75

Year Anniversary Of The North 75

Feb. 22, 1948: Organizational meeting held in Greensboro with 48 individuals present.

April 25, 1948: Charter granted for the 21st chapter for North Carolina. Dr. John R. Bender was the first President.

1950-51: State headquarters established in Winston-Salem in the offices of Dr. Bender.

1959-60: NC Academy employed its first executive secretary, Jack Knowles.

1960-61: Headquarters moved to Raleigh.

1964: Dr. Amos Johnson serves as President of the AAGP, the first President from North Carolina.

1969-70: Name changed to NC Academy of Family Physicians.

1974-75: Ms. Liz Cook became the first medical student member of the NCAFP Board.

1975-76: East Carolina Family Practice Residency Program approved.

1976-77: Dr. Thomas Creek named first NC Family Physician of the Year.

1982-83: The first computer was approved for the headquarters building.

1984: NC Family Physician of the Year, Dr. Jane Carswell, becomes the first female recipient of the National Family Physician of the Year Award.

1986-87: NCAFP budget reaches almost $400,000.

1987: Dr. James G. Jones serves as President of the AAFP.

1988: Dr. J. Seaborn Blair, Jr., named AAFP Family Physician of the Year.

1993-94: Dr. Sharon S. Sweede serves as the first female president of our Chapter.

history of the organization – from emphasizing continuing education to our form of policy development.

In 1969, Family Medicine was officially recognized as a specialty in a stronger response to the increasing specialization of US medicine with patients being segregated by age, systems, or disease. In his seminal talk in 1979 and a subsequent article, G, Gayle Stephens, MD, highlighted the social-reform ethos and countercultural nature of the specialty of Family Medicine. His article stated:

“It is my conviction that, on balance, the family practice movement has more in common with this counterculture than it does with the dominant scientific medical establishment. Maybe we never intended that it should be this way, and I doubt that many of us have an image of ourselves as revolutionaries. Most of us deal, on a day-to-day basis, with a much smaller quantum of reality; and, in truth, are much more motivated by purely personal goals than the heady stuff of national purpose. I suspect that this is the way all revolutions look from the inside.”

Today the Family Medicine Revolution remains in full force, and the North Carolina Chapter has long played an important role in that national revolution.

For example, our Chapter has had four presidents of the

AAGP/AAFP, including: Dr. Amos Johnson (1964), Dr. James G. Jones (1987), Dr. Douglas E. Henley (1995), and Dr. Lori Heim (2009). And of course, Dr. Henley went on to serve as the Executive Vice President and CEO of the AAFP for many years. In addition, North Carolina has had five national Family Physicians of the Year, including the first female Family Physician of the Year, Dr. Jane Carswell (1984). Other national winners from North Carolina include Dr. J. Seaborn Blair, Jr. (1988), Dr. Melvin Pinn (1998), Dr. Maureen Murphy (2016), and Dr. Karen Smith (2017).

Throughout this year, we will be highlighting the history of family medicine, the history of our Chapter, and the impact that your specialty has on our state and nation. Our CME, our magazine, and our e-newsletter will all emphasize the history of your organization. We hope you will join us as we examine the last 75 years and at the same time prepare for the future. While some of the problems that led to the formation of the AAGP still exist today, I truly believe we are on the cusp of a true Family Medicine Revolution, where every patient deserves — and has — a consistent and meaningful relationship with a family physician.

Please join us on this journey of celebration for 75 years as we prepare for an eventful and successful future for Family Medicine.