AAFP recognizes WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine with a Top Ten Award for working to meet the nation’s need for family physicians

AAFP President Jeff Cain, M.D., presents the AAFP Top Ten Award to Amanda Bell, M.D., Wright State associate professor of family medicine (left), and Dean Marjorie Bowman, M.D., M.P.A.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) honored the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine with a Top Ten Award for its consistent commitment to meeting the nation’s need for family physicians.

During the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine spring conference, the AAFP annually recognizes schools that graduated the greatest percentage of students who chose first-year family medicine residency positions during a consecutive three-year period. Known as the Top Ten Awards, this year’s recognition was expanded to 12 schools to accommodate the growth in the number of geographically separated medical school campuses. There are 141 allopathic medical schools in the United States.

At Wright State, 16.1 percent of medical school graduates are entering family medicine. The 2013 award recipients and the percentage of graduates entering family medicine are:

• The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University – 20.9%
• University of Kansas School of Medicine – 20.8%
• University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences – 20.5%
• Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine – 20.1%
• Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University – 18.5%
• University of New Mexico School of Medicine – 18.3%
• University of Minnesota Medical School – 17.3%
• University of Arizona College of Medicine – 17.2%
• University of Washington School of Medicine – 17.2%
• Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine – 16.1%
• University of California – Davis School of Medicine – 15.8%
• University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine – 15.4%

According to the AAFP, Americans make more office visits to family physicians than any other medical specialty. Family physicians provide care for patients who have sore throats, patients who need stitches and patients who have multiple, complex conditions such as diabetes with congestive heart failure.