The Dr. William Allen Lectureship Fund for Family Medicine will allow the Department of Family and Communit
y Medicine at the WMU School of Medicine to host nationally recognized family medicine educators and leaders in Kalamazoo. These visiting professors will enrich the educational opportunities for students, residents, faculty, and community physicians and others interested in improving the health of southwestern Michigan.
William W. Allen, MD, FAAFP, is an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the WMU School of Medicine. "I started residency three years after Family Practice became a recognized specialty. The faculty and residents believed very strongly in the tenets of family practice. We had to swim against the tide to attain our dream. I still strongly believe in the philosophy and practice of family medicine. I believe in the biopsychosocial model to provide care for patients as individuals and as members of families. I believe we should take care of the whole family and several generations of the whole family, as I did while practicing for 13 years as part of a family practice group, and two years solo in two small Michigan towns.
When I decided to change the course of my professional life and bring what I had learned to an academic setting, I found I could continue to care for two to three generations. After getting my feet wet for a year, as Associate Program Director, I completed a Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship at Michigan State University to better prepare myself to teach. I really enjoy helping residents learn and watching them mature into competent family physicians."