FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Contact:
Leslie Champlin
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237, Ext. 5224
lchampli@aafp.org

Georgetown University School of Medicine Student
Named Regional Coordinator of AAFP Family Medicine Interest Group

LEAWOOD, Kan. — Joe Brodine, a fourth-year medical student at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, has been named a regional coordinator for the American Academy of Family Physicians National Family Medicine Interest Group Network. As coordinator, Brodine will serve as a consultant and resource for the FMIGs on medical school campuses in the six states — Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C., and Uniformed Services students — that comprise Region 3 of the network.

The AAFP established the National FMIG Network to strengthen the on-campus organizations that focus on promoting family medicine as a career. Composed of campus faculty and student FMIG leaders, appointed regional coordinators, and an elected national coordinator, the network fosters communication among FMIGs across the country.

“Family Medicine Interest Groups are an important part of our efforts to increase the number of students who choose family medicine as their specialty,” said John Meigs, Jr., MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. “They introduce students to the scope of family medicine, the expertise of family physicians and the professional satisfaction of providing comprehensive care to an entire family over their lifetimes. As a regional coordinator, Joe is vital to helping fellow medical students not only learn more about family medicine, but also about the opportunities out there for both service and leadership in their communities and their profession.”
As an FMIG regional coordinator, Brodine provides a role model for fellow students at a time when demand for family physicians is growing.

Medicine is a second career for Brodine. He previously had worked as a registered nurse, and decided to become a physician after earning his graduate degree in public health. He quickly recognized family medicine as the specialty that would enable him to become an effective clinician while pursuing his passion for population health.
Brodine also has been active in the AAFP. “I feel privileged to have worked with fellow student leaders as well as resident and attending physician leaders while serving on the AAFP Commission for Governmental Advocacy in 2015,” he said.
When asked why he chose family medicine, Brodine said, “Family medicine physicians are not only outstanding healers to their patients, but they’re also a force in the U.S. health care system who advocate for their patients beyond the four walls of the exam room. Family physicians can serve their patients in so many ways. Whether they are the sole doctor for a small rural town, the leader of a patient-centered medical home in an underserved urban neighborhood, a change agent in a health care system, or an activist speaking to Congress, a family physician enjoys the broadest scope of service in all of medicine. Our individual patients and our many communities collectively need a strong voice to champion their health needs and few are better positioned to provide the credible and expert leadership than those in family medicine.”

About the American Academy of Family Physicians

About the American Academy of Family Physicians Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 124,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

 

Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

 

To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP’s positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.