Dr. John Snellings to Chair Family Medicine effective April 1
John Snellings, MD, has been appointed Chair of Family and Community Medicine effective April 1, 2024.
Dr. Snellings, an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine, follows Alison Dobbie, the Glenn R. Mitchell Chair in Generalist Medicine and Professor of Family and Community Medicine, who will retire as of March 31, 2024.
“When community leaders turned dream into reality 50 years ago with the opening of EVMS, a key objective was to increase the number of physicians in the region,” said Alfred Abuhamad, MD, President, Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine and Mason C. Andrews Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Dr. Snellings stands as a wonderful example of the school’s workforce success.”
A native of Hampton Roads, Dr. Snellings earned his masters and medical degree from EVMS and then completed his residency training here.
“Dr. Snellings’ appointment is a measure of his exceptional abilities and a testament to the wisdom of our founders,” Dr. Abuhamad said. “He carries on a proud legacy of educational and clinical excellence at EVMS.”
Dr. Snellings graduated from Norfolk Academy, then received undergraduate degrees in Biology and German Language & Literature from the University of Virginia. He earned his Master’s in Biomedical Sciences and his medical degree at EVMS, followed by training at EVMS’ Combined Family Medicine/Internal Medicine Residency. After graduating from residency, he spent time in New York as faculty in the Department of Family and Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, while providing clinical care to the Bronx’s underserved communities at a federally-qualified health center.
Dr. Snellings returned to Norfolk in 2017 and became Associate Program Director of the Ghent Family Medicine Residency Program. After a promotion to Program Director, he helped combine the Portsmouth Family Medicine and Ghent Family Medicine residencies. He currently serves as Program Director for the combined “EVMS Family Medicine” program, and Vice Chair for Administration for the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He also chairs the department’s Clinical Competency and Program Evaluation committees.
A board-certified family physician and internist, Dr. Snellings is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the honorary society for medicine, and a member of the Fine Family Academy of Educators at EVMS. He recently served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM), and has participated in multiple national projects seeking to improve family medicine education as well as primary care’s value in our healthcare system.
Dr. Snellings completed the Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, as well as the National Institute for Program Director Development (NIPDD) Fellowship offered by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. Earlier this year, he completed the Leadership Education for Academic Development and Success (LEADS) Fellowship from the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, and is now enrolled in the Program for Chairs of Clinical Services in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.