Jim Hawkins, Jr., a local physician who has spent the last 21 years in private practice, has been named medical director and university physician at Elon. Details...
Hawkins began his duties at Elon Sept. 30. He is enthusiastic about working with Elon students and staff at the new R.N. Ellington Health Center. “It became increasingly frustrating in private practice to deal with insurance companies,” says Hawkins, an Alamance County native who had his practice in nearby Graham. “I’m less encumbered here. I can concentrate on practicing medicine the right way.”
The oldest of six children, Hawkins comes from a family with deep roots in the medical profession. His father was a general practitioner in Graham for 42 years and two of his siblings are in health related fields. Hawkins followed in his father’s footsteps by attending medical school at East Carolina University before earning his M.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a general practitioner, Hawkins says people skills and compassion are as important as his medical credentials.
“You have to deal with people individually, treat them as individuals, and take the time to listen to them,” Hawkins says. “Whether in private practice or here at Elon, that’s a very important part of my job.”
A friend of longtime Elon physician Bob Ellington, for whom the health center is named, Hawkins says he was impressed by the center’s facilities and staff. “I’ve always held Elon in high regard, and over the years I’ve never heard of anyone who worked at Elon who didn’t like it. This seems like a small community, a town within a town, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”