Recruiting Officers

You've just been elected chair of your FMIG and need officers to share the load. Or, maybe your time as an officer is almost up and elections are only weeks away. How do you find officers? Do you scream announcements to all the student population? Thrash the bushes? Tell people they have to participate OR ELSE? These are all possible but implausible options. Instead, SELL the position. There are many advantages to being involved in this organization, some of which include:

• Personal opportunity to explore the family medicine specialty
• Meeting family medicine doctors
• Forming a relationship with the dean/department of family medicine
• Free dinners and fun activities
• Building a resume/curriculum vitae
• Becoming involved in a national family medicine professional organization

Take a look at your friends and acquaintances. Think about whom you would like to work with. Talk to them about the great things FMIGs have done in the past. Are they a member? Have they thought about being an officer? Do they know much about family medicine? Would they like to learn?

The best strategy for continuing a strong FMIG is to have outgoing officers recruit volunteers to run for their positions in the upcoming year. Another way to guarantee candidates is to publicize the election several weeks in advance to give the membership a chance to consider running for office, do some research about what is involved, and make sure everyone interested can make the election meeting. CREATE NEW POSITIONS FOR THE RUNNER-UP. Never turn down enthusiastic and free labor.

Remember, finding new officers doesn't end with elections. That's just the start. Use the rest of the year to find volunteers to coordinate special events. Interested third- and fourth-year students can plan events for Part II of the Boards, residency dinners, interviewing workshops, etc. (for more programming ideas, see section entitled Programming Ideas). Upperclassmen, due to their busy clerkship schedules, may only want to be in charge of one event. Try to accommodate all interested students' schedules and needs—it's the best way to capitalize on good leadership and expand your programming.

There are no restrictions on the amount of leadership positions or titles. People may want to share responsibilities and be co-officers, residency program liaison and/or Tar Wars coordinator. However, each FMIG chapter needs one leader and financial person. A strong leader provides the coordination for a full year of FMIG programming. Treasurers are also essential to help plan an overall budget for the year's activities and make sure every committee sticks to it! These two positions are essential.

Team Work

Working with other officers can prove challenging. One person may feel the need to take charge and to do everything. Someone else may say nothing. Officers may not come to meetings. Here are some ways to combat these problems:

• Discuss with the officers convenient meeting times and locations. Consider regularly scheduled meetings for the year so that officers can plan around them. Be flexible with your options. These may include:
• Biweekly bag lunch working meetings
• Monthly potluck dinners and planning sessions
• Meetings with the officers 10 minutes before any FMIG event
• Telephone conferences
• Frequent E-mail
• Expect some no-shows. This does not necessarily reflect a lack of interest. Instead, make sure you contact the person to see how everything is going with their event and update them on decisions and announcements made at the meeting. Mention work that still needs to be done and see if the person will volunteer. Stay enthusiastic. Give compliments. Give encouragement. Give lots of feedback. If a volunteer position becomes a drudgery job, productivity decreases—keep it fun!
• For the person who doesn't speak up at meetings, talk with them prior to or after the meetings. The shy, quiet person may be willing to take on more work, voice an opinion, or offer good suggestions, if approached one-on-one.
• Keep people as informed as possible. Offer to help whenever you can. People are easily affronted when they don't know what is going on or feel like you aren't interested enough to ask them about their project.

Delegating

Delegating is often easier said than done. It includes:

• Suggesting ideas in such a way that other people take ownership of the idea and take action as if they had thought of the idea.
• Accepting other people's methods of planning. For example, you may be the type of person who plans way in advance and has everything written down. Someone else may make very loose plans. If they have ultimate responsibility for the project, don't interfere because they aren't doing it your way. Keep tabs on their progress and give quiet suggestions. If it fails, you haven't lost any time or energy. Make sure each project ends with an evaluation so that everyone can learn from the experience.
• Give credit where credit is due. If someone else planned an event, publicly praise him or her. Write thank you notes. Acknowledge a job well done. People come back for more praise. No one wants to be criticized.
• If you're overextended or stressed, productivity decreases. Ask for help. It's okay. Don't forget to sell the importance of the task and how beneficial it is to the FMIG.
• Plan in advance. The more time people have to accomplish a goal, the easier it is to delegate.

Holding an Effective Meeting

• Choose an appropriate time. A week before the USMLE is not a good time for second-year students. It is a great time to meet with first- or third-year students.
• Publicize meetings well in advance. Find places to advertise where people at your school will get the message:
• Mail boxes
• Bulletin boards
• Phone calls a day or two before the event
• E-mail distribution lists
• Class announcements
• Stay on time. If you publicize a meeting from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., do not go until 10:00 p.m. You will lose your members' attention and likely reduce the number of members attending your next meeting.
• Stay on task. Make an agenda and stick to it. Plan ahead and be organized. Don't lose focus of the meeting; again, this is the best way to lose members' attention and attendance. You will have a hard time sticking to your time commitment if the meeting is disorganized.

Personal Time Management Tips

• Get a calendar and use it.
• Schedule the dates of the major FMIG events and commitments at the beginning of the year.
• Make lists of what you need to do to accomplish a task.
• Make nightly lists of what needs to be done the next day. Cross out each completed item. Carry over the unfinished items to the next day. This not only organizes your thoughts for the day, but also reduces panic if you can schedule some of your tasks for another day.
• Delegate as much as possible.
• Overestimate the amount of time needed to accomplish each item on your list.
• Don't forget exercise and social/fun activities in your schedule!