U of M Family Medicine Graduation 2015

Mac Baird, MD, and wife Kris
at our Photo Stop

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health held its annual resident and fellow commencement on June 2, 2015, at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

The event was catered by D'Amico & Sons, and music was provided by Four Voices String Quartet.

Fifty-four residents graduated from across our eight family medicine residency programs, along with fellows in sports medicine (two graduates), hospice and palliative medicine (three graduates), human sexuality (one graduate), and behavioral medicine (one graduate).

Twenty-five junior faculty and fellows also completed faculty development training in curriculum design, evaluation, and teaching skills. 

A number of family medicine residents and faculty were honored for excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Excellence in Research Award

The Excellence in Research Award was presented to St. Joseph's graduating resident Amanda Weinmann, MD, for a breast cancer screening modality, called molecular breast imaging. 

Weinmann's main roles on the research team were to develop methodologies to reduce patient exposure to radiation, improve image quality, and develop biopsy capability, allowing the imaging technique to be used for screening purposes. Throughout residency, she disseminated her research through peer-reviewed publications and national presentations.

"I was impressed with her ability to use resources wisely in conducting a background literature search to frame the problem, to use her computer programming skills to build a simulation model, and to apply scientifically sound judgement to thoroughly test and validate her design," said Carrie Hruska, PhD, associate professor of medical physics at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, "Ultimately, her design was manufactured and put into clinical use on the molecular breast imaging system. It was designed so well that it simultaneously improved our ability to visualize small breast lesions while also improving the sensitivity of the camera such that patient imaging could be conducted using a lower radiation dose."

Amanda Weinmann, MD

Faculty Awards

Two faculty were recognized for excellence in education of residents, medical students, and other health professionals: Phillip Fallt, MD, Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year, and Mark Yeazel, MD, MPH, Faculty Teacher of the Year.

Fallt is an affiliate faculty, teaching OB/GYN in the family medicine clinic to North Memorial residents. One nominator wrote that Fallt's "dedication goes beyond that of a preceptor," that he is "dedicated to the field of family medicine as a whole." 

Phillip Fallt, MD

Yeazel is faculty in our research area and at our North Memorial and University of Minnesota Medical Center residency programs. He also co-leads our faculty development training. Nominators said that Yeazel is "supportive, ready to teach, compassionate, deliberate, and thoughtful." 

Mark Yeazel, MD, MPH

Community Service Award

The Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award is given to the graduating resident whose family medicine training has resulted in a unique service contribution. St. Cloud's Jennifer Taves, MD, was honored for her work with Reach Out and Read. 

Under Taves watch, St. Cloud's residency clinic site distributed 250 to 300 books annually. 

The director of Reach Out and Read Minnesota, Lynn Burke, had this to say about Taves, "Her dedication, perseverance, and enthusiasm are the reason her clinic's program is thriving." 

Jennifer Taves, MD

STFM Resident Teacher Award

Nine residents from across our eight residency programs were presented the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Resident Teacher Award for demonstrated interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine.

Awardees included Jennifer Belisle, MD, Karen Borchert, MD, Stephen Clappier, MD, Alisha Fahley, MD, Scott Hanson, DO, Andrew Houghton, MD, Elycia Matushin, MD, and Jennifer Taves, MD.

STFM Resident Teacher Awardees

MORE

• View photos from our fun Photo Stop. 
• Read tweets using the hashtag #umnfamilymedgrad. 
• See our formal graduation photos. 

Duluth residency faculty, staff, residents

Beginning Your Story in Family Medicine at the U of M

U of M, Class of 2018

The following message is from University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health department head Macaran Baird, MD, MS, to our incoming class of residents, the class of 2018. 

This July will be the start of my fourteenth year leading this department. It's been an incredible journey.

Every day I have the privilege of working alongside talented, dedicated colleagues, such as yourselves, who truly believe that the specialty of family medicine can transform our nation's healthcare system.
 

And, each year, I am encouraged by the residents that join our ranks. I'm encouraged by your passion, by your dedication, by your talent. 



It's no secret that family medicine is NOT for the faint of heart. You're entering residency at a time when the landscape of healthcare is not only challenging but ever changing—sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. You chose this field not because it would be easy, but because you care—you care about people, you care about relationships, you care about transformation. 


Some of you may already know this, but we were among the first family medicine departments and residencies in the nation. We believed then, as we believe now, that caring for the whole person, across the lifespan, is preventive medicine at its best.

Each of our eight residency programs—Duluth, Mankato, Methodist, North Memorial, St. Cloud, St. John's, St. Joseph's, University of Minnesota Medical Center—shares in the commitment to full spectrum family medicine training. Each program will prepare you to provide comprehensive, personalized care for the whole person in ANY setting: urban, rural, global. But each program is also distinguished by its community, unique feel, and curricular strengths. 


You are part of your residency program, but you are also part of a greater whole. You are part of this department, part of this University. You’re part of our mission to transform and renew family medicine through education, research, and patient care.  



This is an exciting time to be joining our ranks. Why? Because, we're energized, we're excited. We want to see reform in payment models. We want to see reform in healthcare delivery. We want to knock down barriers to care. We have a vision for family medicine—a vision for change, for transformation. We want to make individuals healthier, families healthier, communities healthier. This fall, we'll be sharing more about that vision, and we couldn't be happier to have you on our team. 


Our desire, though, is that you’re an advocate for family medicine beyond the walls of your clinic, this department, this institution. Family medicine is in the fight of its life. I would encourage you to get involved in professional organizations, both on the local and national level; be part of a national movement for change. Get connected to organizations like Primary Care Progress, Family Medicine for America’s Health, MAFP, AAFP, and STFM.

Stand up for your patients. Stand up for patients who have no one standing up for them. Stand up for your training. Stand up for your future practice. Stand up for our specialty. In doing so, remember you’re a professional and a representative of this department, this University. You’re accountable for your behavior, your words, your actions.

Residency is the start of a new chapter in your lives. These next three years will be challenging, rewarding, and fun. As a University of Minnesota alum, I can tell you that your time here will be a great way to begin your story in family medicine.

I look forward to watching your stories unfold and am so glad that you became part of our story as well.

U of M Family Medicine and Community Health
department head Macaran Baird, MD, MS