Dr. Reid Blackwelder,M.D.




The American Academy of Family Physicians has announced that Reid Blackwelder, M.D., Professor and Program Director of the ETSU Family Physicians of Kingsport residency program, has been honored as the 2008 Winner of the of Family Physicians' prestigious Exemplary Teaching Award for Full-Time Faculty. This award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to family medicine education in undergraduate, graduate and continuing education spheres. Dr. Blackwelder received his award during a special presentation during the AAFP’s Congress of Delegates in San Diego, California.

Says John P. Franko, M.D., Professor and Chair of the ETSU Department of Family Medicine, "It is truly a once in a lifetime honor that recognizes not only (Dr. Blackwelder's) long and successful tenure as the Program Director of the Kingsport Family Medicine program, but also his national leadership in the design, structure, and implementation of new and innovative ideas for Continuing Medical Education offered by the AAFP."

The American Academy of Family Physicians is the national association of family doctors, with more than 94,000 members in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the uniformed services. Founded in 1947, its mission is to improve the health of patients, families, and communities by serving the needs of members with professionalism and creativity.


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ETSU Family Physicians’ Dr. Reid Blackwelder elected to board of American Academy of Family Physicians

KINGSPORT – Dr. Reid Blackwelder, a board certified family physician at ETSU Family Physicians of Kingsport, has been elected to the board of directors for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

Blackwelder, who is also residency program director and professor of family medicine at East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine, is one of only three physicians nationwide newly elected to the board during the annual AAFP Congress of Delegates, held recently in Boston. He will serve a three-year term.

There are 94,000 members in the AAFP. Blackwelder considers it important for the collective voice of family physicians to be heard on the matter of health care reform, one of the primary reasons he wanted to become a board member.

“The AAFP board is a very dynamic board and one that has been praised from all over,” Blackwelder said. “We’re really able to address important issues, especially as they relate to patient care and health care reform. Family physicians have a lot of the answers – not all the answers and not the only answers – for many of the health care challenges this country is facing.”

It was just last year that the AAFP recognized Blackwelder for excellence in teaching by selecting him for the 2008 Exemplary Teaching Award for Faculty, given each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to family medicine education in undergraduate, graduate and continuing education spheres. Blackwelder said training medical residents from ETSU is an invaluable personal experience, and that his new post with the AAFP will be personally transforming as well.

“One of the things that distinguishes family physicians as a group is a real desire to make a difference,” Blackwelder said. “I’ve been blessed to be involved in the training of over 1,000 medical students and probably 150 residents by this point, but I want to do more. Serving on the AAFP board is another way I can make a difference beyond my current role.”

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