
Kari-Claudia Allen, MD, MPH
The Family Medicine Advocacy Summit 2018 was super dope.
On May 21, I joined family medicine physicians and teachers from all over the nation to converge on the District of Columbia to advocate for issues that affect our patients, families, and friends. The three main topics of discussion at this year’s convention were: improving access to primary care through affordable insurance and expanding rural healthcare, finding solutions to the opioid crisis, and preventing maternal mortality.
The event kicked off with a welcome from Michael Munger, MD, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) president, and Karen Smith, MD, chair of the AAFP Commission on Governmental Advocacy. They gave inspiring remarks and acknowledged student, resident, and new faculty scholarship awardees, such as myself, from organizations like the AAFP and the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine. They reminded us to keep #FightingforFamilyMedicine and continue telling our stories about the very real people we serve around the nation.