Lourdes Adame
MD Candidate 2019, David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles
First of all, thank you very much for the scholarship that allowed me to attend the AAFP National Conference in Kansas City. Without it, I would not have spoken directly to residency program directors, been elected as a National Congress Delegate representing minority medical students, or over-eaten KC’s famous BBQ (no regrets!).
I did not want to take this opportunity for granted so, before leaving to KC, I researched Family Medicine residency programs (I focused on the California programs), I looked through the overwhelming schedule, and I reached out to my resident friends for advice. It felt as if I was preparing for a trip to Disney World.
It was during the first session (Minority Interest Group) of the first day that I was nominated and elected for National Congress Student Delegate representing URM students. This made my schedule a little easier since I was required to attend the Congress sessions and I didn’t have to choose among the impressive variety and number of sessions offered. I must admit that, although I was very excited about this new position, I was a bit upset that I wouldn’t be able to attend some of the sessions I had looked forward to participating in. This was easily overcome when it occurred to me that I can return for the next 4 years. Because, just like Disney World, you must return to “see it all”.
Erika del Refugio Ayar
MD Candidate 2021, Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Attending the NCFMRMS reminded me of why I have chosen Family Medicine as my ultimate career path. I was surrounded by folks who share the same ideals and mission of providing compassionate and competent care to all regardless of race, income, gender, etc. I was particularly affected by Dr. Linda Rae Murray and Dr. Renee Crichlow. Dr. Rae Murray was passionate in her claim that we are complicit in systems that let people die if we are not active in promoting health equity. Dr. Renee Crichlow shared a story of life and death and what that means in the context of family medicine. I am so very appreciative that the Los Angeles County Chapter of the CAFP gave me the opportunity to have this experience.
Chethana Eswarappa
MD Candidate 2019, Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
I am so grateful to the LAAFP for giving me the opportunity to attend the AAFP NCFMRMS this year. As a fourth year, it truly helped confirm my decision to apply into family medicine for residency. I was able to attend sessions on caring for transgender patients and on how to get involved in policy as a family physician. It was very meaningful to be able to learn useful, practical information about how to care for my future patients, and to see residents and attending physicians who are shaping their career in family medicine in the way that is right for them. Through attending these sessions, I was able to visualize my own future as a family physician in a way that I haven’t been able to during my own clinical rotations in medical school.
The conference also gave me the opportunity to meet representatives from various residency programs. The many features and details of residency programs begin to blur together after a while, but meeting residents and faculty from these programs helped me get a better idea of where I might fit in the future, and helped me narrow down what I want in a future program.
Serena Liu
MD Candidate 2019, Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
I am grateful to the LAAFP for giving me the opportunity to attend NCFMRMS. Because of LAAFP’s generous scholarship, I was able to attend a Primary Care Leadership Collaborative Initiative 2-day training and learn foundational team-building and leadership skills. Motivated by the amazing energy and ideas that we gleamed from the training’s unique resources, coaches, and medical student leader network, my team of current and past USC Family Medicine Interest Group leaders is excited to begin preparing the groundwork to make our project of addressing a local primary care need into reality.
Outside of this training, our team had the honor to present at the Best Practices of FMIG session. It was a phenomenal experience learning about the outstanding ideas FMIG leaders are carrying out across the nation. This session inspired our team to outline service-oriented and organizational change to improve the breadth and depth of our future programming. Ultimately, our leadership team hopes to encourage more medical students at USC to consider family medicine as a specialty; attending NCFMRMS gave us the rare opportunity to meet with phenomenal leaders who shared this goal and learn from their experiences, launching our dreams into reality. Thank you!
Bianca Lizarraga, MPH
MD Candidate 2019, David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend the American Academy of Family Physician (AAFP) National Conference. As a first-time attendee, I was blown away by the sheer size of the venue and vast diversity of lectures. The lectures were inspiring and informative. My favorite session was the faces of family medicine. I loved hearing their stories about diverse scope of practice, and their passion and commitment to family medicine. It was inspiring and reaffirmed my commitment to family medicine.
I also had the valuable opportunity to meet with family medicine residency program directors and residents at the expo hall. We talked in depth about program training and I got a feel for fit. I visited over 30 programs and spent an approximated total of 6 hrs at the booths. The time just flew by! Meeting the program representatives in person significantly helped to refine my interest in residency programs. I also had the privilege to meet with fellow medical students from all across the country at the CAFP reception and program dinners.
Overall, it was an experience filled with knowledge and networking with passionate individuals who will be the next generation of family medicine doctors. Thank you so much for providing me with this valuable opportunity that very well might have a significant impact on my future training as a family medicine physician. Thank you!
