“The duty of any first is to make sure
there is a second.”
These words serve as a powerful motiva-
tor for Dr. Patrice Harris, president-elect of
the American Medical Association (AMA),
who will become the organization’s first
African-American female president when
she is inaugurated in June.
“Every president brings their
own unique lens through which
they view the work of the AMA,
and I think that is important,” says
Harris. “I hope I can be evidence
and inspiration to young women,
particularly young black women,
that they can aspire to the ulti-
mate leadership position in their
profession no matter what profes-
sion they choose. I am very proud
to be the first African-American
female president of the AMA. It’s
an honor and a privilege but also
a great responsibility, and it will
be my role to make sure there are
more to come.”
“I was on my psychiatry rotation, and
I fell in love with the variety and the chal-
lenge of the patients,” she recalls. “I have
always been fascinated by the brain, and
that fascination was ignited by the patients
we were able to see and even more so by
the ones we were able to help.”
important contributors to their health. I
think the opportunity to make a difference
is when you intervene with children early
on. When you work to make children’s
lives better, it leads to longer, healthier
lives and healthier communities.”
Along with prior work as a health ad-
ministrator, patient advocate and
medical society lobbyist, Harris
Harris at the U.S. Capitol
in Washington, D.C.
has made a name for herself and
Photo by David Hathcox.
her mission in organized medicine
by serving on the boards of the
American Psychiatric Association
and AMA; as president of the
Georgia Psychiatric Physicians
Association (GPPA); as a member
of the Medical Association of
Georgia’s council on legislation,
committee on constitution and
bylaws and membership task
force; and as founding president
of the Georgia Psychiatry Political
Action Committee. Harris was a
member of the governing council
of the AMA Women Physicians
Congress when the AMA board
of trustees appointed her to its
Council on Legislation in 2003.
In 2010, she was elected council
chair, and in 2011, she was elected
to the board of trustees for the
first time.
A Strong Foundation
Harris is no stranger to paving
her own way and going first. A
native of Bluefield, WV, she was
the first in her family to attend
medical school and the only
African-American member of her
graduating class. She credits her
Mountain State upbringing, her
parents and both of her grand-
mothers for her self-confidence.
“It was great growing up in a small but
strong community,” she says. “I had two
very wise grandmothers. Together with
my parents they instilled in me family
values and a love of serving and caring for
others. My mother taught middle school
math and my father worked on the rail-
road, so I also learned the importance of
hard work early in life. My parents taught
me I could do anything I wanted, so I
never doubted I could be a physician, but
I never imagined that journey would lead
me to become president of the AMA.”
After graduating from Bluefield High
School, Harris attended West Virginia
University (WVU) for undergraduate,
graduate and medical school, where she
received a bachelor’s degree in psychology
and master’s degrees in counseling and
psychology. It was during her third year
of medical school that she fell in love
with psychiatry.
A Public Platform
A Life of Service
Harris completed her residency in child
and adolescent psychiatry at Emory Uni-
versity School of Medicine in Atlanta,
the city she now calls home. She cur-
rently works in private practice, but the
enduring theme of her career has been
working with others to improve the lives
of children. While she is trained to see
patients of any age, she has focused on
seeing children within the juvenile justice
system and foster care over the course of
her career.
“One of my inspirations to become
a physician was Marcus Welby, the TV
doctor,” says Harris. “He was a family
physician, and what I liked about him
was he not only took care of his patients
inside the exam room, but he also cared
for their lives and challenges outside the
exam room. We know and appreciate
today that the challenges, lives and con-
ditions people live with and in are very
Fast forward to today, and
Harris is excitedly awaiting her
inauguration as president of the AMA.
“The ultimate mission of the AMA is to
promote the art and science of medicine
and the betterment of public health for
everyone in this country, and that has
been my lifelong goal as I’ve pursued my
career as a physician,” she says. “As a
psychiatrist, I want to make sure mental
health and early childhood intervention
are part of that conversation. I also want
to amplify the issues around diversity and
inclusion and the importance of women
in medicine and women in leadership.
All of these will be incorporated into the
overall exciting work we are doing at the
AMA focusing on pre-diabetes and high
blood pressure, training the next gener-
ation of physicians and making sure the
regulatory and administrative burdens
that affect the medical community are
addressed.”
Harris’ belief that what happens at
home is just as important as vital signs
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