December | 2025

Call for Submissions is Open!

Join the FMEC at the 2026 Annual Meeting in

Atlantic City, NJ, September 24-26, 2026.

The 2026 FMEC Call for Submissions is open and proposals are due January 30, 2026. Prepare now to submit for Workshops, Seminars, Research, QI, Papers Lecture Discussions, Breakfast Tables, Preconferences and more! Formats range from 5 minutes to an hour, and submissions are vetted through a peer-review process. If you are a first-time presenter, or simply want to discuss your program idea, Planning Committee members are available and will be happy to speak with you. Let Lisa Schwieterman at lisa.schwieterman@fmec.net know you’d like to be connected to an experienced Planning Committee member.

This will be FMEC’s first Annual Meeting in Atlantic City, and we are excited to work with the many programs in New Jersey and the immediate area to plan the meeting. Room rates are lower than usual ($137/night Wed-Thurs, $217/night Fri-Sat), and the city is easily accessible by car, bus and train, so this is the year to go! Make plans now, because the first day of the meeting (Thursday, September 24) is when residency programs gain access to the Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS), so it will be a busy time, but don’t let your faculty and residents miss this great opportunity to present and learn.

UPDATE Your FMEC Contacts

In addition to our members and past meeting attendees, the FMEC regularly communicates to all 220 Program Directors and Coordinators in our northeast US region, as listed in the ACGME and AAFP program directories. Your program may have other administrative staff, such as GME managers or staff who coordinate scholarly activity, who should also be receiving information from the FMEC such as our Call for Submissions. To confirm who we have on our list and add individuals, contact Shayla Rammel at shayla.rammel@fmec.net.

News from the FMEC

Watch for the FMEC Discussion Series

Hallway chats and conversations across the lunch tables at the FMEC Annual Meeting have birthed many exciting initiatives – often, the networking is as valuable as the educational sessions. But at just over 2 days long, there’s barely any time! At the request of FMEC members, the FMEC will hold a series of virtual discussion groups on topics of interest in 2026. Join these free, short, informal events to share what you are doing and hear from diverse residencies around the region. Take ideas back to your program or work with new contacts to submit a session for a conference. Some upcoming topics include rural health, AI in medical education, advocacy, and family medicine leadership in medical schools. If you would like to organize a discussion topic, please contact Scott Allen at scott.allen@fmec.net.

Congratulations to IMPLICIT

The FMEC has been selected as an awardee of Action for Women’s Health. Funding will support and expand the FMEC’s IMPLICIT Network. The FMEC and IMPLICIT were identified from among over 4,000 organizations from 119 countries, offering solutions across the lifespan for women. After a rigorous peer and expert review process, 80+ organizations have been selected, many of whom have historically lacked access to major funding streams. Organizations received between $1 million and $5 million in funding. Read more in this FMEC news release.

FMEC Board Member Dr. Ramirez
Recognized by PA House

Dr. Sarah Inés Ramírez, associate professor of Family and Community Medicine and vice chair of Health Advancement and Community Engagement, was recently honored by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with a citation that recognized her “extraordinary contributions to health equity, community empowerment, educational excellence and continued trailblazing in Pennsylvania.” Read more in this PennState Health News article. “Receiving a citation from the House of Representatives is an incredible honor, and it truly humbles me,” Ramírez says.

Share your news with us! If you or one of your faculty or residents recently received an honor, send information to jennifer.stamper@fmec.net so the FMEC can share the news!

Opportunites for You

STFM Submission Deadlines

Submit to present at the 2026 STFM Annual Spring Conference, May 2–6, 2026, in New Orleans, LA. The submission deadline is January 5, 2026. Visit Call for Presentations for Fellow, Resident, and Student Completed or Works-in-Progress Research Posters. The Call for Presentations is also open for the 2026 STFM Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement, which will be held August 31–September 2, 2026, in Palm Desert, CA. The deadline to submit is January 27, 2026.

PI Credit and More through FMEC Collaboratives on Breast Cancer, Oral Health, Whole-Person Care

The FMEC offers Performance Improvement (PI) AAFP Prescribed credits for physicians participating in its learning networks. Since 2023, we’ve helped nearly 100 physicians with this requirement. In 2026, the FMEC will be launching a new initiative to help providers focus on Young Breast Cancer Survivors (YBCS), particularly Black women, and their caregivers and ongoing care needs. Read more in this YBCS Project Flyer and complete this short form to express interest in participating. We are also planning to repeat collaboratives on medical-dental integration, whole-person care, and more. Read more about FMEC’s projects at FMEC Residency Learning Networks and watch your FMEC email for the next opportunities to join our learning collaborative projects.

Shutdowns and More: What Borrowers Need to Know

Government shutdowns, and the potential elimination of the Department of Education (DOE), have raised understandable questions for borrowers. The good news: despite the noise, student loans have remained fully operational and uninterrupted. The offices responsible for loan disbursement and repayment continued operating as usual. Most borrower-facing activities—repayment plans, applications, and servicing—are handled by third-party servicers, not the DOE directly. Federal Student Aid (FSA) is not being outsourced, so borrowers can still apply for repayment plans, consolidate loans, and manage their accounts without disruption.

Take Action: If you or your clinicians have questions about how federal reshuffling or future shutdowns may impact repayment choices or timelines, the team at Navigate Student Loans is here to help. They can provide clear, personalized guidance to ensure your loan strategy stays on track—regardless of what happens in the news. FMEC partners with Navigate to help you understand your options and stay on track for forgiveness. Reach out any time for personalized guidance from their Student Loan Guides, free to you! Use this special link so Navigate knows we sent you: https://navigate.as.me/FMEC.

From the Field

Pulse – an Invaluable Resource for Educators and Learners

Launched in 2008, Pulse–voices from the heart of medicine was created by members of the Department of Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with colleagues and friends around the country. Widely used by medical educators to promote humanism and professionalism, Pulse enjoys a broad readership drawn to its diverse voices, compelling writing and authenticity. Every Friday, Pulse publishes and distributes a first-person story or poem, together with a visual image or haiku, about health care, and the Pulse website is an incredible resource of stories, poems, podcasts, and more. FMEC encourages members to subscribe, donate, and submit works to Pulse!

Advocacy Updates

The FMEC encourages members to stay informed about legislative advocacy and encourage your residents and others to get active! Your national organizations are great resources for news and ways to get involved – see the American Academy of Family Physicians Advocacy: Fighting for Family Medicine site, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians page with its Health Policy Priorities, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Advocacy Resources and Key Issues.

AAFP Residency Leadership Summit Registration Open

The AAFP Residency Leadership Summitt will be held Wednesday, March 4 through Friday, March 6, 2026 at a new location, the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, TX. Join your peers to gain the ACGME- and ABFM-aligned education, along with a new networking reception and new workshops. To register, visit AAFP Residency Leadership Summit.

Benefits of FMEC Partnership

Joining the 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.

The 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 the FMEC, contact Shayla Rammel at shayla.rammel@fmec.net.

Help Introduce Students to Family Medicine

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.

Upcoming Meetings

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.

Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2026 – STFM Conference on Medical Student Education, Charlotte, NC
Feb 19-21, 2026 – ACGME Annual Educational Conference, San Diego, CA
Feb. 25-28, 2026 – ADFM Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
Mar. 3-6, 2026 – AAFP Residency Leadership Summitt, Dallas, TX
Apr. 15-19, 2026 – ACOFP Annual Convention, Orlando, FL
May 1-5, 2026 – STFM Annual Spring Conference, New Orleans, LA
Aug. 31 – Sep. 2, 2026 – STFM Conference on Practice and Quality Improvement
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