Light at the End of the Tunnel: Newly Minted Family Medicine Doctors Start Their Practice Cameron Smith, DO, and Matias Calquin, MD, are graduates of the Utah Valley Hospital Family Medicine Residency and have both started their family medicine jobs at Mountainlands Community Health Center in Provo as of July 2023. Smith is from Utah and was looking to return to Utah for residency after time at Campbell University in North Carolina. He chose family medicine because it was the specialty that allowed him to follow his patients over time and develop relationships. In residency, he recalled the experience of providing prenatal care and attending two births for a family he cared for longitudinally. This was the most satisfying aspect of training, and he wanted to ensure that was a part of his career. He was also looking for a job where he might practice to the full scope of his training, including obstetrics. Smith met the family physicians from Mountainlands when he did his labor and delivery rotations in residency. He then worked in the Mountainlands clinic space as a volunteer in their free clinic. He ultimately rotated at Mountainlands to see if it was a good fit. “It was a no-brainer. Mountainlands has a close-knit family atmosphere and my colleagues here are close,” said Smith. Calquin says he “came late” to an interest in family medicine. As a third-year medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine, he did his third-year rotation at Mountainlands Community Health Center. He worked Health Center Program Fundamentals: • Deliver high quality, culturally competent, comprehensive primary care, dental, behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and access to affordable medications. • Provide supportive services that promote access to health care such as health education, translation, and transportation. • Provide services regardless of the patient’s ability to pay and charge uninsured patients for services on a sliding fee scale. • Operate as autonomous community-based organizations directed by patient-majority governing boards. • Develop systems of patientcentered and integrated care to meet the unique needs of their communities. • Meet stringent administrative, clinical, and financial requirements. Cameron Smith, DO, and Matias Calquin, MD, Mountainlands Community Health Center 29 |
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