Medicine

Gingrich named top physician educator in the U.S.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has chosen Dr. Dennis Gingrich as its 2014 Exemplary Teacher Award recipient. Gingrich, a past president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, is a professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Gingrich, who graduated from the College of Medicine, returned to the college as a member of its faculty in 1985. In addition to teaching and practicing medicine, he created and runs a yearly project called The Primary Care Scholars Program, through which college students interested in primary care careers visit Hershey for a week to learn about family medicine. Gingrich serves and works with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and the Family Medicine Education Consortium in various capacities. Gingrich has been recognized with the Medical Center’s Distinguished Educator Award and is currently listed in The Best Doctors in America in family medicine and geriatrics.

The AAFP’s Exemplary Teaching Award was developed to acknowledge exemplary teaching skills, as well as outstanding educational program implementation or innovating teaching models. The AAFP and its chapters represent more than 115,900 family physician, resident and medical student members. Family physicians play a critical role in improving the health of patients, families and communities across the United States. The AAFP is committed to helping family physicians improve the health of Americans by advancing the specialty of family medicine.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and its Foundation supports its members (including nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvania family physicians) through advocacy and education to ensure a patient-centered medical home for every Pennsylvanian. They are the leading influential resource among family physicians and physicians in training in Pennsylvania; the primary voice on health care issues with state legislative and administrative branches of government, media and professional health organizations; and the leader on health care issues in the community.

Dr. Dennis Gingrich Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated January 9, 2015

Contact