Attend Resident, Student Meeting Aug. 2-5

Apply for Scholarships by May 1

By News Staff
4/11/2006

"Energizing," "inspiring," "educational" and "fun." These words describe each annual National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, say past participants. To get in on the action, mark your calendar now for the Aug. 2-5 meeting in Kansas City, Mo., and apply by May 1 for one of 125 scholarships for attendees.

Courses: Presenters will cover more than 45 topics in workshops, procedural skills courses and musculoskeletal clinics. Clinical topics will range from case studies in colposcopy and treating common skin conditions to sports medicine emergencies and maternity care. Students also can delve into topics such as strategies for managing student debt and applying for and choosing a residency.

Scholarships: The $600 scholarships to attend the conference will go to first-time student attendees, family medicine interest group leaders, minority participants, activists in community outreach and first-time attendees who demonstrate leadership potential.

Guest lecturers: The meeting's theme, "Extraordinary Physicians in Extraordinary Times: Family Medicine Answers the Call," will come to life in presentations by these family physicians:

Regina Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A., of Bayou La Batre, Ala., whose clinic had to be rebuilt in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and again after a fire;
Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., of Austin, Texas, winner of the 2005 AAFP Public Health Award, who helped manage Hurricane Katrina evacuation efforts as the chief health officer for Texas;
Jeannette South-Paul, M.D., chair of the family medicine department at the University of Pittsburgh, medical director of the Community Health Services Division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and immediate past president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine;
Gary Morsch, M.D., of Bucyrus, Kan., founder and president of Heart to Heart International, which partners with the AAFP and AAFP Foundation in the annual Physicians With Heart relief effort to deliver donated medical goods to developing countries; and
Sister Adele O'Sullivan, C.S.J., M.D., of Phoenix, the 2006 Family Physician of the Year and medical director of the Maricopa County Health Care for the Homeless Program.

Bone up on your musculoskeletal knowledge at the 2006 National Conference, as these participants did last year.

Leadership, laughter: Participants can debate issues, write and vote for policies for the AAFP to consider, and run for national offices. On the light side, attendees can spend time with friends old and new at the opening social, closing party and daily yoga sessions.

New this year: Residents who register as residency program exhibitors will receive access to all free conference sessions and may purchase procedural skills course tickets an hour before the courses start if seating is available. In addition, the program element Transitioning Into Practice, designed to help residents obtain work they want and succeed in it, debuts this year.

Exhibits: Representatives from more than 300 residencies will answer students' questions at the nation's largest family medicine residency fair. Recruitment firms, health agencies and hospitals will confer with residents about job opportunities. Other exhibitors include government agencies; medical equipment, medical supply and pharmaceutical companies; publishers; and loan repayment organizations.

In evaluating last year's conference, one third-year student said, "I expected to learn a few things about being a doctor and to network with people who would be important to my career. What I didn't expect was to gain such a keen interest in and enthusiasm for becoming a family physician." Save time for this high-energy meeting, and apply soon for a scholarship to help you get there.

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