The Wayne State University School of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education announced the promotion of Family Medicine Associate Program Director Eleanor King, M.D., to program director, effective July 1.

Dr. King, who joined the Family Medicine faculty as a clinical assistant professor in 2018, also serves as medical director of the Rochester Academic Family Medicine Clinic. She also will direct MIDOCS, a state-funded program designed to recruit and retain primary-care physicians in underserved areas of Michigan.

A 2015 graduate of the WSU School of Medicine and native of Cheboygan, Mich., Dr. King completed her residency in Family Medicine at Crittenton Hospital (now Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital) in Rochester, Mich.

Dr. King’s pursuit of Family Medicine resulted in part from her experiences with medical care in a small-town setting. Mark Drogowski, M.D., “took care of my whole family. He delivered my siblings, helped my grandparents, did my school physicals — the works,” she said.

Dr. King’s mother, Christine Khan-King, also served as a source of inspiration as an educator. “In my role as faculty, anytime I am developing curricula, policies or the occasional bulletin board I’m thinking of my mother and her diligently preparing her classroom each year. I remember helping her get ready each fall and wondering if I could make a career out of it.”

Dr. King’s teaching philosophy is collaborative and focused on solutions. “We as physician-educators need to learn with our students,” she said. “We need to see a patient, acknowledge what we don’t know and find the answer together. Those create the most impactful teaching moments that last a lifetime.”