Two family medicine resident physicians at Memorial University Medical Center were recognized recently at the American Academy of Family Physicians’ annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Natalie Britt, M.D., and Jamal Lawrence, M.D., who are in their second year of family medicine training, were named to leadership positions within AAFP, the leading professional organization for primary care physicians.

Britt, a native of Augusta, was elected the alternate resident delegate to the AAFP’s Congress of Delegates. In this resident leadership role, she will learn the governance process, represent resident interests, help coordinate resident activities, and communicate important issues to resident members. She will serve through next year’s conference.

Yonkers, New York native Lawrence was selected to serve as a coach for the Primary Care Leadership Collaborative, a collaboration among three national organizations: AAFP, Family Medicine for America’s Health, and Primary Care Progress. Competition for this role is high among residents and early-career physicians. In June, he completed training and now coaches two of 13 family medicine interest groups in the pilot program. An FMIG comprises medical students who are interested in specializing in family medicine.

One of the FMIGs is at Mercer University School of Medicine, whose Savannah campus is located at Memorial University Medical Center. Student leaders of the Mercer FMIG are: Courtney Stone, Tara Keil, Ashley Hampton, and Laurel Duvall.