Professional Development

Join Us For Fall Conference At The Grand!

Join us at the iconic Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama, where Southern charm, beautiful Gulf Coast scenery, and family medicine come together for a memorable weekend.

Earn up to 8 hours of CME while connecting with colleagues, enjoying a beautiful destination, and taking some well-deserved time to relax and recharge.

Advocacy

MAFP Attends SEFM Forum

MAFP was proud to join 11 other states at the Southeastern Family Medicine Forum in Orange Beach, Alabama! Each year at SEFM, state chapter representatives gather to collaborate on key issues and share best practices to bring back to their home chapters.

MAFP President Dr. Walter Burnett, AAFP Delegates Drs. Jennifer Gholson and Katie Royals, and Executive Director Beth Embry participated in the two-day meeting focused on clinical and advocacy topics and advancing the future of family medicine.

A special shoutout to Dr. Gholson for leading a well-received session on AI in Medicine!

Become an AAFP Advocacy Ambassador

The AAFP Advocacy Ambassadors program pairs family physicians with congressional leaders and elected officials who are supportive of the priorities of the family medicine specialty and champion legislation and public policy.

• As trusted family physicians and health care leaders, Advocacy Ambassadors represent the AAFP and their specialty by sharing our mission and values with legislators, colleagues and the broader community.
• Advocacy Ambassadors engage with patients, policymakers and their peers to build support for initiatives that improve patient care and public health.
• Advocacy Ambassadors educate their peers and the public about the latest health policy developments, providing resources and information to foster better understanding of health issues and the importance of advocacy.

Workforce

MAFP On the Move

MAFP welcomed more than 170 NEW student members while visiting William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine! MAFP team members Blake Butler and Beth Wilson traveled to Hattiesburg to connect with WCUCOM Year 1 students and share all that MAFP has to offer. Students also learned about tobacco cessation through a presentation of the Tar Wars program. As a bonus, new members walked away with MAFP giveaway items for signing up!

The medical students also heard first hand experiences from three of our Academy Ambassadors and a Forrest General Family Medicine Resident and former MAFP Ambassador. Thank you to Dr. Syed Amanuddin and students, Jaymar Jackson, Kristina Scarbrough, and Jabari Thompson for helping us promote MAFP and Family Medicine!

MAFP Foundation and Workforce Director, Beth Wilson, visited the UMMC Family Medicine Residency Program at their intern orientation last week to present tobacco cessation and Tar Wars training. Tar Wars empowers future family physicians to make a lasting impact on public health!

MAFP Member, Dr. Brent Smith, also took time out of his day to join them and share about his experience with MAFP and AAFP. Dr. Smith is the Program Director at the MS Delta Family Medicine Residency Program.

MAFP Foundation and Workforce Director, Beth Wilson, was proud to represent MAFP and attend the ribbon cutting of Southwest Primary Care.

Southwest Primary Care is a new 14,038-square foot primary clinic located at 1506 Aston Ave., in McComb.The clinic, formally known as Premier Medical Clinic, began seeing patients July 27.

As the clinical home of SMRMC’s Family Medicine Residency Program, the facility also includes a 950-square foot didactics lab providing 16 family medicine residents and rotating medical students with the space needed to turn lectures from attending physicians into hands-on training.

MAFP welcomed Miss Mississippi 2026, Jane Granberry, to the MAFP office. During her visit, she met with Foundation and Workforce Director Beth Wilson to review our Tar Wars program, which she will present during her year as Miss Mississippi.

Through Tar Wars, Miss Mississippi helps promote tobacco-free living by visiting schools across the state. Aimed at 4th and 5th graders, the program encourages students to make healthy choices and avoid tobacco use. Jane will bring Tar Wars to 20 schools this year. If you would like to see Miss Mississippi at your school, click the link below.

Public Awareness

Contribute To The Mississippi Family Physician

Each year, The Mississippi Family Physician gives us a chance to celebrate our members, highlight the work of family physicians across Mississippi, and recap another great year of MAFP. We want you to be part of it!



There are three easy ways to contribute:

Share Your Knowledge

Have an article, case study, clinical piece, or educational resource you’ve written? We’d love to consider it for the journal.



Be a Member Spotlight

Let your fellow MAFP members get to know you beyond the exam room. Volunteer for a Member Spotlight and share your story, your practice, your interests, and what you love about family medicine.

Advertise Your Practice or Sell an Ad

Showcase your practice or help sell an ad to one of your vendors while supporting the journal. Advertising is a great way to connect with fellow MAFP members and the Mississippi family medicine community.

This is your journal—and your story matters. Have something to share? Contact Blake Butler at publicawareness@msafp.org or call 601-853-3302.

Fall Vaccine Recommendations

The AAFP released its fall immunization recommendations, in coordination with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, as part of the Vaccine Integrity Project. The recommendations provide physicians and patients with clear, evidence-based guidance on COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza vaccines, and are intended to help family physicians ensure patients have access to the immunizations that will best protect their health during respiratory virus season.

New Patient-friendly Vaccine Resources for Members

Your recommendation remains one of the strongest influences on whether a patient chooses to be vaccinated. That's especially important as you care for older adults and patients at higher risk for serious illness from influenza and COVID-19. 

To guide those conversations, the AAFP has developed patient-friendly conversation guides that make it easier to encourage shared decision making and meaningful discussions during office visits. These easy-to-use tools can help you explain vaccine recommendations, answer patient questions and build confidence. 

Explore these resources and incorporate them into your workflow this season. They offer another practical way to support the trusted conversations you have with patients every day.