When I Fell in Love With Family Medicine

Aisha Harris Medical Student

Aisha Harris
Medical Student

This is a finalist in the 2015 STFM Blog Competition

When I decided to pursue a career in medicine I knew that I wanted to go into primary care. Primary care physicians were the individuals that impressed and influenced me. They were on the front line providing grassroots medicine and I wanted that. I wanted the feeling of being a catalyst for change in an individual and a community. I wanted the unique responsibility and humility that comes with practicing family medicine and its roots within its general practitioner history. And be a part of the critical role of family medicine physicians and their ability to get intertwined within generations, households, and communities.

Family medicine to me means being a resource to patients and their families and welcoming the opportunity to improve circumstances and quality of life by embodying the core beliefs of medicine. When I started my family medicine rotation during the third year I was excited. During my first 2 years of medical school, I became more and more interested and intrigued by family medicine because of the beautiful spectrum of potential opportunities, experiences, and impact.

Continue reading

Celebrating 2015 and Looking Forward to 2016

Stacy Brungardt, CAE STFM Executive Director

Stacy Brungardt, CAE
STFM Executive Director

As we begin a new year, I’m proud to report on the Society’s 2015 accomplishments. Early in the year, we unveiled a new strategic plan that will guide the organization over the next 5 years. One of the decisions in the development of the plan was that STFM would identify a few big rocks: the most critical areas the organization must address.

You can expect to see your Board, committees, and task forces honed in on providing faculty with skills to train learners to achieve the triple aim; identifying strategies to transform training sites into models of excellence; and engaging members, residents, and students in activities related to Family Medicine for America’s Health.

Continue reading

Rising Stars

robinder

Robinder Bahniwal, MD, MA

This is a finalist in the 2015 STFM Blog Competition

This article was inspired by a personal encounter I had after a 16-hour work day on labor and delivery. As I was leaving the hospital and making me way out of the College of Medicine, one of the hematology oncology attendings joined me on my way to the parking lot. He asked me what program I was in, and I proudly said family and community medicine. He responded with how impressed he is by the field of family medicine. I smiled back and asked why. He responded that being a specialist for more than 30 years he is extremely well versed in the literature regarding the diagnosis, prognosis, and latest treatments available within his field. He recalled that he spent many years reading material specific to his specialty, that at times he becomes uncertain of himself when a patient comes in for a follow up, and they ask him for advice regarding their groin pain, erectile dysfunction, or is incidentally found to have a low vitamin D level. He is the expert on peripheral smears, new and innovative treatments of leukemias and lymphomas, but he still has moments of uncertainty, and this was very enlightening and reassuring.

Continue reading