Recently, a group of students, faculty and alumni from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine traveled to Arlington, Virginia, to attend the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) annual conference. PCOM’s presence was felt at the three-day event, as the delegation from the College was the largest of the schools in attendance.
The mission of FMEC is “to improve the health of the nation by strengthening family medicine and primary care to meet its full potential.” The theme for this year’s meeting was “Unleashing our Family Medicine Superpowers,” recognizing the strengths, accomplishments and potential of family medicine. Events at the annual meeting included prominent speakers, a residency fair, networking opportunities and an awards ceremony.
Taylor Rider (DO `23) and Briana Krewson (DO `23) were recipients of the 2022 FMEC
“This We Believe” Creative Writing Contest. As shared in the FMEC Annual Conference
program, the “This We Believe” Awards were modeled on the successful “This I Believe”
project, as heard on National Public Radio. The contest was designed to offer physicians,
physicians-in-training, and medical students engaged in Family Medicine organizations,
the opportunity to express their core beliefs about serving others. Ms. Rider won
for her piece titled “The Jack of All Trades,” and Ms. Krewson won for her piece titled
“Harmonious Silence.”
“For me, this award serves as external validation. When I started my medical school journey, I originally wanted to go into surgery. It allowed me to declare that I’m one hundred
percent focused on family medicine,” said Ms. Rider. Fellow award winner Ms. Krewson
shared, “This contest gave us the space to talk about why primary care is so important
and to share those values and lessons in a group where they resonate.” Ms. Krewson
also took third place in the 2022 FMEC Creative Writing Awards for her prose piece
titled “Sky.”
Ms. Krewson and Ms. Rider are both actively involved in PCOM’s Gold Humanism Honor Society, serving as President and Community Service chair. They also plan to pursue residencies in family medicine, participating in the 2023 Match. Based on the 2022 Match data from the Philadelphia Campus, family medicine was the second most popular specialty after internal medicine.
Established in 1899, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
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