Mr. Speaker, President Furr, President-elect Brull, Board Chair Iroku-Malize, fellow officers and directors, delegates to this Congress, AAFP members, guests, friends, and supporters:
It is always an honor to stand before you and speak about this incredible organization and its members. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I remain humbled by the opportunity to serve AAFP members, and I am proud to lead an organization dedicated to supporting the more than 130,000 family physicians across the nation who have answered the call to serve their patients, their communities, and this esteemed organization.
I also want to express my gratitude to each of you. I know you are busy, and I appreciate your leadership in family medicine. Thank you for being here this week to represent your colleagues and to help establish the policy foundations that will guide our work as an organization.
We are honored to have many distinguished guests with us this week, and I’d like to take a moment to recognize a few of them, starting with your Board of Directors.
Over the past year, it has been my distinct privilege to work alongside this talented group of family physicians on crucial issues affecting our members and our organization. They have set a visionary course for the future of family medicine, taken significant steps to invest in that future, and reduced barriers so that more family physicians can benefit from the work of the AAFP. I applaud their leadership and dedication.
Great organizations and movements are built from the community up, and family medicine is no different. Our ability to serve family physicians and promote the discipline starts with our chapters. I want to extend my gratitude to the chapter executives for being such valuable partners. Your efforts to promote and protect family medicine within your states are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to our continued collaboration.
Family medicine is truly a team sport, and we are fortunate to have representatives from various family medicine organizations with us today. On behalf of the AAFP, I thank you for your partnership and collaboration.
Last year, while we gathered in Chicago, many of our colleagues from around the world convened in Australia for the WONCA World Congress. At that meeting, our friend and colleague Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi was elected president-elect of WONCA. I’m delighted to have her with us today, and I look forward to working together to advance family medicine globally.
I also want to welcome our colleagues from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. We greatly value our strong working relationship with the CFPC, and I’m pleased to welcome Mike Allen, CEO of CFPC, to his first AAFP Congress of Delegates.
Finally, at the AAFP, we prioritize celebrating the successes of our colleagues, and I’m always excited to recognize the incredible work of Team AAFP. This dedicated group is committed to our mission and focused on our members. Each day, they bring tremendous value to both our members and our healthcare system. I am humbled to call them colleagues and proud to showcase their exceptional work. To the members of Team AAFP—thank you!
I don’t need to remind a room full of family physicians that the current practice environment is strained by underinvestment and the relentless pressure of administrative tasks that detract from patient care. You are being asked to do more with less, all while caring for an aging and increasingly sick population.
At a time when the value of primary care has never been clearer, our national investment in it is actually decreasing. The cumulative effects of underinvestment, misaligned financial structures, over- specialization, consolidation, failed administrative programs, and the erosion of physician autonomy have created an environment where both you and your patients are feeling the weight of neglect from our system.
Friends, the value of family medicine to individuals and communities has never been more evident. The importance of the AAFP to our members has never been greater. The AAFP supports family physicians at every stage of their careers, from aspiring students to seasoned professionals. We embrace the diversity of your roles and experiences, offering tailored, evidence-based resources, advocacy, and community support to empower your practice.
So, we fight on—refusing to settle for the empty platitudes from health policy elites. We remain laser-focused on building a health care system that is rooted in comprehensive, continuous family medicine—a system that is equitable, just, and dedicated to the people we serve. A system that is accessible for all and, above all, one that views health as a basic human right.
We organize our efforts to deliver value through our core competencies: advocacy, connection, and education. We create numerous opportunities for our members to benefit from a professional journey with the AAFP. In short, we do the hard work you ask us to do so you can focus on the hard work your patients expect from you.
Last year in Chicago, I told you that the AAFP was entering our “taking action era” and I would like to share some key achievements from the past 12 months.
Membership: Our work at the AAFP begins and ends with our members. Over the past year, in collaboration with our chapters, we’ve focused on creating meaningful connections and impactful experiences for our members. I am pleased to report that our work has produced results, with membership growth in 2024.
Recognizing that the strength of the AAFP relies on a robust membership, we are actively pursuing and building stronger relationships with residents and new physicians. This year, the Board of Directors made a bold decision to implement a new dues structure that lowers the financial barriers to membership for new physicians in their first three years of practice. National dues will now be $100, $200, and $300, respectively, for those years, making it more possible for new physicians to discover the AAFP resources that will serve them throughout their careers.
Additionally, we are excited to partner with AAFP Insurance Services to provide every third-year family medicine resident in the U.S. with a complimentary life and disability insurance policy, which will extend to new physicians in their first year starting in 2025 if they are AAFP members. Thank you to Jered Hunt, President of AAFP Insurance Services for this innovative initiative, which supports our young members in such a meaningful way.
We continue to redefine the value of the AAFP for our active members at every career stage, building and refining resources to support their clinical practices and professional journeys. We are expanding pathways to leadership and creating additional opportunities for physicians to engage with the AAFP.
I must also highlight the outstanding work of the AAFP Nominating Committee. In just five months, they identified committee members, established a nominating and vetting process, interviewed candidates, and presented a slate of board candidates consistent with the directives of this Congress. This was no small feat, and I want to thank committee chair Reid Blackwelder, the committee, and the AAFP staff for their incredible dedication.
Connections are forged for some in leadership positions, and for others, professional connections begin at a family medicine interest group meeting, a chapter gathering or an event like these.
However, the connection is made, AAFP membership provides the resources and relationships that serve family physicians for a lifetime.
Education: the AAFP strives to give our members best in class education across a variety of modalities, so they have the most relevant clinical and career information in the format that works best for them. I like to say that we produce education by family physicians, for family physicians – and we are really good at it!
Advocacy: some of the most important work we do on behalf of family physicians is advocacy. Over the past year we had several successes that I am pleased to share with you today.
Workforce: I’m proud to share that in 2024, family medicine had its largest Match ever, with 5,231 family medicine positions offered, marking our 15th consecutive year of growth. Despite some proclamations to the contrary, today’s generation of medical students is answering the call to serve and they are choosing family medicine. I am equally proud to share that in August we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the National Conference for Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students and announced that starting in 2025 this annual event will be known as FUTURE – the national conference for the future of family medicine.
Communications: As I’ve said many times, we must own the narrative of family medicine. We must tell our story or risk having someone else tell it for us. We share the family medicine story consistently—through direct communication with our members, media, stakeholders, and chapters, as well as through earned media and our media ambassadors. We proactively engage with the media, partner with other organizations, and position ourselves in the broader primary care conversation. We celebrate our members and their contributions to their patients and communities.
Our team of family physicians serves as trusted messengers, delivering credible, relatable, and understandable messages to patients across the country about the value of having a family physician. We take an omnichannel approach to ensure our message reaches key audiences where they seek information.
Over the past year, the AAFP and family medicine were featured in 2,729 stories—an average of 53 stories per week—reaching over 13.7 billion people. Our media ambassadors were featured in 206 articles, reaching 3.6 billion people. And yes, I may have ruffled a few feathers in the insurance industry along the way!
I am proud of the work we’ve accomplished over the past year, but I am also deeply focused on the work ahead. As I mentioned earlier, the AAFP Board of Directors has established a strategic vision for the organization through our new Strategic Plan. Dr. Brull will provide further insights into this plan in her speech later this afternoon, and I applaud the Board for their leadership and the direction they are charting for our discipline.
I would like to highlight a few priority issues and projects we’ll focus on in the months ahead, starting with growing the primary care workforce.
In October, the AAFP will launch a multi-year initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of allopathic and osteopathic medical students to pursue careers in family medicine. This campaign will showcase the diverse opportunities available within family medicine and emphasize the unique potential family medicine has to address challenges of equity and access in health care. Our campaign will meet students in the spaces and places where they and their classmates are seeking information and discussing their career opportunities.
We will continue our collaboration with our chapters to strengthen membership, particularly focusing on converting family medicine residents into active new physicians and retaining our strong market position. Additionally, we recognize the importance of engaging all members, including those nearing the end of their practice careers who still wish to support the AAFP and our chapters. Developing a community aimed at keeping this generation of family physicians engaged will be a priority for the coming year.
Family medicine is uniquely positioned at the intersection of relationship-based, comprehensive and continuous care and the growing role of digital health and AI tools in healthcare. I am excited to announce that, today, the AAFP is launching a significant project aimed at influencing the application and deployment of artificial intelligence within family medicine. I encourage you to scan this QR code and complete the important survey; your input will help shape our work on this initiative.
We will launch Value-Based Care University—a comprehensive set of modules designed to empower family physicians, at all stages of their career, to thrive in emerging value-based practice models.
We will continue our work to champion equity, inclusiveness, and a more just healthcare system.
Finally, in the coming months, we will reintroduce the AAFP and our brand to our members and the public. This brand refresh will reaffirm our promise to our members and key audiences while modernizing our look and feel across all platforms.
As we approach a new Congress and Administration, the AAFP will advocate vigorously for family medicine, regardless of the composition of Congress and the occupant of the White House. Our focus will remain on advancing our priority policies, representing our members and the patients they care for, and improving our healthcare system for all Americans — just as we have done for over seven decades. Our advocacy will prioritize increasing investment in primary care, reducing administrative burdens, restoring autonomy to our members and building a family medicine workforce to meet the needs of current and future generations.
As we approach Election Day, with many states already engaged in early voting and others soon to follow, it’s common to hear that “this election is the most important election of our lifetime.” While I respect the sentiment, I believe that every election holds significance, providing us with the vital responsibility to choose those who will represent us.
Former Federal Judge William H. Hastie eloquently stated, “Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.” Let me repeat his words: Democracy is a process, not a static condition – I encourage each of you to actively engage in our process of democracy and make a plan to vote on or before November 5.
Now, I want to shift the focus from November 5th to November 6th.
You see, on Wednesday, November 6, millions of people, just as they have done many days before, will be waiting to see you, their family physician. While the world around them may be uncertain, the future of the country likely undetermined, there is a truth that will be the same on this day as it was on previous days. People in communities across the country will be counting on you, their family physician. And, just like so many previous days, family physicians across the nation will step forward to serve their patients and their communities because the relationships between physician and patient transcends current events and it most certainly transcends politics.
This is the awesomeness of family medicine and what makes you different from other physicians. Your value is not solely derived from the diagnosis you make or the treatments you prescribe – your true value comes from the trust patients place in you. We understand that for millions of people, it is you, the family physician, who holds the hand of your patients on the best and worst days of their life.
I believe our strength as an organization is rooted in a set of shared values. These values emphasize service to others, a belief that everyone and every community deserves access to affordable and equitable health care, and an understanding about the unique role family physicians play in helping individuals of all ages achieve their health care goals and live healthy lives.
I believe these values transcend geography and political ideology; they are more profound and meaningful. They are what inspired you to pursue a career in medicine, guided you toward family medicine, and drive you each day. I would say they are foundational to who you are as people.
I am fortunate to interact with family physicians from across the country, hearing their stories, frustrations, and hopes for how the AAFP can support them. A common thread weaves through these conversations: your patients. You speak glowingly about the people you have helped, the multi-generation families you care for, the rewards of helping others achieve their health care goals, and the sadness you feel for those facing challenges. This is the essence of service, compassion, and commitment to well-being—values that resonate whether you practice in Manhattan, Los Angeles, Dallas, or communities like Jackson, Alabama; Oskaloosa, Iowa; Whitehouse, Texas; or Enid, Oklahoma.
In a complicated and often divisive world, it is crucial that we do not allow our discipline or the AAFP to succumb to the societal trend of ideological separation. The AAFP is committed to improving and serving all family physicians, regardless of background, training, or practice location. If you have answered the call to serve individuals and communities through family medicine, you are welcome here; the AAFP is your professional home. I promise you that this organization will support you in your family medicine journey and we will fight for you and your patients every single day.
For decades, the AAFP has navigated difficult and complicated issues by embracing our shared values. We center patients, ground ourselves in science and evidence, and listen respectfully to differing viewpoints. We strive for consensus and common cause.
While disagreements will always exist, we must ensure there is a forum for issues to be raised, debated, and resolved. We cannot allow differing views to fracture our family medicine community. When difficult choices arise, we rely on this body—representing members from every state and territory—to make those decisions on behalf of our profession. While our process should be deliberate, our generation must not shy away from hard discussions and difficult decisions. While some physician organizations may retreat from these moments, family medicine must lead. It is our responsibility to advance policies and solutions that center patients, reduce disparities, build a better health care system and appropriately finance and support the work that you and our members do each day in their communities.
It will not surprise you that there are those who wish the AAFP was not as strong as we are—those who would prefer we didn’t represent over 80% of all family physicians or have a unified message. Their work would be easier if the AAFP and our brand didn't carry so much influence in the halls of Congress and state capitols. Their influence would be greater if patients didn't trust you. Yet our strength and ability to create a more accessible, affordable, and equitable health system depend on our commitment to shared values and a strong membership. What unites us is far greater than what divides us, and we must not allow our purpose to be shaken by the divisive trends of the day. Too many people are counting on us.
I’ll leave you with a quote from James Baldwin: “The world is before you, and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.”
Generations of family physicians have answered the call to not leave our health care system the way they found it, they sought to make it better. It is now up to us. Will we leave our health care system as it is or will this generation of family medicine be the driving force of change. Will our generation meet our moment? I can promise you this, I’m all in.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve this organization and the incredible family physicians across the country.