AAFP Expands CME Offerings on Health Equity

Street Medicine Outreach is a single, enduring activity for family physicians who would like to start or maintain a street medicine program in their community. It features 16 sessions, addressing clinical topics such as wound management, preventive care and skin conditions; behavioral health issues such as psychiatry and physical and psychological safety in street medicine; guidance on overcoming barriers such as structural racism; and resources such as the HOUSED BEDS intake tool that clinicians can use when taking a history of an unsheltered person.

Participants who complete the activity will be able to

• adapt up-to-date clinical knowledge on common skin disorders and wound care, screening and testing processes, trauma-informed care, de-escalation strategies and other commonly used clinical procedures for unhoused patient populations;
• apply principles and best practices of harm reduction to practice;
• acquire tools for combating stigma around safely providing care to unhoused populations;
• discuss possible pathways to starting and sustaining a street medicine program in their community and practice;
• discuss strategies for using their street medicine practice to support professional well-being and career satisfaction; and
• examine the history and philosophy of street medicine and its impact on health in urban populations, unhoused populations, health equity and social justice.

Individuals who complete the series are eligible to claim up to 14 enduring materials, self-study AAFP Prescribed credits, and the AAFP has designated the activity for a maximum of 14 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.^.

Rural Health is an updated and expanded version of the Academy’s existing CME program on the topic. The program’s sessions provide a glimpse of several clinical issues family physicians are likely to encounter in rural settings, and cover topics that affect patients across various life stages, including detecting heart murmurs in children, managing eczema, diagnosis and treatment options for varicose veins, and advance care planning.

After completing the activity, participants should be able to

• develop strategies to implement the latest evidence-based guidelines in a range of topics pertinent to rural family medicine practice,
• recognize opportunities to self-manage more patient needs without referral through increased knowledge; and
• identify networking opportunities with other rural family physicians and health care professionals to forge links for ongoing practice improvement and support.

Individuals who complete the sessions are eligible to claim up to 22 enduring materials, self-study AAFP Prescribed credits, and the activity has also been designated for a maximum of 22 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. 

Optional Exercises Offer More Credit Opportunities

To complement the Prescribed credits, both the LGBTQ+Health and Rural Health activities contain Translation to Practice® exercises that offer the ability to apply learnings and document translation to practice.

Learners can earn an additional two Prescribed credits for participation in each t2p® exercise.

Health Equity and Family Medicine: More Resources

Addressing health equity has become increasingly important to the AAFP and its members. In 2018 the Academy, in collaboration with the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, launched a Health Equity Fellowship to develop FPs into leaders and subject matter experts on the social, cultural and institutional factors that affect patient health. Two years later the Academy adopted a policy that clearly defined health equity and stated, among other things, that the organization “is dedicated to improving the health of patients, families, and communities, and is a bold champion of health.”

The AAFP has created several additional CME activities that emphasize the importance of health equity, as well as article collections from American Family Physician and FPM.

Other resources include the Center for Diversity and Health Equity (and its most well-known initiative, The EveryONE Project) a recently formed Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness in Family Medicine, an updated LGBTQ Health Toolkit and ongoing advocacy work.

Members can also bookmark the Academy’s My CME webpage, where they can search an all-inclusive list of certified activities, report CME, learn about the AAFP credit system and more.