How did your lecture topic at OMED 2019 come about?
I was invited by Justine Lazatin, OMSIV from UNE COM who was a former third-year core student at our clinical campus and is involved in leadership for SOMA nationally.
Why is this topic or theme important to you?
As a faculty member at Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency, we care for mothers with opiate use disorder and their newborns experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome and are interested in sharing what we’ve learned and are currently teaching at our institution.
How do you see yourself advocating for women’s health in the work that you do?
Care of the family unit, especially in the setting of this vulnerable population with extensive needs, is critical. Caring for the mother and infant as a pair, is, by default, advocating for women’s health since a mother’s health and wellbeing is intertwined with the health of her family, especially in the post-partum and newborn period. I am honored to be a part of the team effort involved in supporting the health of women alongside our learners, my family medicine colleagues, our specialists in pediatrics and OBGYN, and the many other types of professionals involved to this end.
Tell me about your role as Regional Assistant Dean:
I have the privilege and opportunity to work with medical students on the precipice of their clinical experiences, and have tried to prioritize helping our students gain confidence in the next stage of their medical education journey. The job requires direct teaching and advising of the UNE COM students at our clinical campus, oversight and development of their clinical rotations, faculty recruitment and development, and representing off site clinical faculty on the COM campus.
How long have you been in the position?
I have been in leadership as Director of Pre-Doctoral Education at Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency since 2009, and soon after was named as Regional Assistant Dean for UNE COM.
How is it different than what you were doing previously?
I have actually been in this role since graduating from family medicine residency training, and had only a short time working in a community family practice immediately after residency…my role at the residency also involved inpatient and outpatient full spectrum family medicine (including obstetrics and pediatrics) with a special interest in substance use disorder in pregnancy.
Do you have opportunity to work with current UNE COM students?
Yes! I teach them on various core rotations at our hospital and in our clinics, at our longitudinal didactic sessions, during fourth-year elective rotations, including a new Addiction Medicine rotation we’ve just added, and mentoring our COM students while on campus with us and as they navigate the residency application process.
What experiences does the Augusta site provide UNE COM students?
We are the Augusta Clinical Campus for the third-year core rotations for UNE COM students, and have several opportunities for fourth-year rotations as well in Outpatient Family Medicine, Inpatient Sub-Internship, Geriatrics, OMM, Addiction Medicine, along with other hospital based specialty rotations on a case by case basis.
What do you hope UNE COM students learn as part of the program?
My hope for all our students is to feel supported as they explore and become more comfortable in their future role as physicians in the real word of clinical medicine. I hope for them to take full advantage of the layers of learners and teachers at our institution, and of course, embrace the wealth of knowledge that their patients will share in this early stage of their careers. <>