Family medicine interest groups have a lead role in promoting National Primary Care Week (NPCW), an annual event hosted by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) that celebrates and highlights the importance of primary care. Each day of NPCW allows your FMIG or primary care group to raise awareness about a unique aspect of family medicine at your school.
Family medicine is an essential part of the primary care workforce. In fact, more family physicians practice primary care in the U.S. than any other specialty. Not only that, family physicians best match the geographic makeup up communities in the U.S., meaning many underserved communities rely on their family doctors as a lifeline.
The goal of NPCW is to engage physicians-in-training, students across the health care spectrum, and the public on the indispensable role of primary care in our health care system through special programming and communications.
NPCW activities are an opportunity for student groups to help others learn about, experience, and spread awareness of primary care’s pivotal role in the U.S. health care system. These efforts can happen at school, in the community, and across social media.
Learn more about National Primary Care Week on the AMSA website.
It might seem like a simple question, but there is no singular answer. At a virtual event that kicked off NPCW, the AAFP brought together five family physicians whose careers show why it might depend on who you ask:
Attendees heard from each of the panelists about a career in primary care, and also had the opportunity to meet with them in individual breakout rooms.
Did you miss this session? To learn about the variety and principles of primary care and family medicine, check out the recording here.
Each year, AMSA determines the theme of NPCW. This year, the theme was health outside of the hospital, with a special focus on COVID-19. In this blog post, Student Member to the AAFP Board of Directors Amy Hoffman introduces readers to inspirational family physician who are speaking out to protect patients during the pandemic, and beyond.
“As a fourth-year medical student pursuing family medicine, I am so inspired by all these family physicians. I’m choosing this specialty partly because I saw so many family physicians leading the way on public health and policy issues. We excel in these positions because our patient interactions grant us insight into the barriers of care our patients face, and we see opportunities to improve our care and health system. Whether it’s writing a newspaper op-ed, speaking to Congress or making a TikTok video, we are leaders showing the way in health and combatting COVID-19.”
Read her blog here.
Medical students are leaders when it comes to growing a stronger primary care workforce for future generations. Along with showcasing health care outside of the hospital, AMSA highlighted the importance of advocacy in health throughout NPCW. The “Advocacy in Action” series guided students on getting their voices heard through “Lifting Voices of Future Physicians: Writing Effective LTEs” and several other advocacy writing sessions.
Additionally, there were other themed sessions throughout the week that spoke to specific areas of primary care:
Replays of these sessions are available online.
The FMIG Network social media accounts highlighted the importance of primary care all week, bringing widespread attention to facts about the critical role of family medicine in ensuring health equity and access across the country.
If the scheduled week isn’t ideal for your campus, celebrate NPCW when it would have the biggest impact.
Contact your American Medical Student Association chapter and other campus groups to see if they'd like to collaborate on an event. AMSA is the organization that sponsors NPCW, and it typically chooses a theme for the week or even for each day of the week.
Primary care benefits everyone, everywhere, and it takes many health professionals and physicians to make this care happen. That makes NPCW the perfect time to expand the network of students and organizations you usually work with.
Organize events on your medical school campus that focus on primary care, and that define and highlight family medicine’s key role. Here are some ideas:
Your family medicine specialty group, AMSA chapter, or other student organization may be eligible to receive funding for special National Primary Care Week programming. Read about the Family Medicine Student Organization Grant Program to see what funding opportunities are available.