Darcie Moeller, of Hamden, a fourth-year medical student at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Contributed photo.
Darcie Moeller, of Hamden, a fourth-year medical student at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, is one of just 30 scholarship winners nationwide selected to participate in the Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute. As a scholarship winner, she will participate in a year-long leadership development program.
The Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute is a program of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. It is funded by family physician donors and aims to identify and train family medicine residents and medical students who have leadership potential, but may not yet have served in a major leadership role.
In the increasingly fragmented world of health care, a family physician’s leadership skills are more important than ever. Communities look to family physicians for guidance on everything from proper nutrition to management of chronic health conditions to providing humanitarian aid to those in need.
“Change requires strong leadership. Future physicians like Darcie Moeller are the up-and-coming leaders with the power to transform health care in America – I’m confident we will learn as much from her as she will learn from us,” said AAFP Foundation President Dr. Hughes Melton. “This unique leadership opportunity will help her build the skills and experience that will accelerate her ability to impact her patients, communities and the health care environment overall.”
Moeller received a $1,000 scholarship for travel expenses to attend both the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students (National Conference) and the AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leadership Institute. During the year, the scholarship winners will work with a mentor to complete a project related to one of three tracks: policy & public health leadership, personal & practice leadership, and philanthropic & mission-driven leadership. Moeller will work on a project in the philanthropic & mission-driven leadership track.
“I am really excited about this opportunity to develop my leadership skills and to learn more about nonprofit organizations,” Moeller said. “I have a personal interest in innovative patient education methods and materials, and would like to outline an action plan for a project that will benefit patients with low health literacy.”
At the end of the program, the projects will be evaluated and an additional $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the top two medical students and the top two family medicine residents in each of the three tracks to attend the 2018 National Conference to present their winning projects. Finally, one Best Project Award will be named for each of the three tracks, and the winners receive an additional $3,000 scholarship to participate in a designated major event related to the track.