Voices from family medicine: Lynn Carmichael. Interview by William B. Ventres and John J. Frey

Now that the 25th anniversary of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine is upon us, educators are likely to look back at the history, which set the stage for family medicine. This is a history replete with reports, politics, and ultimately, the development of family practice training programs. It is a history, as well, made through the labors of individuals. The vantage points we have chosen to examine in this series are those of some of the people who lent their efforts to the founding of family medicine. Common personal needs prompted us to explore these vantage points. Although we are at different points in our professional trajectories--one of us is a recent graduate from residency and fellowship training, the other has many years of experience as a teacher and journal editor--the same themes emerged in our self-explorations. Where do we fit into the family medicine movement? What satisfaction do we get out of our day-to-day routines of practice, teaching, and research? What meaning sustains our activities in the discipline? To help answer these questions, we looked to some of the leaders of family medicine. In this transcript, an abridged and edited version of interviews conducted in April and May of 1991, Lynn Carmichael, MD, discusses his involvement with the founding of family medicine, his perspectives on the importance of family practice, and his thoughts and concerns about the future. Dr. Carmichael is professor and founding chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He was the first president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the founding editor of Family Medicine (then Family Medicine Teacher), and the initial recipient of the STFM Certificate of Excellence in 1978.