Member Newsletter

NAPCRG News is an electronic member newsletter published several times throughout year. 

September 2024 Newsletter

President's Message 

Nurturing All Primary Care Researchers Globally

Hello, NAPCRG!

This is my first message as president, and I’m writing to you from a flight from Toronto to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, still reflecting on the incredible NAPCRG experience. I can’t stop sharing my enthusiasm with my Dutch colleagues! I thoroughly enjoyed the 52nd Annual Meeting of NAPCRG, which featured exceptional keynote speeches, inspiring presentations, thoughtfully designed posters, and engaging workshops and forums. And, of course, we were treated to the breathtaking beauty of Quebec City.

It is a tremendous honor to serve as NAPCRG’s first international president. I was heartened to hear this milestone celebrated throughout the Annual Meeting. Having an international president represents a significant step for NAPCRG, but in many ways, it is a natural evolution. NAPCRG has been an international organization for years, with many members attending from around the world. The growing influence of the International Committee and the increasing representation of international members across various NAPCRG committees demonstrate how much we can learn from one another.

NAPCRG members are characterized by moving beyond outdated practices and embracing bold, innovative ideas. They have the courage to look beyond borders, imagine new possibilities, and push the boundaries of what they can achieve together. They do this with kindness and mutual support – qualities that are central to the NAPCRG community, but much needed  in today’s polarized world.

With this foundation, we can foster greater collaboration among primary care physicians and researchers on a global scale. And this is needed as the 2018 Declaration of Astana reminds us, primary care plays a vital role in achieving health equity, justice, inclusivity, and sustainability, which are critical for universal health coverage. Primary care is the cornerstone of effective health systems, addressing global health challenges through inclusive, equitable, and integrated approaches. By prioritizing continuous, people-centered care across the lifespan, primary care drives better health outcomes. However, we must focus more on strengthening the workforce, improving access and equity, and advancing disease prevention.

The Declaration of Astana provides a roadmap to align our research efforts with global health priorities, including:

  1. Building evidence for the effectiveness of primary care.
  2. Innovating care delivery through technology and interdisciplinary team-based models.
  3. Strengthening the primary care workforce and capacity-building efforts.
  4. Engaging and empowering communities.
  5. Conducting research on policy and financing to support sustainable systems.

Reflecting on the remarkable presentations, workshops, and forums at this year’s Annual Meeting, it’s clear that NAPCRG members are already contributing significantly to these priorities. By addressing evidence gaps, developing innovative solutions, and advocating for data-driven policies, we advance resilient primary care systems. We serve as catalysts for transforming primary care to meet the evolving needs of populations worldwide. This is what NAPCRG is. This is what NAPCRG does.

Who wouldn’t want to be part of such a vibrant and impactful research community?

Tim olde Hartman, MD, GP/FP, PhD
NAPCRG President

 

Meetings and Events

Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN)
June 17-18, Reston, Virginia

We hosted our annual PBRN Conference in a new location this year, Reston, Virginia! We had 197 attendees join us for two days packed with plenary sessions and educational programming, all with an emphasis on "PBRNS: Past, Present and Future" and highlighting PBRN research that exemplified Patient Engaged research. Don't miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the PBRN Conference in 2025, the Call for Papers is now open!

PaCE Tea-Times

Throughout 2024, PaCE hosted 4 tea-time chats with a variety of topics! If you missed out, don't worry! You can catch up here. Be on the lookout for future tea-times, more coming soon. 

52nd Annual Meeting
November 20-24, Québec City, Canada

At our highest attended NAPCRG Annual Meeting yet, we welcomed 1,235 researchers, physicians, students, residents, fellows, patients, and more to the beautiful Québec City! The meeting consisted of empowering plenary speakers, celebrations of our colleagues, and over 1,000 presentations. We can't wait to see everyone in Atlanta, Georgia next year!

Our Inaugural Webinar

Our training program launched in December with its first webinar! The topic was Pragmatic Trials and our Immediate Past President, Dr. Richelle Koopman, brought a lot of information for the group. We had an outstanding turnout for the webinar with 35 participants. The webinar was met with feedback of participants wanting to integrate Dr. Koopman's research into their own practices!

Other News

NAPCRG's Team Growth

In 2024, NAPCRG welcomed three new team members!

  • Ashlyn Steller-Ewing is our Program Coordinator who coordinates our Call for Papers process for our conferences and other aspects of the conferences.
  • Hannah Juarez is our Training Program Project Manager. She is integrating year round programming at NAPCRG. 
  • Shannon Robinson is our Research Coordinator. Her main role is implementing the National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research.

Leyla Haddad celebrated 5 years at NAPCRG and was promoted to Deputy Executive Director. What an exciting year for our growing team!

National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research: An Update

In September 2024, Shannon Robinson was hired as Research Coordinator to implement the National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research following a generous grant from the American Board of Family Medicine. This strategic plan outlines bold goals to strengthen infrastructure, expand mentorship opportunities, and amplify funding and advocacy for family medicine research. Since September, Shannon has made progress in this area by leveraging NAPCRG, ADFM and STFM Committees and volunteers to advance key objectives from this plan around collaboration and advancement with the Clinical and Translational Science Awards, development of a curriculum for new Family Medicine chairs, identifying family medicine research programs to help connect learners to training and utilizing mentorship opportunities. Additionally, over 700 copies of a JABFM special issue focusing on the importance of family medicine research will be distributed to key partners in early 2025. Please contact Shannon (srobinson@napcrg.org) directly if you have questions or ideas that can advance family medicine research and help shape the future of primary care!

Survey School

NAPCRG launched the Survey School Fellowship this year! The goal of the Fellowship is to build capacity in research that uses survey methodology. The Survey School Fellowship provides a training opportunity that meets three times throughout the year for Fellows to learn about general survey research methodology and best practices in designing questionnaire items. By the end of the Fellowship, each Fellow will have created a research proposal that uses survey methodology, including a set of questionnaire items designed according to best practices. We are so excited to launch the program and are looking forward to what our Fellows will do!

Career and Training Opportunities

Career Opportunities

Check out open job positions here, and more information is available for institutions interested in advertising available positions to our members.

University of Missouri, School of Medicine
Department of Family & Community Medicine

Committed to the mission of the University of Missouri, our researchers seek to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact, enhancing the health and well-being of families and communities across the state and beyond.

Qualified candidates (MD, PhD) will be eligible for tenure-track positions and start-up funding to contribute to their success. Find out more here!

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