“We need people like this”
Medical student selected for national family medicine leadership institute
Photo courtesy of Anthony Nguyen
July 8, 2026 — Anthony Nguyen remembers moving from the coastal Florida city of Atlantic Beach to rural Callahan, a small town outside of Jacksonville, at age 5. As the only child of Vietnamese immigrant parents, he felt difficulty integrating into a much smaller town.
“My family doctor there was one of the first people I really felt like actually cared about me and my family and was invested in us,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen continued to see the same family doctor into adulthood, inspiring his passion for connection and community in medicine.
Now a third-year medical student at the University of Florida, he is one of 30 students selected nationwide to participate in the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation’s (AAFP) Family Medicine Leads (FM Leads) Emerging Leader Institute (ELI), a yearlong program that offers leadership training and experience.
“It honestly feels surreal,” Nguyen said. “When I got the email, I was shocked. I felt really excited and honored.”
As a participant in the ELI, Nguyen will attend the National Conference for the Future of Family Medicine this summer, followed by in-depth workshops in one of three leadership tracks: policy and public health, personal and practice or philanthropic and mission-driven.
He said he is excited to learn from established family medicine leaders, build relationships with like-minded peers across the country and create a meaningful project that will aid his community. Most importantly, he hopes to bring the things he will learn back to UF to inspire others to pursue or consider a primary care specialty like family medicine.
Anthony Nguyen, centered, smiling proudly in his Gators Medicine shirt while hugging two peers.
Photo courtesy of Anthony Nguyen
A commitment to service
Being selected for this coveted and competitive program wasn’t as simple as throwing a hat in the ring. The recognition comes after years of wearing many hats — in leadership experience, service commitments and academic excellence.
As co-chair for the UF medical student Family Medicine Interest Group, he has helped plan educational programs, coordinate community service initiatives and lead committee events.
He is also a dedicated volunteer in the Gainesville community who has helped local seniors, veterans and families experiencing food insecurity with Bread of The Mighty Food Bank and taught elementary school kids to read during weekly visits with the UF College of Medicine organization Turning Pages.
Most recently, he organized a bed-building event for the charity Sleep in Heavenly Peace, where he volunteered alongside one of his UF faculty mentors, Aaron Saguil, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, a professor and chair of the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine. Saguil, who met Nguyen through such committee events, strongly recommended him for the Emerging Leader Institute.
“In addition to all the work he’s doing, he’s volunteering in our community and now he’s volunteering nationally to do more,” Saguil said. “We need people like this. People who are willing to say, ‘Yeah, I’m busy, but do I still want to take care of other people in new ways? 100%.’ He’s a hero, and I’m just happy to be associated with him.”
The American Academy of Family Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the U.S., with members in more than 145 countries. The foundation will award Nguyen a $1,000 scholarship to cover the costs of attending the institute, where he plans to pursue the philanthropic and mission-driven track.
“It’s cool to see when Gators have a national impact,” Saguil said. “What he does here, that same DNA is going to be spread far and wide to other students who are passionate about caring for their patients.”
