Bio 2.23

Reid B. Blackwelder, MD, FAAFP, is the son of two amazing teachers, and is married to a remarkable person with whom he shares 8 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, 2 dogs and 2 cats! His passion is teaching which he has done all his career, and still does. 

Professionally, he is Associate Dean for GME and CE at the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. He served as Chair of Family Medicine for 5 years, and as Program Director of the Kingsport Family Medicine Residency Program for more than 13 years and regularly precepts residents and students, including interprofessional learners, in all three of ETSU’s Family Medicine Residencies.

He is a Past President of the American Academy of Family Physicians. During his 6 years on the Board of Directors and as an officer, he advocated on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system, specifically to implement effective team-based patient-centered care.  

He graduated from Emory Medical School cum laude, and as member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He did his residency and a teaching fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia. He was proud to be "a simple country doctor" in Trenton, GA (pop 1400) at a National Health Service Corps clinic. This experience opened his eyes both to how much fun practicing medicine can be, as well as revealed how bizarrely our medical education and “healthcare” systems are structured.