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Class of 2009
Simon Fenton, MD who was born in Cape
Town, South Africa, and immigrated to the United States with his family
when he was four years old, understood the travel metaphor used by a nurse
when he was once a patient: “For the majority of people, experiencing
medicine is like traveling to a foreign land with new adventures and perplexing
languages. Experienced tour guides, who understand the concerns of the
travelers and do all in their power to help them, make the tour less terrifying.”
Solidifying medical interests Simon had had before, his goal became clear
after hearing those words: through many years of hard work and sacrifice,
he planned to become an excellent tour guide for people who need to travel
to the land of Medicine.
Simon’s training to become a tour guide in the land of Medicine started
with basic principals unrelated to medicine. Early in his life he experienced
the process of immigrating to the United States, carrying the label of
a “resident alien,” and receiving reminders from the other kids at school
that he was somehow different. Those experiences, along with newer experiences,
like interpreting the Spanish language for immigrants in a medical setting,
have equipped him to sensitively view and decipher medical experiences
for people who have even lived in the U.S. all of their lives.
Every medical specialty needs good tour guides, but one particular experience
confirmed Simon’s journey down the route to Family Medicine. One summer
during college, while visiting his elderly grandmother at her residential
home in England, he inquired about her daily activities. She quietly told
him of walking around her neighborhood for exercise. Without thinking,
he affirmed his grandmother for exercising. He continued, “In fact, Granny,
my doctor friends say that those elderly people who walk as much as possible
can prevent breaking a hip and stay independent longer.” My grandmother
sat up straighter and smiled, “Shall we go on a walk then?” The simple
experience of encouraging his grandmother demonstrated to him the power
of preventative medicine, an opportunity most readily available to Family
Medicine.
Subsequent to the experience with his grandmother during college,
Simon investigated how he may fit with the practice of Family Medicine.
Helpful feedback from patients, friends and family affirmed skills he
possessed which would enhance his performance as a family physician. They
described such qualities as listening well, politely and considerately
demonstrating a bedside manner, and concisely explaining medical conditions
which help them understand in a new way what they are experiencing. The
teaching to patients about their current medical conditions, as well as
teaching about preventative medicine, provides an aspect of Family Medicine
that Simon has enjoyed in his clerkships and looks forward to practicing
in residency and further work.
In his future practice of Family Medicine, Simon looks forward to not
only providing education, but also receiving education. Three foundational
and educational experiences came to him as three separate medical trips
to Honduras, Colombia, and Ecuador. On those trips Simon learned to appreciate
how medicine is practiced differently around the world. Those trips have
given him the idea to maintain friendships with doctors of other countries
and to allow what he sees in their practices to shape the way he practices
here in the United States. Simon also plans to collaborate with his international
colleagues for projects both in the United States and in other countries.
In preparation for Simon’s future goals, he sought a residency program
that would not only build his medical knowledge, but also continue his
cross-cultural training in a medical context. The United program provided
a clear answer to meet these goals. United not only shows its support
of immigrants, but it also has a passion to serve the homeless and under-served
patients. Simon looks forward to bringing to United his multiple international
experiences and connections. These experiences, as well as his ability
to organize, problem solve and work diligently, will combine with the
skills of the other residents to continue to strengthen the United program.
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Simon Fenton, MD |
Tara Kelly, MD grew up in Saint Paul,
Minnesota, specifically the eastside of St. Paul. There she lived with
her mother and younger brother after her parents divorced. As a St. Paulite,
she learned quickly the beauty and draw of her hometown, forever destined
to win the fight of which twin is the best. At an early age she was exposed
to the insides of the medical world. Her mother, a radiation therapy technician
and dosimetrist, often brought her to work. Her mother tells stories of
how Tara once got lost in the hospital, curiously exploring the environment,
never knowing that a 3-year-old might not belong in most parts of a hospital.
Some of her earliest memories are of the inside of a hospital. Unlike
most children, who may be frightened by the size and commotion of a hospital,
Tara was intrigued. She believes this to be the initial inspiration for
her dream of becoming a physician.
Dr. Kelly is a devout St. Paulite, rarely leaving her beloved city.
She attended the University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul for her undergraduate
work and continued to live in the city after college. She did venture
over to Minneapolis daily to attend medical school at the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities, which she tried to keep secret from as many of
her friends and family as possible. She did not want to be seen as a traitor.
During medical school Tara took part in the Rural Physicians Associate
Program. She spent nine months in Lake City, MN, discovering her passion
for family medicine, finally a worthy reason for leaving Saint Paul. Here
she discovered the beauty of rural/small town Minnesota and the wonderful
medicine practiced in such locations. She developed interests in broad-spectrum
family care, including pediatrics, obstetrics, and mental health.
Dr. Kelly is a newlywed. She enjoys spending time with her husband (of
course he is a native St. Paulite as well) and two cats (they hail from
her other favorite MN town of Lake City). Some might describe her as a
cat lady, which she will be the first to admit, right after she tells
you the latest thing her crazy cats have done. She also spends way too
much time obsessing over the latest episode of Alias and the life of fictional
character Sydney Bristow. Thankfully the series ends this season and she
can focus on residency. Her goal in life is to spend as much time with
friends and family - after all, that is what is important in life - and help
improve people’s lives through her work.
Dr. Kelly is excited to join the United Family Medicine Residency Program.
She saw this program as a natural choice for her. The program is committed
to a solid training in broad-spectrum family medicine and to the community
it serves. Of course it does not hurt that it is located in a community
she is familiar with and loves. She is ready to work with the inspired
and dedicated faculty and residents, continually learning from their example.
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Tara Kelly, MD |
Nick Modjeski, MD was born and raised
in Winona, Minnesota. He spent much of his childhood on a farm just outside
of Winona catching frogs in the pond and feeding calves. Years of chores
became enough and he left home to attend the University of Wisconsin,
La Crosse. Nick worked hard to get high marks in his canoeing and fly
fishing classes and passed ballroom dancing by a step.
During his undergraduate years, Nick spent much of his time working
with adults with disabilities and developed many friendships and learned
several lessons. He was an active member of his church, so much so that
he began dating the youth minister (his future wife Jen). Together, they
volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and discovered a passion for ballroom
dancing. They still fondly reminisce about walking along Pearl Street
with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream dripping through their hands.
Nick graduated from La Crosse in 2002 with a degree in Biomedical Science
and a minor in Chemistry. Before leaving La Crosse to attend the University
of Minnesota Medical School, he proposed to Jen. They married the summer
after Nick’s first year of medical school and honeymooned in Hawaii. Throughout
medical school, they worked for rent as resident managers of their apartment
complex and volunteered at their church in Eagan. In February of year
three, Nick and Jen became parents of a beautiful baby girl, Elise Mae.
Yes, his heart melts when she says it . . . “da daa!”.
In addition to becoming a husband and new father, Nick discovered and
developed his interests during medical school. During his clinical years
he was intrigued by rural medicine, pediatrics, sports medicine, and emergency
medicine amongst other “medicines.” When Nick is not “reading up on something,”
he is spending time with his family or rooting desperately for a Minnesota
sports team to win. As often as possible, Nick and his family escape up
North to visit the family cabin.
Nick is excited to be joining the family at the United Family Medicine
Residency Program. The program was appealing to Nick because of a balance
not seen at other programs as well as an enthusiastic and supportive learning
environment. The strong pediatric and rural experiences as well as the
community focus were particularly attractive. Nick looks forward to an
enriching experience at United. Throughout medical school, Nick
developed interests in rural medicine, pediatrics, sports medicine, as
well as emergency medicine. He envisions a future practice in southeastern
Minnesota near the farmlands where he grew up.
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Nicholas Modjeski, MD |
Robyn Tabibi, MD was raised in Anoka,
Minnesota, the second daughter of an Iranian father and American mother.
She traveled internationally throughout her school career, learning Spanish
along the way. She also spent many years in a performing arts group that
promoted dialogue and awareness of social issues throughout high school
and college. Robyn graduated from the University of St. Thomas where she
majored in Women’s Studies and Biology while remaining active in the Baha’i
Faith.
Robyn’s interest in medicine was encouraged both by volunteer experiences
in women’s health clinics and hospitals, as well as working for twin girls
with Rett syndrome.
After graduation, Robyn moved to Louisville, Kentucky for medical school
and to experience the glorious south for a few years. During these four
years, she made some wonderful new friends, and explored various interests
of dancing, cooking, and watching movies. In medical school, it was in
the Department of Family Medicine that Robyn found her best mentors, and
most fulfilling patient interactions. She was able to focus on women’s
health, as well as patient education, two areas of great interest. By
the end of the four years, she was ready to return home, and applied to
various programs in Minnesota. United Hospital’s program stood out as
a place of diverse interest among the residents and staff, as well as
a diverse patient population. It is very resident conscious, and is a
very encouraging place to learn and grow as a physician.
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Robyn Tabibi, MD |
Nicole Vik, MD was born in Duluth, Minnesota
and lived in the nearby town of Cloquet until the age of five when she
moved to White Bear Lake. She graduated from White Bear Lake High School
(go, Bears!) in 1993 and decided she wanted to leave Minnesota for college.
She chose to attend Taylor University in Indiana where she had an amazing
college experience, despite the fact that she was in the middle of cornfields
for four years. Remarkably, she and her high school sweetheart, Erik,
survived the separation, and they married in 1998.
Nicole attended the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health
after college. She defended her thesis and received her M.P.H. in 2003.
Prior to attending medical school, she worked as an epidemiologist in
the foodborne illness department at MDH. Even though Nicole loved working
in public health, she knew she wanted to work more directly with people
as a primary care physician. She decided to apply to medical school. She
was thrilled to be accepted to UMD School of Medicine, as she appreciated
their focus on family medicine and was excited to head north again. After
completing her first two years there, she participated in the Rural Physician
Associate Program (RPAP) in Cambridge. That experience only solidified
her decision to go into family medicine.
Nicole is excited to be joining the United Family Medicine Residency
Program. She appreciates their involvement in the community, their well-rounded
approach to training physicians, and their family-like atmosphere. She
looks forward to working at the Face-to-Face Clinic. She has been impressed
with the residents, faculty, and staff, and looks forward to working with
them. Nicole’s special interests include obstetrics, adolescent health,
and obesity prevention.
Nicole and Erik had their first child, Gabriel, in February 2006. They
will be adding a second child to their family when Bekiana, their “Haitian
Sensation”, joins them after her adoption is complete. Bekiana was born
in April 2005 in Haiti. Nicole and Erik have always wanted to adopt children
and anticipate they will adopt again in the future. They haven’t decided
if they want more biological children….pregnancy, labor & delivery, and
sleepless nights with a newborn are events that are all too recent to
decide. Nicole loves to be outdoors; therefore, hiking, gardening,
and backpacking are some of her favorite activities. Trying new cuisines
is another favorite activity, which works out well since Erik is a chef.
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Nicole Vik, MD |
Michelle Wilkening, MD was born in Hampton,
Iowa and spent the first 7 years of her life in the small town of Denver,
Iowa. She has always been proud of her Iowa roots despite spending the
rest of her school years in Roseville, Minnesota. After graduating from
high school, she set off for Springfield, Missouri where she attended
Evangel University for 4 years, earning a degree in Chemistry. It was
here that her love of science and desire to become a physician really
expanded. She spent 3 years as a teaching assistant for general and organic
chemistry labs. Teaching students and sharing with them her passion for
chemistry was a highlight of her time there. Teaching also opened doors
for her to share in their lives and their dreams, as well. As president
for the Pre-Medicine Society, it was her goal to challenge students to
explore careers in all areas of healthcare.
After college, Michelle spent a year working as a patient coordinator
at a family medicine clinic. It was here that the desire to become a family
medicine physician formed. She was both challenged and intrigued by the
broad spectrum of patients seen. From there, she attended the University
of Minnesota School of Medicine – Duluth. She was drawn by their concentration
on rural family medicine. During her clinical years in the Twin Cities,
her decision to become a family physician was solidified. It was during
this time that she developed a strong passion for Geriatric Medicine,
Women’s Health and Preventative Medicine.
However, medicine is only one aspect of Michelle’s life. The center
of her life is definitely her husband, Josh. He works as a finance analyst
at US Bank in St. Paul and has served as her rock. Michelle’s family is
also very important to her. From her newborn cousin to her great-grandmother
of age 98, Michelle spends much of her free time involved in their lives
and, of course, serving as the family “doctor”. But aside from all of
that, you can find her either working in her garden, taking a ballet class,
or reading a good book.
As she starts this new journey in her career, Michelle is very excited
about attending the United Family Medicine Residency Program. It is the
excellent training in medicine, obstetrics, and pediatrics that drew her
to this program. She was especially pleased to learn of their strong interest
in community health and how this is integrated into the program. Also,
not only do the residents have excellent training, they are well supported
by their staff and mentors. Michelle knows how important these next three
years are for training and feels that this program will equip her with
the tools needed for her future.
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Michelle Wilkening, MD |
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