For the sixth time, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) was recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) as one of 19 medical school FMIGs to win the 2019 Program of Excellence Award for their exemplary efforts to grow and support interest in family medicine.
Award winners were recently announced at the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, Missouri on July 26, 2019.
Left to right: Tyler Weyer, David Deci, MD, and David Cupp, representatives from the DFMCH and the UWSMPH Family Medicine Interest Group, receive the American Academy of Family Physicians’ 2019 Program of Excellence award for sixth time.
Learning, Mentorship and Exposure to Family Medicine
The FMIG is a student-run organization supported by the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) and the AAFP. Led by faculty advisor Jacob Bryan, MD, and staff advisor Joyce Jeardeau, ACUME, it excites, promotes and supports medical student interest in family medicine through active learning, mentorship and exposure to the scope of family medicine.
The FMIG kicks off each academic year with an annual lecture-discussion called “What is Family Medicine.” The event teaches first-year SMPH students how family medicine relates to patient education, social justice, community service, patient access and equity and health care outcomes—and can serve as an eye-opener for students who may not otherwise have thought of entering the specialty.
Throughout the year, the FMIG also sponsors:
- an annual family medicine procedures fair;
- a “Dinner with the Docs” at a local restaurant;
- events to help interested third- and fourth-year students apply for family medicine residency and celebrate those who do successfully match;
- a community clothing drive;
- monthly noontime seminars;
- an FMIG leadership retreat; and
- the Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO) course.
The FMIG also offers opportunities to shadow family medicine residents on call at St. Mary’s Hospital and University Hospital, and promotes scholarships for students to attend the AAFP National Conference each summer and Family Medicine Midwest Conference each fall.
The FMIG is also closely connected with the DFMCH Office of Medical Student Education’s medical student mentoring program, which pairs students with DFMCH faculty mentors who share their interests and who can help facilitate research projects and presentations.
For more information about the SMPH FMIG’s programming, read its full 2019 Program of Excellence application (PDF).
Thanks to everyone who makes the FMIG a success, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
Published: October 2019