The Family Behind Family Medicine with Dr. Benjamin Popokh, MD

The Center for the History of Family Medicine
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Courses

The Family Behind Family Medicine is an oral history project made possible by a grant from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. Dr. Benjamin Popokh explores explores one of the most essential yet underexamined dimensions of family medicine: the influence of physicians' families on their personal and professional lives. Through six episodes featuring interviews with family members of family physicians from diverse practice settings across the United States, the series examines the reciprocal relationships between physicians and those closest to them. Participants describe the many roles that spouses, children, parents, and other relatives play in supporting clinical practice, shaping physician identity, and navigating the rewards and challenges of a career in family medicine. By documenting experiences from rural communities, suburban practices, and urban health systems, the project highlights how family relationships both sustain and are transformed by the practice of family medicine, offering a perspective that has received comparatively little attention in discussions of the specialty.  

Episodes

  1. Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    Trailer: The Family Behind Family Medicine

    The Family Behind Family Medicine is an oral history project made possible by a grant from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. Dr. Benjamin Popokh explores explores one of the most essential yet underexamined dimensions of family medicine: the influence of physicians' families on their personal and professional lives. Through six episodes featuring interviews with family members of family physicians from diverse practice settings across the United States, the series examines the reciprocal relationships between physicians and those closest to them. Participants describe the many roles that spouses, children, parents, and other relatives play in supporting clinical practice, shaping physician identity, and navigating the rewards and challenges of a career in family medicine. By documenting experiences from rural communities, suburban practices, and urban health systems, the project highlights how family relationships both sustain and are transformed by the practice of family medicine, offering a perspective that has received comparatively little attention in discussions of the specialty.   This item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.  Disclaimer:  The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice.

  2. 4d ago

    Who Gets Called- Episode 2

    Episode 2: Who Gets Called? Why do some children of family physicians follow in their parents’ footsteps while others choose a different path? In this episode of The Family Behind Family Medicine, host Benjamin Popokh explores the many routes that lead people toward, and away from, family medicine. Through stories from physicians, nurses, physician assistants, healthcare leaders, and trainees, listeners hear how growing up around family medicine shapes lives in unexpected ways. Dr. Russell Thomas shares how childhood house calls alongside his father inspired him to return home and practice in the same small Texas town. The Harberger brothers describe resisting medicine before eventually discovering that family medicine felt like the perfect fit. Others, including Jacqueline Miller and the Woods family, admired the dedication of family physicians but chose different healthcare careers after witnessing the demands of the profession firsthand. The episode also features Nayeli Fuentes, a first-generation physician whose path to medicine began after a family medical crisis revealed the barriers many patients face in accessing care. Her story highlights how the values at the heart of family medicine transcend family tradition. At its core, this episode examines the enduring influence of compassion, service, and human connection. Whether inherited through generations or discovered independently, the calling to care for others continues to shape lives, families, and communities across America.

  3. Aug 17

    Growing up in the Waiting Room- Episode 1.

    This first episode of The Family Behind Family Medicine explores what it is like to grow up as the child of a family physician. Hosted by Benjamin Popokh, the episode features interviews with children of family doctors from communities across the United States. They describe seeing their parents as people who could "fix" others, witnessing the demands of medical practice, helping in clinics and hospitals, and sharing their parents with entire communities. Made possible by a grant from the Center for the History of Familiy Medicine and the AAFP Foundation.    This item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.  Disclaimer:  The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice.

Trailer

About

The Family Behind Family Medicine is an oral history project made possible by a grant from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. Dr. Benjamin Popokh explores explores one of the most essential yet underexamined dimensions of family medicine: the influence of physicians' families on their personal and professional lives. Through six episodes featuring interviews with family members of family physicians from diverse practice settings across the United States, the series examines the reciprocal relationships between physicians and those closest to them. Participants describe the many roles that spouses, children, parents, and other relatives play in supporting clinical practice, shaping physician identity, and navigating the rewards and challenges of a career in family medicine. By documenting experiences from rural communities, suburban practices, and urban health systems, the project highlights how family relationships both sustain and are transformed by the practice of family medicine, offering a perspective that has received comparatively little attention in discussions of the specialty.  

Information