Charles F. Ashby, MD, Memorial Scholarship (Two Scholarships Awarded)
This scholarship is given in memory of Dr. Ashby to new NAFP family physicians practicing in Nebraska. Dr. Ashby was a 60 year charter member of the NAFP, serving as president in 1964. He was active in state and local affairs, medical societies, community and public service. He was dedicated to being a family physician, deeply committed to caring for his patients until the day he died. This scholarship is intended to assist new family physicians as they begin their practice in Nebraska. The recipients of this year’s awards are Drs. Anna Dalrymple, of Gothenburg, and Chelsea Williams, of Callaway.
Dr. Anna Dalrymple was a graduate of LMEP Residency in 2017. Dr. Dalrymple wrote in her application: I am a recent residency graduate practicing in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Gothenburg is a town of approximately 3500, 35 miles east of North Platte. I am engaged in a full scope practice including clinic, emergency room/trauma, and obstetrics. I am originally from Omaha, Nebraska. My husband is a farmer in the Gothenburg area and we have really enjoyed starting our lives here. A couple of my goals for the upcoming year includes a focus on teaching and engaging students/residents to family practice in rural areas. I have already applied for volunteer faculty status through UNMC. I would also like to continue to stay engaged with the NAFP by attending meetings, and would really like to go to the AAFP meeting this year as well. Finally, I would like to pursue ALSO (Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics) instructor certification and be able to offer this at my site of practice. These funds would allow me to pursue these goals and continue to focus on education for current students. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Dr. Chelsea Williams was a graduate of UNMC Residency program in 2017. Dr. Williams wrote in her application: After 24 years of schooling, 4 graduations, and thousands of hours studying, working and training, I have finally reached my lifelong goal. I am and have always been a small town Nebraska gal. I knew from a young age that I would become a physician and that I would one day return to a small town to practice. I am grateful for the opportunity for a chance to give back. Callaway, NE is a small community of less than 600 but boasts both a hospital and clinic as well as some of the state’s kindest medical staff and patients. The area we serve is rather extensive in size and reaches far into the Sandhills. The people that I have encountered on a daily basis since completing residency are the reason I went into family medicine. There is a mutual respect and trust. They know that I care and in exchange, I know that they genuinely do as well. I know that I may see them in church on Sunday and then in the office on Tuesday. I know their children, their parents, their pets. And they know me. Like most newly graduated residents, I am no stranger to medical debt so I appreciate your consideration in this scholarship.
Donald A. Larson, MD, Memorial Scholarship
The NAFP Foundation established the Donald J. Larson, MD, Scholarship in memory of Dr. Larson in 2008. Don was a valued member and was president of the Nebraska Academy in 1978. He was an acclaimed teacher of family medicine graduate education and served as program director of the Lincoln Family Practice Residency Program. This scholarship is presented annually to a family medicine resident who is interested in family medicine in rural practice.
The recipient of the 2018 Donald J. Larson Resident Scholarship is Dr. Tiffany Svoboda. In Dr. Svoboda’s application she wrote: From the day I was born, I have had the same family physician. Having this continuity of care is why I chose to practice family medicine in a rural community near the place I call home; central Nebraska. I want other families to be able to trust and see the same physician year after year as their children and themselves grow older. I also love the fact that while the family physician is a person of knowledge, they are also a big part of the community as you see him or her at athletic events and in the grocery store talking to his or her patients and asking how each person's family is doing. The sense of a small, intimate office is what I have always desired and I hope to continue offering care to the small community of Callaway and Arnold who are in need of a physician where patients can go in a time of need. The culture and people of a rural community are some of the most kind-hearted and interesting people out there. Being able to relate to them on a personal level even when it means talking cows and farming, helps me be a better physician for them. I couldn't imagine practicing anywhere else.
Haiti Mission Trip Scholarship
The Haiti Mission scholarship is given to a resident or student who is interested in participating in a medical mission trip to Haiti. Dr. Joe Miller has been very instrumental in the development and support of this scholarship program and he has participated in many trips to Haiti over the past few years.
This year we award this scholarship to Dr. Ali McCabe who is a resident at UNMC. Dr. McCabe wrote in her scholarship application: I am currently a family medicine resident at Nebraska Medicine. My personal interest in family medicine stems from the exposure to family medicine when I was a child. My mother was the receptionist in the family medicine clinic in my hometown, Norfolk Nebraska. As an adolescent I enjoyed shadowing the doctors she worked with and always knew medicine was my calling. I am always looking for experiences to make me a better, well-rounded physician. I enjoy taking care of indigent populations and those who otherwise don’t always have access to health care. I actively helped with the SHARING clinics in Omaha which provide low cost & often free health care to lower socio-economic populations in the community. I think going to Haiti would be a humbling and eye opening experience to see how medicine is practiced in less fortunate countries. It would also allow me to practice medicine where resources may be less scarce which invokes a new set of challenges and critical thinking.
Medical Mission Trip Grant
Dr. Kathleen Bliese Walk, a trustee on the NAFP Foundation Board, was instrumental in establishing the Medical Mission Scholarship in 2002 to help defray expenses for medical students participating in medical mission trips as part of their medical educational experience.
This year we award this grant to Haley Mathews, M1, who is a student at UNMC. Haley wrote in her application: This medical mission trip will fulfill my goal of serving others through medicine. I dream to see the world in the pursuit of healing it. In the future, I want to give my time to serving the underserved in all different types of environments and cultures, and this trip will give me a great start. One of the most valuable parts of service trips is the relationships that you can develop with the local people and also your peers. I look forward to building those relationships and getting to know my classmates on a deeper level in addition to developing connections and friendships with the local people. I am currently interested in Family Medicine because it gives me the opportunity and challenge to have a wide knowledge base and patient population. I know that this trip will give me a taste of the variety of patients seen in Family Medicine and challenge me to discern and differentiate what the problem may be. Additionally, going on this mission trip will help me improve my medical knowledge, clinical skills, and cultural competence that will be beneficial for my future career as a physician.
William A. DeRoin, MD, Memorial Scholarship
The DeRoin Memorial scholarship is presented each year in memory of Dr. William A. DeRoin. Dr. DeRoin was the president of the Nebraska Academy in 1979-1980. He had been very active in the Academy and particularly in helping to form and work with the student family practice clubs. He passed away in 1980 and the DeRoin scholarship was created in his memory. It is presented annually to a Nebraska medical student attending either Creighton University or the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The 2018 William A. DeRoin scholarship was given to Hannah Luksa, who is a M3 at UNMC. In Hannah’s application she wrote: Over the last few years when I have been asked about my future specialty choice, I have noticed that almost everyone immediately launches into how much their family loves going to their family doctor and will tell me a personal anecdote involving their doctor and the personalized care they receive. This recurrent experience has contributed to my belief that the most rewarding part of family medicine is the relationships formed with the patients and their loved ones. Another reason I find family medicine so exciting is that you get to play a pivotal role in disease prevention as well as acute disease management. Family doctors oversee all aspects of their patient's health, from neonatal care to end of life discussions, as well as everything in between. I have always craved variety in my daily life which family medicine offers in abundance.
Dennis DeRoin, MD, Memorial Scholarship
Dennis DeRoin followed his father's footsteps and made the decision to go to medical school and be a Family Physician. Dennis was privileged to work with his father one year before his father's early death at age 52. Dennis worked in private practice from 1979 until 1988 and then worked with Methodist Physician's Clinic until 2015 when he retired from the Louisville NE clinic. Throughout his career he enjoyed the variety of family medicine including delivering babies and caring for them and the entire family. He enjoyed having students and residents come spend time at his clinic. He served on many Methodist Hospital committees including the Physician's Clinic Executive Committee. He got involved with the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians when he was a medical student and his father brought him along to the annual meetings. He served as president of the NAFP from 1997 to 1998 and also served on and chaired many NAFP committees. He was on the AAFP Subcommittee on Indian Health and the Commission on Minority Health Affairs, both of which interested him because of his American Indian heritage. He enjoyed being a Family Physician and especially loved spending time with his own family -- wife, Marcia, and children, Nicole and Bill.
The 2018 scholarship recipient is Zachary Wordekemper, who is a M3 at UNMC. In Zachary’s application he wrote: I am very interested in family medicine as I believe it gives me the most opportunity to do what I came into medicine for; to help and touch as many people as I can and to work with those that could not help themselves. Between my uncle, Dr. Tony Kusek, and my experience in my M3 year family medicine rotation in North Platte with Dr. Shawn Murdock, I believe I have grasped a great picture of what family medicine is all about. I do not only enjoy the path and career as a family doctor, I also love the opportunity it gives you to connect and be close with your patients. I also think it is huge for family doctors to work strongly in their community to not only help the people but help the town as a whole. The final thing I like about this field is the ability to do so much with it, from doing simple clinic, to scopes and OBGYN and even to ER and working in inpatient; I feel that with family medicine I can mold myself into being the best doctor I can be for the patients that I am taking care of.
Rural Student Externship Grant
The purpose of this six-week Externship is to introduce medical students to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model of care. The student will work in multiple locations over a six-week period. The student would have the opportunity to see how the Patient-Centered Medical Home concept is integrated into the policies of the ACO and how the medical director helps guide the members of the ACO in developing and implementing the Patient-Centered Medical Home model within their clinic.
The 2018 recipient of the externship opportunity is Megan Byrnes, an M1 at UNMC. Megan wrote in her application: When I went to college, and even into medical school I tried to have an open mind about what specialties I could be interested in. I attended all the interest group meeting and discussed different specialties with students and professionals alike. The more I discussed Family Medicine the more interested I became. It is in my nature to be a problem solver and I know Family Medicine would be the perfect outlet for my puzzle-loving tendencies. Solving a wide array of problems would be an ideal match for my personality. I want to be the first person my patient comes to for their health problems. Having a relationship with my patients is also very important, I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with any issue they may have. This program targeted those with expressed interest in rural/family health and through it I was able to shadow family practice doctors and understand more about their day to day work life. Being able to participate in this summer externship would be a great honor. I would love to have the opportunity to shadow in a longer term, more consistent manner. It would be a perfect addition to my medical education and prepare me for the practical application of classroom knowledge.
