It is Christmas evening and I have just returned from the annual family gathering and, while tired from the journey, I am filled with gratitude for having another set of memories to add to my life story. There are the long traditions such as always having the family together at our family home. Christmas services at the church I grew up in brings back such memories of my parents. The kids Christmas service is always full of surprises that everyone enjoys for its innocence and provides laughter which is such a healing experience. We have given up turkey for the Christmas dinner, and it has been replaced by shrimp and “Drunkin’ Chicken” as everyone agreed that turkey is not a favorite for anyone. And now there is the annual “Star Wars” movie with my grandnephew followed by dinner together.
Duke Family Medicine is a tradition for me, as well. I arrived at the Broad Street location in 1975 when the specialty was starting to take off nationally, though we had a lot to prove at Duke — and prove it we have. I remember the crumbling walls at Watts Hospital and the shiny new wards at Durham County General. We have been on the brink several times only to survive and become stronger. We started out in trailers, an office previously home to one of the last general practitioners in Durham as the era of family medicine arrived. We had a building designed for us near our Durham Regional home only to move to our current campus site in the Marshall I Pickens Building in the 1990s. Well, friends, we are splitting at the seams now. We are growing and expanding our reach in Durham and beyond — we are exploring a rural track and a research track.
This year’s Christmas wish list includes asking Santa for a new home of our next evolution. We have a new department chair with an exciting vision for the future and the energy to push us forward. We have residents whose innovative ideas will change the landscape of care. We have a division chief who is a good spirit and a strong voice for everyone. We have new faculty members who bring experiences and skills that add richness to the program. And, we are going to return to our roots at Durham Regional, now Duke Regional Hospital, to do baby deliveries again. Our value to the overall well-being to the health system is being recognized and utilized.
This July will be my 40th anniversary since graduating from the residency. My new year’s wish is to see Duke Family Medicine prosper in 2018 and beyond. We have the desire, we have the leadership and we have the vision. We will build new traditions and make everyone proud to be a part of the history of Duke Family Medicine.
Joyce Copeland is core faculty with the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program. Email joyce.copeland@duke.edu with questions.
Editor’s note: A member of the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program leadership team guest blogs every month. Blogs represent the opinion of the author, not the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program, the Department of Community and Family Medicine or Duke University.