2025 Outstanding Program of the Year: Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Foundation

Since 1990, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) Foundation’s Leroy A. Rodgers, MD, Preceptorship Program has connected rising second-year medical students with family physician preceptors for a four-week, full-time clinical rotation.

To date, more than 1,550 students have enjoyed this immersive, hands-on experience, which is funded through the program. Students in the program get a taste of Ohio’s diverse health care landscape — from urban clinics to rural practices to inpatient hospitalist rotations — and the impact is measurable.

Program outcomes show that 33 percent of all participants choose family medicine, 72 percent choose careers in primary care specialties, and all enter the next phase of their career with a deeper understanding and appreciation for their specialty.

Kaitlin McGuffie, deputy executive vice president, OAFP & OAFP Foundation, said countless practicing family physicians cite the program as pivotal to their professional journey. For many, the program served as more than a learning opportunity — it exposed them to the breadth of the specialty and inspired their pursuit of a career in family medicine.

“[The program] reminded me that medicine is not just about solving clinical problems, but about building trust, meeting people where they are and advocating for them in meaningful ways,” said Marlon Burton, OMS-II, a 2025 participant. “This experience reaffirmed my passion for primary care and showed me how impactful family physicians can be in their communities.”

The OAFP Foundation has had a longstanding association with the AAFP Foundation and has received more than a dozen Family Medicine Chapter Alliance grants over the years. When applying for Outstanding Program of the Year, Kate Mahler, CAE, executive vice president, OAFP & OAFP Foundation, described the Preceptorship Program as a “shining example of the AAFP Foundation’s mission in action.”

A key component of that mission is ensuring the future of family medicine. Among students who participate in the Leroy A. Rodgers, MD, Preceptorship Program, 57 percent match into Ohio-based family medicine residencies, and each year, an increasing number of alumni return to the program as preceptors. In other words, the program not only enhances Ohio’s primary care outlook, it creates a continuous cycle of mentorship and workforce development within the specialty itself.

Mahler said, “By engaging medical students early in their training and placing them in real-world, family medicine practice settings, the program not only nurtures professional growth, but also plays a critical role in sustaining the family medicine workforce at the grassroots level.”