University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus Recognized by AAFP for Program of Excellence in Family Medicine

Friday, August 10, 2018 - The University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus was recently recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians as one of 18 medical school Family Medicine Interest Groups to win the 2018 Program of Excellence Award for their exemplary efforts to grow and support interest in family medicine.

Award winners were announced Aug. 3 at the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, Missouri.

FMIGs are student-run organizations that provide opportunities for students to learn about and experience family medicine outside of their medical school curricula. FMIGs host events, workshops, leadership development opportunities and community and clinical experiences. These award-winning groups are breaking new ground with important initiatives such as starting pipeline programs for students who are underrepresented in medicine and working with their school administration to change the curriculum to be more supportive of primary care.

The University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus was recognized as a Program of Excellence for its various hosted events focused on Family Medicine and Primary Care topics, 80% maintained membership among first and second-year students, community service projects, and their effort to work with the community and student organizations to achieve goals and initiatives, and participation in nationwide FMIG efforts and discussions. These efforts extend far beyond the national award to improving the future of family medicine and building the vital primary care physician workforce.

"We genuinely appreciate this recognition of the work of our students from the American Academy of Family Physicians," said Raymond Christensen, MD, Advisor to the Family Medicine Interest Group on the Duluth Campus and Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and BioBehavioral Health. "Uniquely, many of our students are from rural communities, and we stay true to our mission to fill the need for Family Medicine and Primary Care providers."

The Duluth Campus FMIG strives to enable student collaboration, as well as, increase interest in Family Medicine. The school’s mission of improving healthcare access and outcomes in rural Minnesota and American Indian/Alaska Native communities guides the goals and activities of this group.

“The FMIGs we honor this year have gone above and beyond by activating students to put the knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom into practice,” said Clif Knight, MD, senior vice president for education at the AAFP. “These programs help students develop leadership skills that will serve them in their future practices and communities and provide opportunities to better understand the vital role that family medicine plays in our health care system.”

The winners’ applications are published online to facilitate the sharing of best practices and programming ideas among FMIGs nationwide. There is also a programming resource for all FMIGs to use that highlights the most successful and innovative ideas from these exemplary schools.

FMIGs are independent groups, governed by their host medical school and supported by faculty and staff with resources and support from the national FMIG Network administered by the AAFP.

About the American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians represents 131,400 physicians and medical students nationwide, and it is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Family physicians conduct approximately one in five of the total medical office visits in the United States per year – more than any other specialty. Family physicians provide comprehensive, evidence-based, and cost-effective care dedicated to improving the health of patients, families, and communities. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing and personal patient-physician relationship where the family physician serves as the hub of each patient’s integrated care team. More Americans depend on family physicians than on any other medical specialty.

To learn more about the AAFP and family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. Follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.

About the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus
The mission of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus is to be a national leader in improving healthcare access and outcomes in rural Minnesota and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

We do this by:

• Educating medical students dedicated to serving rural Minnesota and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.
• Fostering excellence in research.
• Emphasizing the training of physicians in Family Medicine.
• Creating strong partnerships locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
• Working in innovative, interdisciplinary and inter-professional teams.

The University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth is a branch campus of the University of Minnesota Medical School, based in the Twin Cities.

Visit, www.med.umn.edu/about/duluth-campus