Letter from the President | | |
“Spring ahead” is the motto for daylight savings time. Many of us are energized by the growing duration of sunlight, especially in the evening after the workday has finished. We at the FMEC are also feeling energized!
February 20-22, the FMEC Board of Trustees met for its Winter Board meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. We reviewed the academically and financially successful 2024 Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia. In 2024, we debuted a new schedule for the Annual Meeting that included programming beginning Friday morning and ending Saturday evening. The plan is to continue that format at the 2025 meeting in Cleveland. Thank you to all who have submitted proposals for the meeting. The reviewers are pouring through them, and the planning committee will be meeting in April to finalize acceptances.
The Board also continues to support the development of an electronic FMEC journal. A committee, working with a consultant, has a proposal to present to publishers. We also heard updates from several of our learning collaboratives and projects including the Whole Person Care Performance Improvement Learning Collaborative, Young Breast Cancer Survivor Project, Medical-Dental Integration for Veterans, Pennsylvania Maternal Health Collaborative, Healthcare Innovators Network, and the IMPLICIT Network. This newsletter includes information about those projects and how you can get involved.
The Board is dedicated to maximizing the ways the FMEC benefits its members and academic partner organizations. If your organization is not yet a Partner, please read more and select a level that is right for your institution. We welcome your ideas for additional ways we can help you meet your needs. We are also eager to connect with residencies and academic institutions in our region that have not been active with us recently – here’s looking at you, programs from Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia!
Until next time,
| | Pam Vnenchak, MD, FMEC President | |
Annual Meeting Overview
for Staff on April 9
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Residency Coordinators, GME Administrators, and others are welcome to join FMEC for an informational webinar and Q&A session about the Annual Meeting. We know you play a critical role in helping your program participate, and we would like to give you an overview, including updates on what’s new in 2025, and answer any questions you have. Please use the link below to register for the meeting (registration is required to receive the participation link).
FMEC Annual Meeting Overview and Q&A
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
12:30pm Eastern
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The FMEC will improve how primary care providers in academic family medicine address oral health care for veterans. We will learn about current oral health and veteran services, the challenges in teaching about them, and ideas for improvement. Watch for more information about a Performance Improvement/Continuing Medical Education (PICME) initiative that you can join this spring to improve care to veterans! Learn more in the project overview.
Start helping us now! Answer this month’s question, below:
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| In your family medicine residency program, how much oral health education do residents receive? | | | | 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 when registration for the 2025 Annual Meeting opens soon!
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.
Read more about FMEC Memberships and Partnerships now and join or renew.
| | FMEC Healthcare Innovator’s Network | | |
Since 2008, the FMEC has hosted the Healthcare Innovators Network during its Annual Meeting to provide a medium for diverse groups to showcase their work and receive useful feedback. These sessions expose students, residents, and faculty to new ideas and approaches, and help connect industry leaders, employers, hospital administrators, investors and others looking to improve care. The 2024 Annual Meeting Healthcare Innovators Network continued the tradition of presenting this important content. Visit the page above to read short write-ups of the presentations for the 2024 sessions.
If you are interested in presenting at or sponsoring the 2025 Healthcare Innovators Network sessions, please contact Scott Allen at scott.allen@fmec.net.
Innovators Network Spotlight – Whole Life Operating System (WLOS)
From Laurence Bauer, MSW, MEd, FMEC CEO Emeritus
In family medicine, we recognize that a patient’s social determinants of health (SDOH) play a dominant role in overall health. Screening for SDOH has become a focal point in our patient care. Some family physicians have developed programming that can directly address a patient's needs. The Whole Life Operating System (WLOS) is a comprehensive framework designed to help patients take control of their health and well-being by aligning their daily actions with their long-term aspirations and core values. By providing structure, clarity, and practical tools, WLOS supports individuals in making sustainable, meaningful changes that lead to healthier and happier lives. Take a moment to read about this innovative program that could be offered by your Department or Residency program
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The FMEC is busy with many exciting projects that help you connect with other residencies, improve your training and practice, and support ACGME requirements! Below are brief updates on some of FMEC’s current projects.
Residency Learning Networks
The FMEC was honored to receive a seed programming grant from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) for its project, FMEC Learning Networks: Collaborating to Accelerate Innovations. Even before ACGME requirements, the FMEC was a leader in creating residency learning networks and collaboratives. The ABFM grant funding will help the FMEC formalize and advance its work over the next three years. We are seeking volunteers who want to help shape and lead residency learning networks! You will gain skills and experience, help identify issues and topics for collaborative work across residencies, and more. Please contact Scott Allen at scott.allen@fmec.net for more information. In the meantime, read more about FMEC’s past and current learning networks at our new FMEC Residency Learning Networks website.
IMPLICIT
The IMPLICIT Network counts 51 sites in 12 states as members. The IMPLICIT Network uses innovative models of care, quality improvement, and the professional development of current and future physicians. Recognizing that prenatal care alone is not enough to improve maternal morbidity and mortality, the IMPLICIT Network has developed, implemented, and evaluated two care models - Interconception Care (ICC) and 4th Trimester Care (4TM) - which provide enhanced opportunities to address maternal health risks before, during, and after pregnancy. Learn more about the IMPLICIT Network and contact implicitinfo@fmec.net to join.
Integrative Health
FMEC is finishing a learning collaborative with 52 representatives from 10 clinical sites. Led by Dr. Elena Rosenbaum and our expert advisory committee, the project introduced participants to whole-person care, using the HOPE Toolkit and Personal Health Inventory, community resource mapping, and more. For more information, visit Integrative Health Learning Community.
Breast Cancer
The FMEC wrapped up 2024 by releasing the CME Series: Confidence in Hereditary Breast Cancer project. This series of 8 short, CME-approved videos introduces learners to narrative medicine, setting up the practice for breast cancer risk assessment, working with genetic counselors, and more. We encourage individuals to watch the videos and earn CME credit, and residency programs to use them for teaching and discussion.
In 2025, the FMEC is launching a new initiative with its partner, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, focused on improving support services and educational resources for young Black breast cancer survivors (YBCS) and metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. After a planning session this spring with cancer experts, the FMEC will develop and launch a new learning community in the fall of 2025.
Medical-Dental Integration for Veterans
Join the FMEC’s newest Performance Improvement/Continuing Medical Education (PICME) initiative! Meet ACGME learning network requirements and earn up to 20 hours of CME/PI credits, while learning about unique veteran health issues and how to implement a veteran oral health pilot in your clinic. Read the project overview, and contact Rebecca Bouck at rebecca.bouck@fmec.net for more information. The FMEC thanks Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, University of Massachusetts and Elizabeth Alpert, DDS, MPH, Harvard Dental School of Medicine for their expertise in creating this curriculum and intervention.
Pennsylvania Maternal Health Collaborative
Formed in the summer of 2024 and led by FMEC Board member Dr. Sarah Ramirez, the Pennsylvania Maternal Health Collaborative has recruited over 130 individuals from healthcare, government, social services, philanthropy, and more to participate. Leadership includes the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Latino Connection, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women, the Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, and the National Hispanic Medical Association Pennsylvania Chapter. The group is holding 90-minute meetings quarterly, including breakouts to strategize about actions the Collaborative can take, and presentations from successful maternal health projects such as IMPLICIT, the Philly Joy Bank, the Mothers You are Not Alone (MYANA) app, the Health, Education and Legal Assistance Project: A Medical-Legal Partnership, Once Upon A Preemie, and more. Visit Pennsylvania Maternal Health Collaborative for more information.
| | Become an ALSO Instructor! | |
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ALSO Instructor Course planned for September 18
Once again, the FMEC will offer an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) Instructor Course workshop all day, on Thursday, September 18 before the FMEC Annual Meeting. Each year, we hear from people who wanted to attend but didn’t make plans early enough. Mark your calendars and prepare your budgets now! SPACE IS LIMITED! Note that to attend the ALSO Instructor Course, you must have attended an ALSO Course. Use the AAFP ALSO Course website to find one now and attend before September!
| | | | FMEC Annual Meeting – Key Dates | | |
Mark your calendars! Below are key dates for the FMEC 2025 Annual Meeting.
Educational Programming
February 3 – Call for Submissions Closed
May 5 – Submission Acceptance Emails Begin
May 15 – Call for Poster Submissions Opens
July 1 – Call for Poster Submissions Closes
Late July – Poster Acceptance Emails Sent
September 18-20 – FMEC Annual Meeting
Registration and Hotel
March 24 – Registration Opens for Residency Fair, Exhibitors
March 24 – Hotel Room Blocks Open (Hilton Cleveland, Marriott Cleveland)
May 1 – Registration Opens for Individuals
May 1 – Student Scholarship Application Form Opens
August 8 – Registration Early Bird Deadline
August 8 – Last Day to Cancel with Refund (minus $50 fee)
August 25 – Hotel Room Blooks Deadline (no guarantee of room/rate after this date)
September 9 – Online Registration Closes; no Residency Fair or Exhibitor registration after this date
September 17 – Onsite Registration Opens; individuals only
September 18-20 – FMEC Annual Meeting
Awards
March 31 – Awards Nomination/Submission Process Opens
April 18 – Awards Nomination/Submission Deadline
May 15 – Award Winner Notifications Begin
September 18-20 – FMEC Annual Meeting
| | Dates are subject to change slightly; watch your FMEC email for any updates. | | Help Introduce Students to Family Medicine | | Get Your Award Nominations Ready | | |
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.
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.
- Mar. 25-27 - (AFMRD) Residency Leadership Summit/Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, Kansas City, MO
- Apr. 2-7 - (ACOFP) American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians Annual Meeting, Palm Springs, CA
- Apr. 16-20 - (SNMA) Student National Medical Association Annual Medical Education Conference, St. Louis, MO
- Apr. 23-26 – AAFP Leadership Conference (ACLF/NCCL), Kansas City, MO
- May 3-7 – STFM Annual Spring Conference, Salt Lake City, UT
- Jul. 24-27 – (DPC) Direct Primary Care Summit, New Orleans, LA
- Jul. 31 – Aug. 2 - AAFP FUTURE Conference (formerly National Conference for Family Medicine), Kansas City, MO
- Sep. 8-10 – STFM Conference on Practice and Quality Improvement, Pittsburgh, PA
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Sep. 18-20, 2025 – FMEC Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH
- Oct. 5-9 – AAFP FMX, Anaheim, CA
- Nov. 21-25 – (NAPCRG) North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA
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Sep. 24-26, 2026 – FMEC Annual Meeting, Atlantic City, NJ
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