25+ creative programming ideas for FMIG events

FMIG: Stanford University School of Medicine

What it took to organize: N/A

Number of students who attended/participated: 22

Highlights:

• The event featured an evening of poetry and a discussion and workshop with two transgender artists whose poetry focuses on the experiences of minority transgender people and their encounters with the healthcare system. In particular, their writings expose the gender normative ways in which medicine is often practiced.
• The event highlighted the important intersection of gender and health in family medicine (and all medicine) and engaged the audience around issues of transgender health, trauma and cultural competency.
• The poets were invited to speak by one of the FMIG student leaders who saw them perform on campus over the summer.
• The FMIG faculty advisor helped recruit other faculty members who are leaders in caring for transgender populations to take part in facilitating the workshop portion of the event.
• Students reflected on their own conceptions and biases around gender, ethnicity, and medicine. Verbal feedback was obtained from the artists, faculty members and student participants in both the structure and the content of the session.

FMIG: Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University

What it took to organize: 8 students, 5 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 35

Highlights:

• The goal of this program was two-fold: first, to raise awareness of human trafficking in our city, nationally, and internationally, and second, to show the important role family physicians and emergency physicians in particular can play in identifying victims of human trafficking and caring for their emotional, psychological and physical needs.
• Through connections in our community, students were able to invite the founder of a shelter in Illinois for victims and director of the Salvation Army's PROMISE (anti-trafficking) program to speak at our campus.
• The first two events were so popular (attracting >120 students) that we held a third event to provide the students with further information about how to help victims in a clinical setting. The speaker helped students to understand the magnitude of the trafficking problem in Chicago and nationwide and trained us to spot potential victims.
• Victims of human trafficking have few interactions with the outside world when they are trafficked. However, a considerable percentage of these victims do interact with doctors for treatment of trauma, overwork or sexually transmitted diseases while they are in captivity. This makes it imperative for family physicians to be able to identify victims who may visit their office and be trained to deal with these situations appropriately.
• This program was very successful in attracting student interest/attendance and raising awareness of the millions of individuals worldwide who are in modern-day slavery. This visit was followed by a visit to the shelter to better understand this social issue.

FMIG: The Commonwealth Medical College

What it took to organize: 2 students, 2 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 25-30

Highlights:

• Michael Bronski, Professor of Practice in Media and Activism in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, came to speak with TCMC students about patients in the LGBT community they may encounter during their career as a physician.
• He related to us that although it has improved, individuals within the LGBT community are misunderstood from many different areas, including medicine. As a result, many members refuse to visit the doctor leading to disease that could have been prevented or better controlled.
• He stressed that patients in the LGBT community want to feel comfortable visiting the physician; as future physicians, we can keep the office an open and non-judgmental environment, and keep in mind, that many times sickness and disease of a patient has nothing to do with their sexual orientation.
• FMIG and PRIDE collaborated on organizing and promoting the presentation with posters, web site announcements and email invitations.
• Because Mr. Bronski discussed topics relevant and interesting, the event also drew many faculty and staff members at TCMC, making it a large community event.

FMIG: Saint Louis University School of Medicine

What it took to organize: 6 students, 10 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 60 per event

Highlights:

• We hosted several physician panels throughout the year to help students explore the differences between family medicine, internal medicine and pediatric medicine, as well as understand the scope of practices within these fields.
• In October, we hosted a panel of academic primary care physicians to discuss what it is like to practice in both clinic and academia.
• Questions from students were mainly focused on what it meant to be an academic physician, the lifestyles of academic physicians and the criteria for practicing within academic medicine.
• Turnout from this event was much larger than previous years, and students seemed particularly interested in the academic side of medical practice. M1s, M2s and M3s were present and asked a lot of insightful questions that facilitated good dialogue among the panelists.
• We have planned three follow-up physician panels: community medicine, women in primary care and private practice ownership.

FMIG: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California

What it took to organize: 7 students, 80 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 20-60 at each event

Highlights:

• The goal of Homelessness Awareness Week (HAW) was to bring together professionals from various fields to share their knowledge about homelessness and homeless health. HAW also aimed to increase awareness and understanding among medical students so that we can better provide care to our homeless patients and serve as advocates for their health. FMIG was directly involved with planning, advertising and executing the events.
• Event 1. Policy update of homelessness in LA: In this presentation given by UCLA Emeritus Professor of Law Gary Blasi, students learned about the development of policy around homelessness in Los Angeles.
• Event 2. Experiences of mental health and mental health service provision among the homeless population: This event discussed disparities in mental illness among the homeless population, experiences of living on the streets and trying to maintain mental health and provision of mental health services to homeless patients. Attending guests included Dr. Benjamin Henwood from USC School of Social Work, Lori Kizzia from Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, Araceli Patino from the Downtown Women's Center, and Psychiatric Social Worker Kelly Garcia from LAC+USC.
• Event 3. Clinical perspectives on health care for homeless patients: Students learned about the experience of providing health care to homeless patients and the challenges in doing so, as well as health disparities among the homeless population. Attending guests included internal medicine physician Dr. Paul Gregerson from JWCH, family medicine physician Dr. Susan Partovi from the STAR Clinic, and pharmacist Dr. Naomi Florea from USC School of Pharmacy.
• Event 4. Housing is health: The following guests discussed how a lack of stable housing contributes to morbidity among homeless people and described different types of housing services that are available for homeless individuals: social worker Gina Jones from LA Christian Health Center, social worker Alicia Squalls from LAC+USC, and Mike Alvidrez who is the Executive Director of Skid Row Housing Trust.
• Event 5. Community advocacy around issues of homelessness: A panel of individuals from journalism, law enforcement, and medicine shared their experiences and discussed how medical students can best advocate for and promote the health and well-being of homeless individuals. Our panelists included Dr. Jehni Robinson from Keck SOM Department of Family Medicine, Officer Deon Joseph from LAPD, and Gale Holland from LA Times.
• Event success was determined by verbal feedback and demonstrated that the event was well received by Keck students and faculty.
• Our goal for next year is to increase collaboration among student groups to address the diversity among the homeless and to build a coalition of support for homeless health and for social determinants of health more broadly. Finally, we hope to invite more homeless and formerly homeless individuals to speak with students about their experiences.

FMIG: Frank H. Netter, M.D. School of Medicine Family Medicine Interest Group

What it took to organize: 8 students; 6 hours to organize

Number of students who attended/participated: 26

Highlights:

• We connected with a local primary care innovation organization via one of our FMIG members who had worked with them previously and organized an office of the future event.
• The organization provided videos and handouts for attendings to learn more about what they do, and some of the possibilities in future primary care offices.
• We broke up into groups of 4-5 students, had 15-20 minutes to first draw with paper and pencil what we imagined as an ideal space for a primary care office. In two more 15-20 minutes segments, we then worked to design the ideal workflow and the ideal patient experience.
• Between each segment, we went around the room to see what other groups had come up with and shared our comments on a piece of paper. We came together as a whole group and discussed various aspects of each group that we liked and asked any questions we may have had.
• We invited members of our FMIG and school’s chapter of Primary Care Progress (PCP), as well as members of the Yale School of Medicine’s FMIG and PCP.

FMIG: University of Washington WWAMI Family Medicine Interest Group

What it took to organize: 3 students/20 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: variable

Highlights:

• The UWSOM FMIG in Seattle invited Federal Way High School (FWHS) students from the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program to participate in a year-long series of events. This is a Primary Care Leadership Collaboration project supported by funding from the King County Academy of Family Physicians (KCAFP).
• There are clear health disparities between underserved minority populations and the population at large. This is exacerbated by the current underrepresentation of minority groups in healthcare professions. Our mission is to inspire high school students from underserved minority communities to consider pursuing a career in healthcare with the overall goal of increasing the diversity of the healthcare field.
• The AVID program at Federal Way High School aims to help students prepare for college, many of whom would be the first in their family to pursue higher education and/or come from families of low socioeconomic status. AVID is a course taken in addition to other classes where the students learn about postsecondary opportunities. Two community partners at Federal Way High School serve as points of contact. This effort is led by UWSOM students under the guidance of family physician and FMIG advisor.
• The FMIG plans inter-professional events that will expose high school students to various career options in healthcare and cultivate mentorships.
• Events present careers in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing, physician assisting and medical assisting. Each profession is represented by 1-3 UW students from each respective program.
• The events are organized in a speed-dating style, in which presenters rotate to meet small groups of approximately 5 students at a time. The presenters share their stories of how they arrived at their current career, challenges faced, how it relates to HS students, and what this means for health care.
• At future events, FWHS students will visit UWSOM campus and be supported through mentorship.

FMIG: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Family Medicine Interest Group

What it took to organize: 6+ students contributing appx. 40 work hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 12 enrolled in mini-elective

Highlights:

• Students of the FMIG at University of Pittsburgh worked in collaboration with family medicine faculty members to develop a family medicine mini-elective entitled "Transitions: Primary Care's Role in Addiction Medicine.”
• The focus of the course is treatment of substance use disorders, specifically in the context of transitions that patients with these disorders may encounter.
• After touring a local jail, the FMIG discussed interest in spending more time in the jail infirmary and learn more of the physicians’ experience in that setting. In follow-up discussions, we hit upon the intersection of transitions and substance use disorders, realizing that these issues are increasingly in play in the context of primary care.
• To help students understand the needs of people transitioning from prison, we planned a mini-elective that spans 5 two-hour sessions.
• Students are exposed to how family medicine physicians, social workers and other healthcare providers facilitate care for patients with substance use disorders in the context of life transitions.
• The five sessions we planned include 4 sessions with presentations and expert panels. The fifth and final session is the tour of the Allegheny County Jail, an experience similar to the one that originally sparked the project. The titles of the first four class sessions are: “Introduction to Addiction in Primary Care,” “Transitions in Care,” “Transitions in Women’s Health,” and “Addiction and Medical Treatment for Incarcerated Individuals.”
• Students in the mini-elective have been invited to provide informal feedback on the course by email, but will also receive an official feedback form at the end of the course.
• We were excited by the strong enrollment of 12 students for an initial mini-elective offering.

FMIG: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

What it took to organize: 4 students, 50 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 72

Highlights:

• BLSO is our flagship event. We first put on a BLSO curriculum with 60 students. This year we expanded the event to 75 students. It's so popular that the event filled within 3 days of the email announcement of the course.
• Last year’s course generated immense excitement about family medicine. It also was revered by our students as “hands down, one of the best experiences in medical school.”
• M2 students who took BLSO last year provided qualitative feedback and data to our FMIG that the skills they learned from BLSO greatly helped them on their third year clinical rotations in OB and primary care.
• The BLSO course was created in 2012 by the AAFP. It was based off of the ALSO (Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics) course that was created in 1991 here at UW Madison. The curriculum is now the standard of care throughout the country (and much of the world) for obstetrical care in family medicine.
• Our FMIG Faculty Advisor chaired the course last year and this year, and was a core instructor.
• The FMIG leaders painstakingly fundraised $9,430 to support the course’s high operating budget.
• Our local WAFP chapter, the medical school, the Department of Family Medicine, and the students themselves all contribute their time and money to make this event a success. Community faculty were also solicited to “sponsor a student” by providing a $50 contribution – thus funding one student’s attendance. In turn, each student who was sponsored will write a personal thank-you note to the community faculty member, discussing how the course impacted them, and how it promoted a future career in FM.
• Of note, our FMIG operating budget for FMIG starts at $0 every year. All of our events are funded by donations; and each event is solicited individually – requiring our students to garner funding for each event each year. With the high operating budget, we were thrilled to get such wonderful funding to promote the knowledge and scope of family medicine early on in medical school.
• The goal of this event is to showcase the specialty of family medicine as a leader in women’s health and maternity care. All of our faculty are family physicians currently practicing obstetrics in their practice.
• Having 16 instructors and 75 students allows for an intimate ratio of 1 instructor to every 5 students – providing wonderful hands-on teaching and the opportunity for close mentorship. Of the 16 instructors, four are residents. This allows the residents exposure to teaching, and provides the students with a view of “the next steps” in the career path of family medicine.
• The BLSO course and the data were presented at the STFM (Society of Teachers in Family Medicine) Annual Meeting. The success of the program is evaluated by extensive pre-course and post-course evaluations. We plan to compare last year’s data with this year’s, and were invited to present this data at the STFM annual meeting. This data will also be shared with the BLSO course directors and with the national AAFP to help improve the program for the entire country.
• Additionally, this year’s BLSO course and curriculum will be reviewed and observed by our medical school’s curriculum committee to determine if it should be adopted formally into the new medical school curriculum. If this happened, FMIG would still be able to help organize and run the course, but the funding would be taking care of by the medical school.

FMIG: Penn State College of Medicine

What it took to organize: 2 students, 30 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 200

Highlights:

• Every year, our FMIG offers sessions that supplement classroom learning and offer additional opportunities for students to develop clinical skills. FMIG has developed a relationship with the Department of Family and Community Medicine's Urgent Care clinic and is able to offer shadowing opportunities to medical students every weekend through the academic year.
• Our FMIG also organizes a focused skills sessions throughout the year. This year, the first session was a collaboration with the Women’s Health Interest Group (WHIG). The two-hour skills session was focused on women’s health and was comprised of 4 stations: laparoscopic surgery simulation, breast exam, vaginal exam, and pelvic exam. These sessions were taught by a combination of OB-GYN and family medicine-obstetrician residents and physicians. The event had approximately 40 attendees and was taught by 4 physicians and residents.
• The second clinical skills session was a collaboration with Medical Students for Choice. This two-hour event focused on contraceptive options and the role that primary care physicians have discussing these options with patients. There were 5 stations including: an overview about different contraceptive options, the importance of taking a thorough sexual history, and three hands-on workshops in which students had the opportunity to practice insertions of Nexplanon and IUD devices as well as the no-scalpel vasectomy technique. This session was attended by 30 students as well as several first-year family medicine residents. The session was taught by a combination of 9 family medicine, family medicine-obstetricians and OB-GYN physicians and residents. Contraceptive options and family planning is an important part of many patients’ lives. This collaboration with MSFC allowed students to gain an understanding of the role that many different types of physicians have in this aspect of patient care. This session was so popular that it will be repeated in collaboration with other student interest groups, so that more students can have an opportunity to participate and it will be expanded to include additional sessions focused on how to approach sensitive topics with patients such as sexual histories, working with LGBTQ patients and intimate partner violence.
• To help prepare first-year medical students to perform physical examinations ahead of their formal taped exercises, we organized a two-hour session on this topic. There were four stations which students rotated through, each focusing on a specific section of the exam: head & neck, cardiac & lung, abdominal and musculoskeletal. There were a total of 50 students who attended the session. Each station was managed by a resident or family medicine physician (eight in total) who instructed the students about proper techniques and any common pathologies that may be important to look for during that section. Additionally students were given time to speak to the doctors to ask questions about opportunities the field of family medicine has to offer.

FMIG: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Student Family Medicine Association

What it took to organize: 2 students, 15 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 109

Highlights:

• In recent years the number of student interest groups that host workshops has increased tremendously. The workshops provided by our group aim to introduce and allow students to practice physical examination techniques, but also to expose students to different aspects of family medicine.
• The physicians we invite to lead workshops are encouraged to discuss family medicine, their training in the field and their experience practicing in a variety of settings in the area.
• The workshops were selected based on student interest surveys filled out by students who are members of SFMA. The workshop coordinators worked with the faculty adviser to reach out to the physicians who hosted the event. Then, the workshop coordinators established date and time, publicized the event and managed the lottery system for selecting participants.
• Our first workshop was held just after the first year medical students learned their first physical exam. The workshop was designed to help both first and second year students practice physical exam skills in small groups with physicians and residents from VCU and St. Francis residency program. The 21 students in attendance were split into groups of 4 or 5 and paired with a resident or physician who provided feedback as the students performed exam techniques on one another. Each physician ran a station that was designed to highlight a different physical exam including head and neck, musculoskeletal and abdominal exam.
• We hosted a workshop with the St. Francis Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. The fellowship program director and his team of residents introduced basic sports medicine skills, specifically upper and lower limb injuries. Groups of four to five students rotated through various stations, each focusing on a particular component of a musculoskeletal examination, such as shoulder, ankle, foot or knee. Each student was able to practice and observe with immediate feedback from the supervising physician. Twenty-two students, both first- and second- year medical students, participated in the workshop.
• Another workshop brought back by popular demand was the Osteopathic Workshop. Students learned about differences between a DO and MD education and then spent being introduced to several osteopathic medicine techniques. Twenty students, both first- and second-year medical students, participated in the workshop. Their feedback from post-workshop surveys was all very positive, noting in particular the appreciation of hands-on aspect of the workshop.
• Chesterfield Family Practice, a local VCU residency program, hosted 24 students for yet another workshop back by popular demand. Students rotated through six stations in small groups with residents, who simulated patients with behavioral and mental health issues. Each group had an attending who served to answer questions and advise students at each station. At each station, the students interviewed the patient and then discussed their differential diagnosis. After rotating through all the stations, the entire group got together to discuss their experiences.
• An upcoming ultrasound workshop will be held by VCU’s St Francis Family Medicine residency program. Students will be instructed in the technique of using ultrasound in the context of both sports medicine and OB-GYN purposes with simulated and actual patients. Students will experience how family medicine physicians use ultrasound in their practice and gain hands-on experience with this highly utilized clinical tool.

FMIG: Medical College of Wisconsin Family Medicine Student Association

What it took to organize: 1 student, 20 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 75

Highlights:

• This year our Procedures Fair featured four workshops we have held in the past: Casting, Joint Injections, Suturing and Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) – Baby Delivery simulation, and one workshop new for this year: IUD Insertion with Simulators.
• This fair demonstrated the broad scope of family medicine to students and provided students the opportunity to interact with family medicine residents and faculty.
• Each student had the opportunity to participate in three of the five workshops based on their interests. Family medicine faculty and residents teach all of the workshops (3-4 physicians per workshop), which provides students in their pre-clinical years a unique opportunity to interact one on one with family medicine physicians.
• Students ate dinner before the workshops began, and the AAFP FUTURE conference was discussed in detail. Medical students and residents who attended the conference in the past discussed their experiences. Our FMIG has been fortunate to receive funding from the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians in the past to send all interested students to the conference, and we hope to continue this by informing students interested in family medicine about this great opportunity.
• The suturing workshop had students practicing several different suturing techniques (simple interrupted, simple uninterrupted, vertical and horizontal mattress) on pigs’ feet, which will hopefully give them a leg up in several of their future clerkships. Students practiced casting on each other and removing the casts once they were dry. Joint injections emphasized anatomic landmarks and needle placement on several different joint models. Baby delivery featured models from the simulation center at our medical school as well as a focus on delivery complications using the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics teaching method.
• IUD Insertion was added as a workshop for this year to eliminate the need for a waiting list to attend the fair and give students more options for activities. Being able to accommodate all interested students was a goal we had not been able to accomplish before the addition of this fifth workshop this year. This workshop was run in collaboration with the OB/GYN Interest Group (student group) and Medical Students for Choice (student group) who provided the IUDs and female models necessary.

FMIG: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California

What it took to organize: 1 Cuddle Club chair, 90 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 88

Highlights:

• The Cuddle Club was created by two Keck Medical students in the spring of 2012. Soon after its inception, Keck’s FMIG program, under the guidance of our FMIG faculty advisor, established the Cuddle Club as a permanent program at LAC+USC County Hospital.
• With a commitment to showcase the full spectrum of family medicine through well-organized unique “Cradle to Grave” service programs, FMIG established a permanent Cuddle Club Chair position.
• As part of the Cuddle Club, students work primarily with babies in the NICU whose mothers are unable to care for them due to illnesses or drug or alcohol addictions. Often, many of the infants themselves are being treated for maternal addictions, and their early days of life can be quite distressing.
• Adequate human contact is central to their development, and sometimes those needs are not fully met. The Cuddle Club students assist the hospital care team in feeding, holding and comforting these newborns. For babies who are expected to remain in the nursery for an extended period of time, students are assigned to come in regularly to play with the babies and asses their development milestones.
• The Cuddle Club students play a role that is extremely formative to the well-being of the infants long after the infant’s hospital stay. In turn, the medical students benefit by becoming more comfortable with the patient population and learning about the challenges and special care the newborns need.
• In order to participate in the Cuddle Club, volunteers must attend a mandatory training. The training session is led by the Cuddle Club Chair at the beginning of the academic year and includes a PowerPoint presentation, an information video regarding neonatal care and a Q&A session with a NICU and nursery nurse. Once the training and tour are complete, students can volunteer in the NICU at any time. Participation is tracked via a sign-in sheet in the NICU. Time commitment depends solely on students’ availability.
• Last year, Cuddle Club introduced the Lactation Education program and gauged interest at an initial training. This year, this was expanded upon with the implementation of a pilot program. The program consisted of eight medical students, the Lactation Education club advisor and the Lactation Education nurse from LAC+USC County Hospital. The basis of the program was to train medical students to act as lactation consultants to new mothers in the maternity ward at LAC+USC. The eight students involved attended two trainings that were held on campus. The focus of the first training was to learn about the ten most common concerns from newly breastfeeding moms and how these concerns can be addressed. The second training was a more hands-on session with breast and newborn models to teach practical aspects of breastfeeding positions that are most comfortable and efficient for both mom and baby. After attending both of these trainings, volunteers were able to serve as lactation consultants at LAC+USC County Hospital. This involved going to the hospital in the evenings for a couple of hours to help the nursing staff answer breastfeeding moms’ questions, address their concerns and anxieties regarding breastfeeding and provide encouragement moms often need to continue breastfeeding.

FMIG: University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson

What it took to organize: 4 students, 10 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 25

Highlights:

• This program was a collaborative effort between FMIG and the University of Arizona, Tucson Family Medicine Residency. The resident in charge provided the FMIG leaders with dates and times of high school football games where the residents from the UA Residency Program would be assisting.
• The FMIG then posted the event on MedCats—an online network for UA medical students—as a Commitment to Underserved Populations event. From there, students could sign up for volunteer shifts with family medicine resident physicians.
• Students signed up to volunteer with a family medicine resident physician and athletic trainer at high school football games to provide medical aid to football athletes from underserved high schools in Tucson.
• Medical students volunteered at 25 football games at the following underserved high schools: Amphitheater High School, Desert View High School, Rincon High School, Santa Rita High School, Cholla High School and Empire High School. A total of 25 students (including all four years of current U of A medical students) participated at the 25 football games, each serving 3 hours with the family medicine resident working that game.
• Each student worked with a family medicine resident physician and an athletic trainer. This allowed medical students to see the dynamic team environment that sports medicine physicians work in. It also exposed students to family medicine and family physicians. Medical students observed and helped the athletic trainer and resident physicians work together to triage, evaluate and treat injuries sustained during play.
• This program exposed and promoted the scope and diversity of family medicine. The feedback was extremely positive, with many students excited and proactive in requesting to help and to participate at more family medicine events.

FMIG: The Ohio State University College of Medicine

What it took to organize: 1 medical student, 4 undergraduate students, 20 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 93 (40 medical and 53 undergraduate)

Highlights:

• The Pre-medical Initiative subcommittee within our FMIG worked hard once again to create a connection between medical students passionate about mentoring undergraduate students going into the field of medicine.
• We hosted this event again after it was a success as a new event last year. This year, we were able to expand this mock interview event to senior undergraduate students and recent graduates of Ohio State that are currently in the medical school application process.
• Last year’s event had 12 medical students interview, but this year we were able to recruit 40 medical students who each provided mock interviews to three different undergraduate seniors.
• We decided to have the event earlier in the school year because the medical student schedule was not as busy yet, and it was right before the medical school interview process started.
• We began the evening with a PowerPoint presentation outlining key information about interviewing strategy and answers to the most frequently asked questions about the medical school interview process (e.g., what to wear, sending thank-you notes, etc.). We also had the College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion contact us and ask to partner and co-sponsor the event.
• It was a very successful program, and several of the senior undergraduate students contacted us after recently being accepted to OSUCOM. They credited this mock interview experience for helping them calm their nerves and practice in a similar environment as their own medical school interviews.
• We have already begun the process of planning next year's mock interview event to ensure its continued success. In addition, we plan on having an MCAT review crash course in the spring semester for pre-medical students hosted by current first-year medical students who have previously served as MCAT instructors and tutors.

FMIG: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

What it took to organize: 40 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 5 students and residents

Highlights:

• This program is one of the greatest ways in which our medical students interact with family medicine residents. It provides a longitudinal experience throughout the year for students to shadow family medicine residents one-on-one during a call shift at one of the two local hospitals where our residents train.
• First- through fourth-year students are offered tailored experiences related to their level of knowledge and comfort, ranging from observation to acting like an intern (helping to answer pages, write notes and perform procedures).
• This program gives students the opportunity to catch a glimpse of what a life as a family medicine resident is like and to experience what being a family medicine doctor is all about.
• In addition to giving students a valuable medical education experience, it also allows them to ask questions that they may not otherwise ask a faculty member.
• While the primary goal of the program is to connect the students with the residents, a secondary goal is to connect the residents to the students and the medical school.
• Through this program, the residents learn more about opportunities to give noon talks and participate in FMIG events. The residents are also encouraged to attend the AAFP FUTURE conference in Kansas City. Our current students remind the residents to give back by participating in local, regional and national conferences.
• Our FMIG advisor takes care of registration and communication with the residents, and our FMIG leaders are responsible for encouraging students to participate in this opportunity.
• Many of the relationships formed through this program continue throughout the students’ careers.

FMIG: George Washington University

What it took to organize: 5 students, 4 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 30

Highlights:

• Unfortunately, our program does not have a family medicine department or robust relationships with community health centers, and most of our classmates will graduate from GW without having worked with family medicine physicians or spending time in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
• In response to this lack of exposure, we held two events in October that sought to educate our FMIG members and classmates about the important role that family medicine physicians and community health centers play in confronting health disparities in the United States.
• First, we hosted the medical director of the Upper Cardozo Unity Clinic and several of her colleagues and residents from the Wright Center’s National Family Medicine Residency Program. They discussed both the services that federally qualified health centers provide and their decisions to go into family medicine. We invited both FMIG members and members of a community health focused academic group at GW to attend.
• For our second event, we traveled to the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC to tour and learn about a community health center that primarily serves Central American immigrants. For most of our members, this field trip represented their first direct exposure to an FQHC. We toured the facilities, met with medical providers and ended with a group discussion with the medical director. This was the first time our FMIG had organized a field trip to an off-site location. Our members were very enthusiastic about the experience, and we plan to have more site visits in the future.

FMIG: Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

What it took to organize: 3 students, 5 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 60

Highlights:

• Careers in family medicine versus medicine-pediatrics was an interest group lunch meeting co-hosted with FMIG, Medicine-Pediatrics Interest Group and the Brody School of Medicine Office of Student Development and Academic Counseling (OSDAC).
• This topic was proposed as an important topic to address because of the frequency of the question, “What’s the difference between Family Medicine and Med-Peds?” The meeting showcased the Brody School of Medicine Family Medicine residency director and the Brody School of Medicine Med-Peds residency director.
• The two speakers discussed the similarities and differences between their two respective specialties and how each of these specialties serve the purpose of primary care in Eastern North Carolina.
• Students heard about family medicine physicians' ability to take care of patients of all ages, perform a wide variety of outpatient procedures, provide continuity of care for patients admitted to the hospital and opportunities tailored to one’s interests and skills, including sports medicine and obstetrics care.
• This meeting was highly regarded by the students in attendance because the speakers were able to make the distinctions between the two specialties clear while also emphasizing the need for collaboration with family medicine and med-peds to be able to provide the most comprehensive primary care for our patients.
• The role of the FMIG leaders in this meeting was to contact the two speakers and prepare a formal introduction as well as coordinate with OSDAC to advertise the event to students. Our FMIG advisor attended this event and was given updates regarding the progress of our planning and advertising.
• We measured the success of this event through number of student attendees as well as a survey organized by OSDAC. This event will be considered again in the future because of strong student interest and beneficial collaboration between primary care specialties.

FMIG: Albany Medical College

Level of Effort: Not specified

Number of students who attended/participated: 24

Highlights:

• Goal: To introduce students to the field of family medicine by giving them real world perspectives on training, work-life balance and scope of practice.
• Project components and timeline: (2-2.5 hours)
  • Introduction of Presenters (5 minutes)
  • Panel presentation (55 minutes) including 1 faculty and four current FM residents
  • Overview of FM residency training requirements
  • Translation of training requirements into potential scope of practice
  • Fellowship possibilities for future training
• Reviewed examples of family physician careers:
  • Outpatient
  • Hospitalist
  • Student health
  • Geriatrics
  • Adolescent medicine
  • Obstetric care (with or without c/s)
  • Abortion care
  • Sports medicine
  • Academic medicine
  • Expert witness
  • Emergency medicine
  • Urgent care
  • Integrative medicine
  • Correctional health (adult or juvenile)
  • Concierge medicine
  • Direct primary care
  • Policy/advocacy
  • Underserved medicine
  • Newborn nursery
  • Global health
  • Health management
  • Psychiatric care
  • Asylum medicine
  • Sexual assault
  • Research
  • Dermatology
  • Pain management
  • Addiction medicine
  • Employee health
  • Public health
• Provided small group work with hands-on workshops highlighting procedural scope of practice (30-60 minutes)
  • IUD placement and contraception overview
  • Derm procedures: punch biopsy, shave biopsy
  • Joint injections
• Gave tour of family medicine clinic and residency space (15-30 minutes)

FMIG: Uniformed Services University

What it took to organize: 2 students, 5 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 50+

Highlights:

• The Apollo Society is an FMIG-sponsored organization dedicated to sharing and celebrating the artistic talents of the USU community. Whether one is an expert musician or writes short stories, the Apollo Society promotes community growth and camaraderie by encouraging all USU students, faculty and staff members to share their artistic talents with the school during organized events.
• Examples of past performances include poetry readings, photography displays, a cappella performances and musical instrument recitals.
• USU FMIG sponsors three to four open mic events each year, which are held during lunchtime for all interested students, staff and faculty at the university.
• About 100 people attend each event. The event has had an overwhelmingly positive response from the USU community, and it continues to contribute to school spirit.
• The Apollo Society is a unique organization in that it harnesses the talents of our diverse community of individuals at USU and promotes wellness for both those who participate and those who attend the open mic performances by enabling various forms of artistic self-expression to be acknowledged by members of our community.
• It is one of the only events at the university that has active participation from multiple schools (School of Medicine, Graduate School of Nursing) as well as different groups at USU (faculty, staff and students).
• The Apollo Society also sponsors a poetry contest as a prelude to the AOA poetry contest. Poetry can focus on a medical topic and thus offers an outlet for expression of work-related stress, dilemmas and joy through a creative pursuit.

FMIG: Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine

What it took to organize: 4 students, 4 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 10 students for Book Club, 5 students for Writing Club

Highlights:

• During the first two years of medical education, it is quite easy to get caught up in memorizing textbooks and forget the reason for coming to medical school in the first place.
• To combat the textbook doldrums, our FMIG group holds a book club. Meeting as a group gives us a reason to set aside time to read something other than hard science. It also allowed us to explore in greater depth the career we have chosen by attending medical school, to begin to understand the challenges in medicine for which the answers don’t lie in a textbook.
• The books we decided to read were "Not All of Us Are Saints" by David Hilfiker and “The Country Doctor Revisited” by Teresa Zink. Our faculty advisor, Dr. Zink, put together this collection of short stories from medical professionals who practiced in the rural U.S. Dr. Zink provided us each with a copy of the book, and we discussed some of the challenges and benefits of working with underserved rural populations.
• We chose these books not only because many of the stories were from family medicine doctors, but also because it allowed us to explore issues that arise in the practice of medicine. Each section had its own theme for which we would prepare thought-provoking questions to initiate discussion. The topics ranged from working with patients whose beliefs about their ideal care differed from ours, to providing the best care possible in resource-deficient areas, and the struggles of running a private practice or being contracted with a hospital.
• Any interested first- or second-year student could join. In total, 10 students signed up and the usual meeting attendance was 6-10 students.
• Dr. Zink developed a writing club for students who wanted to express themselves through writing. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss short pieces about medicine with various writing styles and topics. The writing group gives us a chance to work on our writing skills and to develop a healthy way of coping with some of the challenges we face as medical professionals.

FMIG: University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine

What it took to organize: 3 students, 8 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 25 students, 5 residents, 1 attending

Highlights:

• For the past several years, we have hosted a back-to-school leadership BBQ for medical students interested in FMIG involvement. Previously, we used the BBQ as a time for existing leadership to come together and plan events for the year. This year, we improved the program and invited residents and faculty, as well as new medical students. In this way, we were able to increase interactions between residents and students at the start of the year.
• The three FMIG co-chairs worked in coordination with the FMIG advisor to plan and facilitate the FMIG BBQ. The co-chairs coordinated food and activities for the evening and led the leadership meeting. They also advertised the meeting to all medical school classes and members of the family medicine residency program.
• At the beginning of the event, students and residents had the opportunity to interact with one another during the meal time. It was a great opportunity for older students to re-connect with other students after a summer of different experiences. In addition, it was a good opportunity to hear from several residents about the MU residency program, application process and suggestions for medical school. We also had the opportunity to discuss life-family balance, academic vs. community residencies and various practice models with the residents and attending.
• After a time of socializing, we moved into the business aspect of the meeting. Both students and residents participated. We discussed events from previous years and ways to improve each to remain current and relevant to the medical students. We also discussed ways to improve interactions between students and family medicine residents and faculty. Event leaders recruited new medical students to help organize and facilitate events.

FMIG: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Student Family Medicine Association

What it took to organize: 2 students, 6 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 18 (membership outreach), 11 (conference)

Highlights:

• The School of Medicine hosts a fair for student organizations, interest groups and community groups during the first week of orientation for first-year medical students. Students are able to go around to tables to find clubs and groups that align with their interests.
• SFMA second-year medical students and our faculty advisor hosted a table and served Italian ice. First-year medical students were able to come to our table to learn about the different opportunities SFMA offers on campus, within the community and around the state.
• At our table, students were able to talk to current students and sign up to become AAFP members. We had approximately 75 first-year medical students initially sign up.
• For another event, we were able to use money we received from our state chapter to pay for appetizers at Capital Ale House, a local restaurant close to campus. We used data from the admissions office to gather a list of students that marked they were interested in family medicine on their application. Using this list, we matched it against the list of students in SFMA. We reached out to students who were not members of SMFA but marked that they were interested in family medicine on their application to medical school. We invited those students to our social, along with our current members. The social provided a casual atmosphere and food as a way to get students to talk to each other about why they were interested in family medicine.
• We provided students with brochures from the AAFP, information about upcoming events for SFMA and ways they could get involved both with SFMA and family medicine. We had 18 students attend and recruited 3 new members as a result of the social. This was SFMA’s first time recruiting students during the middle of the school year. We believed that the program was a success due to the volume of students that attended. In the future, we will try to hold two socials: one in the fall and one in the spring.
• SFMA is one of the largest student interest groups at our medical school. We have over 860 student members. We have a planning committee that is made up of 15 students. We open up our planning committee meetings to anyone who would like to attend, as a way to gather new ideas for our club.

FMIG: Meharry Medical College

What it took to organize: 6 students, 5 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 40

Highlights:

• Each year, our faculty advisor hosts Meharry family physicians, residents and FMIG members at her residence for an evening of food and discussion regarding life as a family physician.
• This year, in addition to Meharry physicians, we also had the added unique perspective of a family physician practicing in a community setting serving residents of the East Nashville area.
• Through this mixer, we wanted to expose students to family physicians practicing in different settings, give students the opportunity to ask family physicians about the scope of their practice and create an opportunity for students interested in family medicine to network with one another.
• The executive board worked closely with the faculty advisor to identify the best date and time for the event based on student schedules, and once identified, disseminated information regarding the event via electronic invitations.
• The family physicians in attendance each discussed their backgrounds with regard to their medical education, how they chose family medicine, how their careers had shifted over the course of the years working as family physicians and where they envisioned the trajectory of their career path. They also discussed the opportunities for students to engage in fellowships, such as those in emergency medicine and obstetrics, as well as funding opportunities related to programs such as the National Health Service Corps and loan repayment options. The additional perspective of a family physician in private/community practice provided students exposure to learning about what to consider when going into private practice and how the life of a community physician differs from that of a family physician working in an academic setting.

FMIG: Albany Medical College

What it took to organize: N/A

Number of students who attended/participated: 15-20

Highlights:

• We strive to support the professional development and success of our students through FMIG supported meetings, many with a specific focus on fourth-year matching success. Direct access to our faculty and residents has been important to our success.
• Beginning at the end of third year and throughout the fourth year, the FMIG faculty advisor collaborates with the department's faculty to create an ongoing support system for those students pursuing a career in family medicine.
• Guidance is provided with group programming such as the CV Workshop, Fourth Year Planning Meeting, AAFP FUTURE conference in Kansas City, Mock Interviews, as well as individual, one-on-one advising. Highlights of this process include:
  • CV and Personal Statement Workshop: Faculty provide an evening workshop where the students bring their draft CVs and personal statements, and faculty "workshop" them on the spot. Students receive direct feedback and guidance from experienced faculty.
  • Mock Interviews: For the past ten years, our department has offered mock interviews with a team of our faculty who are directly involved with the residency interview process. Though this structured activity, we are able to give valuable feedback and guidance to our students before they begin their residency interviews. Many students have commented that these supportive and constructive interviews were instrumental in their success on the interview trail.
  • Fourth Year Planning Meeting: This dinner meeting is held on campus with a strong team of faculty and residents representing a cross-section of careers in family medicine. This meeting offers students an excellent opportunity to better understand the full scope of family medicine. The faculty provide a clear timeline with direct guidance for each stage of the residency application process and discuss types of programs (university vs. community), fellowships and career paths.
  • AAFP FUTURE conference: Our faculty attend this meeting annually, and we typically bring 5-10 fourth-year medical students with us. Faculty advisors meet with students before and during the meeting to provide direct, one-on-one advising on site. Faculty use this conference as an opportunity to introduce students to other program directors.

FMIG: Penn State College of Medicine

What it took to organize: 2 students, 12 hours

Number of students who attended/participated: 10

Highlights:

• One goal this year was to create more opportunities to involve third- and fourth-year medical students. Specifically, FMIG was interested in creating an event that would provide advice and help for students who are interested in applying to family medicine residency programs.
• We decided this was a great opportunity to involve the Penn State Hershey Family Medicine Residency Program. After speaking and brainstorming with a Penn State family medicine resident, a session regarding how to prepare for residency interviews was planned.
• Our speaker prepared, presented and answered numerous questions on the residency application process, specifically focusing on interviewing. This event provided an effective opportunity for students either in the process of applying or anticipating applying to family medicine residency programs to gain insight from a current resident and ask questions in a low-stress, friendly environment.
• In addition, FMIG provided dinner for the students and speaker.
• Our second event related to our goal of reaching out to third- and fourth-year students was FMIG's Match Day Panel.
• Some of the most pressing questions on medical students’ minds are which residency programs they are considering and how to best reach their professional goals. However, it can be difficult for people far removed from the process of applying to residency to remember the nuances of the programs and describe how they came to make these personal and professional decisions.
• This year, FMIG organized a Match Day panel for students considering applying to family medicine residencies. We asked fourth-year medical students who had matched into diverse programs in family medicine to host a panel discussion on the process of applying to residency and what drew them to their respective programs.
• This panel discussion was open to all medical students but primarily aimed toward third-year students who are closest to the residency application process. Our club provided dinner to the attendees and facilitated discussion between the students.