Family Medicine Conference

Last weekend I drove eight hours to Kansas City, Missouri for a national conference for residents and medical students in and interested in family medicine. My specialty adviser suggested I go since almost all of the residency programs in the United States set up booths to interest and inform students. I require a few more weeks of electives in the year, and it was her hope (and mine, too, although I am always much less optimistic about my ability to socialize and form plans with strangers than most people who know me) that I'd be able to establish some sort of elective in rural medicine there.

I did not.

All totaled, the weekend cost me around $800 - $900. But I would have gone back if I had the choice, because despite being really draining to walk among so many strangers constantly, it was really inspiring. I feel really inspired. I have felt this way previously at the end of AMWA conferences, so I can only assume I love conferences more than I love school.

The lecturers were phenomenal. They were so passionate. And so funny. And so personable and nice. After spending a year interacting with doctors who seemed dissatisfied with their career choices, it was nice to see people loving what they did.

And everyone spoke in such a way as to relate several main themes:

1. Many physicians think family medicine is a joke but that is slowly changing.
2. There's a lot of good you can do as a family physician--be it for your patients or even in changing politics.
3. Job satisfaction. Family practitioners have more of it.

There were more ideas but I've started having a hard time writing anything of importance. More to follow.