The U.S. is facing a worsening primary care physician shortage. A robust family medicine workforce is critical to ensure patients everywhere have appropriate, effective, and accessible care for generations to come.
The AAFP and seven other national and international family medicine organizations envision a future in which one in four U.S. medical students pursues a career in family medicine. Together, we have launched the America Needs More Family Doctors: 25x2030 collaborative. Our goal is to ensure that, by 2030, 25 percent of U.S. medical students pursue family medicine as their specialty.
Family physicians make up the majority of the primary care physician workforce and mirror the geographic distribution of the U.S. population more closely—practicing in more rural and urban underserved communities—than any other health professional workforce.
At a time when a shortage of more than 52,000 primary care physicians is predicted by 2025 and experts call for an increase in the proportion of physicians in the U.S. practicing primary care from 32% to 40%, the family medicine community is dedicated to doing its part to meet the need.
Learn about what AAFP is doing to support students interested in family medicine.
The efforts of every family physician and family medicine ally are necessary to meet the ambitious goal of America Needs More Family Doctors: 25x2030.
Become a preceptor. U.S. medical schools face a drastic shortage of community preceptors in family medicine. Find a precepting opportunity and mentor the next generation of physicians. Learn how to get started»
Contact your local AAFP Chapter and find out how you can help engage medical students, advocate for policy change, and develop the workforce. Visit aafp.org/chapterdirectory for contact information. Search the Chapter Directory»
Get involved in your community. Ask young patients what they want to be, volunteer to speak at a local school or youth club, and search for opportunities to encourage STEM education. The AAFP has slide decks, videos, and other presentation tools to help you talk about family medicine. Find AAFP resources»
The America Needs More Family Doctors: 25x2030 collaborative organizations include:
The collaborative organizations have agreed to leverage a framework called Collective Impact to guide the infrastructure and development of their collaboration. The AAFP provides program and project management leadership for the initiative.
Are you interested in contributing to this initiative? Do you have questions about what you can do where you are to help grow the next generation of family physicians?
Contact:
Ashley Bentley, MBA, CAE
25x2030 Program Manager
Abentley@aafp.org
(913) 906-6367
Susan Anderson, MD (ADFM)
Ashley Bentley, MBA, CAE (AAFP)
Dwain Harris, MHA (National AHEC)
Rebecca Jaffe, MD, MPH (AAFP Foundation)
Kevin Johnson, MD (AFMRD)
Karen B. Mitchell, MD (AAFP)
Bob Moore, MA, CAE (ACOFP)
Rebecca Mullen, MD (NAPCRG)
Warren Newton, MD, MPH (ABFM)
Heather Palmer, MBA, MA (AAFP Foundation)
Jacob Prunuske, MD (STFM)
Jessica Sand, MPH (NAPCRG)
Deanne St. George (AFMRD)
Emily Walters (STFM)
Amanda Weidner, MPH (ADFM)
Bruce Williams, DO (ACOFP)
Policies that support students interested in family medicine.