Towards the end of my first DPC Summit, I commented to one of my med school faculty that the summit was the closest thing to church camp I had attended. Everyone was incredibly friendly, the energy was electrifying, and all the speakers wanted to do was share this amazing thing called DPC (Direct Primary Care) with each and every attendee. Compare that to my first state family physician meeting where I felt like I was attending a funeral. You could feel the burnout hanging in the air and there was little to no excitement about anything. The one exception was the small cadre of DPC docs who got together for a panel to talk about the practice model and brought DPC energy to the conference. 

Maybe it’s the type of person who becomes a physician entrepreneur, or maybe DPC allows for a more fulfilling life, but regardless of the reason, DPC docs tend to be incredibly friendly and helpful. Last weekend almost half of the Virginia DPC docs got together for a social, and I am grateful to call this excellent group friends and colleagues. These are individuals ranging from those who have helped and trained me and many other newer DPC docs to those who are excited to start their own journey soon. As more people become interested in pursuing DPC, make sure to reach out to those practicing near you. They will be a resource now and in the future and of course, they are likely to become your friends in the process. 

Speaking of getting to know DPC docs, it’s DPC conference season, and this year we are doing it live. Hint Summit starts this week and they have both a virtual and in-person option. The DPC Summit happens in one month and registration is live. There will also be special virtual programming by the DPC Alliance coming live from the DPC Summit. Attending one of the conferences in person is the best way to meet like-minded people and build a peer and mentor network. Outside of the conferences, look around! DPC is growing and there’s a good chance you will find a friendly DPC doc next door (except in South Dakota, but we’ll get there eventually).