Programs the Foundation Supports

Student Activities

Summer Externship Program:   Over 600 students have participated in the IAFP Foundation Summer Externship Program since the program began in 1990.  We are now celebrating our 15th year of offering first-year medical students with clinical experiences in a family practice setting.  Selected students are paired with a family physician for a four-week period to observe the day-to-day routine of the specialty; each student receives $1,000 for their participation.  The IAFP Foundation firmly believes that a Summer Externship experience with a family physician has the potential to influence medical students to choose family medicine and ultimately provide cost-effective, preventive services to the people of Illinois.  See a list of 2006 participants and preceptors.  Read Perspectives From One Preceptor an article by Dr Deb Edberg about being a Summer Externship preceptor.  

Sign up to be a preceptor!  Click here for the form. 

The IAFP has been tracking the externs through residency to determine whether the program had an impact on students choice of medical specialty and practice location selection.  Early results indicate that 33% of the students who have participated in the Summer Externship Program are choosing family medicine.  That is more that DOUBLE the national average.  Also, 70% are choosing a primary care specialty, compared to the 20 percent national average.  Nearly half of these students are remaining in the state of Illinois.  These results indicate that this program is meeting with the mission of the IAFP Foundation, which is to enhance healthcare delivery to the people of Illinois.  

National Conference of Family Practice Residents and Medical Students:  The IAFP Foundation provides financial support to medical students from each medical school in Illinois to attend the AAFP's National Conference.  The conference is the largest gathering of medical students in the country, and offers a wide range of activities for students and residents, including procedural workshops, leadership workshops, an enormous residency fair, an introduction into the business and political side of medicine, and plenty of networking opportunities.

Resident Activities

National Conference of Family Practice Residents and Medical Students:  The IAFP Foundation provides financial support to medical students from each medical school in Illinois to attend the AAFP's National Conference.  The conference is the largest gathering of medical students in the country, and offers a wide range of activities for students and residents, including procedural workshops, leadership workshops, an enormous residency fair, an introduction into the business and political side of medicine, and plenty of networking opportunities.

Corporate Membership Program

The Foundation has created partnership with the Illinois businesses through their Corporate Membership Program.  In exchange for annual dues paid to the IAFP Foundation, Corporate Members receive benefits including the opportunity to serve on the Corporate Advisory Council and IAFP and the IAFP Foundation publications and receive exposure at the IAFP Annual and Cluster Meetings.

Planned Giving Program

IAFP Foundation teams up with AAFP Foundation to offer ‘win-win’ - AAFP Foundation has developed a pooled investment trust that allows IAFP members to donate appreciated investment vehicles. In return for the donation, members get an immediate tax ‘write-off’, an ongoing annual payment, and recognition for investing in the future of family practice.