At TFM, we acknowledge that being a full-spectrum family doctor means not only being an excellent clinician, but also a community leader and an advocate for the type of social change that will improve the lives of all our patients – especially for those historically marginalized. Opportunities come at every level, from advocating for a specific patient to serving on a local, state, national or international committee – and TFM is committed to the importance of making time for this.
Examples of resident advocacy and service from our current residents include:
- attendance at marches and protests against gun violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement
- mentoring underrepresented minorities interested in healthcare at local colleges
- volunteering at our local free clinic (Neighborhood Clinic)
- participating in our social determinants of health committee
- working with faculty to develop an anti-racism curriculum
- serving on MultiCare Health System committees, such as the graduate medical education committee or the perinatal clinical improvement committee
- being a resident representative or resident trustee for the WAFP
- attending Family Medicine Advocacy Day in Olympia and speaking with state legislators about issues affecting our patients
- serving as a resident representative to a national AAFP committee
- being a part of the executive committee for Polaris, the young doctors branch of global family medicine
Our faculty also “walk the walk” and model in real-time how to combine a busy career with advocacy and service. In addition to participating alongside us in many of the activities listed above, they also find time to:
- serve on the local public-school board – Dr. Enrique Leon
- chair a WAFP committee – Dr. Natalie Nunes
- Executive Committee FRMN – Dr. Natalie Nunes
- be the medical director for Neighborhood clinic – Dr. John VanBuskirk
- sit on the board of directors of a local family service organization – Dr. Yvette Gross
- member of ACGME Osteopathic Recognition Committee – Dr. Yvette Gross
- serve as the team doc for a local high school – Dr. Enrique Leon
- lobby for safer gun laws in Olympia – Dr. Enrique Leon
- past Chief of Staff Elect at Tacoma General and Allenmore hospitals – Dr. Rebecca Benko
- advocate for statewide legal changes that will improve the lives of patients with disabilities and develop an innovative wrap-around clinic for children with disabilities transitioning to adulthood – Dr. Alan Gill
- sit on the MultiCare Ethics Committee – Drs. Natalie Nunes & John VanBuskirk
We look forward to seeing how you will work to improve our community and the communities you serve in the future.