Longtime North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) member Maureen Murphy, MD, of Concord was awarded the American Academy of Family Physicians’ highest honor – Family Physician of the Year – at their annual meeting last week in Denver. The award honors one outstanding family physician nationwide who provides patients with compassionate, comprehensive care, and serves as a role model in his or her community and to other health professionals.

In March, Dr. Murphy was one of 10 North Carolina Doctor of the Year finalists as part of the NC Doctors’ Day celebration. She also is active in the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians recently serving a term as their president.

Murphy’s lasting legacy to family medicine centers on her gift as a talented teacher and mentor to medical students and the next generation of family physicians. Following her residency at the Duke University Family Medicine Residency Program she became a clinical instructor at the East Carolina School of Medicine Family Practice Center in Greenville. Murphy was in private practice from 1990 to 2011. She founded an independent, family medicine practice in Gastonia and became a leading advocate for both patients and physicians at Gaston Memorial Hospital, where she established a family medicine department and delivered hundreds of babies.

Murphy’s success in Gastonia led her to the small mountain community of Sparta where she pursued her dream of caring for the medically underserved.  In 2011, Murphy’s passion for teaching brought her to Cabarrus Family Medicine in Concord, where she continues mentoring the next generation of family physicians and providing care to patients of all ages. She remains very involved as a preceptor for medical schools both in and outside of North Carolina.

Congratulations, Dr. Murphy!