Finding My Calling in Family Medicine I attended Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, including clinical training in the Rural Physicians Program in Marquette, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP). There, I met my future spouse, Dana. While neither of us is from the UP, we were adopted into it by the generous Yoopers (a self-described affectionate term for inhabitants of the UP) we met. Physicians of every specialty were active members of the community in our rural area. I considered a variety of specialties other than family medicine, most notably pediatric hematology-oncology and obstetrics and gynecology. I was drawn to the specialty where I could live anywhere, use diagnostic skills broadly, create long-term relationships with patients and adapt my clinical practice to the needs of my community. Going into interview season, I was still undecided between OB/GYN and Family Medicine. Ultimately, it was the family physicians I met here in Utah at my interviews, along with my rotation mentors, that led me to realize I wanted to be a family physician. From there, I chose residency at St. Mark’s Family Medicine here in Salt Lake City and never looked back (though I still visit Michigan three to four times a year). Building a Career and a Community I completed the one-year Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship here in Salt Lake City and discovered Community Health Centers (CHC) under the U.S. Health Center program. CHC provides primary and preventive care, behavioral health care and dental care to 34 million people, serving everyone in the area, regardless of background or ability to pay. CHC makes crucial primary care more accessible by reducing barriers such as cost, lack of insurance, distance and language. In operation since 1978, CHC Inc., which leads the OB fellowship, has built relationships with generations of families in Salt Lake County through physicians/APPs who have dedicated their entire careers to this work. Again, it was the people who solidified my decision to stay in SLC and work at the CHC. At the first provider meeting, the shared clinical knowledge, dedication to quality patient care, integrity and passion were evident, and I knew I had found my people. This was the job I had always wanted, even before I knew it existed. In terms of area of focus, family physicians are what their community needs. Our group developed a strong pregnancy care program, women’s health and pediatric practice in addition to the preventive care and chronic disease management that are cornerstones of health center work. We broaden our scope as needed by the community, which has included substance use treatment, pandemic response, telehealth and now family medicine residency. I am faculty in our FM OB Fellowship and for the University of Utah OB/GYN and Family Medicine residencies; a member of GMEC at St. Mark’s Family Medicine; chair of the maternal health committee at Utah Women and Newborns Quality Collaborative; and a past member of the Utah and Wyoming maternal and infant mortality review committee. At the CHC, it is easy to see the impact we have on our community and the health and wellness of our individual patients. Launching a Residency: Training the Next Generation We started the CHC Family Medicine Residency to address the workforce shortage in Utah, expand access to care and address the specific needs of medically underserved communities. Having worked at CHC for 15 years now, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, my friends and I have witnessed firsthand the impact of workforce turnover, increased individual workloads and limitations on access to care. During that time, other Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education programs documented the quality of education in health center residency programs in medical journals, including a broader scope of practice, experience in rural (17.9%) and medically underserved areas (35%), and the desire for such programs among graduating medical students. As a group, CHC physicians have been involved with medical education as teaching faculty for students and residents at the University of Utah for over 40 years. This seemed like a natural next step. But why me? I am simply the representative of a large group of committed individuals and the tradition of medical education at CHC and our partner organizations who created this residency. I have dedicated my time, energy and enthusiasm to bringing this shared vision to life. 24
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