Scholarly Symposium | VAFP

Virginia Academy of Family Physicians
2025 Scholarly Symposium

Saturday, November 7, 2026
Virtual via Zoom
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

CALL FOR SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY

The Virginia Academy of Family Physicians is seeking submissions for the VAFP Scholarly Symposium to be held on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. virtual via Zoom.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Submissions from medical students, residents, and fellows are eligible.

Submit Application

GUIDELINES

Scholarly activity may be presented in poster format or as an oral presentation.

Type of scholarly activity may be clinical or population health research, medical education research, literature review, case reports, QI/PI projects, clinical successes, patient stories, or educational projects.
Topic should be relevant to family medicine/primary care.
Submissions must be of original work not yet published or presented at regional or national meetings (except institutional symposiums).
Submission may be a work in progress or completed.
Collaborative work is welcome.
Concurrent (2026) submissions to other conferences such as the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) are encouraged.
Medical student projects previously presented at medical schools are accepted/encouraged.

Meeting Format

All participants will pre-record their presentations – oral presentations limited to 5 minutes and poster presentations limited to 2-3 minutes. The preliminary schedule of events will be based on the number of submissions received/selected.

Submissions from each category by registrant type (medical students, residents, and fellows) will be included. The pre-recorded presentations (oral – 5 minutes and poster – 2-3 minutes) will be followed by a question-and-answer session facilitated by the moderator.

How to Submit Your Project

If you have multiple submissions, one application form should be completed for each submission.

Submission Deadlines:
Submit application including abstract (250 words or less) no later than October 12, 2026.

Submit your prerecorded presentation (voice over PowerPoint file(s) with or without speaker view) no later than October 19, 2026.

Feedback on Submitted Research

All projects will be reviewed and provided written feedback by a minimum of two judges. Review will focus on the following:

Quality of research/QI methodology and appropriate use
Validity of conclusions or anticipated results
Clarity and cohesive message during presentation
Relevance of and/or impact on family medicine
Innovation of research or quality improvement
Organization/understandability of poster/presentation

For presentations and posters in which the above criteria do not apply, reviewers will seek to evaluate the extent to which the submitted presentation is of interest to family physicians.

Questions: Please call Sydney Call at 804-968-5200 or e-mail scall@vafp.org.

2025 Winners

2025 First Place – Student – Brooke Bishop

Impacts of Medicaid Cuts on Primary Care – Lead Author: Brooke Bishop, MS2, Additional Authors: Dr. Rebecca S. Etz, Sarah Reves (NP), Martha Gonzalez, Connor Duffy, & Susan Nguyen (MS2) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (Type of Project: Poster on Completed Scholarly Activity)

Video Link

2025 First Place – Student – Karishma Setia

Digital Circulation: A Content Analysis of Peripheral Arterial Disease Information on TikTok – Lead Author: Karishma Setia, MS4, Additional Authors: Taneesha Sardana BS & Michael F. Amendola MD MEHP FSVS FACS – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (Type of Project: Poster on Completed Scholarly Activity)

Video Link

2025 First Place – Resident – Tala Khalefa, MD

Lessons Learned from a Family Medicine Resident–Led Rapid Response Team: A System-Based Reflection – Lead Author: Tala Khalefa, MD, PGY-2, Additional Author: Alexa Caffio-Learner, MD, PGY-3 – Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University (Type of Project: Poster on Completed Scholarly Activity)