ECU medical students advocate for healthcare system change on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON – Two fourth-year ECU medical students attended the Family Medicine Congressional Conference held April 7- 8 in Washington, D.C.  More than 200 physicians attended the meeting.

Sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Council of Academic Family Medicine, the conference educates participants on family medicine’s legislative priority issues, trains attendees on how to educate lawmakers on Capitol Hill and allows participants to put these skills to use with federal legislators and their staff.  Advocacy is a high priority of AAFP and the CAFM organizations.

As part of the meeting, ECU medical students Katy Kirk and Josh Carpenter and others attending from North Carolina had opportunities to meet with 12 of the state’s 15 congressional delegation members, including Senator Richard Burr, to urge passage of legislation that will maintain access to care for elderly and disabled Americans.  Such legislation would also address the primary care physician shortage by supporting primary care medical education as well as medical school scholarship and loan repayment programs.

Both Kirk and Carpenter will be entering family medicine residency training later this year.  Kirk will be joining the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center Family Medicine Residency program in Phoenix, AZ, and Carpenter will begin his residency with the Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency in Concord, NC.