By Leimomi Kanagusuku, MS2, Alister Tang, MS2, and Nash Witten, MS3
How many of you could find Kansas City, Missouri, on a map? Well we have been there, and still, we can barely find it. (Sorry Ariel Dunn, MS3. We know you are from there, but really: how is Kansas City in two states AT THE SAME TIME?) So why in the world would the three of us plan to spend four days of our summer somewhere none of us can find on a map? Because the American Academy of Family Physician’s (AAFP) National Conference was in Kansas City!
Thanks to the generous support of the Hawai’i Academy of Family Physicians, the three of us were able to attend the conference in July. With over 2,000 people in attendance, including medical students, residents, and “attendings” (MD faculty who supervise MD Residents and MD students), the conference was packed! There were also 435 exhibitors, including 314 MD Residency programs from across the country. The exhibition hall was arranged by geographical location, so there were entire rows of residency programs from states such as California, Washington, Colorado, and Texas; it was something else!
There were also numerous workshops and talks throughout the four days that we attended. Some of the sessions we attended included:
•Health is Primary
•Do’s and Don’ts of Residency Interviewing
•Applying to Residency: From Before the Application to the Interview
• Leadership in Primary Care
•Bright Spotting: Finding the Right Patients and Health Care Teams to Improve Outcomes
•Osteopathic Manual Medicine
•FMIG Basics
•Fellowships in Family Medicine
•Embracing Cultural Humility, Competency, and Advocacy to Decrease Health Disparities
•Women in Family Medicine: Careers and Families
•Basic Suturing Techniques Course
•Skin Biopsy Techniques Course
Of course, what would a conference be without sight-seeing and networking? Some of the fun things we were able to fit into our four days included a tour of the National World War I Museum (which none of us knew existed here), a tour of the Hallmark Visitors Center, outings to the Power and Light District, a “real” Kansas City BBQ dinner, and the conference’s celebration at the Midland Theatre!
Overall the conference was a blur, as they usually are, but we are all inspired to continue our pursuit of family medicine. There is really nothing like being with over 2,000 like-minded individuals with similar passions and drives to remind you that family medicine is an amazing specialty and career choice. Again, we are tremendously thankful to the Hawai’i Academy of Family Physicians for their support and look forward to sharing what we learned at the conference with our JABSOM ‘ohana!
About the authors
Nash Witten is a 2013 graduate of the ‘Imi Ho’ola Post-Baccalaureate Program and is now a third-year medical student who is currently doing the outpatient component of his longitudinal clerkship in Waimea, Hawai`i island.
Leimomi Kanagusuku is a 2014 graduate of the ‘Imi Ho’ola Post-Baccalaureate Program and is now a second-year medical student who is currently completing a MD5 shadowing doctors at Wai’anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and assisting with MD1 coaching for the first year class.
Alister Tang is a 2014 graduate of the ‘Imi Ho’ola Post-Baccalaureate Program Program and is now a second-year medical student who recently returned from shadowing physicians at Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo.
Our photos, courtesy of the authors, feature: Alister, Nash, and Leimomi outside of the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri; Leimomi in front of the AAFP sign within the convention center; and Alister and Leimomi outside of the convention center.