February 27, 2025
On Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, NCAFP members joined together in Durham to collaborate on the best topics and skills in Family Medicine. On Friday afternoon, guests attended the 2025 Family Academic Summit in the Estes Conference Center. On Saturday morning, medical students and representatives from most of the NC Family Medicine Residency programs attended the 2025 Family Medicine Day at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel RTP. At both events, attendees enjoyed the learning and the company. “We are incredibly grateful for everyone’s participation, the engaging discussions, and the shared commitment to strengthening the future of family medicine and supporting the next generation of family physicians,” said Kathryn Atkinson, CMP, NCAFP Director of CME & Events. “Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s programs!”
During the Academic Summit, Residency Program and Medical School leaders and faculty gathered to learn the newest ideas and skills to improve residency training, under the direction of program co-chairs Dr. Aaron Lambert and Dr. Regina Bray Brown. The event’s sessions included developing adaptive learners, handling remediation among residents, better understanding physician burnout, and other topics which were practical for the audience members’ work. “It was a great afternoon of learning!” one attendee said in a post-event survey.
During Family Medicine Day the following morning, over 90 medical students attended workshops hosted by NC Family Medicine residency faculty and residents. Thanks to those workshops, these students experienced the entire scope of the medical care that family physicians practice. “I got to learn many aspects of Family Medicine that I didn’t know before,” said one attendee in a post-event survey.
These applied sessions taught students to perform joint injections, suturing, point-of-care ultrasound tests, and many other skills to help interested medical students understand what they might do for their patients as family physicians. “I enjoyed the number of hands-on activities!” said one attendee. “I loved learning all the procedures that family physicians can do.”
The Academic Summit included top-notch education on training future family physicians while they are still residents. Family Medicine Day helped to recruit those future family physicians while they are still medical students. “You are the future of Family Medicine,” NCAFP President Dr. Mark McNeill told students before the keynote lunch address from Dr. Lenard Salzberg.
The last part of the day focused on recruiting medical students to our state’s Family Mmedicine residency programs. “We find it extremely helpful and a great way to access strong, North Carolina medical students interested in Family Medicine,” said one residency leader.
But the recruiting is also immersive thanks to the residencies’ workshops. Medical students got to try many of the procedures which family physicians provide for their patients. “I really enjoyed every workshop and the keynote,” said one medical student. “You can do so much more than I thought as a family physician.”
“There is a wide diversity of skills and niches available in Family Medicine,” said another. “NC has lots of amazing residency programs!”
This exposure to the specialty helped medical students commit to Family Medicine, according to their own survey reports. 35.8% of students reported they were more likely to consider Family Medicine as their future specialty, thanks to attending Family Medicine Day. “I am very convinced that Family Medicine is the direction I want to go and I’m excited to learn more!” said one attendee.
“The Family Medicine Academic Summit was a fantastic opportunity for family medicine educators from across the state to connect, exchange ideas, and explore strategies to enhance medical education,” Atkinson said. “We’re currently looking for even more ways to help attendees come together for discussion during next year’s Summit.”
During Family Medicine Day, the social connections among these like-minded attendees proved just as important. Students gathered in the lobby more than 30 minutes before the day’s first workshop started. “I’m having to keep calm right now with how excited I am for this,” Campbell University medical student Jacob Ortega said.
Throughout the day, students continued to gather and chat over coffee, cookies, and apples between their workshops. “It was wild to see how many people were here,” said Wake Forest University medical student Stuart Lewis. Like his fellow attendees, Lewis spent time discussing the workshops and meeting fellow medical students from around North Carolina. “I most enjoyed meeting new medical students as well as touching base with old friends,” said one attendee.
NCAFP staff see this statewide camaraderie among medical students as one of the most important parts of Family Medicine Day. “It was inspiring to see students so excited and engaged together,” said Atkinson. “It’s why Family Medicine Day was full of energy and enthusiasm from start to finish!”
Be sure to see for yourself what all this collaboration and enjoyment looked like, through our photo galleries from the weekend:
We’d like to thank all the guests who joined us this past weekend for your insights, expertise, and great company.
We’d also like to thank the residency programs who hosted workshops or exhibited this year: Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center Family Medicine Residency, Atrium Health Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency, Cone Family Medicine Residency Program, Duke Family Medicine Residency Program, Duke Rural Family Medicine Residency Program, ECU Family Medicine Residency Program, Harnett Health Family Medicine Residency Program, MAHEC-Asheville Family Medicine Residency Program, MAHEC-Boone Family Medicine Residency Program, MAHEC-Hendersonville Rural Family Medicine Residency Program, Novant Health Family Medicine Residency Program Cornelius, Novant Health NHRMC Family Medicine Residency Program, Sampson Regional Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program, Southern Regional AHEC Family Medicine Residency Program, UNC Family Medicine Residency Program, Wake Forest University Family Medicine Residency Program, and Hugh Chatham Health Family Medicine Residency Program.
The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Inc. (NCAFP) is a nonprofit professional association headquartered in Raleigh which represents over 4,300 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students across the state. It is the largest medical specialty association in North Carolina and is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leadwood, KS.