FMIG Network Program of Excellence Award

Incentive

Program of Excellence Award winners are recognized each year at the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City. All FMIG leaders and members from award-winning FMIGs are invited to the stage during the FMIG Network breakfast and presented with a plaque to display back at school.

Additionally, two winning schools receive a $600 cash prize each.

• One cash prize will be awarded to a school that shows consistent excellence, being a consistent and historical winner of this award and continuing to excel and improve.
• A second cash prize will be awarded to an FMIG from an institution that is not a historical winner of the Program of Excellence Awards, and instead is making great strides in a different environment. This could be a school with a single innovative and exemplary program or initiative, or a new school, or an FMIG that has been dormant for many years and is being relaunched, or great improvement in FMIG activity, or efforts to promote family medicine in an environment that is less supportive of primary care.

Prize winners will be selected by a panel of judges reviewing blinded applications.

Qualifications

Family medicine interest groups are eligible to apply if:

• The FMIG is at a U.S. allopathic or osteopathic medical school
• The FMIG is located at a U.S. clinical training site (including FMIGs with student members or leaders from multiple U.S. or international medical schools)
• The FMIG is at an international medical school that contributes significantly to the U.S. family medicine workforce*

An interest group does not need to be called an FMIG to be considered for an award, but its primary mission must be to promote and educate students on family medicine.  

To win a Program of Excellence Award, an FMIG must demonstrate that it is well-rounded with competency in a number of key areas, including:

• FMIG structure and operation
• Community service
• Exposing students to family medicine and family physicians
• Promoting the value of family medicine as primary care
• Professional development
• Measures of success
  

The FMIG must also illustrate significant changes or enhancements -- what was learned from the previous years' activities, what new innovations have been or will be developed, and what elements of programming were modified to meet the needs of members.

Awards are given in two segments:

• Overall Awards: Ten overall Program of Excellence Award winners will be chosen based on demonstration of well-rounded, exemplary FMIG activity and operation. These FMIGs address all aspects of the key award areas explained above.
  
• Special Consideration or Categorical Awards: These are FMIGs who demonstrate excellence in one area, or who qualify for special consideration because they are a first-time applicant or an FMIG that has overcome significant obstacles. Examples of special consideration or categorical awards are:
  • Excellence in Community Service
  • Excellence in Professional Development
  • Excellence in Exposure to Family Medicine and Family Physicians
  • Excellence in Promoting the Value of Family Medicine as Primary Care
  • First-Time Applicant
  • Most Improved FMIG

Each FMIG may apply for an overall or a special consideration/categorical award. Applicants for the overall award that are not chosen as overall winners are eligible for special consideration/categorical awards at the discretion of the Program of Excellence Award judging panel. Applicants for special consideration/categorical awards are not eligible for overall awards. The application form must be used for submission. Any other formats will not be accepted.

How to Apply

To apply for a PoE Award, choose either the Overall or Categorical application form below and follow the instructions in the form. It is highly recommended that all writing and editing be completed in a shared document (like a Google Document) or in Word, especially if multiple people are contributing to or reviewing the application material. This approach will prevent any information from being lost in the event that changes to the application PDF do not properly save. When all writing is complete, transfer the information into the appropriate application form and submit.

Applications are accepted each year from January to April. The application forms are linked below. FMIGs who intend to apply may wish to use the forms to help them keep track of the efforts they wish to highlight as they occur.

Click here to download the Overall Awards application form.

Click here to download the Categorical Awards application form.

Application Tips

• Writing about your programming in a collaborative space, like a cloud document, before you add information to one of the PDF applications on this page can make it easier to write and edit as a team.
• The PoE application is identical year to year. Keep a running document of your events and programs so you're ready to apply when applications open each spring. 

*Qualifying international medical schools are: Ross University School of Medicine, Barbados; St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada; American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Saint Maarten; American University of Antigua College of Medicine, Antigua and Barbados; Saba University School of Medicine, Saba; University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts; Saint James School of Medicine, Anguilla, and Bonaire/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Medical University of the Americas, St. Kitts and Nevis; Windsor University School of Medicine, St. Kitts and Nevis; University of Guadalajara, Mexico; American University of Integrative Sciences School of Medicine, Saint Maarten/Barbados; and Trinity School of Medicine, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.