HUNTINGTON, W.Va.— Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine has received a Family Medicine “Top Ten” award from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for being one of the nation’s top schools in the percentage of graduates entering family medicine residencies.

Based on a three-year average ending in October 2012, AAFP reports 18.5 percent of Marshall medical school graduates have chosen family medicine residencies. The average places the school as number five in the country and the only medical school in West Virginia in the Top Ten. 

 “Educating primary care doctors remains our top priority,” said Dr. Joseph I. Shapiro, dean of the School of Medicine. “As the Affordable Care Act is implemented across the country, many more primary care doctors will be needed to provide care for the millions of patients entering the health care system. I am pleased our School of Medicine is doing its part to educate doctors on the front lines of medicine in this country.”

Dr. John Walden, chair of the Department of Family Medicine, says Marshall’s contribution to growing the nation’s ranks of primary care physicians and more specifically, family medicine doctors, shows the school is doing its part to address the shortage of primary care physicians in the country.

“As of 2012, our Department of Family Medicine has placed residency graduates in 31 different communities throughout West Virginia,“ Walden said.  “Not only are we encouraging our medical students to choose family medicine as is evidenced by this award, we are then training family medicine residents who choose to stay in West Virginia and meet the health care needs of our state.”

Since 1992, Marshall has been honored 19 times by the AAFP for its high percentage of medical students choosing family medicine residencies.

Dr. W. Mitchel Shaver, residency director for Marshall’s Department of Family Medicine, accepted the award during a ceremony May 3 at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference in Baltimore.

Photo: Dr. W. Mitchel Shaver (left) accepts an award for the number of graduates who enter family practice residencies from Jeff Cain, M.D., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Photo credit: American Academy of Family Physicians.

Date Posted: Monday, May 13, 2013