Choose Virginia 2025

VAFP Hosts Choose Virginia 2025

On Saturday May 17^th the VAFP hosted Choose Virginia 2025 at the Delta Downtown Richmond Hotel.  This event was first held back in 2009 in partnership with the Virginia Workforce Development Authority and the Virginia Department of Health and continues to be a premier event for VAFP Resident and Student members. 

Over 45 medical students from Virginia, surrounding states and Caribbean medical schools and over 40 faculty, staff and family medicine residents from twelve programs across the Commonwealth were in attendance.  The opportunity to interact among so many schools and programs offered an incredible opportunity to introduce and recruit students to family medicine programs in the Commonwealth.

The attendees were welcomed by VAFP President Tim Yu, MD and VAFP Resident, Student and Faculty Committee Co-Chairs Denee Moore, MD and Dan McCarter, MD. 

The welcome was followed by a residency fair that provided an opportunity for the medical students to learn more about what the family medicine programs in Virginia have to offer. The programs in attendance included:

• Bon Secours St. Francis Family Medicine Residency Program
• Carilion Clinic – Virginia Tech Carilion Family Medicine Residency Program
• Centra – Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency Program
• S. Hughes Melton Family Medicine Residency Program
• EVMS Family Medicine Residency Program
• HCA-LewisGale Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program
• INOVA Fairfax Family Medicine Residency
• Mary Washington Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program
• Riverside/VCU Family Medicine Residency Program
• Shenandoah Valley Family Medicine Residency Program
• University of Virginia Family Medicine Residency Program
• VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

Mid-morning and following lunch, students had the opportunity to participate in procedural sessions facilitated by the residency program faculty and residents. The following hands-on procedural workshops were offered.

• Diabetes Nuts and Bolts of Insulin Delivery
• IUD Placement and Endometrial Biopsies
• Point of Care Ultrasound
• Skin Procedures – Shave/Punch Biopsies
• Joint Injections

During the networking lunch, the family medicine residents in attendance responded to questions focused on their year in residency.  As an example, PGY1’s responded to, What experiences in medical school have helped you the most in your first year of residency?; PGY2’s responded to, Given the breadth of training in your first year of residency which is mostly in the hospital setting, how has the transition to a more outpatient-based learning experience been for you during your second year?; and PGY3’s responded to, What do you anticipate your first job to be out of residency, i.e. practice type, setting (rural, urban, etc.) and do you plan to take a special interest in anything (i.e. OB, SUD, etc.)  Their responses provided invaluable insight into what it’s like to be a family medicine resident!  As one resident stated, Can you pull a resident quote from survey?

In addition to the tremendous support of the residents and residency program faculty in attendance, a big thank you also goes out to the other supporters of the event. Capital Area Health Education Center, ChenMed, members of the VAFP who donated to the VAFP Foundation as well as a grant from the Family Medicine Chapter Alliance (FMCA) which is a collaborative program of the AAFP Foundation.

The VAFP looks forward to future Choose VA events and the continued support of our future family physicians!