Message From Our Chair

Family Medicine is one of the founding departments of the Brody School of Medicine. Since its establishment in 1977, our department has earned a national reputation for developing innovative programs in education, research, and patient care. We remain committed to applying the principles of family medicine to contemporary practice and we are currently working on instituting the fundamentals of the patient-centered medical home in anticipation of national health care reform.

The Brody School of Medicine was founded by the legislature with primary care as one of its three missions, the other two being a focus on eastern North Carolina and undeserved minorities. We strive to meet these goals every day. This is evidenced by our medical school placing in the top ten schools nationally for the last decade in family medicine career selection by our medical students.

Our strengths include:

• Strong nationally known faculty including over twenty family physicians, in addition to researchers, behaviorists, nutritionists, and educators. This faculty has been recognized repeatedly with awards locally and nationally.
• A nationally-known, vibrant residency program that provides exceptional training in a broad, family medicine-based curriculum.
• Successful fellowship programs in geriatrics and sports medicine.
• A strong, well-established predoctoral division providing education to Brody students in every year of their curriculum. The Brody School of Medicine has one of the highest percentages of students in the country selecting family medicine for their primary care residencies.
• A pharmacy section for consultation and patient care.
• One affiliated family medicine clinic in Greenville.

I am excited to tell you about our new state-of-the-art Family Medicine Center which is one of the finest family medicine centers in the country with approximately 115,000 square feet containing sixty exam rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, imaging and procedure areas, eight conference and class rooms, offices for fifty faculty, thirty six residents, and medical students on rotation. While representing a significant increase in the amount of space available to our programs, the clustering of exam rooms, resident offices, and classroom space preserves and enhances our ability to develop meaningful relationships with colleagues, students and patients alike.

There is a separate portion of this facility, the Frances J. and Robert T. Monk Geriatric Center. Through the generous donation of a local family, the Geriatric Center offers consultation and chronic care to the oldest in our society. Combined with our family medicine center, this new facility is a testament to the commitment of the Brody School of Medicine to our mission.

This department fosters a nurturing and supportive environment in which everyone can work together successfully. I invite you to explore our website to learn more about what we do. If you are in the Greenville area, please do not hesitate to visit or call us.

Chelley Alexander, MD
Robert T. Monk Distinguished Professor and Chair