CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation welcomes the second class of students into the Family Medicine Interest and Scholars Program. Students who participate in the scholars program receive exposure to family medicine throughout their studies and can receive scholarship funding if they ultimately enter a family medicine residency program.
 
“My greatest joy in participating in this program is the chance for me to pass my love and enthusiasm for family medicine on to the next generation. I have long felt that family medicine is a calling,” said Dr. Charles Rhodes of Cabarrus Family Medicine in Mount Pleasant, N.C., who serves as a physician mentor in the program. “The spark that made me want to be a family doctor was given to me by much beloved and respected mentor physicians. I am thankful for the opportunity to pass that spark on to a new generation of doctors.”
 
Entering its second year, the Family Medicine Interest and Scholars Program is a program of the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) Foundation and is made possible by a $1.18 million BCBSNC Foundation grant. The program pairs North Carolina medical students with physician mentors who work with students for three consecutive years to strengthen skills, offer guidance and help fast-track their primary care training and experience.
 
This innovative program aims to increase the percentage of medical students who commit to a residency in family medicine by approximately 30 percent and to increase the percentage of those who elect to stay in the state for their residency training from 56 percent in 2008 to at least two-thirds over the length of the six-year program.
 
“It is so heartening to see these students who are interested in a career in family medicine learning from primary care physicians who already are making a difference in communities all across North Carolina,” said Kathy Higgins, BCBSNC Foundation president. “With the urgent need for more primary care physicians, we are proud to support a program that will have a real impact on the health and well-being of the people of this state.”
 
Participating students also receive additional exposure to family medicine throughout their schooling, including additional clinical experiences. Students in the first class of selected scholars are now entering their third year of medical school, have already created bonds with their Master Preceptors and will continue to build those relationships through their clinical rotations.
 
“Spending time with Dr. Rhodes taught me more about the art of medicine and the life of those who practice it than anything I learned in the basic science years of medical school,” stated Patrick Williams, a student at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and member of the inaugural class. “It was and is very refreshing to be reminded that the practice of medicine is about people, not diseases and symptoms, and my time with Dr. Rhodes epitomized that truth.”
 
Williams will return to Cabarrus Family Medicine this fall for a clinical rotation.
 
The NCAFP Foundation recently selected the second class of students and mentors to participate in the program that will run from 2011 to 2014. 
 
Students
Hometown
Medical School
Joshua T. Carpenter
Ellenboro, NC
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
Laura S. Cone
Jacksonville, NC
UNC School of Medicine
Emily A. Dell
Pittsburgh, PA
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
C. McLean Ellis
Greenville, NC
UNC School of Medicine
Vanessa C. Gallegos
Miami, FL
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Katy A. Kirk
Raleigh, NC
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
William C. McLean
Asheville, NC
UNC School of  Medicine
M. Adele Moser
Cary, NC
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
Amy J. Nayo
Chicago, IL
UNC School of  Medicine
Cleveland A. Piggott
Suwanee, GA
UNC School of  Medicine
Emily L. Ross
Raleigh, NC
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
Lindsey M. Wright
Raleigh, NC
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Physician Mentors
Location
Practice
Mott P. Blair, IV, MD
Wallace, NC
Wallace Family Medicine
Marianna T. Daly, MD
Marshall, NC
Hot Springs Health Program
Jonathan E. Fischer, MD
Carrboro, NC
Carrboro Community Health Center
Travis W. Howell, MD
Winston Salem, NC
Salem Family Practice
Thomas L. Jeffries, MD
Raleigh, NC
North Raleigh Family Medicine
Thomas F. Koinis, MD
Oxford,  NC
Oxford Family Physicians
Zane I. Lapinskes, MD
Benson, NC
Benson Area Medical Center
Jesse C. Pittard, MD
Smithfield, NC
Horizon Family Medicine
Karen L. Smith, MD
Raeford, NC
Karen L. Smith, MD, PA
Jessica L. Triche, MD
Washington,  NC
Washington Family Medicine Center
Matthew M. Williams, MD
Wilmington, NC
Wilmington Health Associates
Benjamin L. Wilson, MD
Lexington, NC
Lexington Family Physicians
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
About the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation:
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is a separate, independent, nonprofit Foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of North Carolinians. The Foundation's focus areas include: Health of Vulnerable Populations - improving health outcomes of populations served by safety-net organizations; Healthy Active Communities - increasing physical activity and encouraging healthy eating habits; and Community Impact through Nonprofit Excellence - increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.  BCBSNC Foundation invests programs and services in response to grant requests and proactively creates initiatives or partners with organizations to address specific needs. It also coordinates several Signature Programs, among them, Be Active Kids® and Healthy Community Institute for Nonprofit Excellence.  More information is available at bcbsncfoundation.org.
 
About North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Foundation:
The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, Inc. (NCAFP/F) is the charitable arm of the NC Academy of Family Physicians, a non-profit professional association headquartered in Raleigh representing nearly 3000 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students across North Carolina.  It is the largest medical specialty association in North Carolina and is a constituent chapter of the 100,000 member-strong American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leawood, Kansas.  The NCAFP and its Foundation will invest $600,000 through the life of this project. 
 
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)® Registered Marks of the BCBSA.