Professor, student group honored at national conference

During the 2024 American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference held in Kansas City, Missouri, the University of Texas Medical Branch earned two honors-one for professor and clinician Dr. Jennifer Raley's efforts to support the institution's Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) and another for the group itself.

Student-run organizations that create opportunities for students to learn about and experience family medicine outside of their medical school curricula, FMIGs host social events, workshops, leadership development opportunities, community service and clinical experiences.

The UTMB FMIG was one of 18 groups recognized for exemplary efforts to grow and support interest in family medicine.

"Investing in our country's future family physicians through organizations like FMIGs means we're also investing in the future of health care. The FMIGs we honor this year have unequivocally strengthened primary care and will undoubtedly help patients and communities," said Dr. Margot Savoy, AAFP's senior vice president, education, inclusiveness and physician well-being. "This year's FMIG Program of Excellence Award winners are doing the incredible and rewarding work of improving our health care system and fostering the next generation of diverse primary care physicians. I can't wait to see what they do next."

A faculty advisor for the UTMB FMIG for many years, Raley received the AAFP Joyce Jeardeau Memorial Award at this year's conference.

In addition to organizing FMIG events, Raley works hard to build community within FMIG through hosting retreats, supporting new ideas and being present at as many FMIG activities as she can throughout the year.

With more than a decade of experience, Raley has a passion for family medicine that is evident in the way she provides thoughtful mentorship and exudes a continued commitment to this ever-evolving and changing group. However, she quickly redirects any success to others around her.

"I credit the persistence and vision of our FMIG student officers who work so hard to create experiences that demonstrate the full scope of care that Family Medicine covers," said Raley, who acknowledges her UTMB colleagues are a big part of the program's success, too. "Our Family Medicine faculty and residents are essential to providing the low learner to teacher ratio that makes our events so rich and engaging."