August 29, 2023
I had the honor and privilege to represent the NCAFP as the New Physician Delegate to the National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) in May. This was a new experience for me and my first experience being more directly involved in national policy.
For those of you who may not be familiar with this conference, the NCCL meets yearly to discuss issues affecting family physicians nationwide and to make resolutions to present to the AAFP. There were also votes for national representation to the AAFP Congress of Delegates as well as to the AAFP Board of Directors. The NCCL consists of representatives from five constituencies including women, minorities, new physicians, international medical graduates, and LGBTQ+ physicians. The conference is an opportunity for underrepresented physicians to voice their perspectives and initiate change. I was excited to be able to represent the new physician constituency.
One of the best things about all conferences is the opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the country. The NCCL was no different in this regard. I had the chance to meet quite a few physicians from various backgrounds practicing in all areas of Family Medicine. Sometimes during the day-to-day work of a family doctor, it’s common to feel a bit isolated. We often forget that there are thousands of other physicians just like us putting in hard work towards bettering the health of our patients and communities. The challenges we experience are the same challenges that they experience, and the comradery created by our common goals helps to put things in perspective.
A primary standout at the NCCL meeting is the passion for progress, particularly in advocacy and equity. Anyone who has been involved with any governing body knows that the wheels of change can turn a bit slower than we would like. There are reasons for that, with safeguards protecting large entities from sudden upheavals and threats to the foundation of their philosophies. That being said, the NCCL is in many ways a direct challenge to the natural obstinacy of large organizations. There is certainly no shortage of urgency at the NCCL to move forward with many changes that are needed in practice and policy.
Without going into details regarding the procedures for bringing about new resolutions, it’s clear that the process is designed to garner a wide variety of ideas for progress and present those to small groups for meaningful discussion. New ideas are numerous. Multiple resolutions are brought forward. Discussions regarding these potential resolutions are often passionate, but the professionalism of our colleagues even during times of conflict is inspiring. Then again, would we expect any less from Family Medicine physicians?
New resolutions were quite varied, ranging from equality to education to advocacy at the national level. It was clear that the unique perspectives brought to the conference by the varied constituencies contributed quite significantly. Conversation and debate of resolution topics were especially rewarding. This would range from conceptualizing broad ideas into actionable policy as well as debates on specific wording.
For instance, the resolution that I was personally involved in was in regards to national perceptions of Family Medicine. The resolution was a call to the AAFP to collect and provide data on stakeholder opinions and assessments related to the value of care provided by family physicians. This resolution has the ultimate goal of improving the understanding of our specialty’s merit at a national level, particularly as seen by insurance companies and large medical systems.
One of the toughest challenges that I found at the conference was how to transform philosophical ideas into specific policies and position statements. Many times, it seems like certain ideas are universal, especially in family medicine. We have a passion for fairness and equality at all levels. We want a strong healthcare system that serves all of our patients and supports us and our fellow physicians. However, evolving these philosophical ideas into concrete actions that can be reasonably acted on with the resources at hand can be quite tricky. That was the goal, and the representatives were up to the challenge. A summary of actions can be found here. The conference was great, and I got to brush up on leadership skills, parliamentary procedure, and hopefully help make some positive change.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how great it was to get to spend a little time outside of the conference with the other fine representatives of the NCAFP. We are blessed to have amazing doctors and wonderful people that represented your Academy well at both the leadership conference as well as the NCCL. And just in case there was any question; yes, I did enjoy some Kansas City BBQ.