AMAM Scholarship Recipient Reports
Jerry P Abraham, MD MPH CMQ
Chief Resident Physician, Family & Community Medicine
USC Family Medicine Residency Program at California Hospital
CAFP’s 2017 All Member Advocacy Meeting was another amazing experience. My attendance was made possible by the generous support of the LAAFP Scholarship, which is awarded to medical students and residents. Having been my third AMAM, I expected nothing less than a spectacular production. My first impression was that I was at a Family Medicine Reunion. There were more participants at this AMAM than any other in history! Furthermore, at least one-third of the participants were medical students, residents and new physicians. The energy in the room was palpable! Everyone was so excited and energetic and AMAM itself is such an incredible opportunity to improve physician wellness and combat physician burnout. By attending AMAM, participates are able to recharge their batteries and reinvigorate their passion for caring for patients and tirelessly advocating for them. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have reconnected with so many of my mentors, role models, colleagues, peers and friends. Attending these events is like getting a electric jolt or a boost of energy—after all, patient advocacy is a great antidote to physician burnout!
In addition to the camaraderie and fellowship, there were many incredible highlights of AMAM 2017! Sacramento is an incredible town to visit and the historic Citizen Hotel is such a hospitable host for our meetings, attending to all our needs and providing great nourishment and accommodations while we work! The meeting was focused on maintaining and expanding access to healthcare particularly by advocating for the preservation of Medicaid Expansion and the preservation of the protections provided by the Affordable Care Act. We also spent a lot of energy advocating for the preservation of funding for residency training programs in Primary Care. We had such a productive LAAFP Caucus meeting where we had robust discussions and debates regarding preservation of the Hyde Amendment, including Physical Activity as a Vital Sign, minimizing inappropriate antibiotic use in livestock, improving recruitment strategies for residency programs, among many other topics.
It was amazing to see Dr. Tim Munzing, a Family Medicine Revolutionary and one of my mentors, be awarded the CAFP Family Physician of the Year Award! Also, we were all thoroughly entertained during The Roast of Adam Francis, CAFP’s Political Director. We were able to shower the CAFP and LAAFP staff with our sincere and utmost gratitude and appreciation for all the efforts and energies staff expend on behalf of patients and Family Physicians in California and Los Angeles. It was also inspiring to hear about all of the incredible work of our medical student and resident scholarship recipients!
We also were graced by the presence of many Family Medicine Celebrities! AAFP Board Chair, Dr. Wanda Filer addressed the participants and provided a much-needed and well-received federal update, especially as the situation in Washington becomes more unpredictable and the threats of repealing the ACA demonstrates the volatility that currently exists in health policy. We also had the honor of hearing from the California State Senate President Pro Tem, Senator Kevin de Leon, who was awarded the CAFP Family Medicine Champion of the Year Award! Finally, we ended the day with an awesome Reception with many of the heavyweights in California politics including the Insurance Commissioner, the Senate Republican Minority Leader, Senator Dr. Richard Pan (a Pediatrician) along with many other Assemblypeople and Senators.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to have attended AMAM 2017. I’ve since returned to Los Angeles and feel more empowered than ever to make a difference in our clinics, hospitals and in our halls of government. I’ve even learned so much about single-payer healthcare at AMAM 2017 and as a result have had subsequent meetings and conversations with my assemblyperson Los Angeles District 53 Assemblyman Mr. Miguel Santiago regarding Senator Lara’s Single Payer Bill SB 562. Now I can’t wait to attend AMAM 2018–it’s only 11 months away!
Thank You!
Frank Aliganga, MD
Community Medicine Fellow
KPLA Family Medicine
I chose Family Medicine because it allows me to work at the vital intersection between the patient and medicine. Realizing that better outcomes are not simply achieved only by prescribing the correct medication, but more importantly in understanding and addressing the socioeconomic context patients experience their illness, I wanted to gain additional skills to work in this arena.
Attending my first All Members Advocacy Meeting was unquestionably an amazing experience. I found an amazing group of individuals from different backgrounds and levels of training. Reconnecting and networking with Family Physicians from all over California reminded me of why I chose family medicine. I was most inspired by the fact that even with our differences in experiences in providing care to our own patients in our various practice settings, we had come together with the common purpose to advance and advocate for the health of the communities we serve. I heard for the first time, “If you are not at the dinner table, you are on the menu.” Aided by this mantra, I have been made more aware the duty that Family Physicians must take on for the sake of our patients and our communities. Hearing Dr. Wanda Filer speak of the status of Family Medicine throughout the nation was invigorating. Hearing the inspiring story of Dr. Shannon Connolly was truly uplifting. As she eloquently recounted her own experience during this uncertain time of American health care, I found comfort and support in dealing with my own frustrations and fears. Hearing Senator Pro Tem De Leon’s fighting words and call to action empowered me to begin doing my part by reaching out to policy makers.
I thank the LAAFP for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this year’s All Members Advocacy Meeting. While I was not able to attend the Lobby Day portion, I will be attending this year’s AAFP Advocacy Summit, where I hope to put into practice what I learned during our AMAM.
Sheila Michelle Attaie
Western University of Health Sciences
OMS3
In the state of healthcare and insurance policy today, the family medicine physician holds the greatest responsibility. Some view that as a burden, but I see it as a blessing. We are the gatekeepers, the advocates, and there are simply not enough of us. The silver lining is that medical students who choose to go into primary care will do it because it is their passion. And it is my passion. I want to be on the front lines of health care, and in this generation that is where family practitioners lie. This was made clear at the AMAM. We were not there to ask for higher reimbursements, higher compensation or recognition. We were there to fight for healthcare as a human right. The AMAM provided a forum for advocacy and change for medical students, residents, and physicians. It provided a forum for voice and change. We value education, access to healthcare, single payer and all payer systems, and an open mind. We value patient health above all else. We value the 22 million patients who are now insured under the ACA, and the thousands of medical students needed to rise to the need of primary care.
Personally this conference served as an affirmation in my commitment to family medicine and the idea that we can change the process of health care delivery in the United States. I have wanted to be a family physician since I was 10 years old, thinking I would have to sacrifice my passion for social justice and policy. At the AMAM, I learned they are one in the same. I can stay active in the community as a physician, educator, and activist. I can fight for patients through the art of storytelling, lobbying, tweeting, and spreading awareness. The AMAM gave me the tools and morale boost I need to invoke change in healthcare within my Los Angeles community, California, and hopefully this country.
As many physicians stated this weekend, the youth is the future. As part of my training, I must be educated on how to be an advocate in the realm of medicine and policy, because in this country healthcare is a business, not a human right. So as a medical student, I am learning how to manage diabetes, CHF, and the challenges of insurance policy. By the time I treat patients of my own, I will have the tools, confidence, and conviction to treat diabetes and detrimental policy. I am a future family medicine physician with a special interest in women’s health, education, wellness, lifestyle medicine, and healthcare reform. Because of the AMAM, I have a voice. I am very grateful to the inspiring and spearheading physicians of the CAFP. I will take what I learned to my fellow classmates and lead by example. And you bet I’ll be back next year!
Rebecca Citron
UCLA Medical School
MS4
Attending the CAFP’s 2017 All Member Advocacy Meeting was an empowering experience for me. As a fourth year medical student hoping to match into a family medicine residency program within California, I was inspired to see so many family docs from my state who were committed to advocating for their patients. Ever since November 8, I have been concerned that already vulnerable populations will lose their access to health care, especially with the looming threat of “repeal and replace.” Even more generally, I’ve been saddened to realize that health care, which I believe to be a right, is considered by others to be a luxury that is only attained by those who have the means to pay for it. After attending this year’s AMAM, I realized that I was in good company with others who are already leading the way in the fight to ensure every person has the health care they deserve. Witnessing the passion and compassion of the doctors who took the time out of their personal and professional lives to spend the weekend at the conference was truly inspiring.
My favorite part of the AMAM was Lobby Day. I was extremely intimidated by the prospect of speaking with my district’s Senator or Assemblymember, however I was fortunate to be led by two politically active physicians who attend Lobby Day annually. We met first with a staff member representing Senator Holly Mitchell, and subsequently with one representing Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, both of whom listened to our objections to the proposed budget cut to the Song-Brown funding with open ears. I was surprised by how much they wanted to hear our stories about our patients’ struggles obtaining access to health care. I had the opportunity to explain how the funding at risk is the same funding that helps maintain residency positions for students like myself who aspire to provide primary care to the underserved, and that cutting such funding would result in even greater need for primary care doctors than currently exists. Although these conversations were quick, I felt as if our message had been heard.
I recently found out that I was fortunate enough to have matched to my first choice residency program at UCLA. I am excited to say that I plan to remain involved with the CAFP’s advocacy efforts, and to begin involving myself in the LA chapter’s events. Ultimately, the most important things that I gained from attending the AMAM are the momentum to remain informed about and engaged in the politics of medicine, and the understanding that every voice speaking out for the good of our patients matters.
Vinh Lam
UCLA School of Medicine
MS4
The All Member Advocacy Meeting (AMAM) gave me the unbelievable opportunity to work alongside passionate leaders in family medicine who are taking active roles in transforming ideas into action. I learned how to interact with local legislators, how to create powerful messages on behalf of our patients to fight for their health care rights/influence policy changes, and ultimately know how to effectively promote change as a family physician. As a current medical Student at the CDU/UCLA School of Medicine, I take pride in being active in underserved communities, especially with educating high school students and college students on how to become advocates for the underserved at the community level. I’ve helped mentor these students on creating local community projects that affect small changes in their community from decreasing pollution to increasing health insurance coverage through Covered California. As a future family physician, I plan on using what I have learned from the AMAM to continue mentoring medical students and young health care leaders, as well as partnering with future colleagues and other like-minded individuals in promoting positive change in health policy to ensure that our patients receive the care they are entitled to, especially during this uncertain and fragile period for health care.
Kristen Masukawa, MD
UCLA Family Medicine
PY3
I deeply appreciate the organization’s financial support and am so grateful for the opportunity for exposure to discrete skills that will improve my ability to politically advocate for patients.
Salesmanship is a necessary communication skill that seems overwhelming until it is broken into discrete goals. The primer I received during the conference will point me down the path towards success.
This conference also epitomized the compassion and insight of my superiors and colleagues that further motivate me to continue to develop my skills and broaden my perspective such that I can impact positive change on an individual and community level.
Allen Rodriguez
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
MS3
The All Member Advocacy Meeting is a great conference…a great meeting for networking with leaders in family medicine as well as with lawmakers from throughout the state. The training provided by CAFP members and staff over the weekend is tremendously valuable – to increase my skills in public speaking, increase my skills in advocating for patients, and getting the most up-to-date data on the state of the primary health care workforce.
As a student, attending this meeting has had a significant influence on my own career trajectory. I have made good friends at this meeting, learned about various residency programs, and learned about the most pressing health issues facing our communities today. I am more excited than ever to pursue training to become a family physician.
During tumultuous times for us, and our patients, it is very grounding to meet with like-minded professionals in the same field and have the time and space to share our struggles and successes. This meeting helps build a community of support among family medicine physicians that enables us to do our work to the highest ability possible.
