Joining Aquifer just a few short months ago, I was excited to attend STFM 2026 in Charlotte as my first conference, and it did not disappoint. The STFM Conference on Medical Student Education was an incredibly welcoming introduction to the family medicine education community.
From the outset, what stood out was not just the quality of the sessions, but the openness of the people. Conversations felt generous and grounded. Educators were candid about challenges, thoughtful about what’s working, and deeply invested in supporting one another and their learners. There was a strong sense that this is a community that shows up—not just to share best practices, but to listen, reflect, and learn together.
That spirit was powerfully articulated during the opening session, when STFM President Steven Lin, MD spoke about “being enough” and “doing enough,” reminding attendees that the STFM family always shows up for one another. The message resonated deeply, setting a tone of affirmation and belonging that carried throughout the conference.
As the week unfolded, three themes surfaced repeatedly; themes that feel especially relevant for family medicine educators navigating today’s realities.
Health care access and social determinants of health (SDOH) were central to many sessions and discussions. Educators shared experiences teaching care for rural communities, incarcerated individuals, refugees, unhoused populations, and non-English speakers, while also acknowledging persistent gaps in screening and intervention.
What stood out was not a lack of commitment, but the challenge of consistency, especially when clinical exposure varies widely across sites.
Research reflects the reality that multi-year, intentional interactive and integrated approaches, including case-based and experiential learning, often lead to higher self-reported knowledge of SDOH and preparedness.1
For many programs, this has meant rethinking how and when students engage with complex topics like SDOH. Interactive approaches, such as flipped classrooms that shift foundational content outside of class and use in-person time for discussion and application, allow learners to engage more deeply with social context. Approaches like those outlined in Aquifer’s guide to flipping your classroom with Aquifer can help educators support this model while reinforcing consistent learning goals across variable clinical settings.
Together, these findings reinforce what many educators at STFM emphasized: health care access education works best when it is intentional, embedded, and reinforced over time. Thoughtfully designed resources like Aquifer’s Social Determinants of Health Cases can help ensure all learners engage with core concepts and practice applying them—even when real-world exposure is uneven.
Concerns about learner readiness and inconsistent feedback surfaced frequently across sessions and hallway conversations. Educators shared that students often receive different guidance depending on preceptor or site, leaving many uncertain about where they stand or what to work on next.
Educational research shows that without structured opportunities to reflect and compare reasoning against shared standards, learners struggle to accurately judge their own performance. When confidence and competence drift out of alignment, gaps can go unnoticed until much later.
Approaches that support reflective self-assessment and shared benchmarks can help address this challenge. With Aquifer’s formative assessment, Calibrate, students can make the most of their clinical experiences by identifying areas of strength and weakness and exposing blind spots where confidence and accuracy are misaligned. For faculty and administrators, Calibrate provides a structured way to support accreditation standards for feedback and self-directed learning, while offering insights that inform coaching conversations; identify learners in need of remediation; and surface curricular gaps.
What educators at STFM were asking for was not more assessment, but earlier, clearer insight that supports meaningful action.
Artificial intelligence was a consistent topic at STFM 2026, spanning content creation, feedback synthesis, and faculty efficiency. Yet the tone remained thoughtful and measured.
Educators expressed curiosity alongside concerns about over-reliance, hallucinated references, erosion of critical thinking, and the absence of clear institutional policies. Many acknowledged that students are already using AI to support their learning, often without shared guidance.
The emerging consensus, reflected both at STFM and in the literature, is that AI adds value when its use is transparent, purpose-driven, and educator-led. Thoughtfully applied tools that aid reflection, clarify feedback, and reduce friction in day-to-day work can strengthen learning while preserving educator judgment and trust.
This aligns with Aquifer’s educator-led approach to AI, where tools are developed in close partnership with our Consortium, grounded in clear educational intent, and designed to enhance, not replace, human teaching and mentorship.
As I reflect on my first STFM with Aquifer, what stays with me most is the sense of belonging. The willingness to share challenges alongside successes, and the collective commitment to learners, created a uniquely supportive environment.
Steven Lin’s message about being enough and doing enough framed the conference not around perfection, but around progress, and around showing up for learners, colleagues, and ourselves.
At Aquifer, we’re grateful to be part of this community. We see our role not as offering one-size-fits-all solutions, but as partnering with educators to build intentional learning experiences—experiences that support access to health care, strengthen feedback, and thoughtfully integrate technology in service of human connection.
STFM 2026 reinforced something powerful: the future of family medicine education is not about doing more, it’s about doing what matters, together.