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Committee Reports |
Membership Committee Report
The Membership Committee continues to survey former members who did not renew their STFM membership. The most commonly given answers to nonrenewal remain: leaving academic medicine, decreasing funds for membership, and disagreement with STFM policies and perceived direction. Most of STFM’s current retention is due to the intense loyalty among members, the energizing effects of networking, exposure to new and innovative ideas and programs, and the unceasing efforts of staff. This year, staff contacted by phone every nonrenewing member. STFM is indeed fortunate to have such phenomenal staff. New focuses for the Membership Committee this year and in the future are more-intense efforts to recruit osteopathic teachers of family medicine, military teachers of family medicine, and faculty of community residency programs. These groups of teachers of family medicine can offer STFM tremendous resources, and STFM has tremendous resources to offer them. STFM is establishing relationships with osteopathic national organizations such as ACOFP (American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians) to acknowledge the successes of DO medical schools in recruiting high percentages of students into family medicine, develop mechanisms to offer osteopathic CME credits for STFM conferences, and collaborate on educational ventures. Articles for the STFM Messenger and Annals of Family Medicine are being prepared by members of the Membership Committee to educate membership and solicit suggestions about these recruitment efforts. The Membership Committee continues to offer a new member/first-time attendee orientation at the STFM Annual Spring Conference. Feedback from attendees of this orientation continues to be very positive. Two new members joined the Membership Committee this year—Charles Henley, DO, MPH, from the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, and Karl Miller, MD, from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. They have already proven to be invaluable resources by their creative ideas, practical thinking, and strong work ethic. Members beginning their second 2-year term on the committee this year include: Kicki Searfus, MD, from the University of California-San Diego; Jeff Morzinski, PhD, MSW, from the Medical College of Wisconsin; Elizabeth Steiner, MD, from Portland, Ore; Sim Galazka, MD, from the University of Virginia; and Letitia Hazel, MD, from Raleigh, NC. These members have displayed outstanding dedication to STFM and its members. The Membership Committee could not function as well as it does without the unceasing efforts of Mary Ruhl, STFM membership coordinator. The committee thanks her for her diligence and perseverance on the members’ behalf. You too can be an active recruiter for STFM. If every current STFM member recruited one new member, this wonderful organization would double in size. Please tell your fellow faculty and staff about the opportunities (and fun) associated with STFM membership. Rick Ricer, MD, Chair Membership Committee Rick Ricer, MD, Chair Sim Galazka, MD Letitia Hazel, MD Charles Henley, DO, MPH Karl Miller, MD Jeffrey Morzinski, PhD, MSW Kirsten Searfus, MD Elizabeth Steiner, MD STFM Staff Liaison |
The Membership Committee has two main functions—membership retention
and satisfaction and new membership recruitment. The committee met formally
three times in the last year: May in Toronto at the Annual Spring Conference,
October in Chicago at the Behavioral Science Forum, and January in Albuquerque
at the Predoctoral Education Conference.