Shauna Guthrie, MD, MPH, FAAFP, a Henderson family physician, is the new president of the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians.
Guthrie was installed last weekend at the association’s annual meeting in Asheville, which was attended by more than 700 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students, according to a press statement from NCAFP
She will serve a one-year term, according to information released Friday.
In her inaugural address to NCAFP members, Guthrie stressed the versatility of family physicians. “I just really love being a family physician,” she said. “There are so many roles we can play, scopes we can practice, and places we can go…. We are family physicians. We are smart enough to manage complicated patients but can still explain concepts in a way non-doctors can understand; we try to see the whole picture; and we’re nimble enough to change entire workflows when global pandemics happen so we can still care for our patients. We are unique unicorns, and we get to do the coolest things.”
Before coming to North Carolina, Guthrie was an active member of the New Hampshire Academy of Family Physicians, where she served as the resident representative to the board. She has been on the board of the NCAFP for the past seven years and this year served as the president-elect of the NCAFP Executive Committee. She enjoys giving back to the profession by teaching medical students and residents.
Guthrie completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas and attended medical school at the Drexel University College of Medicine. She completed residency training in family medicine at the New Hampshire Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency. After finishing her family medicine residency, Guthrie stayed in New Hampshire to complete the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Leadership Preventive Medicine Residency, where she also completed her Master’s in Public Health degree with a focus on quality improvement. She recently opened her own private practice, Sunflower Direct Primary Care in downtown Henderson to provide the kind of care she has always dreamed of. She currently serves as the chief medical officer for Maria Parham Health and medical director at Granville-Vance Public Health.
Guthrie lives in Henderson, where she enjoys music, reading, cooking and caring for her dog and chickens.