Get Involved As We Celebrate 60 Years of Infinite Impact
STFM 60th Anniversary Mentor Recognition Award
Recognize Those Who Made a Difference in Your Career In celebration of 60 years, we'd like to know who made a difference at any stage in your journey towards academic family medicine. We are accepting nominations to recognize a mentor who has influenced your career in family medicine. Please limit nominations to only 2.Mentors will be recognized in 2027 as part of the STFM 60th Anniversary celebration.
We Want to Hear From You
Take a Walk Down Memory Lane and Share Your Favorite STFM Memories, Recollections, and ReflectionsIn anticipation of STFM's 60th Anniversary (1967-2027) we are asking members and former members to share their favorite memories, stories, and adventures from their time spent with STFM. Send us your favorite memories, recollections, projects, and more! These memories may be aggregated and shared in newsletters, books, social media, and more.
Because Someone Believed in You: Make a Donation to the STFM Foundation
Honor those who made a difference. Make a donation to the STFM Foundation in celebration of the mentors who opened doors, shared wisdom, and helped you grow. Your gift helps preserve a strong, vibrant future for academic family medicine—for generations to come.Where Does Your Donation Go?Your donation to the STFM Foundation supports multiple scholarships and awards to medical school students and residents to cover the cost of registration and travel to STFM conferences. The more we raise, the more we're able to give. Donate to the STFM Foundation today.
Commemorative Book Information and Special Events
STFM is developing a commemorative book, capturing milestones, stories, and voices from across STFM’s history. This book will serve as both a celebration of past achievements and a lasting resource for future generations of family medicine educators. A limited number of books will be available at STFM conferences and through online orders.The Gathering of Gems: A Night on the Chicago River in Celebration of 60 YearsJoin us on the Chicago River for an evening cruise during the 2027 STFM Annual Spring Conference and raise money for the future of academic family medicine. Keep checking back for additional details and ticket information.
Significant Events in STFM History
1967–1975
1976–1990
1991–2005
2006–2012
2013–2019
2020–2026
1967–1975
October 27, 1967
The first organizational meeting was held in New York City. Forty-five educators gathered at the New York Hilton to discuss the feasibility of developing a new organization related to the teaching of family medicine.
February 9, 1968
The second organizational meeting was held in Chicago, IL.
November 1, 1968
The third organizational meeting was held in Houston, TX. Bylaws were adopted; Lynn Carmichael was elected founding president. The Society had 105 Charter members, an income of $505, and $64 in expenses.
February 8, 1969
The fourth organizational meeting was held in Chicago, on the date that family practice was approved as the 20th medical specialty. A full slate of founding officers were approved.
Summer 1969
Family Medicine Times was established with Silas Grant as founding editor.
November 1, 1970
The first STFM logo was approved and registered as the official trademark of the Society.
April 11, 1971
STFM received tax-exempt status.
February 5, 1972
STFM was admitted to membership in the Council of Academic Societies (CAS). F. Marian Bishop and Lynn Carmichael were the first CAS representatives.
September 1972
Office centralization became a priority, and the STFM offices moved to the Kansas City area. Tom Johnson, Director of the AAFP Division of Education, agreed to serve as Administrative Officer for the Society.
June 1973
Robert Graham, assistant director of the AAFP Division of Education, was asked to serve as the Administrative Officer for the Society upon the retirement of Tom Johnson.
February 1974
Articles of incorporation and new bylaws were adopted.
June 18–20, 1974
The first Predoctoral Education Conference was held in Kansas City. At the time, it was called the First Annual Workshop on Undergraduate Education.
February 1975
Bylaws were changed to establish the president-elect system of tenure.
May 12–14, 1975
STFM held its first Predoctoral Education Conference in Kansas City.
June 23, 1975
STFM Foundation was incorporated as the charitable arm of STFM. G. Gayle Stephens was the founding president.
September 1975
Residency Assistance Program (RAP) was implemented in conjunction with other family medicine organizations.
September 1, 1975
Patricia Plhak was hired as the first executive director, serving in that capacity until June 1978.
1976–1990
April 2–4, 1976
The first standalone STFM annual meeting was held in New Orleans, LA. This ended the practice of holding sessions in conjunction with the AMA Congress on Medical Education.
1977
The “Working Party,” representing the family practice organizations, was established with STFM as a founding member.
February 1977
Board of Directors structure was changed to include a resident representative, with Joseph Scherger as the first resident in that position.
1979
First Leland B. Blanchard Memorial Lecture was presented by C.H. William Ruhe.
January 1979
A monthly journal, Family Medicine Teacher, was established with Lynn Carmichael as founding editor.
1980
The STFM/Pan American Federation of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS) Faculty Fellowship Program was established with Edward J. Shahady as the project director.
STFM accepted membership in the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies, and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA) with F. Marian Bishop as the first STFM representative.
1980–1981
The first printed annual report was published.
January 1981
The STFM journal name was changed to Family Medicine.
February 1981
The first meeting of the Family in Family Medicine Conference was held in Kansas City. The name changed to the Conference on Families and Health in 1999. The last conference was held in 2008.
May 1981
STFM President F. Marian Bishop introduced the concept of task forces and working groups.
June 1981
Roger A. Sherwood was hired as STFM executive director.
January 1, 1985
John Frey was appointed the second editor of Family Medicine.
1986
A position for a student representative was added to the Board of Directors with Rachel Larussa the first to serve in that position.
September 1986
The North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) joined STFM as a cosponsor of Family Medicine.
March 5, 1987
Family Medicine was accepted into Index Medicus.
1990
Curricular guidelines for a 3rd-year family medicine clerkship were developed and distributed to the deans of all US medical schools. Kent Sheets was chair of the group.
April 17, 1990
The organizational meeting of the Academic Family Medicine Organizations (AFMO) was held in Chicago. STFM's representatives were Alan David (chair) and Roger Sherwood.
1991–2005
1991
STFM began providing management support to the Association of Departments of Family Medicine. Priscilla Noland was named its first administrative director.
STFM received funding to develop the Preceptor Education Project (PEP) with Kent J. Sheets as chair.
November 1991
The Academic Family Medicine Steering Committee was formed.
1992
STFM celebrated its 25th anniversary.
January 1992
Barry Weiss was appointed the third editor of Family Medicine.
Family medicine organizations collaboratively opened a legislative office in Washington, DC.
February 1996
STFM established a presence on the internet with the launch of the society's website.
July 1996
STFM signed an agreement to provide management services for the North American Primary Care Research Group. Marcia Neu served as NAPCRG’s first administrative director.
July 2000
The Bishop Fellowship Program was inaugurated to prepare senior family medicine faculty to assume positions of greater responsibility in academic medicine and health care leadership. The program ended in June 2016.
January 2001
STFM became one of six partners in the creation of the Annals of Family Medicine.
January 2002
STFM partnered with the seven organizations of the “family of family medicine” to initiate the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) Project to develop a strategy to transform and renew the specialty to meet the needs of people and society in a changing environment. Project recommendations were published in a special supplement of the March–April 2004 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
April 2003
The STFM Annual Spring Conference was postponed to the fall of 2004 at a different venue because of concerns over an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Toronto, ON.
September 2004
STFM became a cosponsor of the Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine with the Medical College of Wisconsin.
April 2005
The Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (now called the STFM Resource Library) launched. This service provides peer-reviewed educational materials, works-in-progress, and conference materials for individuals at all levels of family medicine education.
2006–2012
November 2006
The Conference on Patient Education became the STFM Conference on Practice Improvement.
January 2007
STFM launched its Medical Student Educators Development Institute, a yearlong comprehensive faculty development program for those who educate medical students, particularly those who aspire to be clerkship directors or medical student education directors.
April 2007
The STFM Foundation created the Group Project Fund to support efforts of STFM groups.
August 2007
The STFM Board approved the STFM Core Values: Integrity, Relationship-Centered, Openness, Nurturing, Excellence, Learning. Although Diversity was intended to be implied in the core value of Openness, the word Diversity was explicitly listed as a core value in 2011.
October 31, 2007
Roger Sherwood, CAE, retired as STFM's executive director after 26 years of service. Stacy Brungardt, CAE, became the new executive director.
January 2008
The STFM Board approved STFM's core purpose: “Advancing family medicine to improve health through a community of teachers and scholars.” While the word “purpose” evolved in future years to become mission, this statement remains unchanged since it was approved in 2008.
STFM, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, and the North American Primary Care Research Group officially launched the Council of Academic Family Medicine as a new way of working together, coordinating activities where there is overlap, and acting on strategic initiatives that support academic family medicine.
August 2009
The family of family medicine organizations approved the Family Medicine Clerkship Curriculum. This curriculum is a list of common and important presentations that all medical students should experience during their third year family medicine clerkship. STFM was the lead in this CAFM initiative, and the STFM Foundation was the financial sponsor.
November 2009
Outcomes from the retreat of the STFM Foundation trustees included a revised mission, “to grow the capacity of STFM to support its mission and goals” as well as an affirmation to create greater alignment between the priorities of the Foundation and STFM.
January 2010
The STFM Board approved the decision to use the term medical student education in place of predoctoral. The Predoctoral Education Conference changed its name to the STFM Conference on Medical Student Education as of the 2011 conference.
July 2010
The STFM Group on Oral Health launched its third edition of the Smiles for Life oral health curriculum, which is designed to enhance the role of primary care clinicians in the promotion of oral health for all age groups.
March 2010
John Saultz was appointed as the fourth editor of Family Medicine.
July 2010
fmCASES launched with 29 completed and peer-reviewed cases. STFM partnered with iIntime, now MedU, to develop virtual patient cases designed to teach the family medicine core clerkship curriculum to medical students during their family medicine clerkship.
January 2011
Family Medicine journal launched a redesigned format. The following year the journal won an EXCEL Award from Association Media and Publishing for Most Improved Journal.
Spring 2011
STFM launched the Emerging Leaders Fellowship, which offers training, tools and support for new faculty and those transitioning or new to leadership roles.
May 2011
STFM Behavioral Science/Family Systems Educator Fellowship was launched as a yearlong fellowship for new family medicine faculty who have responsibility for coordinating the behavioral science/family systems curriculum.
July 2011
The CAFM Educational Resource Alliance (CERA) launched as a framework to focus and support medical education research. CAFM is staffed by STFM and cosponsored by the other CAFM organizations.
Fall 2011
STFM initiated a formal program process to assess its programs and activities. The process has evolved significantly and continues to serve as an important mechanism for examining programs for relevance and their ability to meet member needs.
January 2012
STFM launched Teaching Physician, a comprehensive web-based resource connecting medical schools and residency programs to community preceptors. The resource delivers videos, tips, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to in-depth information on precepting topics.
April 2012
STFM unveiled a new logo for the Society. Prior to its introduction, STFM members were given an opportunity to vote and provide input. According to then STFM President Jerry Kruse, “The logo was changed to reflect the innovation and influence of STFM.”
2013–2019
January 2013
STFM underwent a robust governance assessment process. Outcomes from this assessment included the creation of STFM governance principles, and adjustment of terms of CFAS representative and STFM treasurer, a move to greater transparency in its structure, and a move from a contested to uncontested elections.
April 2013
STFM, in conjunction with AFMRD, launched the Family Medicine Residency Curriculum Resource with topic lists and recommended readings. In March of 2015, the site added curriculum that included peer-reviewed case-based presentations, quizzes, and facilitator’s guides.
January 2014
STFM held its first uncontested election. Mary Hall was the first president voted in by the membership through this single candidate system.
October 2014
STFM, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians officially launched the Family Medicine for America’s Health initiative. The initiative was a 5-year effort to demonstrate the value of primary care in delivering on better health, better care, and lower costs.
November 2014
As part of its strategic plan discussions, STFM examined its mission, vision, core values and tagline. The Board agreed that the Mission, Vision, and Tagline would remain the same. Minor changes in the STFM values included removing “Learning” and changing “Relationship-Centered” to “Relationships”. The core values are now diversity, integrity, relationships, openness, nurturing, and excellence.
April 2015
The STFM Foundation launched a 2-year campaign to fund a special initiative called Faculty for Tomorrow. This initiative was designed to assist in the recruitment and retention of family medicine faculty.
December 2015
STFM launched a Leading Change Fellowship, a yearlong fellowship offering interprofessional team skill-building and resources to enable transformation of a family medicine teaching practice. Michael Mendoza and Jennifer Johnson served as the first interprofessional cochairs of the fellowship.
April 2016
STFM Board approved a restructure plan for its groups to three different types: Collaboratives, Special Project Teams, and Discussion Forums.
April 12, 2016
STFM recorded the first of the Faculty for Tomorrow Webinar Series.
May 2016
The first Faculty for Tomorrow Workshop for Residents was held at the STFM Annual Spring Conference.
The STFM Foundation changed its mission to “promote and develop support for STFM and its mission and goals."
2017
STFM celebrated its 50th anniversary.
February 2017
STFM began publication of its second peer-reviewed journal: PRiMER. The journal focuses on small, rigorously-designed research briefs, with a special emphasis on publishing learner-led research.
June 2017
STFM launched the Residency Faculty Fundamentals Certificate Program. This program provides foundational training for family medicine residency faculty.
August 9, 2018
STFM recorded the first free webinar, titled "Making the Residency Curriculum Resource Come Alive".
2019
The Minority and Multicultural Health Collaborative awarded a grant from the STFM Project Fund to launch a program to mentor underrepresented in medicine (URM) faculty in scholarship. This program was the first targeted towards URM faculty and evolves into the STFM Leadership through Scholarship Fellowship.
The Community Faculty Competencies was incorporated into the Community Faculty Self-Assessment Tool.
The STFM Leading Change Fellowship sunset.
August 2019
The family medicine organizations changed the name of its bi-annual gathering from the Family Medicine Working Party to the Family Medicine Leadership Consortium.
2020–2026
2020
During COVID, the STFM Annual Spring Conference, STFM Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement, and STFM Conference on Medical Student Education were transformed into virtual conferences.
The Underrepresented in Medicine Initiative began with funding from the ABFM Foundation. STFM supports URM faculty through four pillars: leadership, scholarship, mentorship, and URM faculty pipeline. The URM Leadership Pathways in Family Medicine Course, Leadership through Scholarship Fellowship, the URM Mentorship Program, the URM Jam Podcast, and many publications and presentations were developed as part of the initiative.
March 9, 2020
STFM launched the STFM Podcast, a monthly podcast series featuring experts and leaders in academic family medicine.
July 8, 2020
STFM launched the President's Podcast Episodes with Tricia Elliott, MD.
September 17, 2020
STFM recorded the first of the New Faculty Scholars Webinar Series.
October 21, 2020
STFM recorded the first of the URM Scholarship Webinar Series.
2021
The STFM Communications Committee sunset.
July 2021
STFM launched the Telemedicine Curriculum, which gives learners the knowledge and skills they need to conduct effective, patient-centered telemedicine visits.
October 5, 2021
STFM launched the URM JAM Podcast with hosts Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, MBA, and Omari Hodge, MD.
2022
The STFM Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee was formed to provide governance on STFM’s growing DEIA-related work.
May 2022
Kathryn Fraser, PhD, received the first STFM Diversity Award.
September 2022
The STFM Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement returned to an in-person event after being held virtually for 2 years during the COVID pandemic. The other conferences returned to in-person the following year.
November 2022
STFM launched the URM Leadership Pathways in Academic Medicine program.
January 2023
Sarina Schrager, MD, was appointed the fifth editor of Family Medicine.
October 30, 2023
STFM recorded the first in the CBME Webinar Series.
December 2023
The POCUS Education in Family Medicine Task Force formed to provide recommendations on competencies, curriculum, and assessment on point-of-care ultrasound in family medicine residency programs.
July 2024
STFM launched the Family Medicine POCUS Educator's Certificate Program and the Teach POCUS online modules to train family medicine residency faculty to serve as their program’s POCUS champion with the skills to train family medicine residents how to effectively use POCUS.
September 2024
The first part of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Primary Care Curriculum launched online.
The Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement integrated key components of the Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine. The conference steering committee expanded to add two additional positions for behavioral health educators.
2025
The STFM Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary.
May 2025
For the first time, expanded CEUs including social work, psychology, and pharmacy were offered to attendees of the STFM Annual Spring Conference.
September 17, 2025
STFM recorded the first of the GME Webinar Series.
November 20, 2025
STFM launched the Behavioral Science Curriculum on the website.
February 4, 2026
STFM recorded the first of the Inclusivity and Health Equity Webinar Series.
Reflections From the Presidents
"STFM has the magic. The members and the STFM staff are among the most talented, dedicated, and generous people I have ever met. I always leave conferences with more colleagues, more ideas, and more passion."
"Whatever it was that drew you to family medicine—a story, a cause, a loved one, a patient, a mentor—find a way to capture that memory so that you can always go back to it when times get tough."
