2018 Resident and Fellow Commencement

On Tuesday, June 5, 2018, we celebrated a group of 64 extraordinary residents and fellows at the University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health’s annual commencement. Held at McNamara Alumni Center on a warm summer evening, the ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to honor the graduating class as they embark on the careers ahead of them.

Department Head James Pacala, MD, MS, addresses graduates

This year’s graduating class included:

• 52 family medicine residents from our eight programs 
• 3 pharmacy residents
• 1 primary care behavioral health fellow 
• 3 hospice and palliative medicine fellows 
• 3 human sexuality fellows 
• 2 sports medicine fellows 
• 16 faculty and fellows who completed Teaching, Evaluation, and Curriculum for Healthcare Professionals, also known as TEACH 
• 7 faculty who completed the Collaboration and Scholarship Intensive for Family Medicine (CSI-FM) program 

For a taste of what the evening was like, read our live tweets from the ceremony using the hashtag #umnfamilymedgrad on Twitter and view photos on Facebook.

Resident and Faculty Awards

After opening remarks by Department Head James Pacala, MD, MS, in which he encouraged graduates to consider their “role as an ambassador for an almost 50-year legacy of excellence,” several graduates and faculty were honored for excellence in teaching, research, and service.



Excellence in Research Award


The Excellence in Research Award was presented to Mankato’s graduating resident Andrew R. Bader, DO, for his impressive commitment to clinical scholarship. Dr. Bader was unanimously nominated by his program’s faculty, who described him as the “embodiment of the scientist-practitioner model.” What’s more, Dr. Bader amassed an impressive six peer-reviewed publications during his three-year residency - the highest publication rate of all residents across the department’s 8 programs.

[Dr. Bader] clearly recognizes that the practice of medicine becomes stagnant if not for ongoing clinical inquiry and scholarly investigation.
- award nominator

Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award

Graduating St. Joseph’s resident Thuy Duong Nguyen-Tran, MD, was presented this year’s Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award in honor of her unique service contributions to family medicine. Dr. Nguyen-Tran has been involved in several important projects at Bethesda Clinic that focus on increased community engagement and access to care for patients, especially Karen patients. In addition to serving as co-chief resident, she demonstrated excellent leadership and initiative in helping the clinic provide culturally competent care and develop multiple community partnerships.

[Dr. Nguyen-Tran] is hard working, enthusiastic, and welcoming, and she highlights the positive in every situation.
- award nominator

Faculty Awards

This year’s Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year went to Sandra Coffin, MD, (pictured below left) from St. Joseph’s. Nominees described Dr. Coffin’s passion and commitment to teaching, saying, “Often times, Friday afternoons can be one of the more challenging clinic days, but St. Joseph’s family medicine residents look forward to Fridays because they know Dr. Sandra Coffin will be precepting.”

Mankato faculty Erin Westfall, DO, (pictured below right) accepted the Faculty Teacher of the Year Award. As one nominee said, “Dr. Westfall has also taught me about the social responsibilities a great physician demonstrates…Dr. Westfall’s efforts show that it isn’t just about health in our clinic building – it’s about the health of our entire community that truly matters.”

STFM Resident Teacher Awards

Ten residents received the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Resident Teacher Award for demonstrated interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine. Awardees include Duluth residency graduate Charles S. Hackett, MD; Mankato residency graduates William Bensen, DO and Andrew R. Bader, DO; Methodist residency graduate Joshua Edward Scheck, MD; North Memorial residency graduate Melissa Pavek, MD; St. Cloud residency graduate Elina Lipovskiy, DO; St. John’s residency graduate Jennifer Svendsen, MD; St. Joseph’s residency graduates Daniel Smith, DO and Thuy D. Nguyen-Tran, MD; and University of Minnesota Medical Center residency graduate Alexandra Tsvilina, MD, PhD.

Congratulations to all graduates and award recipients!

Save the date for next year’s commencement: June 4, 2019

University of Minnesota Family Medicine Match Results 2018

Two fourth-year medical students waiting to open their
envelopes at the 2018 Match Ceremony

On Friday, March 16, graduating University of Minnesota medical students gathered with family and friends at McNamara Alumni Center to find out where they will begin their residency.

Match Day is an important date shared by medical students across the country. Students receive an official letter from the National Residency Match Program (NRMP), letting them know which residency, and in what city, they will start their medical training.

We are proud to say that this year was a success for all U of M family medicine residency programs.

MATCH DAY HIGHLIGHTS

U of M Medical School
Dean Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD,
speaking to medical students 
at the Match Ceremony

• All eight U of M Family Medicine residency programs filled on the first day of Match Week.

• Interest in family medicine continued its upward trend for the nineth consecutive year.

• The total number of medical students choosing family medicine was 3,535, up 298 from the 3,237 last year.

• There was a 96.7 percent fill rate for family medicine residency programs--the highest ever recorded for the speciality and nearly a percentage point higher than in 2017. (source: AAFP)

Below is a complete list of names of our new family medicine residents.

U of M FAMILY MEDICINE, CLASS OF 2021

DULUTH (9)

• Maren Anderson, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School 
• Whitney Bertram, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Katie Bressler, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Kristina Lindholm, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Kelly McKinnon, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Hannah Salk, MD - University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
• Sidney Sisson, MD - West Virginia University School of Medicine
• Jake Traxler, MD - Creighton University School of Medicine
• Luke Wohlwend, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School 

MANKATO (4)

• Grant Bludorn, DO - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Carolinas Campus
• Nicholas Myslicki, MD - St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Cory Simning, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Jacan Simon, DO - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Carolinas Campus

METHODIST (6)

• Kate Chamberlain, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Nicole Noyes, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Christine Prill, MD - Medical College of Wisconsin
• Jessica Sawinski, DO - A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
• Maggie Schwartz, MD - Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Nathaniel Schwartz, MD - University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

NORTH MEMORIAL (8)

• Melissa Belec, DO, MPH - Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California
• Toni Dick, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Evan Eide, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Molly Gruber, DO - Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Rose Marie Leslie, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Michaela McCuddy, MD - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
• James Smith, MD - University of Illinois College of Medicine - Peoria
• Paul Stadem, MD - Mayo Medical School 

ST. CLOUD (6)

• John Anderson, DO - Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Blake Chapman, DO - Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Eric Christensen, MD - University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Tyler Lewandowski, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
  
• Michael Symanietz, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Paola Teran Rodriguez, MD - Ross University School of Medicine

ST. JOHN'S (6)

• Nicholas Ely, MD -  Drexel University College of Medicine
• Ramla Kasozi, MBchB - Makerere University School of Medicine
• Joe Renier, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Frances Tepolt, MD - University of Colorado School of Medicine
• Risa Visina, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Kaeley Whiting, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School

ST. JOSEPH'S (8)

• Stephanie Aldrin, MD- University of Minnesota Medical School
• Brandon Edlund, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Emily Lawrence, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Chee Lor, MD - University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
• Brandon Porten, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Sarah Roe, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Joel Soma, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School
• Thomas Walsh, MD - University of Minnesota Medical School

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER (6)

• Stefania Baccino, MD - Universidad de la República Facultad de Medicina
• Kathryn Barta, MD - Creighton University School of Medicine
• Morgan Buda, MD - East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
• Charlie Goebel, MD - Creighton University School of Medicine
• Vivian Liu, MD - St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Kristin Schwacha, DO - Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

Congratulations to all. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for our incoming family medicine residents!

2017 AAFP National Conference

This year’s American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students was held on July 27 through July 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference gives medical students an opportunity to attend workshops, network, and gain insights into family medicine.


Representatives speaking with medical students

Our faculty, residents, and staff went as exhibitors to promote our residency programs. We also sponsored scholarships for medical students to attend and learn more about family medicine.

Over 4,000 people from across the nation attended this year’s conference and over 500 medical students visited U of M Family Medicine in the Expo Hall. Below is a list of all U of M Family Medicine Residency Program representatives.

DULUTH

• Jamie Conniff, MD, faculty
• Elizabeth (Libby) Feist, MD, second-year resident
• Joshua Kropko, DO, second-year resident
• Jesse Susa, MD, second-year resident

Third-year St. Cloud resident
Jamie Finke, MD

MANKATO

• Ryan Brower, MD, second-year resident
• Bob Jeske, MD, faculty

METHODIST

• Seun Acquah, MD, second-year resident
• Allyson Hayward, MSW, faculty
• Chris Leonard, MD, second-year resident
• Josh Scheck, MD, third-year resident
• Jeremy Springer, MD, program director
• Mary Wagner, MD, associate program director

NORTH MEMORIAL

• Renée Crichlow, MD, associate program director and MAFP representative
• Mark Nelson, MD, second-year resident
• Melissa Pavek, MD, third-year resident
• Lauren Williams, MD, third-year resident and MAFP representative

UMMC faculty Nicole Chaisson, MD, MPH (left),
and administrative coordinator
Raquel Van Norman (right)

ST. CLOUD

• Jamie Finke, MD, third-year resident
• Leesa Larson, MD, second-year resident
• Dennis Peterson, MD, faculty

ST. JOHN'S

• Kathryn Brown, MD, MS, faculty
• Tom Haroldson, MD, third-year resident
• Tony Nguyen, MD, second-year resident

ST. JOSEPH'S

• Paige Holmgren, MD, third-year resident
• Manuel Idrogo, MD, faculty
• Thuy Nguyen-Tran, MD, third-year resident

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER

Second-year Methodist resident
Suen Acquah, MD, presenting her poster

• Nicole Chaisson, MD, MPH, associate program director
• Kriti Choudhary, MBBS, MPH, third-year resident
• Anna Larson, DO, third-year resident
• Sharon Toor, MD, second-year resident
• Raquel Van Norman, administrative staff

DEPARTMENT FACULTY & STAFF

• Karen Borchert, MD, Twin Cities campus FMIG advisor and UMN Medical Center faculty
• Laura Pham, residency programs admissions and recruitment coordinator
• Heidi Cerdas Monge, MBA, graduate medical education curriculum coordinator

St. Cloud faculty Dennis Peterson, MD,
demonstrating a procedure

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Second-year Methodist resident Oluwaseun (Seun) Acquah, MD, was selected to present her residency program's poster titled “Food Insecurity: Identification of an Effective Screening Process.”

• St. Cloud faculty Dennis Peterson, MD, assisted in the hands-on, skills-based point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) workshop. He demonstrated ultrasound scans on conference attendee volunteers, then assisted them as they performed scans on the volunteers.

• Third-year University of Minnesota Medical Center resident Andrea Larson, DO, presented a poster titled "A Toolbox for Trans Care," co-authored by University of Minnesota Medical Center faculty Carrie Link, MD.

• Third-year North Memorial resident Lauren Williams, MD, presented a poster titled "Advocacy 101," with Peter Meyers from United Family Medicine. 

View photos from the conference

SOCIAL MEDIA

The traveling Loon trophy

For the fourth year in a row, we held a friendly social media challenge between our eight residency programs. For the challenge, we specifically tracked Twitter usage using #aafpnc. The residency program and individual who tweeted the most using #aafpnc received prizes. 


This year’s winning team was our North Memorial program, with a grand total of 121 tweets. They will receive the traveling Loon trophy (our version of the Twitter bird.) This year's individual winner was third-year Methodist resident Josh Scheck, MD, with a total of 71 tweets. He wins a gift from the University of Minnesota Bookstore.

Past winners

2016: Program winner: Methodist; Individual winner: Jesse Klingelhoets, MD, Methodist
2015: Program winner: North Memorial; Individual winner: Carrie Link, MD, University of Minnesota Medical Center
2014: Program winner: North Memorial; Individual winner: Renée Crichlow, MD, North Memorial

We look forward to next year’s conference, which will be held on Thursday, August 2 through Saturday, August 4, 2018 in Kansas City, MO.

2017 Resident and Fellow Commencement

University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health held its annual resident and fellow commencement on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities campus.




McNamara Alumni Center

This year’s graduating class included:

• 55 family medicine residents from our eight programs

• 1 primary care behavioral health fellow

• 4 hospice and palliative medicine fellows

• 2 human sexuality fellows

• 2 sports medicine fellows

• 15 faculty and fellows who completed Teaching, Evaluation, and Curriculum for Healthcare Professionals, also known as TEACH

• 8 faculty who completed the Collaboration and Scholarship Intensive for Family Medicine (CSI-FM) program

Read tweets from the ceremony using the hashtag #umnfamilymedgrad on Twitter and view photos of all of our graduates on our Facebook.

Resident and Faculty Awards

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 Mankato’s graduating resident M. Aly Terra, DO, for approaching the crucial topic of symptom control for patients with terminal illness non-pharmacologically and non-invasively.


Mankato residency graduate M. Aly Terra, DO

“Completing a research project during residency training is challenging. Completing a research project that is a treatment study is even more difficult. Dr. Terra had the foresight to schedule elective time devoted to research. In doing so, she had a personally rewarding experience that positively impacted the quality of life for the patients she encountered.” – award nominator 

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 graduating Methodist resident Alice MacDonald, MBChB, for developing a new way to screen patients for food insecurity and a program that offers cooking classes to eligible patients.

Methodist residency graduate Alice Macdonald, MBChB

“Prior to this, there was no awareness of what food insecurity was, let alone how many of the clinic’s regular, long-term patients were food insecure and how it might be affecting their health and medical care. Beginning in 2015 residents began learning to recognize that bias, and acquiring the tools to screen and address patients’ food insecurity.

Dr. MacDonald’s enthusiasm for addressing this social determinant has been infectious and has continued to help us recruit residents to carry on the quality improvement work associated with it.” – award nominator  

Faculty Awards

This year’s Affiliate Faculty Teacher of the Year, went to, not one affiliated faculty, but a whole group – the University of Minnesota Health Women’s Health Specialists Midwifery group.

The University of Minnesota Health Certified Nurse Midwives

“We have appreciated our partnership with the whole OB/CNM team at Women's Health Specialists, but I am particularly grateful for the resident teaching and patient-care partnership that the midwives have embraced for the past six years.” – award nominator 

This year, department faculty Christopher Reif, MD, MPH, was recognized for his excellence in educating residents, medical students, and other health professionals.

Christopher Reif, MD, MPH, director of clinical services
 of the Community-University Health Care Center

Dr. Reif serves as director of clinical services of the Community-University Health Care Center and is involved in medical student education, co-directing the Urban Community Ambulatory Medicine (UCAM) clerkship and precepting for the Family Medicine Clerkship.

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 include Duluth residency graduate Megan San Giacomo, MD; Mankato residency graduate M. Aly Terra, DO; Methodist resideny graduate Jared Mell, DO; North Memorial residency graduates Erica Gathje, MD, and Meredith Bourne, MD; St. Cloud residency graduate Jason Huikko, MD; St. John’s residency graduate Anne Kennan, MD; St. Joseph’s residency graduate Charles Vang, MD; and University of Minnesota Medical Center residency graduate Arlene Rillo, MD, RN.

Below are recipients of the Leonard P. Burke, MD, Memorial Award, Excellence in Research Award, and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Awards. STFM awardees are holding the large, framed certificates.

Front row, left to right: Methodist graduate Jared Mell, DO; University of Minnesota Medical Center graduate Arlene Rillo, MD, RN; Leonard P. Burke awardee Alice Macdonald, MBChB, from Methodist; St. John's graduate Anne Keenan, MD; and St. Joseph's graduate Charles Vang, MD.

Back row, left to right: North Memorial graduate Meredith Bourne, MD; Duluth graduate Megan San Giacomo, MD; North Memorial graduate Erica Gathje, MD; Mankato graduate and Excellence in Research awardee M. Aly Terra, DO; and St. Cloud graduate Jason D. Huikko, MD.

Congratulations to all graduates and award recipients!

2017 MAFP Spring Refresher

On April 20-21, the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health attended the 2017 Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) Spring Refresher at The Depot Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.

Jon Hallberg, MD, left, presenting with
UMN medical student Nathan Ratner, right.

The MAFP Spring Refresher is an annual family medicine conference for family physicians, family medicine residents, medical students, and allied health professionals. The conference covers updates in medical knowledge, skills workshops, clinical practice improvements and innovations, and more. It's also a great opportunity for Minnesota-based family physicians to connect with colleagues from across the state.


A number of our residents and faculty were in attendance at this year's conference. Several gave presentations, including

• Patricia Adam, MD, MSPH
• Darin Brink, MD
• Emily Onello, MD with Kristin Raab, MPH, MLA
• Jon Hallberg, MD, with Nathan Ratner

Two papers from the 2017 MAFP Innovation and Research Forum were designated as “papers of greatest interest,” meaning they were invited to be presented at the Spring Refresher. Those papers were by Tim Ramer, MD, on work after clinic, and Mary Becker, PhD, on Naloxone and accidental opioid overdose.

Resident and Student Workshop

New this year was the Resident and Student Workshop. Activities included career and residency connections, MED talks, a loan repayment session, and procedure workshops.

The following people represented UMN Family Medicine:

• Oluwakemi Ajibade, MD 
• Nadar Ali, MD
• Karen Borchert, MD
• Judith Boylan, MD
• Kathryn Brown, MD, MS
• Jay Dirks, MD 
• Ashley Estrem, DO
• Charles Hackett, MD 
• Katie Hamilton
• Amanda Hinrichs, DO
• Katie Freeman, MD
• Robert Kagigebi, MD
• Jesse Klingelhoets, MD
• Clarice Konshok, MD
• Vince LaPorte, MD 
• Anna Larson, DO
• Tanner Nissly, DO 
• Arlene Rillo, MD 
• Tom Satre, MD 
• Andrew Slattengren, DO
• Ayman Srajeldin, MD, ND  
• Keith Stelter, MD, MMM
• Jesse Susa, MD 
• Charles Vang, MD

Pictured top right, left to right: Representatives from UMN Medical Center include Ayman Srajeldin, MD, ND; Oluwakemi Ajbade, MD; Katie Hamilton; Nadar Ali, MD; and Arlene Rillo, MD. 

Bottom right: Tom Satre, MD, St. Cloud program director, teaches students about knee injections during the procedure workshops.

Honors and Awards  

Congratulations to the following faculty who were honored at the conference for their contributions to family medicine education and research. See all 2017 award winners and nominees.

Educator of the Year

Renée Crichlow, MD, North Memorial associate program director, received multiple nominations. One of the nominations stated, “Renée mentors our residents and medical students on topics of research, resilience, and worklife balance. She is a fierce proponent for underrepresented minorities in health care, championing a diverse work force. She inspires fellow faculty members by insisting we ‘keep it real.’”

Innovation & Research Award

Macaran Baird, MD, MS, department head, “is, and always has been, an innovator,” according to Angela Buffington, PhD, MA, director of behavioral medicine at Mankato. “Early on in his training, he recognized that family medicine is a specialty that thrives when practiced via novel approaches that are groundbreaking, team-based, and inspiring. He subsequently devoted his career to challenging clinicians in multiple disciplines to collaborate in thinking about different ways to improve the health and well-being of patients.” View award tribute to Dr. Baird.

Congratulations to all who received an award!

Xperience Hall

At this year’s Spring Refresher, the exhibit hall was transformed into the "Xperience Hall" where all non-CME activities took place. Attendees explored a host of valuable resources for MN family docs as well as burnout-busting fun like mini-golf and ping pong.

We had a great time visiting with current and former faculty and residents, community physicians, and University of Minnesota medical students. We shared booth space with the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) and Metropolitan Physician Associate Program (MetroPAP).

We asked attendees to answer the following question—“where do you practice, precept, or train?”

Attendees wrote their names on pieces of paper and pinned them to the corresponding locations on a large map of Minnesota. Attendees also pinned where they did their RPAP experience if they were an RPAP alumni. We were proud to show that Minnesota family physicians care for ALL communities across the state--rural and urban.

We also gave away many UMN alumni buttons, in which 20 people were able to wear all three as an alumni of the Medical School, family medicine residency, and RPAP.

Looking Ahead

The 2018 conference will be held at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
For more information, visit the MAFP website.

Students Design Oberstar's Hip Injection Trainer

From left to right are project advisor Adam Choe, MS,
student Trevor Laughlin, project sponsor Jennifer Oberstar, MD,
students Nathan Stob, Daniel Sherman, and Rachael Brandt.

Jennifer Oberstar, MD, offered University of Minnesota senior mechanical engineering students to design a hip simulator as a way to teach learners how to do ultrasound-guided hip injections. The project was proposed in Fall 2016 to undergraduate students in the capstone senior engineering design course where teams of four to six students work for one semester on an engineering design project that’s sponsored by a local company or UMN researcher. Students then present their projects at the course’s Design Show at the end of the semester.

The students who worked on the hip simulator were Dan Sherman, Nathon Stob, Rachael Brandt, and Trevor Laughlin. Oberstar was the sponsor of the project, and Adam Choe, MS, from the University of Minnesota Medical Devices Center, was the project advisor.

“I thought the students produced an excellent prototype in the three months provided,” Oberstar said. “At the start of the project, the students were unfamiliar with the procedure and how to use ultrasound. They worked well as a team and were thoughtful with their design.”

The hip injection trainer project was offered to students because it required engineering knowledge and was an opportunity for a “real world” application. Projects with “real world” applications are more engaging for learners, and Oberstar also saw that this was an opportunity to collaborate across disciplines.

According to Oberstar, the prototype will now be introduced to experts performing ultrasound-guided hip injections. Further research will be conducted to validate the prototype. Adjustments to the current device may occur after input from faculty and learners.

The Hip Injection Trainer was funded by the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Discovery Fund. Oberstar received funding in 2016 to develop training for family medicine residents to further hone their skills in ultrasound-guided hip injections.

HOW IT WORKS

Injection site

The injection site was created with low-hardness silicone and tactile mutilator additives to create a medium that looks and feels like human tissue when injecting under ultrasound.

In addition, each injection site contains a conductive textile, which signals the boundary of the target injection area.

Body

The lower body of the hip injection trainer contains two injectable hips molded into moderately hardened silicone.

The upper body is composed of lower-hardness silicone with the same approximate density as human muscle tissue.

Feedback system

The electronic feedback system of the hip injection trainer contains a red light-emitting diode (LED) and green LED, signaling a failed or successful injection, respectively.

A learner injects the injection site, and when passing through the conductive textile located in the bottom of the injection site, a circuit is completed, signaling a successful injection. However, no LEDs are lit until the learner depresses the plunger on the needle, signaling a finished injection.

From left to right are students Trevor Laughlin, Rachael Brandt, Daniel Sherman, and Nathan Stob.

Family Medicine Midwest 2016

The following blog post was written by U of M Department of Family Medicine faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, chair of the Family Medicine Midwest Foundation and presenter at this year's conference.

Indianapolis, IN

On October 7-9, 387 physicians, residents, and medical students gathered at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, IN for the annual Family Medicine Midwest Conference. The event combined scholarly work and research presentations, community-based practice and best practice sharing, and promoted cooperative and collaborative health care innovation. There was also a residency and fellowship fair, “speed date our specialty” session, poster presentations, and pre-conference sessions.

The University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and other individuals contributed to provide scholarships for medical students. Because of these efforts, 11 medical students from Minnesota were able to attend the conference.

“I'm one of the recipients of the FMM scholarship that allowed my colleagues and me to attend the Family Medicine Midwest Conference and I just wanted to sincerely thank you for your contribution that made this possible. The conference was both informative and educational, and it provided me with an opportunity to learn more about family medicine--the challenges and means to overcome those challenges. I was also able to network with family physicians, residents, my fellow students, and other professionals from all around Midwest. Again, thank you very much.” 

- Jafary Fafara, University of Minnesota third-year medical student

In addition to medical students, 10 other University of Minnesota resident physicians, family physicians, and other medical professionals attended. A total of nine U of M Department of Family Medicine faculty and U of M medical students presented educational sessions and/or posters during the conference. This conference is an excellent venue to demonstrate the amazing works of family physicians in Minnesota. See photos from the conference.

UMN Presentations at FMM 2016

Educational Sessions

• Developing Resilience to Create Lifelong Physicians for the Underserved - North Memorial faculty Laura Miller, MD, and Tanner Nissly, DO 

• Increasing Rural Family Physicians’ and Vietnam War Veterans’ Understanding of Agent Orange Exposure and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 - Adjunct faculty Linda Olson Bergum, MD, and U of M third-year medical student Kirsten Larson

• Opioids for Chronic Pain, CDC Guidelines and Family Medicine - North Memorial faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, and Tanner Nissly, DO

• A model for Interprofessional Team-based Post-hospital Care in the Academic Family Medicine Clinic - North Memorial faculty Andrew Slattengren, DO, and Jerica Berge, PhD, MPH, LMFT

• Looking Back at a Community Family Medicine Resident Research Project: What Worked?- Methodist faculty Lynn Manning, MD

Posters

• Leaf Libraries: Promoting Childhood Literacy in Community Waiting Spaces - U of M fourth-year medical student Lucas Boyle 

• Increasing Rural Family Physicians’ and Vietnam War Veterans’ Understanding of Agent Orange Exposure and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 - Adjunct faculty Linda Olson Bergum, MD, and U of M third-year medical students Kirsten Larson and Kayla Schenheit

About Family Medicine Midwest

The Family Medicine Midwest (FMM) Foundation launched in 2012 with a core mission of identifying and supporting students interested in Family Medicine. It is committed to communicating the value of family medicine to practicing colleagues, future colleagues, and the public. Andrew Slattengren, DO, University of Minnesota North Memorial Family Medicine Residency faculty, is chair of the FMM Foundation.

Next year's conference will take place in Rosemont, Illinois on October 6-8.

Minnesota Monthly Presents "Best Doctors" 2016

Minnesota Monthly has released its “Best Doctors” 2016 list comprised of 877 physicians in 51 categories. They asked 10,000 licensed Minnesota doctors who they would recommend if they or a loved one needed care. Their most frequent answers represent the list.

AAFP National Conference 2016 Recap

This year’s American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students was held on July 28 through July 30 in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference gives medical students an opportunity to attend workshops, network, and gain insights into family medicine.


Our faculty, residents, and staff went as exhibitors to promote our residency programs. We also sponsored scholarships for medical students to attend and learn more about family medicine.

This year’s conference drew a record number of attendees with 1,210 residents and 1,349 medical students from across the nation. From the University of Minnesota, 46 medical students attended the conference. Below is a list of all U of M family medicine residency program representatives.

Duluth

Mankato third-year resident Jared Colvert, DO and program director John McCabe, MD

• Kristin Comstock, MD, second-year resident
• Charles Hackett, MD, second-year resident
• E. Tolga Hanhan, MD, first-year resident
• John Wood, MD, associate program director

Mankato

• Jared Colvert, DO, third-year resident
• John McCabe, MD, program director

Methodist

• Jesse Klingelhoets, MD, second-year resident
• Josh Scheck, MD, second-year resident
• Stephen Schwartz, MD, second-year resident



Left to right: North Memorial faculty Laura Miller, MD, second-year resident
 Lauren Williams, MD, first-year resident Nat Fondell, MD, faculty Renee Crichlow, MD,
 and third-year resident Meredith Bourne, MD

• Jeremy Springer, MD, program director

North Memorial

• Meredith Bourne, MD, third-year resident
• Reneé Crichlow, MD, faculty 
• Nat Fondell, MD, first-year resident
• Laura Miller, MD, faculty
• Lauren Williams, MD, second-year resident (MAFP-sponsored)

St. Cloud

• Dennis Peterson, MD, faculty
• 
Noah Retka, MD, third-year resident

St. John’s

St. Cloud faculty Dennis Peterson, MD, and third-year resident Noah Retka, MD

• Bobby Kagigebi, MD, third-year resident

• Kaitlyn Schoeck, MD, third-year resident

• Angela Smithson, MD, MPH, program director
• 
Jennifer Svendsen, MD, second-year resident

St. Joseph’s

• Robert Hlavacek, DO, third-year resident

• Manuel Idrogo, MD, faculty

• Michael Nasenbeny, MD, third-year resident

• Margaret Perko, MD, third-year resident

University of Minnesota Medical Center


• Andrea Larson, DO, second-year resident

• Carrie Link, MD, faculty
• Raquel Van Norman, administrator

Department Staff

• Tanner Nissly, DO, faculty advisor for the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) on the Twin Cities campus and North Memorial faculty

• Laura Pham, residency programs coordinator

• Nkauj Shoua Vang, communications specialist

Social Media

The traveling Loon trophy

For the third year in a row, we held a friendly social media challenge between our eight residency programs. For the challenge, we specifically tracked Twitter usage using #aafpnc. The residency program and individual who tweeted the most using #aafpnc received prizes. 


This year’s winning team was our Methodist program, with a grand total of 359 tweets. They will receive the traveling Loon trophy (our version of the Twitter bird.) This year's individual winner was second-year Methodist resident Jesse Klingelhoets, MD, with a total of 189 tweets. He wins a $30.00 gift card to the University of Minnesota Bookstore.

Methodist program director Jeremy Springer, MD, with second-year residents Jesse Klingelhoets, MD, Josh Scheck, MD, and Steve Schwartz, MD.

Past winners:
2015: Program winner: North Memorial; Individual winner: Carrie link, MD, University of Minnesota Medical Center
2014: Program winner: North Memorial; Individual winner: Reneé Crichlow, MD, North Memorial

In addition to sponsoring a social media challenge on Twitter, we used the new Facebook Live feature to introduce our programs and encourage attendees to stop by program booths. Click here to see the videos. If you were unable to attend this year’s conference, you can view photos from our exhibit here.

We look forward to next year’s conference, which will be held on July 27 through July 29, 2017.

Medical students visiting with our program representatives

Mpls. St.Paul Magazine 2016 Top Doctors

Mpls. St. Paul Magazine released its 20th annual list of Top Doctors in the Twin Cities this month. We are proud to announce that a number of University of Minnesota Family Medicine and Community Health faculty were named in the specialties of family medicine, geriatrics, and sports medicine.

Metro area physicians and registered nurses were asked to nominate one or more doctors whom they would choose if they or a loved one were seeking medical care. Candidates who made the final list were grouped into 42 specialties and evaluated on a variety of factors, such as peer recognition, professional achievement, and disciplinary history. The highest scoring doctors were then invited to serve on a blue-ribbon panel and asked to evaluate candidates in their practice area. Physicians who acquired the highest total points from the survey, research, and blue-ribbon panel review were named to the Mpls. St.Paul Magazine 2016 Top Doctors list.

Congratulations to the following faculty who were named 2016 Top Doctors:

July cover of Mpls. St.Paul Magazine

Family Medicine

Patricia Adam, MD, MSPH
Sharon Allen, MD, PhD
Nancy Baker, MD
Nicole Chaisson, MD, MPH
Jon Hallberg, MD
Kara Pacala, MD
Shailey Prasad, MD, MPH
Christopher Reif, MD, MPH
Jamie Santilli, MD
Jeremy Springer, MD
Carolyn Torkelson, MD, MS
Mary Wagner, MD

Geriatrics 

Michael Dunkinfield, MD
Teresa McCarthy, MD, MS
James Pacala, MD, MS

Sports Medicine

Robert Johnson, MD
David Olson, MD
Steven Stovitz, MD, MS

Click here to view
the complete list of Top Doctors.

2016 Resident and Fellow Commencement

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