Brent Smith, MD, MSc, MLS, FAAFP

Brent Smith, MD, MSc, MLS, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP) and a member of its board of directors. The AAFP represents 124,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. Smith is a family physician in the Mississippi Delta. As an AAFP board member, he advocates on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.

Rooted in Mississippi and committed to family medicine

A first-generation physician and a native of Cleveland, Mississippi, Smith is the son of a high school teacher and a nurse. Growing up in a home with a history teacher, football coach and nurse instilled in him the values of hard work, servant leadership and community-minded activism.

Smith developed a passion for family medicine during his third year of medical school, and cemented his choice after attending the AAFP National Resident and Student Conference. After completing residency, he finished his clinical education with a primary care sports medicine fellowship at the University of Alabama. He combined an admiration for sports with a desire to treat the entire spectrum of medical conditions affecting athletes. During his residency, fellowship and early career, Smith worked to broaden his education by completing a bachelor’s degree in history from Ouachita Baptist University, a Master of Science in Clinical Education through the University of Edinburgh and a Master of Legal Studies in Health Care Law through the University of Oklahoma.

Championing leadership and mentorship at every level

Engaged in leadership from the beginning of his journey in family medicine, Smith started as an alternate delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates as a student, worked through several other positions in the AAFP, the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians and the Mississippi State Medical Association before becoming the resident member of the AAFP Board of Directors. He joined the AAFP Foundation when he entered practice. In this capacity, he worked with resident and student leadership development programs and helped launch new and guide existing AAFP Foundation signature programs. He continues to engage with students and residents as the lead consultant for the Emerging Leader Institute. Engaging at a state level through the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, Smith works as a mentor for residents and students in Mississippi, encouraging leadership development and engagement at local, state and national levels.

In his community, Smith volunteers as the Mississippi Delta Community College team physician and previously chaired the sports medicine advisory committee for the Mississippi High School Activities Association, a group he led through the COVID pandemic. He balances community service with serving as the Mississippi Delta Family Medicine Residency program director and other clinical duties in the Delta.

Smith is a proud uncle of Bailey, Garner and Erin and can usually be found after work at one of their sporting events or in his truck with his dog, Klover, who will most likely be covered in mud.