FMIG officers for 2008-2009
Preston McDonnell, M4
President
Angela Sood, M3
Vice President
Rebecca Rose, M4
Secretary/Treasurer
Laura Jackson, M2
Co-Residency Fair Coordinator/
Co-Social Events Coordinator
Samuel Holdiness, M2
Co-Residency Fair Coordinator/
Co-Social Events Coordinator
Cynthia Garrett, M4
Community Services Coordinator
Ben Kilman, M4
Public Affairs Coordinator
Brent Smith, M4
M4 Class Representative
Michael Foster, M3
M3 Class Representative
Sharkeshia Braddy, M2
M2 Class Representative
Jessica Lavender, M1
Co-M1 Class Representative
Co-Residency Fair Coordinator 2009
Anna Marie Hailey, M1
Co-Residency Fair Coordinator 2009
Co-M1 Class Representative
Vanathi Siddaiah, M.D.
Faculty Advisor
Thais Tonore, M.D.
Faculty Advisor
Sonya Clemmons, M.D., Martha Dempsey, M.D., and Dionne Jackson, M.D.
Resident Advisors
Chastity Carney
Student/Faculty Liaison
FMIG meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month and are usually sponsored by community hospitals, local family physicians, and others who are interested in encouraging students to pursue a career in Family Medicine. By providing lunch for FMIG meetings, these kind donations make it possible for the FMIG to use money generated by fundraising efforts to send students to various conferences and to support philanthropic efforts. Students are also allowed to interact with representatives from the various sponsors, thus exposing them to opportunities in Family Medicine that are different from those found in an academic institution.
On the second Wednesday of each month, FMIG officers meet to conduct the business of the chapter. Topics of discussion for the meetings often include potential speakers and sponsors for monthly lunch meetings, service project ideas, clinical skills workshops, and planning for the annual recruitment fair and banquet.
Additional support for our meetings also comes from the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians. In addition to being one of our lunch meeting sponsors, the Academy also sponsors a booth at the annual residency fair. A huge asset to our recruiting efforts, the MAFP pays the AAFP membership dues for each student who also joins FMIG. Officers also participate in the annual MAFP meeting in Destin, Florida. At the 2008 meeting, FMIG representatives assisted with the registration process and setup for the recruitment fair and helped staff the family fun night activities and the silent auction fundraiser. This unique experience allowed our officers to network with many local family doctors, thereby building professional relationships that will help foster increased support of FMIG from physicians across the state.
Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians Foundation sponsored Preston McDonnell and Ben Kilman, and Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians sponsored Brent Smith at the 2008 National Family Medicine Residents and Students Conference in Kansas City July 20- August 2, 2008. While at the conference, Preston was presented with the Program of Excellence Award for 2007. This award recognizes Family Medicine Interest Groups for their efforts to stimulate interest in FMIG activities and a career in family medicine. The award is presented to those groups who exhibit exemplary efforts in the following areas: infrastructure, student involvement and retention, family medicine advocacy, community outreach and patient advocacy. Family Medicine Interest Groups at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools are eligible to receive the award. We have won this award six times in the past seven years.
In August, FMIG and MAFP sponsored a "Get to Know FMIG" lunch for the M1 class during their week of orientation. FMIG officers and faculty advisors were introduced and the students were invited to join MAFP and AAFP. The annual Family Medicine Residency Recruitment Fair was held on September 3, 2008. It was a great success with 28 hospital and residency programs exhibiting at the fair. Over 200 students, faculty and residents attended this year's fair.
On October 1, 2008, FMIG held the October lunch meeting sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Health. Linda Young, Workforce Development Coordinator, was our featured speaker. October 25, 2008 FMIG officers and members volunteered at the Jackson Free Clinic as their October service project.
On November 5, 2008, FMIG held their monthly lunch meeting sponsored by Hattiesburg Clinic. Dr. Bert Beisel, a graduate of the University School of Medicine, and a family physician currently practicing in Columbia, MS, was our featured speaker. He spoke about what led him to become a family physician, current issues facing primary care physicians, and what his daily life in practice is like. On November 18, 2008, the FMIG officers prepared Thanksgiving dinner at the Ronald McDonald House as our November service project.
Our December service project involved buying cleaning supplies, snacks, and other household items for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.
We held our annual FMIG Banquet at the Jackson Capital Club at 6:30 p.m. on January 15, 2009. All medical students and their guests were invited to attend this event, and approximately 115 attended. Our speaker this year was Dr. Shannon Pittman, Residency Director in the Department of Family Medicine, who gave a talk on "Four Letter Words." Sponsors for this event included Baptist Health Systems, Hattiesburg Clinic, Jackson Heart Clinic, MAFP Foundation and River Oaks Hospital. Without their generous donations, this event would not be possible.
We combined our service projects for the months of January and February. We held a campus-wide drive for clothing, household goods, and appliances to be donated to the Salvation Army. Our meeting on February 11, 2009, was sponsored by the UMMC Department of Family Medicine, and our speaker was Dr. Thais Tonore, Director of Student Programs in Family Medicine. She discussed the M3 Family Medicine rotation, M4 electives in Family Medicine, and summer opportunities in family medicine for current M1 students.
Our next meeting will be on March 4. Our speaker will be family physician Dr. Charles Griffith, who will speak on his career and interests in family medicine. Wesley Medical Center will sponsor our lunch.
Future projects for the year may include working with Habitat for Humanity, volunteering at Mustard Seed, collecting items for Stewpot, and selling Family Medicine T-shirts as a fundraiser.