Dr. TsigonisOn June 16, 2012 at the Alaska Academy of Family Physicians Annual Scientific Conference in Kenai, Alaska, Academy President John S. Cullen presented Jean M. Tsigonis, M.D., of Fairbanks, the 2012 Alaska Family Physician of the Year award.
Tsigonis was born and raised in Fairbanks. She is board certified in family medicine with particular interests in obstetrics, pediatrics, preventative and adult medicine, geriatrics and travel medicine. She holds a medical degree from the University of Washington and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
Dr. Tsigonis has practiced at the Tanana Valley Clinic in Fairbanks since 1981, providing the highest level of patient care to her patients and their families. Throughout the years she has served as a primary care provider for multiple generations of family members, as she helps deliver new babies to the parents she once helped deliver into this world. Dr. Tsigonis is a tireless community volunteer serving on hospital committees and is a past president of the Alaska State Medical Board. She has also been on mission trips to Zaire, Kenya, Guyana, the Philippines and Ecuador.
In her acceptance speech Dr. Tsigonis stated “It is an honor to represent the AAFP as the Family Doctor of the year. I am blessed to have a wonderful practice in my home town, serving my friends, family and community. This has been possible through the help of a wonderful babysitter, while I was raising my 5 children, awesome nurses who have been my right hand, incredible partners with whom I have shared the responsibility of care for my patients, dependable staff at Tanana Valley Clinic and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, and of course my family members who have allowed me to serve as a fulltime doctor.”
The Family Physician of the Year Award is the highest honor given to a member of the Alaska Academy of Family Physicians. The winner is truly the best of the best. The criteria for this award are (1) to be a compassionate, caring family physician, (2) have engaged in community involvement that enhances the quality of life in his/her home area, and (3) provides a credible role model as a healer and human being to his/her community, and as a professional in the science and art of medicine to colleagues, other health professionals, and especially to young physicians in training and medical students.
The Alaska Academy of Family Physicians is a state chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians which was founded in 1947; the AAFP represents more than 100,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the AAFP and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit www.aafp.org. For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit www.familydoctor.org.
