Huntsville Regional Medical Campus student Kaci Larsen was elected as student chair of the 2016 National American Academy of Family Physicians Conference.A 2016 graduate of the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus won election to a leadership role in the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Kaci Larsen was elected as student chair of the 2016 National AAFP Conference. She serves as a member of the team that is planning the 2016 national conference, a highly visible student leadership position within the AAFP.

“When I close my eyes and imagine what my idea of a physician is, I picture a specialty that treats the whole person—mind, body, and spirit,” says Larsen.

“I want to be able to help people from all walks of life, and that is family medicine. I envision myself sitting at a little league park watching my future children play. I would have the ability to treat the child who falls and breaks his arm, answer the pregnancy questions of the couple sitting next to me, and take care of the elderly woman having chest pains.”

Originally from Gardendale, Ala., Larsen attended Auburn University for her undergraduate studies and majored in biomedical sciences. During her first-year of medical school, she attended the AAFP National Conference. This is where she was inspired to become a medical advocate for patients and their families, and to specialize in family medicine. She matched into the family medicine residency at University Hospitals in Columbia, Mo.

“I have known since the tenth grade that I wanted to be involved in medicine,” she says. “As a physician, I will have the opportunity to become a support system for not only my patients, but for my patients’ families. I know my time spent with the AAFP will only help further my passion of making an impact for the future of family medicine.”

The mission of the AAFP is to improve the health of patients, families, and communities by serving the needs of members with professionalism and creativity. The association and its chapters represent more than 120,000 family physicians, residents, and medical students, with special recognition of the importance of training future leaders of medicine. It is one of the few specialty organizations to actively enlist resident and student members in leadership roles.

The National AAFP Conference will be held July 28-30, 2016 in Kansas City, Mo.