Testimonials from Our Previous Residents
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Sample callout (to be used on other pages):
...as a medical student, Munson stood out for their ability to have continuity pregnancy care in their clinic.
Luke Friedli
Kaitlyn Kilpatrick
Class of 2026
Currently a surgical maternal child health fellowship in Rochester NY 2026-2027
Just signed a contract for Elmira, NY for 3 years doing surgical FM/OB work in thr laborist pool, hospital employed practice and will be on faculty with the family medicine residency program at Arnot Ogden Medical Center (the first FM/OB on staff in 20+ years!)
So my medical student experience and residency training has been rural-based and I felt that as a medical student, Munson stood out for their ability to have continuity pregnancy care in their clinic, faculty that modeled rural care with both inpatient and outpatient and OB, and they had longitudinal substance use disorder exposure and management. I also liked that we were unopposed so that I could work directly with attendings for my rotations.
When I got here, I had a robust inpatient experience and even though the curriculum changed to where I never had an ICU rotation, we managed high risk and critical care patients all the way up to being vented for our clinic patients and would feel comfortable doing rural inpatient coming out of residency. The upramp in responsibility compared to other residency programs (usually starting intern year with up to 10 patients compared with Munson doing 4 patients first 6 months, 6 patients second 6 months, then 8 max as a senior in 2nd and 3rd year). The hospitalists at Munson are also looking at recruiting and fostering interested residents to be inpatient peds providers as well since they were struggling with peds coverage when I left (when I graduated only med/peds can do inpatient peds but leadership was very supportive to try to get interested residents more inpatient peds training).
I feel very comfortable with substance use disorder management, chronic pain management including opioid use and palliative care, I have done home visits for patients and have not had any pushback and have had patients and their families who were very grateful and would have not been able to receive medical care otherwise. I am not comfortable with nursing home care, but we do have a longitudinal geriatric shadowing experience with a local clinic that functions as an in depth interdisciplinary geriatric center to keep people in their homes that otherwise would go into a nursing home without the high level of care. My last year we also transitioned to all residents taking care of the surrounding homeless population with street med. It was a long transition but can say it is a robust program.
For pediatric care, Traverse City is ironically and fortunately blessed with lots of pediatricians so we don't get a lot of pediatric exposure, but do have the option to go down to Grand Rapids at Helen Devos for inpatient peds with the residents (you have to pay for your own transportation and housing, it is not sponsored by the residency).
Sponsored residency out rotations include a one month rotation to Alaska for wilderness/bush/rural medicine and international medicine in Chorogia, Kenya. I originally wanted to go to Alaska but due to interviewing for FM/OB fellowship, I ended up going to Kenya during my third year and was on the OB service for 4 weeks. I learned a lot and did not feel like it was medical voluntourism which I was concerned about and we function as a relief for the physicians there and I feel like we do help in a sustainable way, though there is time for safaris and hiking Mount Kenya. There is also exposure to palliative/community medicine, peds/NICU, inpatient men and women's wards, and HIV clinic there. Highly recommend if interested and it is something I would like to continue and has shaped my medical practice though it was a hard and taxing month emotionally and mentally.
My residency was very supportive of be pursuing OB fellowship and the OBs and midwives with Grand Traverse Women's Clinic wrote two of my letters. We have a good relationship on the floor and NICU is also supportive as well and multiple prior residents function as interim NICU providers in rural areas, especially in Grayling (shout out to Megan and Charlie!). Munson was also looking at hiring surgical FM/OBs in Gaylord to help prevent the labor floor from closing with Grayling's labor deck closing and hosted an on site interview with another resident and I.
I also was able to pursue my personal interests and my QI project was actually building the OB track for the residency which was officially adopted the yesr I graduated, I worked with Groundworks to do grant work with clinical nutrition to get a CME series up and rolling, and worked with one of the infectious disease docs tp get started on pursuing my HIV specialist certification.
Now in Rochester for fellowship, I feel very equipped for practice and I can definitely offer more and see the difference in my rural training vs the urban training where I'm at even when it comes to POCUS. When I interviewed for Elmira the president of the hospital said that I was very equipped to fit in and hit the ground running and I could essentially fit in anywhere, which was a nice feather on my cap and my training made it almost impossible for them to say no to me (I basically asked them to create a job for me and they did because they saw all the skills I could bring).
Would say that you have to pursue opportunities to make the most of your 3 years, but they are certainly there for the taking as an adult learner and would pick Munson again if I had the chance. Love my clinic staff and love my faculty and had an awesome group of coresidents.
Addie Loftus-Olgac
When I look back on my family medicine residency, I feel incredibly grateful for the people and experiences that shaped me along the way. I received an excellent medical education from faculty who truly cared about my growth, both as a physician and as a person. I was surrounded by mentors who challenged me, encouraged me, believed in me, and helped me become more confident in the physician I wanted to be.
What made my residency especially meaningful was the opportunity to pursue experiences that were important to me. This included exploring medicine beyond the traditional clinical setting. I was able to travel to Africa to practice international medicine and to Alaska to experience rural medicine, both of which challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone, adapt to different healthcare environments, and experience how different cultures can impact medicine.
I was also part of our street medicine team, where I had the privilege of caring for people experiencing homelessness and seeing firsthand the impact of meeting patients where they are. Our street medicine team has made a meaningful impact in our community by bringing healthcare directly to people who may otherwise face significant barriers to accessing care.
I am also thankful that I got to experience residency in Northern Michigan. There is truly something for everyone, and getting to experience all four seasons is something that I personally enjoy. Whether you enjoy hiking, exploring outdoors, being on the water, or simply taking in the beautiful scenery, there is always something to do. At the same time there are plenty of quiet places to escape when you need to slow down, recharge, and get away from the chaos of residency. The community, the people, and the beautiful scenery made it a special place to live, learn, and train.
More than anything, this program gave me the opportunity to discover what kind of physician I wanted to be. My time here helped shape my continued passion for caring for older adults, and now I am continuing that journey as I become a Geriatrician. This residency gave me the foundation, mentorship, education, and experiences to explore my interests and ultimately find the path that I wanted to follow in medicine. I will always be grateful for the people who invested in me and for a residency experience that gave me so many opportunities to learn, grow, serve my community, and make a difference.
Adrian Nahirnyj
I graduated in 2020 and now practice outpatient family medicine in a group practice in Toronto. The residency prepared me exceptionally well for independent practice—I noticed a significant difference in my clinical skills and confidence compared with many of my peers. Practice felt like a natural extension of the skills I developed during residency, including procedures, pregnancy care, pediatrics, geriatrics, palliative care, pain management, and chronic disease management.
Beyond the clinical training, I’m incredibly grateful for the lifelong friendships I developed and the exceptional faculty who taught and supported me. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend the program. Traverse City is also a beautiful place to live and raise a family, and I still think about it and visit often.
Amanda Stark
Choosing a residency can be daunting, but for me, the decision was simple. I had a clear list of priorities: proximity to family, being in the region where I planned to practice, a vibrant community with great off-duty activities, a supportive atmosphere among staff, and crucially an unopposed program offering a wide breadth of hands-on experience.
Munson Family Practice Residency delivered on all of that and more. Because I completed two years of clinical training at Munson Medical Center, I had the unique opportunity to 'test drive' the environment and work directly alongside the attendings and residents before matching. I knew right then it was the perfect fit, and my time in the program only confirmed it. Over the years, those professional relationships grew into close friendships, making my training not just educationally rewarding, but truly memorable.
Transitioning into local private practice after training, I felt the natural nerve-wracking thought: Do I really know enough to do this on my own? However, I quickly realized just how exceptional my preparation had been, and I felt completely at ease right from the start. My outpatient training fully prepared me to care for a diverse patient population, while my robust inpatient experience proved invaluable for triaging urgent clinical cases. Thanks to the top-notch procedural training I received during residency, I also perform in-office procedures with complete confidence. Plus, practicing locally has allowed me to maintain strong professional relationships with nearby specialists—making referral pathways smooth and ensuring my patients get prompt, high-quality care
Max Uschuk
Munson Family Medicine Residency gave me the opportunity to become the kind of family medicine physician I wanted to be. The program gave me an incredibly broad foundation, but it also gave me the freedom to pursue experiences that matched my interests and challenged me in very different ways. During residency, I had the privilege of serving as chief resident and had opportunities to practice medicine in places as different as Alaska and rural Kenya.
Those experiences changed the way I practice medicine. Working in remote areas with limited resources teaches you a kind of ingenuity and confidence that is difficult to reproduce in a more traditional setting. When you are far from a tertiary center, sometimes with limited diagnostics, limited equipment, and limited backup, you learn to rely on your clinical judgment, use the resources you have, and make important decisions for patients who may have nowhere else to go. Those experiences gave me tremendous confidence in my ability to take care of critically ill patients and, when necessary, save lives with what is available to me.
After residency, I went on to complete fellowship training and now work primarily in emergency medicine. I still use the foundation Munson gave me every day in the ER. One of the things I value most about the program is that it did not force everyone into the same version of family medicine. Whether someone wants to practice traditional family medicine, rural medicine, hospital medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics, or pursue fellowship training, there are opportunities to build the skills and experiences needed to follow that path.
Just as important as the clinical training were the relationships I developed there. Some of the attendings became lifelong mentors and people I continue to look up to years after residency. Dr. Klee is someone I know I will keep in contact with throughout my career. Dr. Rawlin was a great program director and is genuinely a great person; I still try to text him every year just to check in and stay connected. I also continue to keep up with Dr. Gravelie, who was wonderful to work with during my NISMI experience and is simply a very good person. That really reflects how I feel about the faculty as a whole.
I am very grateful for what Munson gave me, what the faculty taught me, and the confidence they placed in me. The program helped shape not only the physician I became, but the way I approach difficult situations, limited resources, and patients who need someone willing and able to take care of them.