www.fmec.net

April | 2026

Registration is open for the 2026 Annual Meeting, September 24-26, 2026 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. Registration for the Residency Fair and for exhibits and sponsorships is also open. Visit https://www.fmec.net/2026-exhibitors-sponsors for more information.

Highlight Your Health System and Recruit at the 2026 Annual Meeting

Your residency program, hospital and health system can stand out and recruit for open positions at the FMEC Annual Meeting! The meeting is a great opportunity to reach over 1,000 family medicine leaders and learners. It’s one of the largest gatherings of family medicine residency programs, residents, and medical students in the country. Over 100 family medicine residency training programs will be participating in the meeting. The meeting includes nearly 500 faculty, 300 family medicine residents and over 300 medical students. Many of the hospitals and health systems in the region use the FMEC meeting to stand out and or/recruit for open positions. Work with your recruiting office to purchase an exhibit table to recruit for faculty or clinical positions. Sponsor an event or activity, which includes recognition and can include sharing information with attendees via a flyer or ad. Donate to support the scholarships we give to 300+ medical students showing your support of the future of family medicine. Read about all the opportunities in the 2026 Annual Meeting Prospectus.

Submissions Impress FMEC Planning Committee

Throughout February and March, over 40 FMEC volunteers on the FMEC Planning Committee reviewed nearly 320 conference submissions for the 2026 Annual Meeting. On April 17-18, the Planning Committee Coordinators (PCC) met for 2 days to go through reviewers’ scores and comments and approve programs for presentation. They were inspired by the quality of the submissions and excited to attend the sessions in September!

FMEC is incredibly grateful to these volunteers for their time and expertise. Thank you to the PCC (below) as well as everyone on the Planning Committee who reviewed proposals.

FMEC Planning Committee Coordinators

Bode Adebambo, MD, MetroHealth

Greg Dobash, MD, St. Luke’s

Dennis Gingrich, MD, Penn State (retired)

Shantie Harkisoon, MD, Garnet Health

Bob Motley, MD, Jefferson Health

Heather Paladine, MD, New York Presbyterian

Fnu Rajesh, MD, AbsoluteCare

Martha Seagrave, PA-C, RN, University of Vermont

Raj Woolever, MD, Portsmouth Regional Hospital/Tufts

Join the FMEC Board of Trustees

The FMEC Board of Trustees is seeking members-at-large. Terms will begin after the FMEC Annual Meeting in September 2026 and run for 3 years, with the potential to serve again or assume an Officer position. Candidates must be in the FMEC region (14 states +DC – see the list on the FMEC website). FMEC membership (either individual membership, or membership via an FMEC Partner organization – see the FMEC Partner list) is encouraged. Active participation in the FMEC via speaking at or helping plan the Annual Meeting, participating in a learning collaborative, or other means will contribute to a strong application. The FMEC Board is open to family physicians as well non-physician faculty, program coordinators or other staff, AAFP chapter staff, and more. Visit FMEC Board of Trustees for the description of Board duties and instructions on how to apply. 

FMEC Awards Deadline Extended to April 24

The 2026 FMEC Awards Program accepts nominations and submissions for three career achievement awards (Family Physicians Changing Our World, Mid-Career Faculty Achievement, and Emerging Leaders) and the creative writing and arts categories (This We Believe, Creative Writing, and Visual Arts). The deadline for nominations and submissions has been extended to April 24. Visit 2026 FMEC Awards Program for more information and to submit.

FMEC Residency Learning Update

In April of 2025, FMEC received a grant from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Foundation to develop a Residency Learning Network (RLN) for family physicians in the FMEC region. Learn more about FMEC’s efforts in the April 2026 Residency Learning Network Update and on the FMEC’s Residency Learning Network website.

Young Breast Cancer Survivors Didactic Now Available

FMEC has developed a Facilitator Guide, PowerPoint presentation, and participant handouts for its CDC-funded project to support young breast cancer survivors. The Supporting Young Breast Cancer Survivors: A Family Medicine Training didactic is ready for you to present to your residents. Or, request a presenter from the FMEC and we will try to arrange one of the project advisors to present to you virtually. This adaptable presentation focuses on young breast cancer survivors (diagnosed before age 45) and centers psychosocial and survivorship needs, not oncology treatment. It recognizes variation in patient experiences, including those affecting young Black women and people living with metastatic breast cancer, and emphasizes practical, feasible changes that fit real clinical settings. Resources include interactive case studies, role playing tools, and discussion questions. If you are interested in accessing the materials to present or request a presentation, email Rebecca Bouck at rebecca.bouck@fmec.net. 

Student Loans Moving to Treasury Department

In March, the Departments of Education and Treasury announced that responsibility for the nation’s $1.8 trillion student loan portfolio will shift to the Treasury Department. No timeline has been clearly defined for when this transition will occur, and importantly, borrower repayment terms and existing plans are not changing at this time. If you have questions about how this transition could impact your repayment strategy or loan management experience, FMEC’s partners at Navigate are here to help. Navigate will continue to monitor updates and can provide guidance as more details become available. Reach out any time for customized guidance built around your unique financial situation. Use this special link so Navigate knows we sent you for your free 15-minute discovery session: https://navigate.as.me/FMEC

AAFP Early Career Pathfinder – New Opportunity for PGY-2s!

The new AAFP Early Career Pathfinder is designed to extend the work residency programs already do, helping residents leave training confident, prepared, and supported as they launch their careers. For residency programs, Pathfinder will help you prepare residents for things like contracting, finances, and work-life balance; extend support into the first year of practice to ease the “hand-off;” and help your program offer structured transition support and career readiness without having to build something new. AAFP is inviting PGY-2 residents to join the first cohort in our pilot program. Residents will get mentorship from physicians who’ve recently been where you are; curated resources focused on career readiness, practice management and professional growth; a digital-only option designed for busy schedules; a supportive community during a pivotal career stage; and the chance to shape the program for future residents. Participation is flexible, with options ranging from a fully digital experience to more engaged mentorship—so you can choose what fits your schedule. Interested? Fill out the AAFP’s brief screener survey.

Since 2023, FMEC has convened coordinators and other GME staff from the region’s 220+ residency programs to network, share information, and advise FMEC on what they need to help make your residency programs successful. FMEC has scheduled its new Coordinator Conference to be held virtually on June 18, 2026 from 9:30am - 11:30 am Eastern. Peer-led sessions will include Navigating SOAP to Secure the Right Residents; ACGME Site Visit Success: Tips from a Single-Program Institution Administrator; The Faculty GPS: Navigating Who’s Where at All Times; Redesigning Preceptor Evaluations to Improve Completion Rates; and more. Registration is free to any staff at family medicine residency programs or medical schools within the FMEC region. Watch your FMEC email for registration to open next week.

The Direct Primary Care (DPC) Summit will be held Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, LA. The event is organized into three tracks: 101 Starting a DPC Practice, 201 Growing a Practice, and 301 Clinical Expertise. Scholarships may be available for medical students and residents. Visit https://www.dpcsummit.org/home.html for registration information, the meeting agenda, mentorship opportunities, scholarships and more. The FMEC’s was the first sponsor of the DPC National Summits in 2013 and 2014 and currently co-sponsors the Summit with the AAFP, ACOFP, and the DPC Alliance.

Health Care Renaissance Summit is May 20, 2026

On May 20, 2026, Primary Care for All Americans is convening its inaugural Health Care Renaissance Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts—bringing together clinicians, community organizers, students, and policymakers to organize, strategize, and build the future of primary care together. Attendees will hear from national leaders in primary care transformation, participate in skill-building table talks on topics such as passing local resolutions, launching student movements, and building state workgroups, and leave with concrete tools and a network of peers and partners they can immediately mobilize in their communities. Visit Health Care Renaissance Summit for more information and to register.

Joining FMEC as an individual or institution gives you discounts! Programs who are FMEC Partners receive $300 discounts on their Residency Fair booths, and individuals who join, or receive complimentary memberships through an FMEC Partner organization, receive $50-75 discounts on registration. Join or renew now so you get your discounts on the 2026 Annual Meeting!

Also, institutions that join at the Silver ($2,500) Partner level and above get access to the FMEC’s Special Edition newsletter to post their job and fellowship openings. That’s one fee for an entire year of posting job ads! Read more about Special Edition and share the information with your recruiting department in this FMEC Special Edition Overview. Job hunting? Check out the March 2026 edition of the FMEC’s Special Edition newsletter.

FMEC can “bundle” your invoices for Partnership dues, Residency Fair booths, and faculty and resident individual registrations. We can also invoice your program at specific times during the year, for instance if it’s easier for you to pay at the beginning of your fiscal year, or you have funds left at the end of the fiscal year to put toward next year. If you would like special handling of your payments to FMEC, contact Shayla Rammel at shayla.rammel@fmec.net.

Donate Today

The Nik Zervanos, MD, Student Scholarship program has brought nearly 8,000 medical students to FMEC meetings over the last 20 years. Please help continue the great work started by Dr. Zervanos and donate to the Nik Zervanos, MD, Student Scholarship program. Help us bring over 300 students to the 2025 Annual Meeting in Cleveland! Donors (individuals, residency programs, medical staff, etc.) are recognized on the FMEC website and on signs and slides at the meeting.

Student Spotlight!

I’m really excited and grateful to share that I matched at my number one program for residency, Family Medicine at Allegheny Health Network Forbes Hospital. Matching into Family Medicine, especially at a program that feels like such a strong fit, means a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to continuing this path toward becoming a family physician.

Looking back on the whole process, attending the Family Medicine Education Consortium Annual Meeting was honestly one of the most valuable things I did. Being able to meet programs face-to-face, especially right before applications were due, made a huge difference. It gave me a much better sense of where I could see myself and helped take a lot of the guesswork out of the application process.

I’m really thankful for FMEC’s support of students going into Family Medicine. Having the opportunity to attend, especially with financial support, made something that could have been difficult to access actually possible. It’s clear that FMEC genuinely invests in students and in the future of Family Medicine, and that comes through in the entire experience.

Since then, I’ve made it a point to talk about FMEC with other students at my medical school. I always tell them the same thing. It’s 100% worth it! The connections you make, the exposure to programs, and just being surrounded by people who are passionate about Family Medicine is something you don’t really get anywhere else. Overall, I’m just really grateful for the opportunity, for the experience, and for the role FMEC played in helping me get to this point. I’m excited for what’s ahead and proud to be stepping into this next phase as a future Family Medicine physician. Nicholas Cherico,FMEC scholarship recipient, 2025

A selection of upcoming family medicine and primary care meetings, nationally and in the FMEC region. If you have a meeting to be listed, please email jennifer.stamper@fmec.net.

• May 1-5, 2026 – STFM Annual Spring Conference, New Orleans, LA
• Aug. 31 – Sep. 2, 2026 – STFM Conference on Practice and Quality Improvement
• Jan. 29-Feb. 1 – STFM Conference on Medical Student Education, Charlotte, NC
• Feb. 25-28 – ADFM Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
• Feb. 19-21 – ACGME Annual Educational Conference, San Diego, CA
• Mar. 4-6 – AFMRD Residency Leadership Summit, Dallas, TX
• Apr. 1-5 – SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference, Pittsburgh, PA
• Apr. 15-19 – ACOFP Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL
• May 2-6 – STFM Annual Spring Conference, New Orleans, LA
• Jun. 18 – FMEC Virtual Coordinator Conference
• Jul. 30 – Aug. 1 - AAFP FUTURE Conference, Kansas City
• Aug. 31 – Sep. 2 – STFM Conference on Practice and Quality Improvement, Palm Desert, CA
• Sep. 24-26, 2026 – FMEC Annual Meeting, Atlantic City, NJ
• Oct. 20-24– AAFP FMX, Nashville, TN
• Sep. 9-11, 2027 – FMEC Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD