2016 Resident and Fellow Commencement

Four Voices String Quartet

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health held its annual resident and fellow commencement on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities campus.

D’Amico & Sons provided catering and Four Voices String Quartet provided music for the event.

This year’s graduating class included:

• 55 family medicine residents from our eight programs
• 1 primary care behavioral health fellow
• 5 hospice and palliative medicine fellows
• 3 human sexuality fellows
• 2 sports medicine fellows
• 19 faculty and fellows who completed the Teaching and Curriculum Development Program
• 9 faculty who completed the Collaboration and Scholarship Intensive for Family Medicine (CSI-FM) Program

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

Excellence in Research Award
The Excellence in Research Award was presented to University of Minnesota Medical Center graduating resident Amanda Hinrichs, DO, for improving primary care for transgender and gender non-conforming patients.

“She [Hinrichs] has truly filled an important gap by conducting this unique and innovative work on the care of transgender patients in the primary care setting. Her work has enormous value and relevance to patient care. The way in which patients have shared their experience of care with her for this project is a testament to the care she has taken and the integrity she has in building relationships with this hard to engage patient population.”

- Research faculty Rebekah Pratt, PhD

UMMC graduate Amanda Hinrichs, DO

Faculty Awards
Two faculty were recognized for excellence in educating residents, medical students, and other health professionals: James Beggs, MD, Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year, and John McCabe, MD, Faculty Teacher of the Year.

James Beggs, MD, is an affiliate faculty, teaching North Memorial residents. One nominator wrote “working with him puts me at ease in the setting of a busy and stressful clinic day.”

Left-right: North Memorial program director Michael Wootten, MD, and affiliate faculty James Beggs, MD.

John McCabe, MD, is the program director at our Mankato Family Medicine Residency Program. Nominators said that what sets him apart is “his impressive personal values and ideals that he uses to engage and challenge colleagues and learners alike at a higher intellectual and personal level.”

Mankato program director John McCabe, MD

  
Community Service Award
The Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award is given to a graduating resident whose family medicine training has resulted in a unique service contribution. This year, the award was given to North Memorial graduating resident Elizabeth (Beth) Lownik, MD, MPH, for her outstanding efforts to raise awareness of Global Health Ethics.

One nominator said that Beth “has a maturity about her and a worldview that conveys a profound understanding of issues. She is one of the best residents that I have had the honor of working with and she makes me proud to be an educator.”

Left-Right: North Memorial faculty Shailey Prasad, MD, MPH, Elizabeth Lownik, MD, MPH, and North Memorial faculty Reneé Crichlow, MD.

STFM Resident Teacher Award
Nine residents from our eight residency programs received the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Resident Teacher Award for demonstrated interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine. Awardees are picture below. Left-right: Nathaniel Chapelle, MD, Mark Stuckey, DO, Kristen Budahn, MD, Natasha Pyfrom, MD, Bassim Birkland, MD, MPH, Lana Dirksen, MD, Michael Beste, MD, Kent Scheff, MD, and Sean Schulz, DO.

Congratulations to all graduates and award recipients!

More

• Read tweets using the hashtag #umnfamilymedgrad.
• View photos from the event.