May 1, 2000 • Special Bulletin
Douglas Henley, M.D., is AAFP's new EVP-designate
While others wait their turn, Academy member Jimmie Smith, M.D., right, special assistant in the office of Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., congratulates Douglas Henley, M.D, after Henley's announcement as the Academy's new EVP-designate at the AAFP Annual Leadership Forum, April 29, in Kansas City, Mo. Henley, an AAFP past president, has been in private practice 20 years."I'm terribly excited to be here today. I'm energized. I'm challenged. And I'm as nervous as hell!"
So said family physician Douglas Henley, M.D., of Fayetteville, N.C., after his introduction as the Academy's new EVP-designate at the AAFP Annual Leadership Forum April 29 in Kansas City, Mo.
Henley, an AAFP past president who has been in private practice for 20 years, walked with his wife, Mary, to the stage in the midst of an enthusiastic standing ovation from family practice leaders, chapter executives and AAFP staff.
"Six years ago, when I walked down the aisle of the Congress of Delegates as your president-elect, I thought that would be my peak emotional high," he said. "But no--this just beats that hands down."
Henley acknowledged it's a time of great change and opportunity for medicine--but change and opportunity are familiar turf for FPs and the specialty, which has always served as a counterculture to the medical establishment.
He urged the specialty's leaders to grasp the opportunity for change.
The current health care system is in significant disarray, he said. "How can we make the principles of family practice the center of a new health care system that's better than the one we have now?"
FPs should use the principles of quality improvement, performance measurement and evidence-based practice to improve care and outcomes for not just patients, but for whole communities and populations, he said.
Noting the three-year downward trend in the number of medical students matching in family practice residency positions, Henley asked leaders to move beyond blaming the medical school establishment for the downturn. "Can we also dare to look within ourselves?" he said. "Are we doing something wrong? What is the quality of our residencies, our curriculum? And can we do this in just three years?" But in the midst of change, one thing must remain the same, Henley said: "We must never change putting patients first and our self-interests second."
Henley will become EVP on Aug. 1. He will be the first practicing family physician to serve in the position. He also will be the first past AAFP president and board chair to hold the post.
Douglas Henley, M.D., of Fayetteville, N.C., receives a standing ovation from family practice leaders, chapter executives and AAFP staff after his announcement as the AAFP's EVP-designate.He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, and the university's family practice residency program. Since 1980, he has been in private practice in his hometown of Hope Mills, N.C. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice and an AAFP Fellow.
Henley has been active in the AAFP since medical school, when he served as a representative to the National Conference of Student Members. He was AAFP president in 1995 and served two terms as Board chair.
Henley will replace current EVP Robert Graham, M.D., who announced last July his intent to leave the Academy.
Current Board Chair Lanny Copeland, M.D., of Albany, Ga., called Henley "an incredibly bright physician--energetic, enthusiastic and highly skilled in all aspects of organized medicine." Henley has "a passion for family practice and a profound commitment to address the challenges that the specialty and the health care system face," Copeland said. "The Academy is fortunate to have such a strong and thoughtful new leader."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 2000 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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