Douglas W. Harley, DO, FAAFP

The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) is proud to name Douglas W. Harley, DO, FAAFP, as the 2026 Family Medicine Educator of the Year. Over more than two decades, Dr. Harley has built a career that spans clinical practice, residency leadership, and executive appointments to statewide associations; but colleagues say it is his enduring commitment to teaching, at every level of medical training, that sets him apart.

Dr. Harley earned his Doctor of Osteopathy from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUHCOM) and completed his family medicine residency at St. Joseph Health Center in Warren, OH, in 2005. He began his career at a federally qualified health center in Youngstown, OH, and became its medical director just two years after residency — an early sign, colleagues say, of the leadership that would define his career. In 2009, he joined Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s Center for Family Medicine, rising from clinical associate director to associate program director. In 2019, Dr. Harley became the program director of the family medicine residency program. This year, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation named him vice chair of education for its Primary Care Institute, where he now oversees medical student, resident, and continuing education across family medicine, internal medicine, and geriatrics.

Dr. Harley has held faculty appointments at four medical schools — including clinical professor positions at OUHCOM and the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). He has been recognized with multiple Golden Apple teaching awards, inducted into NEOMED’s Master Teacher Guild, and, in 2025, earned its highest distinction, Master Teacher. In 2026 alone, he received both the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians’ Master Preceptor Award and the Assembly of Osteopathic Graduate Medical Educators’ Leadership Award.

Colleagues describe Dr. Harley as a teacher who translates complex material into practical skill, whether through his well-known national dermoscopy workshops, his sessions on billing and coding, or his recent talks on artificial intelligence in clinical and educational settings. His influence has reached well beyond Ohio. For years, he has traveled to Shenzhen, China, developing primary care curricula and teaching osteopathic manipulative treatment to Chinese physicians in training.

Dr. Harley’s leadership within organized medicine has been equally extensive. He served as president of the OAFP in 2022–23 and, more recently, as president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association in 2024–25, alongside long-running committee work with the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and several state and federal health task forces. Those who have worked alongside him note that he treats every leadership role as a teaching opportunity, regularly bringing residents and students into advocacy meetings to show them, firsthand, what it means to advocate for patients.

His scholarly work reflects the same throughline, including research mentorship, peer review for two osteopathic journals, and a long-standing role helping organize NEOMED’s annual Family Medicine Research Day. He has presented at national and international conferences, including the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), on topics from food insecurity in residency training to population health partnerships.

“My philosophy regarding family medicine is rooted in the belief that we are the foundation of the healthcare system, serving as personal physicians who provide comprehensive, continuous care across the lifespan,” explained Dr. Harley.

In his personal statement, Dr. Harley traced his philosophy of family medicine to three core beliefs: that the patient-physician relationship is a sacred trust, that care must address the whole person and community, and that advocacy is a professional obligation rather than an optional pursuit.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Harley is active in his community as vice chair of the Executive Board of the Akron Art Museum, and he lists modern art and farming among his personal interests, as well as travel.

The OAFP congratulates Dr. Harley on this recognition and thanks him for his dedication to family medicine education and his leadership in Ohio and beyond.

To learn more about the Family Physician of the Year award, please visit the OAFP website.

The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians is a statewide, professional association with more than 4,400 members, including practicing physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students. The scope of family medicine encompasses all ages, both sexes, and every disease entity. Family physicians provide comprehensive, continuing care to all members of the family. For more information, visit the OAFP website.

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