Origin The American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 as the American Academy of General Practice; the American Board of Family Practice was created in February 1969.
The medical specialty providing continuing, comprehensive primary health care for individuals and families across all ages, sexes and organ systems, integrating preventive, acute and chronic care. It grew out of general practice in reaction to mid-twentieth-century medical overspecialization, formalizing in the United States when the American Board of Family Practice was created in February 1969 as the twentieth medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Facts
Origin PeriodThe American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 as the American Academy of General Practice; the American Board of Family Practice was created in February 1969. 2 Classification
Type/Classification Family Medicine
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Associated With
Family physicians care for older adults alongside geriatricians
Adult primary care overlaps with internal medicine
Family physicians care for children
Prevention and screening are core family practice work
Notable Specialists
Schweitzer trained in medicine at the University of Strasbourg and, from 1913, ran a general hospital at Lambarene in what is now Gabon, providing broad primary medical care to the local population for decades.
Blackwell, the first woman to receive an M.D. from an American medical school (Geneva Medical College, 1849), practiced general medicine and co-founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children to provide primary care.
Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American to earn a medical degree, practiced general medicine on the Omaha reservation.
Treats
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Medical specialty
WikipediaClassification tableQuote, Classification table
Medical specialties that focus on the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of disease.
2. History of ABFM
American Board of Family Medicinetheabfm.org History of ABFM page, opening paragraphQuote, theabfm.org History of ABFM page, opening paragraph
Founded in February 1969, the American Board of Family Medicine (formally American Board of Family Practice or ABFP) was approved by the Liaison Commission for Specialty Boards (LCSB), the group that reviews and approves applications for American Board of Medical Specialties boards (ABMS).
History of the AAFP
American Academy of Family Physiciansaafp.org About/Mission-History page, Establishment of family medicine as a specialty sectionQuote, aafp.org About/Mission-History page, Establishment of family medicine as a specialty section
On February 8, 1969, the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved the creation of a certifying board in family medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did family medicine become a recognized medical specialty in the United States?
February 1969, when the American Board of Family Practice was approved as a certifying board.
On February 8, 1969, the American Medical Association's Council on Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties approved the creation of a certifying board in family medicine, formally the American Board of Family Practice (now the American Board of Family Medicine). It became the 20th medical specialty recognized by ABMS.
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