'Top 10 Awards' Honor Medical Schools for Support of Family Medicine

Ten medical schools that have contributed the most to the pipeline of family physicians were honored when the AAFP presented its Top Ten Awards during the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference here on April 27. The awards recognize schools that, during a three-year period, graduate the greatest percentage of students who choose family medicine.

Filling the pipeline is vital to the health of America, said AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., during the award presentation. "The efforts made by family medicine faculty ensure that students receive the best medical education from caring and competent family physicians," he said. "The collective contributions made by the faculty at these schools and all of the family medicine faculty in this room today are essential to the future of our specialty and to the care of patients."

Perry Pugno, M.D., M.P.H., director of the AAFP Division of Medical Education, agreed. "These schools employ a diversity of initiatives that support students who are most likely to select a career in family medicine," he said.

Those initiatives include student outreach, admissions policies that target students from rural and medically underserved areas, clinical rotations that emphasize positive experiences in family medicine, faculty involvement in medical school committees, strong family medicine interest groups and financial aid packages that minimize student debt.

"They demonstrate what was and is the focus of the Academy's strategic framework for supporting the pipeline of family medicine," said Pugno. "The Academy supports a portfolio of initiatives and programs that address the needs and priorities of different members of the student population."

This year's Top Ten Award recipients and the percentage of their graduates who chose family medicine are