San Francisco – The California Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (CAFP-‐F) has named Alex Sherriffs, MD and Joan Rubinstein, MD of Fowler its 2013 Preceptors of the Year in honor of their years of teaching the art and science of family medicine to medical students. Dr. Rubinstein and Dr. Sherriffs will accept the award at a ceremony in San Francisco on May 3 at the CAFP Annual Scientific Assembly. The California Academy of Family Physicians is comprised of 8,500 family doctors from around the state.
“California faces a serious primary care physician shortage and encouraging medical students to choose a career in family medicine is a key part of the solution,” said CAFP-‐F President Jimmy Hara, MD. In the CAFP-‐F preceptorship program, first-‐year medical students spend four weeks of summer with practicing family physicians across California.
“With the knowledge, skill and commitment they bring to patient care and medical education, Dr. Rubinstein and Dr. Sherriffs serve as outstanding mentors to family physicians in training,” Dr. Hara said.
For more than 17 years, Dr. Rubinstein and Dr. Sherriffs have mentored at least one medical student each summer in their Fowler practice, providing students with an opportunity to work in a thriving rural health center. There, students experience the full scope of family medicine practice, including preventive and primary care and minor surgical procedures.
In addition to their work in Fowler, Dr. Rubinstein and Dr. Sherriffs serve as clinical professors in family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco Fresno Family Medicine Residency. They also are involved in the local community, serving on the boards of multiple organizations. They’re known throughout their community as the “town doctors” and have been instrumental in supporting community projects, such as raising funds for a community running track. They met during medical school at the University of California, Davis, were married during their residency at Valley Medical Center in Fresno, and have two daughters.
In 2013 the foundation is celebrating 20 years of the preceptorship program. CAFP-‐F is inaugurating the Preceptor of the Year Award this year to annually honor family physicians who mentor future generations.
