September 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 9
National Conference celebrates many faces of family medicine
BY TONI LAPP
Some of them have gone into research. Others have gone into academics. Still others have gone into medical editing. Even politics. Sports medicine. What do they have in common? They all represent the many faces of family medicine.
Six panelists described their beginnings and what led them into family practice in a forum at the National Conference of Family Practice Residents and Medical Students July 25 - 29 in Kansas City, Mo. However, their shared background was just about the only commonality among the speakers at "The Many Faces of Family Medicine."
Her work with patients keeps her centered, said Denise Rodgers, M.D., one of six panelists at a forum titled "The Many Faces of Family Medicine" at the National Conference on July 25 in Kansas City, Mo.The panelists were Patrick Harr, M.D., of Maryville, Mo., an AAFP past president and chair of AAFP's former Task Force on Student Interest; Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wis., AAFP president; Denise Rodgers, M.D., of New Brunswick, N.J., president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine; Susan Schooley, M.D., of Detroit, chair of the family practice department at Henry Ford Health System; Jay Siwek, M.D., of Washington, chair of the family medicine department at Georgetown University Medical Center and editor of American Family Physician; and Bernard Ewigman, M.D., M.S.P.H., of Columbia, Mo., a professor in the family medicine department at the University of Missouri and associate editor of The Journal of Family Practice.
One common theme emerged in the discussion: No matter where their careers have led them, no matter what frustrations they've encountered, panelists agreed that taking care of patients has kept them grounded.
"Through it all, I've been centered by the work that I do with patients; I have been both centered and humbled," said Rodgers, who went on to describe how she has learned from her patients.
After the discussion, the panelists answered questions from the audience, including how to tell whether family practice is the right career choice. Students don't need to know "everything about everything," Roberts said. "But you have to be good at what's common and important." Plus, he added, "We're the only discipline that emphasizes ambulatory care. We're where the action is."
In this year's expanded enrollment campaign, Covering Kids also is buying advertising in seven targeted cities: Albuquerque, N.M.; Baltimore; Boise, Idaho; Fresno, Calif.; Miami; New Orleans; and Springfield, Ill. These cities are known to have a multitude of working families who don't realize they are eligible for SCHIP.
Other efforts will occur during school sign-ups. Special attention is being given to families who have one or more children enrolled in free or reduced-cost school lunch programs. Recent research shows 3.9 million uninsured children participate in the lunch programs.
Although millions of children are enrolled in SCHIP, Covering Kids representatives believe 7 million more children and their families are eligible for coverage. The Academy and many state chapters promote the Covering Kids campaign with lobbying efforts and strategic partnerships that have helped reduce the number of uninsured children and family members.
For example, the Washington AFP helped establish a statewide telephone number that parents and others eligible for SCHIP could call to get information and enroll in the program, a precursor to the national toll-free number. And the Iowa AFP garnered a federal grant to work with one county to offer medical treatment, dental care, and developmental and preventive screenings for people using SCHIP. Information distributed at the campaign kickoff described these and other chapter efforts backing SCHIP.
The campaign kickoff featured the announcement that New York state had committed $20 million this year toward making sure its eligible children get signed up for SCHIP. And Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., displayed its Kids Medical Clinic, a mobile clinic that offers health care information and screenings as well as SCHIP enrollment assistance.
Check out the campaign Web site at http://www.coveringkids.org for more information about Covering Kids and free promotional materials, including action kits to put on local public awareness events. With your AAFP ID number, log onto the Academy's site at http://www.aafp.org/members/coveringkids/ for materials such as a sample letter to the editor and an opinion column for your local newspaper, and add yourself to the back-to-school campaign listserv by e-mailing a request to coveringkids@gmmb.com.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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