Mississippi Delta Family Residency News

Mississippi Delta Family Residency Director Appointed to

The American Academy of Family Physicians Board

Greenville, MS: The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) held elections for its 2023-2024 at its annual Congress of Delegates, the organization’s governing body. This year, Brent Smith, M.D., Program Director for the Mississippi Delta Family Residency Program, gained election as an At-Large member of the AAFP Board of Directors. His role will include advocating on behalf of family physicians, residents, medical students, and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system. The AAFP represents nearly 130,000 active physicians, residents and medical students.

Dr. Smith is a family physician who also specializes in sports medicine. Dr. Smith graduated medical school from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS. After completing residency, he finished his clinical education with a primary care sports medicine fellowship at the University of Alabama. During residency, fellowship and his early career, Smith worked to broaden his knowledge background by completing a Bachelor of History from Ouachita Baptist University, a Master of Science in Clinical Education through the University of Edinburgh, and a Master of Legal Studies in Healthcare Law through the University of Oklahoma.

“I am very honored to have the opportunity to serve on the AAFP Board of Directors. I believe passionately that physicians have to work outside of our clinical duties to improve the system and our practice environment. We also have a duty to ensure our specialty’s future through our student and resident pipeline, and that is work I hope to continue doing over the next three years.,” said Smith. “My single biggest goal in the next 3 years is to work on making the actual practice of medicine more fulfilling by cutting out as much of the administrative trivia as we possibly can.”

The first board of directors of the American Academy of General Practice was formed in June 1947. The board of directors carries out activities and resolutions in between Congress of Delegates meetings and on behalf of family medicine and the Congress of Delegates. The board, in turn, appoints commissions to help carry out its activities. Board members meet in person five times annually and virtually up to two times

annually to accomplish the organization's business. In addition to carrying out the directives of the Congress of Delegates, the board is also responsible for a periodic review of non-clinical AAFP policy statements, strategic planning, board metric development, and recommendations from the eight commissions.

“On behalf of Delta Health System, I would like to congratulate Dr. Smith for the honor of being elected to the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors. We are proud of the work he is doing here with the Family Residency Program and now we will get to see more of his work on a national level,” said Iris Stacker, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Health System.