Program Overview

The Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) sponsors one Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine each year. The Fellowship supports research using the collections of the CHFM to advance understanding and appreciation of the history of Family Medicine.

The Sandra L. Panther Fellowship provides a $3,000 award to the fellow after completion of research at the Center for the History of Family Medicine. Awards cover research conducted between June 1 and December 31 during the year in which the Fellowship is awarded.

We encourage interested researchers, including family physicians, students, residents, historians, scholars, educators, scientists, and other health professionals to apply for the Fellowship. Individuals interested in the Fellowship should first access the Center's online catalog* or contact Center staff to explore the collection and its available resources.

*A complete list of audiovisual materials can be found in the holdings catalog.

Fellowship Project

The proposed project may be on any subject relating to the history of general practice, family practice, or Family Medicine, its practitioners, and their role in health and health care in the United States.

In addition, the proposed project must lead to a durable product in any format (e.g., written report or manuscript, CD/DVD program, audio or video recording including oral history interviews, artwork, etc.) of the applicant's choosing.

Fellowship Goals

The goals of the Sandra L. Panther Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine, sponsored by the Center for the History of Family Medicine, are to:

1. Advance Family Medicine practice, education, research and policy through improved understanding of its history.
2. Stimulate the use of the Center's collection of materials.
3. Increase awareness of the Center and its collection among a broad variety of historians, scholars, educators and others.
4. Add to the fund of knowledge on the history of Family Medicine and related fields.
5. Stimulate the careers and work of scholars interested in the past and future of Family Medicine.

Fellowship Rules

1. The successful applicant will receive a Fellowship award of $3,000. The award will be given to the Fellow after they visit the Center to conduct research for their approved project.
2. The Fellowship will be awarded directly to the individual applicant and not to the institution where he or she may be employed.
3. Research related to the project must be conducted between June 1 and December 31 of the Fellowship year. Anytime during that period, research should be conducted onsite at the Center for the History of Family Medicine.
   
4. Any publications or productions resulting from work supported by the Fellowship must acknowledge the support received from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.
5. Fellows must provide a yearly update to the Center regarding any progress or updates regarding their project.
6. Two copies of such publications or products resulting from the research project must be submitted to the Center for the History of Family Medicine at the conclusion of the research project.
7. All submissions of materials by Fellows will be deemed to be donations to the holdings of the Center for the History of Family Medicine as unconditional and unrestricted gifts, which may be made available to researchers, reproduced or otherwise used or disposed of as the Center deems appropriate.

Eligibility

Interested researchers, including family physicians, students, residents, historians, scholars, educators, scientists and other health professionals are encouraged to apply for the Fellowship. CHFM staff, volunteers and serving members of the Board of Curators are not eligible. 

The proposed project may be on any subject relating to the history of general practice, family practice, or Family Medicine, its practitioners, and their role in health and health care in the United States.

In addition, the proposed project must lead to a durable product in any format (e.g., written report or manuscript, audio or video recording including oral history interviews, artwork, etc.) of the applicant's choosing.

Application

We encourage all to apply and are committed to developing a research project to advance the history of Family Medicine by the family medicine community who reflect the rich diversity of the specialty and the patients served.

The next application period opens on January 15 and closes on March 31 at 11:59 PM (CST).

Applicants will require:

1. A completed Sandra L. Panther Fellowship Application Form
2. A current Curriculum Vitae (no more than three pages in length), including education, employment history, and list of most recent publications;
3. One letter of support from your department chair, supervisor, or a senior colleague
4. A brief description of your research project (of no more than two pages in length), to include the title of your project, a brief description of the objective of the project, reasons for undertaking the study, and a proposed research timeline and budget (to include estimated expenses and justifications).
5. A list of records from the archive that you may want to access as part of your project. The online catalog is available here.

Recent Fellows

2024

Jenna Georgiou, MD

Project: “Lessons in Family Medicine from the Ancient Greeks” will explore how ancient Greek medicine ultimately inspired the spawning of the specialty of Family medicine in the United States, and how it may serve to predict what is to come from the specialty.

2023

Diane Jarrett, EdD

Project: “The Family Physician on TV: A Reflection of Societal Changes, 1969-1976” examines how the depiction of a family physician in the television series Marcus Welby, M.D. emphasized the importance of family medicine in a time of social upheaval, leading to more mature discourse on issues that had been unmentionable and providing a role model for the type of compassionate, comprehensive care that patients have come to expect.

2022

Catherine Smith, PhD

Project: “The Doctors Riddle: Pioneers in consumer health information” is a biography of two women physicians, sisters Mary Adeline and Julia Riddle, and their contribution to medicine, women’s suffrage, and public health education.

2021

Masahiro Morikawa, MD, MPH
Project: “Reassessing the Meaning of ‘Family’ in Family Medicine” is focused on reviewing the origin of family medicine as a specialty to analyze whether the concept is still relevant in current practice and to identify critical elements that need to be incorporated in training the future generation of family physicians.

2020 (Joint Fellows)

Aaron George, DO & Allyssa Abel, MPH
Project: “Reinvigorating the Visions of the Founders of Family Medicine” a project connecting with and interviewing many of the founders and early leaders of the discipline of family medicine. The intent is to understand the roots of the profession, trajectory, and path over the past five decades, and the direction family medicine should seek from here. By conducting this series of stimulating interviews with family medicine’s most influential historical figures, as well as having today’s young leaders of family medicine reflecting upon and writing about them, the hope is to put younger cohorts of family physicians in touch with the founders’ energy and vision.

2019

Timothy Hoff, PhD
Project: “The Family Physician Career Evolution Study: A Multi-Level Analysis” will examine the current evolution of family medicine careers through a multi-level analysis that includes 80-100 in-depth interviews with family physicians at all career stages, and archival analysis focused on select materials found at the Center for History in Family Medicine.

2018

Kate Rowland, MD, MS
Project: “Histories and Stories as Antidote for Modern Family Medicine Challenges” will analyze family medicine’s response to previous instances of change, challenges, and hard times and use oral and written histories to identify how family physicians have responded to those challenges. 

For additional information, or if you have questions, please reach out to:

Kelly Heide
CHFM Manager
11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway
Leawood, KS 66211
Telephone: (913) 906-6031
Email: kheide@aafp.org