Pub 5 2021 Issue1

especially with regard to the level of specialization and “narrowness” of practice. I had the opportunity to rotate back in Beaver for my family medicine rotation during my third year of med school, and it was so refreshing. The variety of practice was amazing — caring for newborns to 100+-year-old patients, ER work, inpatient medicine, OB, office procedures, etc. I began to confirm my suspicions that rural family medicine was my calling. What was it that drew you to apply for residency at Utah Valley? How has your experience been there? What has it been like completing a residency at a hospital during a pandemic? During my Sub-I at Utah Valley, I found an amazing group of faculty and residents, which ended up being one of the major reasons I pursued a position here. Residents and attendings seemed to work and learn as a team, and it was a team that I really hoped to join. They also had a track record of sending graduates to rural locations that seemed to be thriving. They advertised great exposure to obstetrics and really anything else you could imagine pursuing as the residency is open to you. This was checking off all the boxes on my list! Unopposed OB experience, inspiring mentors, team atmosphere, good learning environment, etc. My experience here has been nothing short of everything I had hoped for. The learning opportunities have been top-notch. The training is comprehensive, and I feel is preparing me well for rural practice. I am currently in contract negotiations to return to Beaver to start practice in the summer of 2022 — back where it all began! Training during the pandemic has been quite an interesting journey. There have been significant changes to so many aspects of everyone’s day-to-day life — but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if the life a physician/resident has actually changed all that much as we are still seeing and taking care of patients as usual. It has been interesting learning how to take care of COVID-19 patients at the same time as the rest of the world instead of learning how to take care of all the “usual” ailments from experts. Sure, the way we do that has adapted — wearing PPE and utilizing teleconference technology more. On the bright side — I think the pandemic has really propelled telemedicine to new heights — and as I’m planning to practice in a rural setting , it’s really exciting. I’m sure telemedicine will only continue to advance, and access to various specialists will continue to improve for my future patients in the rural setting. 2021 was another record year for the number of students matching into family medicine residencies. What do you think the general public needs to understand about the importance of more doctors going into family medicine? What is it that makes you most proud of going into this specialty? What I love about family medicine is that no matter a patient ’s age, gender, or chief complaint there is something family medicine has to offer. I love that the setting of practice is so varied and that there is something for everyone within the specialty of family medicine. I would hope the public understands the importance of training family medicine physicians, especially students with an interest from rural settings, so that they can return to a location similar to their upbringing and fill the need there is for primary care. If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice entering your first year as a resident, what would it be? As one of Utah Valleys’ chief residents, what kind of mentor and teacher do you hope to be? It is going to go by fast! Work hard, but also put an emphasis on the time you have at your discretion to make meaningful memories with your colleagues, family, and friends. Find a few parts of medicine that you are passionate about and put some extra emphasis and time into that. Try to identify what your practice will look like after residency so you can prepare for that. As one of the chiefs, I hope to foster the team atmosphere that I have come to appreciate at Utah Valley, an environment that is geared toward learning and growing as a physician. I hope to mentor students with an interest in medicine and encourage them to pursue their interests. I was part of UROP (Utah Rural Outreach Program) at the University of Utah during med school and loved sharing my experience with high school students around the state with very similar backgrounds to my own. I actually plan to meet with a group of students from my high school in the coming weeks to discuss this topic in coordination with the high school counselor, and I’m so excited to see the interest! 17 |