Advocate

A LIFELONG PASSION FOR ADVOcACY…

Dr. Andrew Carroll considers professional, patient, and public advocacy as a major driver of his career as a Family Physician.

Dr. Carroll’s first foray into advocacy was as the leader of the newly formed American Medical Student Association chapter at St. George’s University School of Medicine in 1992. With a group of medical students and the faculty in support, Dr. Carroll traveled to Miami, Florida to ask the national organization to allow St. George’s to form the first international chapter. A charter was granted, and the AMSA chapter at SGUSOM started, and still goes strong today.

He first served as a delegate to the American Medical Association Organized Medical Staff Section in 2000 as a representative of Maricopa County’s Healthcare system. He was soon elected to serve as State Chair for Arizona to this same section and authored resolutions at the American Medical Association House of Delegates to restrict EMTALA’s reach to outpatient clinics that were connected to a hospital system. This allowed ambulatory physicians to send patients directly to the nearest hospital rather than the system’s hospital, which in many cases was much farther away from the clinic, therefore making it safer for patients in need of emergency care.

With the American Academy of Family Physicians, he was invited by the Arizona Chapter’s President to attend the Annual Leadership Forum in 2007. This led to an accelerated passion for leadership and advocacy, prompting him to volunteer to serve at the National Conference of Special Constituencies (now NCCL) as the International Medical Graduate representative, and then later as Minority representative. This provided him the opportunity for more learnings around resolution writing and the power of advocacy for issues important to Family Physicians and their patients. This was also an invaluable opportunity to network with current and future leaders in the AAFP, many of whom have eventually assumed Board seats, Reference Committee and Commission positions.

In 2010, Dr. Carroll served as the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians Alternative Delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates, leading to further advocacy and leadership opportunities.

In 2013, he was invited by AAFP President Dr. Reid Blackwelder to join the Member Interest Groups Task Force whose duties included the renaming of NCSC/ALF to NCCL/ACLF, and beginning the Member Interest Groups, now felt to be vital representative organizations within the AAFP.

Dr. Carroll has represented Arizona in 2008, 2011 and 2018 to the Family Medicine Congressional Conference, meeting with Arizona’s Representatives and Senators in their offices in Washington DC, advocating for issues important to Family Physicians and their patients and discussing pending legislation on Capitol Hill. On the AAFP Board of Directors, he’s also had the opportunity to do the same in his capacity on the Board.