Pub. 3 2019 Issue 2

Resident Spotlight | Continued on page 14 and one in family medicine), he changed his mind about a month before the match to ultimately choose a career in family medicine. As they reflect on these difficult choices, they are grateful for their decision to pursue careers in primary care. Not only are they passionate about the work, they appreciate the time it has granted them to grow their relationship together and to foster other interests and hob- bies outside of work. Before meeting Karli, Lyman had also considered joining the Armed Forces, though he was undecided about which branch to join. He had family members who had served including both grandfathers and an uncle. His father en- couraged Lyman to consider the military as well. With Karli having joined the Navy, the question as to which branch to join was an easy one. Lyman commissioned into the U.S. Navy during his first year of residency and will serve at least three years for the navy medical corps upon comple- tion of his residency training. Matching as a Couple When Lyman was still trying to determine which specialty to pursue, he reached out to some mentors in North Caro- lina about primary care specialties. One of those mentors, Dr. Ben Gilmer, was close friends with a colleague, Dr. Ste- ven Ratcliffe, in Utah. Lyman was told there were two family medicine residency programs “not to miss” in Utah — St. Mark’s and the University of Utah. When the newly married couple hit the road to attend interviews, they spent the better part of two months driv- ing and camping across the country. They were fortunate to align nearly all of their interviews together and mapped out an epic route to drive to all their destinations, stop- ping along the way to climb, hike and snowboard. They both recognize that unlike many of their colleagues, their experience interviewing as a couple was exceptionally positive, and they consider themselves fortunate that the process was relatively seamless. In January, they reached their final destination of interview season, Salt Lake City. Lyman was excited about the interview at St. Mark’s Family Medicine in particular because they had a “ski-day” interview with lift tickets to Brighton resort. Karli, on the other hand, was concerned about that interview in particular because she was worried about a couple’s match at a residency when the program only accepts four residents each year. After their ski-day interview at St. Mark’s, the small program in Utah blew both Karli and Lyman away. They were impressed with the smaller community hospital, the diversity of the clinic, the adult-style learning, and mostly the warm community of residents and faculty. The couple were also training for a mountaineering trip at the time, so between interviews, they went on several hikes in the Wasatch. Like many January days in the Salt Lake Valley, the inversion had set in during their stay. However, after a snowstorm, they went up to Grandeur Peak out of Millcreek Canyon, the inversion cleared and they saw beau- tiful views of the valley and mountain landscapes. It was then that Karli decided they could live in Utah. As it was such a small program, they never dreamed they would both match to St. Mark’s together, but on Match Day, the couple opened their envelopes and saw they had both matched to the program. They were thrilled and a little shocked at their luck. On moving to Utah, Karli and Lyman were excited about living in a place with many national parks and with quick access to the outdoors for adventur- ing during off-duty hours. The Future of Family Medicine Karli and Lyman Woollens attended a medical school that was committed to fostering a passion for family medicine among its students. Of their graduating class, 32 out of 180 doctors went into family medicine — and it was a diverse group of people. “The nature of the work draws people who are interested in serving communities that they come from or they care about. In family medicine, it’s this idea of serving a community that attracts people from all back- grounds and interests,” said Karli. Both in preparing for their interviews and helping to conduct interviews of incoming residents, they say there is a push in primary care to fill residency spots with people who are committed to serving the underserved, such as rural areas, veterans and those experiencing homelessness. Trying to recruit people from different backgrounds, cultures and perspectives was also important. The more diversity there is in a group, the more we learn from each other. Being on the other side of the interview process this year made Karli consider the qualities they were seeking in a candidate. “We When the newly married couple hit the road to attend interviews, they spent the better part of two months driving and camping across the country. They were fortunate to align nearly all of their interviews together and mapped out an epic route to drive to all their destinations, stopping along the way to climb, hike and snowboard. 13 |