It's hard to believe that this is the last day of the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies. My flight leaves in just a few hours, and I wanted to capture some thoughts before I headed to the airport. I have always said that coming back to meetings like NCSC/ALF continue to recharge me and re-emphasize my choice to becoming a Family Physician, and this week's meeting certainly does that. Thanks to the NCSC Leadership Team and to AAFP staff for putting together a great meeting! Here are some random thoughts...
- Social Media and Family Medicine presentation: Everyone knows how much fun I have talking about these subjects. I really feel bummed out that I had problems with my video camera and I was not able to record the session. I really appreciate those who tweeted out the presentation. My main points are that Family Physicians need to utilize social media to tell our story and to find community - like the #FMRevolution community.
- Social Media Coverage at Meeting: I tried an experiment and recorded some video interviews during the meeting. In the video above, you'll see one of the interviews. The second one is here and the third one is here. I see a lot of potential of doing these type of "person on the street" interviews.
- Twitter Coverage At The Meeting: Kirk Ackerson, who is the social media manager of the AAFP, has done a great job of aggregating the tweets using a tool called storify. Check out his 2012 ALF/NCSC coverage here. Also kudos to AAFP Board Member Reid Blackwelder for great coverage of election results. Check out his twitter feed here.
- Video recording of Business Sessions: I really appreciate that the AAFP is recording business sessions including Candidate Forum and Elections and the Joint Session Caucus. I hope that the Academy continues to record these type of sessions so that AAFP members can be aware of what's going on and feel engagement in the process.
- Candidates being asked questions from Twitter: This year, something very unique was the opportunity for those from twitter to ask candidates questions that are only 140 characters. What I really liked what that, usually, the best questions are just 140 questions so that they get to the point.
There is definitely a different feel and vibe to the NCSC meeting with the addition of social media. It's always exciting watching and talking with those people who are here for the first time. Everyone coming to this meeting have a great story that they bring. With opportunities like this meeting, it is a chance for our stories to come together, find common ground, and make recommendations to improve the health care of our patients! See everyone next year!