Gifting students the leadership training that changed their lives

“ELI really opened a lot of doors for us, and we just want to be a small part of that for other people,” said Chandler Stisher, MD, MPH.

Chandler and his wife, Amanda Stisher, MD, met in undergrad school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). During their second year as medical students at UAB’s Heersink School of Medicine, they were chosen to participate in the AAFP Foundation’s Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute (ELI).

The year-long experience shaped their perceptions about their own potential and jumpstarted their involvement in family medicine leadership.

For Amanda, attending National Conference (now FUTURE) and ELI training “helped me get out of my shell and develop more comfort talking to strangers.” The ELI sharpened her problem solving skills and gave her the confidence to reach out for assistance on her project, which won first place in her leadership track.

For Chandler, the biggest benefit of ELI wasn’t the confidence building — “I can talk to a brick wall,” he joked — but the networking. From the more experienced physicians of AAFP to the other medical students and residents in their cohort of 30, Chandler found mentorship, camaraderie and inspiration he still draws on today.

As medical students, both Chandler and Amanda had an interest in family medicine. Chandler enjoyed the spectrum of care, from kids to adults to geriatric patients. Amanda “also really loved pediatrics and OB” and was thrilled to discover she could practice both through family medicine. She later completed an advanced obstetrics fellowship.

When the Stishers learned about UAB’s Rural Medicine Program, they knew they’d found their calling; both had grown up in small Alabama towns. The program introduced them to Bill Coleman, MD, PhD, FAAFP, past president of the AAFP, who became a trusted advisor and encouraged the couple to apply to the ELI.

ELI sparked the couple’s interest in serving in leadership positions with the AAFP. Chandler first became involved with the Family Medicine Interest Groups (FMIG) network then served as a student on the board, and Amanda served on a commission, then became a student delegate and later a resident member of the board.

Today, both are on the faculty of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. Amanda teaches in the Family Medicine Residency Program and practices full-spectrum family medicine with surgical obstetrics. She also holds leadership positions in the family medicine clerkship and fellowship programs. Chandler recently took on a new role as Residency Program Director and is launching a new Rural Family Medicine Residency Program in Alabama.

Over the last decade, the couple have donated regularly to the AAFP Foundation. “We started just giving what we could when we were on the board, but then ultimately grew to funding a student for [ELI] every year,” Amanda said. “And that was because it was so important for us, how much this experience shaped us. We wanted … for other students like us to have that same opportunity.”

Chandler added, “Two students from small town Alabama serving in national level leadership roles probably would not have been something that we would’ve thought possible, had it not been for ELI.”

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