Joie Woodlee elected OAFP alternate
Congratulations to Joie Woodlee, rising second-year medicine student, who was elected an alternate student trustee for the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians in June 2023. She recently shared her thoughts on the new role with The Pulse.
What is the role of the student alternate?
As student trustees and alternate trustees, we are encouraged to attend all board meetings, whether on Zoom or in Columbus at the OAFP office, and add input to all meeting discussions. The goal is to provide a student perspective on various issues and represent the interests of medical students across Ohio. We have the privilege of being elected state-wide student leaders and want our peers to consider all that a career in family medicine has to offer!
The two student trustees have voting privileges but all four of us, including a second alternate, can work together to come up with a response [to issues]. If trustees are not at a meeting, the alternates vote.
The first OAFP meeting of the year is coming up on August 26, 2023. I am excited to head to Columbus in November for the first in-person meeting!
What prompted you to apply for the role?
Coming into my first year of medical school, I wasn’t sure what I was interested in. I knew that I loved patient interaction and was interested in building lifelong relationships through continuity of care.
The first doctor who was able to illustrate how wonderful a career in family medicine could be was my PDAT advisor, Deborah Plate Vargo, D.O. She is an energetic, joyful person who loves her patients.
I was able to participate in the Leroy Rodgers program this summer. In this program, rising second-year students can experience family medicine alongside a preceptor. I had the blessing of working with Dr. Plate.
My favorite thing about family medicine is the ability to care for patients across generations. Family physicians get to see Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, and children of any age. They truly do care for those 0-100!
During my time with Dr. Plate, I was able to see evidence of how beautiful the lifelong relationships formed with patients can be. When I "grow up," I’d be honored to see many of the same patients for 30+ years as Dr. Plate does.
I was able to go on newborn baby rounds this summer, see patients in a nursing home and everything in between! The high level of variety and long-term relationships formed are what I find so unique and incredible about family medicine.
What do you hope to gain or achieve?
Serving on the OAFP Board of Trustees to represent Ohio’s medical students is an extremely meaningful opportunity. I want to lead other students into understanding the joy and excitement of the specialty of family medicine. I believe I can be an influence and advocate for students to consider a career in family medicine and represent their interests as medical students to the rest of the board.
What are your feelings about being elected?
I am both very excited and thankful to be elected to the board. I hope that this is just my first of many roles serving for the OAFP and that I can serve in various capacities throughout my career.
Congratulations, Joie!