2015 AAFP National Conference Report

Jessica Reader, MD, Northwestern McGaw Family Medicine Residency Program, IAFP Resident President-Elect

What an eventful three days! It was such a different experience than the last time I attended. In 2013, I was a 4th year medical student, planning to apply for residency all over the country. I had spreadsheets and prepared questioned, and I had mapped out my routes to maximize every hour that the Residency Expo Hall was open.

This year, I was able to experience everything that National Conference has to offer. I was inspired by the diverse speakers at the opening session, and was able to attend a couple of workshops and seminars. I spent time at our residency’s booth in the expo hall, and I was so impressed and inspired by the caliber of applicants that are applying to Family Medicine this year!  You can read the AAFP News Now story about the conference here. http://www.aafp.org/news/education-professional-development/20150805residentscongress.html

I am very grateful however that most of my time was spent at the Resident Congress sessions. On the first day of the conference, we got reports from the residents and students who have all kinds of national level leadership positions: the Congress of Delegates, AFMRD, STFM and all sorts of National Commissions to name a few. I was really impressed with the breadth of leadership opportunities that are available on a national level for students and residents. We then learned about writing resolutions and got together in groups with experienced residents and AAFP staff to brainstorm and prepare for the 6pm deadline.

I was very proud to author two resolutions, one that was urging the AAFP to support the immediate distribution of funds from HRSA to the Teaching Health Centers and the other urging the creation of a Self-Assessment Module on reproductive health. The second day of the conference was spent preparing testimony about these resolutions for the Reference Committee Hearings and rallying residents from two other states who work at Teaching Health Centers to join me in giving testimony. That afternoon, seven residents from three different programs gave moving and compelling testimony about the importance of the Teaching Health Center grant and how the funding lapse has affected their programs. The Reference Committee recommended adopting the resolution with a few substitutions.

On the third and final day of the conference, I was honored to represent the interests of the Illinois Residents and vote for the candidates for several national leadership positions. I also learned about how to “extract” and propose an amendment to the THC resolution. Just in the nick of time, we were able to give more testimony in favor of supporting THCs and our resolution passed with a unanimous vote! It was such a great experience to have the opportunity to advocate for something I so strongly believe in, and not to mention all of the political tools of the trade I gained by going through this whole process. It was a lot of work, but definitely worth it. Thank you to the IAFP for supporting me as the 2015 Resident Delegate!