The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) will honor the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) on July 27 for its outstanding activities in generating interest in family medicine.

The academy will recognize the Family Medicine Interest Group and 15 other honorees at its 2012 Program of Excellence Awards at the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, Mo.

FMIGs are medical school-sponsored organizations that give students a chance to learn more about family medicine through regular meetings, workshops, leadership development opportunities, and community and clinical experiences.

The Program of Excellence Awards recognizes FMIGs for their outstanding performance in operation, community service, promoting the value of primary care, exposure to family medicine and family physicians, professional development and measures of success. Nationwide, 140 FMIGs operate on medical school campuses.

The Keck School of Medicine FMIG will be honored for its outreach, leadership and collaboration with other organizations and specialties to work with the student-run health clinic and Cuddle Club, a program that allows medical students to interact with newborn babies in the hospital. The Keck School FMIG’s programs demonstrated the family physician’s expertise in preventive, clinical medicine and procedural skills.

The FMIG continued to promote its mentorship program and to provide opportunities for students to interact with family physicians, according to the AAFP. The FMIG also hosted hands-on procedural workshops and brown-bag lunch talks on topics ranging from inter-professional care models in geriatrics to postgraduate specialty training.

The academy publishes the winning FMIGs’ applications on its FMIG Network website.

Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 105,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

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