Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Physician to train at Riverwood in July

Dr. Matt Penning, entering his second year of residency of the Duluth Family Practice Residency Program, will see Riverwood Healthcare Center patients during a two-week period from July 1-15. He will work closely with Dr. Tim Arnold, Riverwood family medicine physician, at the McGregor Clinic.

In 2009, Riverwood was approved as a site for two-week rotations by second-year residency students from the Duluth Family Practice Residency Program. During the past year, Riverwood has hosted three physicians from this program and one physician from the St. Cloud Family Practice Residency Program. Three additional physicians from the Duluth Family Practice Residency Program are expected to train at Riverwood in 2010. Dr. Don Hughes, Riverwood family medicine physician, is the primary host for resident physicians and medical students.

Riverwood also offers mentoring and training annually for medical students from the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) and 3rd or 4th year medical students from the University of Minnesota.

“We believe that it is important to offer educational and small town rotation experiences to residents and medical students in an ongoing effort to attract the next generation of physicians to our community,” says Dr. Mark Heggem, Riverwood medical staff director. “We know that all our efforts in training healthcare professionals on rural healthcare issues and giving them real-world practice will pay off not only for our own community but for other rural areas as well.”
Riverwood physicians have demonstrated a long-term commitment to educating those entering the field of rural medicine. Dr. Heggem and Dr. Hughes have been offering training for the Duluth Family Practice Residency Program since the early 1990s. Dr. Tom Lawson will soon take over the training slot Dr. Schotzko held with this program for about 20 years. In addition, Dr. Heggem, Dr. Lawson, Dr. Hughes and Dr. Schotzko hold clinical faculty appointments with the University of Minnesota.
“I personally feel that by teaching we remain current with the latest developments in medicine,” says Dr. Hughes. “Rather than just telling patients what to take and treating them, we can help educate our patients on their illness and diseases, as well as treatments and prevention.”

Media Contact: Arlene Wheaton, Riverwood, (218) 927-5589, awheaton@sisunet.org