Dr. Shannon B. Dowler, a family physician from Asheville and medical director of Blue Ridge Community Health Center in Hendersonville, was installed as the President of the NC Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) during the organization’s annual meeting in Asheville this past Saturday.  Dr. Dowler, a long-time North Carolina Medical Society member, is a former NCMS Foundation Community Practitioner Program participant and a 2008 graduate of the Foundation’s Leadership College.

Dr. Dowler graduated from The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 1999 and completed her residency training in Family Medicine at the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Program in Asheville.  She completed her undergraduate studies at Appalachian State University in Boone.

In describing her professional journey, Dr. Dowler highlighted several mentors and stressed how these types of relationships can help advance the specialty.   “As our specialty continues to be in demand and more and more primary care doctors are needed across the state and country, an intentional effort at mentoring will undoubtedly pay itself forward,” she said.