Evergreen Awards recognize chapter efforts

The College honored 11 chapters with its 1999 Evergreen Awards in recognition of local programs and efforts to increase member communication and involvement.

Advocacy

Illinois
ACP-ASIM's Illinois Chapter conducted a statewide legislative campaign that addressed the health care crisis of uninsured families in the state. Members wrote to their representatives to support a proposed amendment to the state constitution for universal access to health care. They also met with state assembly members and testified before state House subcommittees.

Georgia
ACP-ASIM's Georgia Chapter developed legislative relationships that allowed it to obtain state funding for local programs, such as $30,000 for medical student mentorships through the Joint Board of Family Practice.

Associates

West Virginia
ACP-ASIM's West Virginia Chapter last year held its first annual West Virginia Medical Knowledge Challenge. The competition increased participation at chapter meetings from 50 Associates to more than 175 Associates per meeting. The chapter also formed its first Associates Council, which includes representatives from each training program in the state.

Wisconsin
ACP-ASIM's Wisconsin Chapter publishes its Associates' abstracts in the state's medical journal annually. The effort not only gives residents an opportunity to be published, but it also increases the profile of the state's internal medicine programs.

Illinois
ACP-ASIM's Illinois Chapter has provided a one-day training experience for the state's chief residents for the past nine years. The annual symposium, which gets almost 100% participation from all state programs, uses problem-based learning formats and small group discussions to involve participants.

Education/Communication

Virginia
In 1995, ACP-ASIM's Virginia Chapter developed the "Multiple Small Feedings of the Mind" format to increase meeting attendance. The new format gave practicing physicians an opportunity to quickly receive up-to-date answers to recurring questions in a wide array of fields. Subsequently, a proposal to the College's Scientific Program Subcommittee led to the national debut of this program at last year's Annual Session.

Oregon
ACP-ASIM's Oregon Chapter revamped its Governor's newsletter, making it the focal point of chapter communication. Members now regularly contribute articles on careers in internal medicine, community service and internists in the media. The enhanced newsletter format has helped to increase membership and focus on rural areas of the state.

Medical Students

Arizona
ACP-ASIM's Arizona Chapter spearheaded a local effort to bring second-year students into a rural internist's office for one month. Through this program, students and their preceptors have developed a relationship that will last for the remaining three years of each student's matriculation.

Manitoba & Saskatchewan
In 1997, the leadership of ACP-ASIM's Manitoba-Saskatchewan Region met with local medical students and house officers to set up its first internal medicine medical student club. More than 50 medical students have attended each of the two meetings held thus far to hear about career options in internal medicine and to learn about the College.

Utah
The Governor of ACP-ASIM's Utah Chapter conducted a patient interview in front of an entire first-year medical school class, offering students an opportunity to observe physician skills in eliciting history, the use of deductive knowledge and exposure to the in-depth knowledge of medicine in solving a challenging clinical problem. To date, approximately 200 medical students have participated in this program.

Texas
The long-standing medical student programs in ACP-ASIM's Texas Chapter use a three-pronged approach to expose large numbers of medical students to internal medicine as a career. The programs sponsor student internal medicine interest groups at all eight medical schools in the state and offer financial support of up to $2,500 per year. They also sponsor a general internal medicine statewide preceptorship program that now includes 200 medical students and host a student clinical vignette competition at the chapter meeting.

Wisconsin
ACP-ASIM's Wisconsin Chapter recently expanded its Resident Education in Access to Health Care (REACHOUT) program to include medical students. In many areas of Wisconsin, access to primary health care is limited by an inadequate supply of primary care providers. The program, developed by the chapter in conjunction with the department of medicine at the local medical school, exposes Associates and medical students to training experiences in which they work with underserved populations in the state.

Other

Alaska
ACP-ASIM's Alaska Chapter designed an all-purpose greeting card that local physicians can purchase from the chapter and give to their patients and/or their families to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. Proceeds from the sale of the cards go to the chapter's community education programs, which address topics such as end-of-life care.