At its April meeting, the TAFP Board of Directors approved an allocation of $1 million from the Academy's reserves to establish a new fund to be administered by the TAFP Foundation that will be used to support medical students and residents. The Medical Student and Resident Engagement Fund will provide funding for travel expenses to TAFP and AAFP meetings, FMIG activities, and leadership development opportunities.
“It's very exciting for the Academy to make such an important contribution to the future of our specialty and the physicians who will care for Texans in the years to come,” says board chair Emily Briggs, MD, MPH. “The creation of this new fund shows our commitment to supporting and encouraging medical students and family medicine residents here in Texas.”
The TAFP Foundation supports educational and scientific initiatives to improve the health of all Texans. It funds medical student scholarships, office-based research, family medicine student interest group activities, and family medicine resident activities. By establishing this fund with the Foundation, the Academy is investing in one of its most important missions: building the family medicine workforce the state needs.
“As a Foundation scholarship recipient, I benefited from the generosity of many family physicians who came before me,” Briggs says. “And I’m still benefiting from the camaraderie of working with members of the Foundation and knowing I am contributing to the future of family medicine with my own gifts. As a monthly donor, I know others on the pathway will continue to benefit in future endeavors.”
To learn more about the TAFP Foundation, make a donation, and review the latest Foundation Annual Report, www.tafp.org/foundation.