Rediscovering Purpose: How Advocacy Rekindled My Passion for Family Medicine
Dr. C. Mindy Chua, DO
I am currently at a swanky hotel in Kansas City, MO, attending the AAFP National Conference of Constituency Leaders as the women’s constituency delegate from WV. This is all completely new for me despite years in leadership. As the Chief Medical Officer of Davis Health System, I did a lot locally and operationally, but never really dipped my toes in true advocacy—primarily due to a lack of time (and, honestly, a lack of desire) to do so.
But now, here I sit learning about an entirely different form of leadership – advocacy – “the act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy: active support.” The other constituencies here are BIPOC, LGBTQA+, FMGs, and new grads. Each state has a delegate in each designation. We had some excellent lectures, then we got down to business.
Honestly, it’s been amazing. I felt so much more in my element this week than I have in the spaces where I’ve been working for the past several years amongst mostly physician administrators and other c-suite executives. The hospital administration leadership realm generally approaches medicine from a very different perspective. I, myself, have recognized this difference in my role as CMO. This conference has given me a lot of perspective on those differences. A " yes, but…” mentality about quality, cost, and inclusion accompanies the C-suite discussion.
This feels much different. This conference is truly advocating for the betterment of Family Physicians, practices, and patients in a real, tangible way. In an era of demolishing DEI movements, we are here to stand up and say NO. Medicine, in particular, Family Medicine, is DEI. 25% of Family doctors are FMGs, and 50% are women. More importantly, our patients are DEI.
It has been exhilarating and humbling to be in this group of like-minded, kind people who really want to improve medicine. I love the idea of grassroots change, which comes from caregivers, not insurance companies or administrators. We need more of this to improve the lives of our patients and our doctors.
I have been a member of the AAFP for at least 24 years. I use it to maintain certification, place holding, and occasionally look up an article. This conference showed me that the AAFP is so much more. I learned about MIGs—groups that special interest folks, like breastfeeding medicine, obesity medicine, wilderness medicine, climate change, and environmental health, to name a few. I also learned about the partnerships fostered with leading social change organizations and so much more.
If you’ve been a member but don’t know what is being offered through the AAFP or WVAFP, feel free to reach out to me or any of your dedicated board members. For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about our future as family docs, and I want to help you get excited as well.
