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| 23 Jul 2025 | |
| Elections |
It is with great pleasure to apply for the first-vice president board position with the IAFP. I believe that my prior leadership experiences as the current second-vice president and previously a general board member would be a great asset to the academy and I would strive to meet the academy’s core mission and values.
I am grateful to be practicing as a full-scope, delivering family physician at an FQHC with Erie Family Health Centers. Working with residents at each site allows me to continue to teach and be a mentor for the specialty. I have a deep passion for workforce development and love the opportunities I have to mentor current residents and shape them into full scope physicians. My experience as a family physician over the past 6 years in Illinois has also taught me more clearly that we as a specialty need to be leaders in health care transformation.
We have a severe shortage in primary care providers and family medicine physicians are the experts in primary care. We cannot sit back and be humble about our expertise. Our patients will get better care seeing trained family physicians who will be able to manage a majority of our patients' conditions without needing to refer to specialists – thereby reducing health care costs and the need for patients to wait even longer to get the care they need.
As an IAFP board member, I would use my passion to help advocate and promote the specialty of family medicine to all stakeholders. I am also excited for the opportunity to be on the task force to help shape our strategic plan for the coming years. Previously, I have worked on various projects to support the academy’s mission and vision. I was a speaker for the I-VAC Beyond the Needle podcast series along with helping co-present and develop our New Physicians Boot Camp that launched for the first time last fall. I also have had opportunities to advocate for a flavored tobacco ban in Evanston and to speak to the primary care workforce shortage our nation faces to a local Evanston reporter. This past spring, I attended the AAFP Annual Chapter Leaders Forum’s Board Development program. I found the program quite enriching and am looking forward to utilizing the skills learned as the first vice president.
Sincerely, Mustafa Alavi, MD
Alavi CV - First VP
