Family Medicine POPs

I hope you had an opportunity to take a break and get some well-deserved rest over the holidays. I always enjoy the beginning of a new year as it provides a great opportunity to reflect on the previous year. As you have read in the advocacy and education updates, 2022 was a great year for CAFP and for family physicians. Thank you to all of you who made 2022 a success, including our dedicated Board of Directors and President Dr. Lauren Simon. The achievements of 2022 could not have been accomplished without the engagement of our members across the state who continue to serve your patients with the intelligence and compassion that is family medicine.

I cannot reflect on the achievements and hard work of family physicians in 2022, without talking about Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first family physician to serve as a member of the California legislature. She ran for office to address the issues that her Central Valley patients face, from the economy and education to health care. She was not expected to win against her seasoned politician opponent but she used her family physician determination and hard work for a decisive win. Politics can feel transactional and insincere. Her constituents saw the antidote in Dr. Bains.

As a new member of the California Legislature, Dr. Bains will face new and continuing challenges. We can expect challenges in 2023 outside of the legislative process as well, including an uncertain economy and continuing threats to public health, immediate and ongoing, like climate change.

There will also be many new opportunities in 2023. Through media, legislative and regulatory advocacy there will be opportunities to make sure family physicians are leading conversations around health system change, payment and workforce. Your CAFP is well situated to raise our political profile in our new Sacramento location. Through advocacy and coalition building, there will be opportunities to promote primary care and with it, family medicine training, as well as to protect full spectrum family medicine and address social determinants of health. Empowering, educating and connecting family physicians will be essential in navigating the challenges and opportunities in 2023.

Much like you as family physicians must put your own proverbial oxygen masks on before helping others, CAFP needs to make sure that as an organization we are healthy and strong in order to help our members weather challenges and embrace opportunity. In 2022, CAFP was able to hire new staff members in the areas of education and advocacy. We have made leadership opportunities more transparent and are looking at our internal structures to make sure we are reflecting the values of family medicine, including working toward a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive environment.

CAFP has also been looking at improving member experience. I am excited to announce that CAFP will be launching our new CAFP e-platform, which will be a device, phone or computer based app that will allow members to access education, advocacy, and policy information all in one place. The app will allow you to keep up with changes in state and federal law, clinical medical education opportunities, register for events and programs, and network with colleagues all in one convenient place.

In 2023, we will continue to honor the traditions of CAFP while making changes that serve changing member needs. As part of that effort, we will be combining the Student & Resident Summit and the Clinical Forum into one exciting event, Prism of Practice (POP). Family Medicine POP will bring together current and future family physicians to provide the latest clinical information and residency program information, as well as to learn and be inspired by each other.

No matter what 2023 brings, I look forward to facing the challenges and opportunities together.