2024 John Tooker Evergreen Awards
The John Tooker Evergreen Awards Program provides recognition and visibility to chapters that have successfully implemented programs to increase membership, improve communication, encourage member involvement, enhance diversity, foster careers in internal medicine or improve chapter management. Our Chapter received the 2024 John Tooker Evergreen Award for the initiative, Increasing Membership and Pride of Being an Internal Medicine Specialist in Central and Latin America Â
Increasing Membership and Pride of Being an Internal Medicine Specialist in Central and Latin America Â
The Central America Chapter strived to increase membership and pride in being an internal medicine specialist through a local Doctor’s Dilemma competition in their own Chapter and across other Latin countries. Doctor’s Dilemma is not new to the Chapter but traditionally, just three teams compete locally with participants from Panama, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. With this project and ECP leadership, we were able to include six teams from different Panamanian medical schools, develop a new team from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, and hold the final round of Doctor’s Dilemma at the Panamanian Society of Internal Medicine (SPMI). Champions of the Chapter promoted Doctor’s Dilemma at the Panamanian Society of Intensive Care, who later developed enacted the concept, and to the Mexico and Chile Chapters. The Chapter plans to increase local participation from other Latin countries to increase the visibility of 91ºÚÁÏÍø and their chapter.
Previous Evergreen Awards:Â
- 2023 - Medical Education and Community Blossoming
- 2021 - Campaign Against COVID19 Pandemic
- 2021 - Healthy Community Program
2023 Chapter Excellence Award – Gold Winner
We are pleased to announce that our chapter is in receipt of the Gold Level of the 2023 Chapter Excellence Award! The award recognizes truly extraordinary chapters that surpass excellence in chapter management. We are in the company of 54 other outstanding chapters. In order to achieve the Gold Level of the Chapter Excellence Award, chapters must meet nineteen Bronze criteria, seventeen Silver criteria and multiple Gold level activities. Criteria include such activities as having a legislative action plan or agenda, holding a volunteerism/community service activity, holding multiple stand-alone meetings, having revenue sources outside of dues and meeting registration fees, implementing a strategic plan, implementing a formal recruitment and retention plan and measuring outcomes, conducting various activities for Medical Students, Residents and Early Career Physicians.
We would like to extend a special thanks to those chapter members who assisted us in all of these endeavors! For their hard work and dedication, we received this award.
Central America Chapter Receives the "Members' Choice" Mary Bieter Evergreen All Stars Award
The Mary Bieter Evergreen All-Star Awards recognized exceptional and sustained chapter-initiated programs that supported and adapted to the Internal Medicine landscape in the United States and around the world.  91ºÚÁÏÍø Members were asked to review and select All-Star nominations they believed were worth of recognition. The Central America Chapter received the Mary Bieter Evergreen All-Star Award for their initiative, Medical Education and Community Service for Promoting a More Holistic Internal Medicine Specialist.Â
Medical Education and Community Service for Promoting a More Holistic Internal Medicine Specialist
With the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult for medical students and residents to continue their education and interact with the community. Using IT, Zoom, social media, innovation, and the principles and tools of 91ºÚÁÏÍø, medical students formed a council across five medical schools to initiate educational webinars and community service activities promoting healthy communities for students and their community. Having mobility restriction due to COVID-19, they interacted with NGOs that worked in the community to help them meet and exceed the council's goals. The program was able to continue in 2021 despite the continuation of COVID-19 waves; yet students continued volunteerism activities. They worked in residential home for the elderly and public maternity hospitals in addition to the regularly held educational activities. In 2022, they reorganized while COVID-19 trends remained low and were able to transfer this idea to form a Council of Residents in Guatemala that was very successful, increasing resident membership to more than 80%. They have initiated conversations with representatives of El Salvador to form a new council there and continue the principles of the 91ºÚÁÏÍø.