Welcome, Class of 2019!

U of M, Class of 2019

On Friday, June 17, University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health department head Macaran Baird, MD, MS, welcomed 54 new residents at orientation. Below is a message to the class of 2019 from Dr. Baird.  

Welcome everyone,

We are thrilled that you are beginning your story in family medicine with us.

Our goal here at the University of Minnesota is to deliver on the promise of family medicine.

What does that mean? 

• We want to be a leader in training family physicians for Minnesota and beyond.

• We want to improve the health of underserved communities and populations.

• We want to drive research in health disparities and healthcare delivery.

• And, most importantly, we want to ensure quality care for the whole person.

This is a big promise, and it takes energetic, talented, dedicated people like you to make it happen. We are counting on you to help transform the field of family medicine. You are the future of this ever-changing field. A strong primary care workforce is a big part of the solution to America’s health problems, and you are leading the innovation and transformation in primary care.

Here at the U of M, you will work along side many talented people, not just family physicians. You will work with pharmacists, therapists of different kinds, social workers, medical assistants, care coordinators, and more. The teams that you will work with have many more components than they did some years ago. These teams need your passion, your energy, and your intellect.

We will also be learning from you. You raise questions and do things that teach us while we teach you. Because of your ideas and questions, faculty learn faster. If we are teachers, we need to learn at a faster rate than we would in traditional practice. Many of our faculty continue teaching because of you and the questions and ideas you bring.

Some of you may be familiar with the Triple Aim in primary care – enhancing patient experience, improving health, and reducing costs. Over the past few years, the Triple Aim has expanded to the Quadruple Aim, making the experience enjoyable for not only the patient, but also the provider—you.

We often forget about making the provider’s experience more enjoyable, but if you force someone to get things done, it doesn’t work. They become dispirited or dismayed about their work role and do not put forth their best ideas. They lose energy, not gain it, and the system gradually fails. It is important to take care of yourself and each other—the system works better if you are feeling reasonably managed, taken care of, and supported in your endeavors.

If you want to affirm the patient in front of you, help them feel capable enough to get through the next day despite the odds they are facing, you have to feel that way too.

On an easy day, you might be able to offer your smile, courtesy, or just decentness to a patient. But, on a tough day, feeling under supported, you might do something less accommodating to the patient, and you may walk away feeling worse, no matter the problem.

You can affirm people everyday by simply being the kind of person that you are now. Don’t let us take that part of you away. You’ve got it now, and if it starts to shrink, talk to us! Almost all of us hit the wall every now and then, but I want you to always remember that we are here for you. We support you. You matter to us.

Residency is the start of a new chapter in your lives. The next three years will be challenging, rewarding, and fun.
I look forward to watching you all grow as family physicians.

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health department head Macaran Baird, MD, MS