August 19, 2024
During the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) 2024 National Conference, the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine received the Program of Excellence Award for their demonstrated commitment to Family Medicine. The conference offered all attendees lectures from world-class teachers, hands-on workshops, and other benefits which all demonstrated what Family Medicine offers to medical students around the country.
UNC’s FMIG was honored for bringing hands-on instruction and experience to medical students interested in Family Medicine. Kayla Bonnell, the UNC Dept. of Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship Administrator who oversees the FMIG alongside NCAFP member Dr. Victoria Boggiano, says that the students who have created and lead this work deserve the recognition they received from the AAFP. “They’ve all been incredible,” Bonnell says. “They’re all committed to Family Medicine, and they will all go into Family Medicine.”
“The way that our FMIG is structured is pretty unique,” Bonnell says. “Our outgoing leaders recruit our incoming leaders over time.” After an annual ice cream social each August for incoming medical students, FMIG leaders spend time getting to know the new members through one-to-one chats. The students most committed to Family Medicine stick around, Bonnell says: “The leaders give them a look at what leading entails. It’s pretty unique that we let them choose the leaders, but they’ve all been just fantastic.”
Julia Wood, co-president of the FMIG, says that close collaboration between students made her want to lead in the first place: “I ended up applying for one of our leadership positions because I am really interested in helping other students learn about the great things Family Medicine has to offer!” she said. “I love that the group has given me the opportunity to build relationships with other people who are passionate about this corner of medicine.”
Together with co-president Stefani Aleman, Julia leads the choice of discussion topics, peer outreach, and events for the FMIG. They select the group’s activities based on the most current trends in Family Medicine, but they also refine the group’s activities from members’ feedback. “Our leaders drive all the ideas,” Bonnell says. “They’re really the face of the group, and they’re all phenomenal students.”
Julia, in turn, says that everyone in the group has helped her commit to Family Medicine and introduced her to its diversity of scope and emphasis on patient care. “It has helped me gain exposure to the many stages of Family Medicine,” she says, “since we’ve gotten to work a lot with the UNC residency program and with our Family Medicine faculty. There’s always someone at a different stage willing to share their experiences and answer questions. That really helps us lean into pursuing Family Medicine.”
One faculty member is Dr. Victoria Boggiano, who says that the students’ admiration for the faculty is mutual: “The FMIG is so impressive in the things the students do,” Dr. Boggiano says. “Working directly with them is great! I get to work alongside people who are generating interest in Family Medicine from the whole student body. It’s really special.”
Dr. Boggiano, Julia, and Bonnell all agree that Family Medicine offers a great career for every medical student, and that the FMIG will help them achieve that. “We always have a great turnout for the sessions that the students choose,” Bonnell says. “It’s never just the same students.”
“The FMIG is a great opportunity to learn more about Family Medicine and learn some of the skills that family physicians use during our pre-clinical years,” Julia says. “You’d be hard-pressed to find to find a specialty as welcoming, wonderful, and supportive as this one!”