Terry Graedon

Terry earned her AB (Bachelor of Arts) degree magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1969. She earned her Master’s (1971) and PhD (1976) degrees from The University of Michigan. During her doctoral research, she received support from the University’s Institute for Environmental Quality. From 1982 to 1983, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Medical Anthropology Program of the University of California, San Francisco.

Medical anthropologist Teresa (Terry) Graedon, PhD, is a best-selling author, syndicated newspaper columnist, and award-winning internationally syndicated radio talk-show host. Teresa Graedon graduated magna cum laude with an AB from Bryn Mawr College in 1969, majoring in anthropology. She attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, earning her AM in 1971. She received a fellowship from the Institute for Environmental Quality (1972–1975), which enabled her to pursue doctoral research on health and nutritional status in a migrant community in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her doctorate was awarded in 1976.

Terry taught at the Duke University School of Nursing with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Anthropology from 1975 to 1979. Thereafter she periodically taught courses in medical anthropology and international health at Duke University. From 1982 to 1983 she pursued postdoctoral training in medical anthropology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Terry is a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Society for Medical Anthropology, the Association for Health Care Journalism and the Society for Participatory Medicine. With her husband Joe, she was part of the E-Patients Scholars group that published Dr. Tom Ferguson’s white paper, E-Patients: How they can help us heal health care, after his death. She has served as co-editor of the Journal of Participatory Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal, since 2011. Terry is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology.

She served on the Patient Safety & Quality Assurance Committee of the Board of Duke University Health Systems from 2003 to 2010 and was a founding member of the Patient Advocacy Council of Duke University Health System from 2005 to She also served on the Women’s Health Resources Center Board, Chapel Hill, NC, from 1989 to 1991 and was a state board member of the Childhood Trust between 1991 and 1995. Terry was a member of the School of Nursing Foundation Board of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2002 to 2006. She began serving on the Guilford College Board of Trustees in 2010.

Terry joins her husband Joe in writing the thrice-weekly newspaper column, The People’s Pharmacy. It has been syndicated nationally by King Features Syndicate since 1978. She also co-hosts The People’s Pharmacy radio show, which won a Silver Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1992. It is syndicated to hundreds of public and community radio stations in the United States. In 2003 Joe and Teresa received the Alvarez Award at the 63rd annual conference of the American Medical Writers Association for “Excellence in Medical Communications.” Joe & Terry were named “Hometown Heroes” through the WCHL Village Pride Award in 2009.

Joe and Terry were charter members of the North Carolina Consortium of Natural Medicine and Public Health and served on the Consortium Executive Committee in 2003. They were presented with the America Talks Health “Health Headliner of 1998” award for “superior contribution to the advancement of medicine and public health education.” Together they were designated Ambassadors Plenipotentiary by the City of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, where they live.

Terry earned a black belt in karate from Safe Skills dojo in 1997.

Together, she and Joe chaired the committee of dedicated volunteers who worked with Friends General Conference staff to plan the 2015 Annual Gathering in Cullowee, NC.

Bachrach Lecture for the American Association of Orthopedic Medicine, 2013

“Hometown Heroes,” the WCHL Village Pride Award, 2009

City of Medicine USA (Durham, NC) Designated Ambassador Plenipotentiary, 1999

Harriet Cook Carter Distinguished Lecturer for Duke University School of Nursing, 1999

Terry has expertise on the following subjects:

• Medical anthropology
• Medical communications
• Pharmaceutical safety
• Natural Medicine
• Public Health

• Alvarez Award at the 63rd annual conference (2003) of AMWA (American Medical Writers Association) for Excellence in Medical Communications.
• Health Headliner of 1998 award from America Talks Health for superior contributions to the advancement of medicine and public health education.
• Silver Award from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1992) for The People’s Pharmacy radio show for Public Affairs.
• Fellow, Society for Applied Anthropology

• Graedon, Joe, and Graedon, Terry, The Graedons’ Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis. People’s Pharmacy Press, 2017.
• Graedon, Joe, and Graedon, Terry, Spice Up Your Health: How Everyday Kitchen Herbs & Spices Can Lengthen & Strengthen Your Life. People’s Pharmacy Press, 2016
• Graedon, Teresa, and Graedon, Joe, “Let patients help with diagnosis.” Diagnosis, 2014; 1 (1): 49-51.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them. Crown Archetype, 2011.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Terry, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies: Q&As for Your Common Ailments. National Geographic, 2011.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa, Recipes & Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy. Graedon Enterprises, Inc., 2010.
• Edwards, I. R., and Graedon, T. “What do Stakeholders Think about Pharmacovigilance?” Drug Safety 2010; 33 (8):619-621.
• Edwards, I. R., Graedon, J., and Graedon, T. “Placebo Harm.” Drug Safety
  2010; 33 (6):439-441.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa, Favorite Foods From The People’s Pharmacy: Mother Nature’s Medicine. Graedon Enterprises, Inc. 2009.
• Graedon, Joe & Graedon, Teresa. “Are Generic Drugs Safe?” Prevention, Feb. 2008.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. Favorite Home Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy. Graedon Enterprises, Inc, 2008.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. Best Choices from The People’s Pharmacy. Rodale Books, 2006.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. “Enlisting Families as Patient Safety Allies.” Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 2006. Doi:10.1016/j.cpem.2006.08.006
• Graedon, Terry and Gruelle, Kit. Chocolate without Guilt. Graedon Enterprises, 2002.
• “Medications” in Health Care Choices for Today’s Consumer: Guide to Quality & Cost Marc Miller, ed. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
• “Over-the-Counter Drugs” in The Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition, Robert Berkow, ed. Rahway, NJ: Merck Research Company, 1997.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. The People’s Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies. St. Martin’s Press, 1999; 2001.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. Completely New and Revised: The People’s Pharmacy. St. Martin’s Press, 1996; 1998.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. The People’s Guide to Deadly Drug Interactions. St. Martin’s Press, 1995; 1997, 1999.
• Graedon, Joe, Ferguson, Tom and Graedon, Teresa. The Aspirin Handbook. Bantam Books, 1993.
  Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. Graedons’ Best Medicine: From Herbal Remedies to High-Tech Rx Breakthroughs, Bantam Books, 1991.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. 50+: The Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy for Older Adults. Bantam Books, 1988.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. Joe and Terry Graedon’s Healthful Hints. Chapel Hill, WUNC Radio, 1987.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa The People’s Pharmacy, Totally New and Revised. New York, St. Martin’s Press, l985.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. The New People’s Pharmacy: Drug Developments of the ‘80s. New York, Bantam Books, 1985.
• Graedon, Joe, with Graedon, Teresa. The People’s Pharmacy-2. New York, Avon Books, 1980.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. “Panic Prevention for Parents.” The Independent. Vol IV:2l. Nov 1986.
• Graedon, Joe and Graedon, Teresa. “Why Suffer? Painkillers That Really Work.” Family Circle. Mar 1985. p. 44.
• Graedon, Teresa. ” A Transcultural Approach to Nursing Practice.” In Hall, J. E., and Weaver, B. R., eds. A Systems Approach to Community Health. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1985. pp. 315-331.
• Graedon, Teresa. “The Impact of Rural-Urban Migration on Nutritional Status.” San Diego: Society for Applied Anthropology, March 1983.
• Graedon, Teresa. “Nutritional Consequences of Rural-Urban Migration.” Washington, DC: Agency for International Development, 1980.
• Graedon, Teresa, editor: Proceedings of the Third Biennial Eastern Conference on Nursing Research. Durham: Duke University School of Nursing, 1979.
• Graedon, Teresa. “The Effects of Rural to Urban Migration on Diet and Nutrition in Oaxaca, Mexico.” New Haven: Symposium on Food: Ecology, Culture, Economy and Nutrition, Yale University, April 1979.
• Graedon, Teresa. Discussant: “Realidad urbano-rural, metodos y enfoques.” Congreso de Evaluacion de la Antropologia en Oaxaca, June 1977.
• Graedon, Teresa. “Effects of Rural to Urban Migration on Nutrition and Health in Mexico.” APHA 104th Annual Meeting, October 1976.

• Assistant Professor, Duke University School of Nursing, 1975-1979
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Duke University Department of Anthropology, 1975-1979
• Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of California, San Francisco, 1982-1983
• Self-Medication column, Medical Self Care, bimonthly. 1984-1989
• Women’s Health Resources Center Board, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1989-1991
• State Board Member, The Childhood Trust, 1991-1995
• Member, Pharmaceutical Systems Discussion Group, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1991-1997
• e-Patients Scholars Working Group, 2001-2007. Editorial team for the Robert Wood Johnson White Paper: “e-Patients: How They Can Help Us Heal Health Care.”
• Charter member (and member of the executive committee) of the North Carolina Consortium of Natural Medicine and Public Health, 2002-2003
• School of Nursing Foundation Board, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2002-2006
• Patient Safety and Quality Assurance Committee of the Duke University Health System Board of Directors, 2004-2010
• Patient Advocacy Council, Duke University Health System, 2005-2011
• Secretary, Society for Participatory Medicine, 2008-2010
• Editorial Advisor, Prevention magazine: 2006-2010