A Message for Students from the President

Dear Student:

On behalf of the officers, staff and members of the Michigan Academy of
Family Physicians (MAFP), I would like to extend a warm welcome to you as
you begin your medical education.

The MAFP continues to have many opportunities for student involvement in
our organization and is the medical specialty society for family practice
in Michigan. The MAFP is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of
Family Physicians, headquartered in Leawood, Kansas and represents over
90,000 family physicians and medical students nationwide.

As the president of the MAFP, I hope over the next couple of years that you
will take a serious look at a specialty that cares for patients in the
context of the family and the community. As a specialty, where else can
you deliver a baby, care for a dying patient, practice preventive care, and
counsel a depressed patient all in the same day? In family practice all of
this is possible!

To learn more about the specialty of family practice, I hope you will take
advantage of attending the Family Medicine Interest Group meetings at your
school. Check with staff of the Department of Family Practice for
information on upcoming meetings.

Finally, I hope if you have not signed up for membership in the Academy,
that you'll consider doing so. As a student member, you will automatically
hold membership at the state and national level. The one-time AAFP student
membership dues of $15 are paid by the constituent chapter where your
school is located. Student membership will keep you in touch with what is
going on in family practice in Michigan and nationally. Student members
also receive the monthly scientific journal published by the AAFP, American
Family Physician.

Student members may also serve on MAFP committees. Students in the MAFP also have voting delegates to the MAFP's Congress of Delegates and the Board of Directors.

I hope you will take a couple of minutes to complete the student membership
application at AAFP Headquarters and forward the form as noted. All enrollments are done at the national level and are generally completed in about four weeks. If you are interested in serving on an MAFP committee, please phone the MAFP headquarters office at 800-833-5151/517-347-0098 and complete information will be provided to you.

I look forward to learning that you have signed up for student membership.
If you have any questions about family practice, please E-mail me at
president@mafp.com.

Sincerely,

Robert E. Reneker, Jr., M.D., President
Michigan Academy of Family Physicians