas, tips and support via the AFMRD discussion forum. 

If you would like to volunteer something for these sections of the PD Toolbox contact Kathleen Ingraham or Chris Pyle.

June 2, 2020

AFMRD PREZ RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: STEVEN R. BROWN, MD, FAAFP
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY DIRECTORS

Our Family Medicine Residencies are the hearts of our communities. Right now, our communities are suffering. As family physicians, we are suffering along with our patients and communities.

The horrific death of George Floyd is another example, in a long line of examples, of the consequences of racism in our country. Our residents, staff, and faculty are facing a range of painful emotions including grief, anger, helplessness, and fear.

As leaders we should support colleagues and residents in a way that reflects the diversity of our communities.  We must commit to having tough conversations about institutional racism and privilege. We cannot stand by and silently observe the terrible acts of violence and hatred around us. We can no longer tolerate the terrible inequities in our system.

The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors exists to support program directors through successes and challenges.  We hope each program will find a way to address racial injustices. We hope that the AFMRD can be part of helping programs take steps forward. We are here to support each other and to help each other improve. Family physicians can lead the way.

We can and we must do better.