Announcing the 2026 Idaho Family Physician of the Year—Dr. Bryn Parker, Moscow
Dr. Bryn Parker of Moscow, Idaho, has been selected as the 2026 Idaho Family Physician of the Year in recognition of her decade-plus of full-scope rural family medicine, operative obstetrics, leadership, teaching, and advocacy.
A native of rural central Idaho who trained through the Idaho WWAMI program, Dr. Parker returned to Idaho in 2015 and has since practiced at a critical access hospital and Moscow Family Medicine, providing outpatient and inpatient care, hospital medicine, procedures, and surgical obstetrics across generations. She also serves as Site Director and primary preceptor for the Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) in Moscow and as a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
In nominating Dr. Parker, Dr. Crystal Pyrak said, “Dr. Parker exemplifies the values of the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians and is richly deserving of the Physician of the Year Award,” noting Dr. Parker’s role as “a cornerstone of her rural critical access hospital” who ensures care is “accessible, evidence based, and patient centered.”
Dr. Parker’s administrative and recruiting work has strengthened care access in the Palouse: she has served twice as Chief of Staff at Gritman Medical Center, is Co-Medical Director of the Gritman Moscow Family Medicine Primary Care Clinic and is President of Moscow Family Medicine PLLC. She has been instrumental in recruiting physicians to the underserved community and in navigating operational and staffing challenges while maintaining a culture focused on quality and service.
Her impact as an educator has inspired trainees to pursue rural family medicine and obstetrics. As Dr. Barinaga wrote her nomination of Dr. Parker, she “reached out to begin teaching medical students and has since become a cornerstone of medical education in the region.” As one student of Dr. Parker’s noted, “Over the six months I spent with her, I delivered babies, assisted in cesarean sections, conducted home visits, rounded in the hospital, cared for clinic patients, and even removed cancer from a patient’s arm under her supervision.”
Dr. Parker is also an active local and state advocate for policies that protect the patient-physician relationship and support rural family medicine and obstetric services. As Dr., Pyrak noted, “Through her clinical care, leadership, advocacy, and teaching, Dr. Bryn Parker embodies the very best of family medicine in Idaho,”
The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians is thrilled to recognized Dr. Parker for sustaining high-quality, comprehensive care in a rural setting, training the next generation of rural family physicians, and advocating for policies that preserve access to care for Idaho families.
IAFP Advocacy Award Recipient—Dr. Michael Fields, Moscow
The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) is proud to announce Dr. Michael Fields of Moscow as the recipient of the 2026 Advocate of the Year Award. Dr. Fields is being honored for his sustained, courageous, and patient-centered advocacy on behalf of individuals and communities often marginalized within the health care system.
Dr. Fields centers his clinical work on patients with complex and stigmatized conditions — including chronic pain, hepatitis C, and fibromyalgia — expanding access to care and treating patients with dignity, respect, and evidence-based compassion. He has reduced barriers to treatment by building meaningful health connections and by recognizing the social and structural determinants that shape health outcomes.
In addition to direct care innovations, Dr. Fields founded a local support group for patients with fibromyalgia, creating community, validation, and shared learning that extend care beyond the exam room. His work exemplifies the conviction that advocacy includes empowering patients to support one another.
“Dr. Michael Fields is a powerful and deserving nominee for the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians Advocacy Award,” wrote Dr. Crystal Pyrak in her nomination. “His advocacy is principled, persistent, and deeply impactful.” Dr. Fields also contributes to the IAFP through committee leadership, particularly advancing Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging efforts at a time when that work is increasingly challenged.
The IAFP celebrates Dr. Fields for his leadership, courage, and measurable impact on patients and the profession The Advocate of the Year Award will be presented to Dr. Fields at the 2026 IAFP Annual Conference at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Please join the IAFP in congratulating these exceptional Family Physicians for their leadership!