The AAFP Foundation helps ensure the future of Family Medicine by supporting Family Medicine Interest Groups (FMIGs). FMIGs exist at U.S. allopathic medical schools to enhance student interest in Family Medicine. FMIGs provide resources, programming and scholarships to National Conference to students interested in the specialty of Family Medicine.
Through your financial support, more than 142 FMIGs were eligible to receive funding. The activities funded reach out to and engage students on the front line. New requirements for the FMIG Funding Initiative in 2011 means that FMIGs could complete a community service or advocacy project to qualify for funding. One community service project that received funding was the Huntsville Campus FMIG. The Very Hungry Caterpillar/Summer of a Million Books program engaged third- and fourth-grade students. Throughout the program, five medical students and two faculty members partnered with the North Alabama Medical Reserve Corps, Reach Out America and Read Alabama, and the North Huntsville YMCA to read to 80 toddler and preschool children and discuss healthy eating choices. A segment of the children were also given full physicals.
Your support of the AAFP Foundation has enabled FMIGs to host specific programs on their respective campuses:
- Clinical skills workshops
- Medical student career programming
- Residency fairs
- Structured mentoring programs
Medical student financial planning
In addition, your support has allowed for the creation of the Virtual FMIG website and an annual survey of FMIGs. The survey demonstrates that students attending FMIG events in their first and second years of medical school often have the sole purpose of discovering, "What is Family Medicine?"
The AAFP Foundation Board of Trustees continues to believe in this initiative and, with your support, has committed to provide $75,000 annually to fund this initiative.
Learn more at the Virtual FMIG website.
