The Center for the History of Family Medicine Invites Medical Students and Residents to Enter Inaugural Essay Contest

The Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Foundation is sponsoring its first essay contest for medical students and residents. Possibilities are wide open – the scholarly essays must simply cover a topic relevant to family medicine history in the United States. That could be anything from a day-in-the-life of a family doctor to a medical-political controversy within family medicine.

The contest goal is two-fold: to encourage the next generation of family physicians to engage with the specialty’s history and then use the lessons learned to improve future health care.

“The pandemic has shown us why this is important,” says Rick Kellerman, MD, CHFM Board of Curators. “Our history has been very valuable in dealing with COVID-19. We can look back and see what worked and what didn’t work in past pandemics, and learn from these successes and failures.”

In addition to gaining knowledge as they research and write the essays, medical students and residents have additional incentives for participating: The author of the winning essay will receive $1,000 and the essay will be featured in a video at the AAFP Foundation’s 2022 National Conference. The second-place winner will receive a $500 award.

To be eligible, medical students and residents must be a member of the AAFP. Residents must also be enrolled in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited family medicine residency training program. Essays may be submitted online through Nov. 1, 2021.