ISU Family Medicine Residents Receive Six of Nine Idaho Medical Association Awards

Physician residents in the Idaho State University Department of Family Medicine received six of nine honors at the 2024 Idaho Medical Association Foundation Future Physicians of Idaho Awards.

Earlier this year, the IMA Foundation announced it would be making six individual awards in the amount of $5,000 each to medical students and residents, with preference for applications with strong connections to Idaho and based upon specific criteria.

The five criteria which each candidate was evaluated on is as follows: 

1. Idaho Roots: “Born and raised in Idaho, from a rural underserved area, educated in Idaho schools, or possessing Idaho ties.”
2. Commitment to Practice in Idaho: “Demonstrated commitment to remaining Idaho and ultimately establishing or joining a practice in Idaho.”
3. Commitment to Rural and Underserved Idaho: “To the extent to which the applicant focuses on practicing in Idaho's rural and/or medically underserved  populations.”
4. Specialty: “The applicant’s chosen specialty and the specialty’s need in Idaho.”
5. Foundation Alignment: “The extent to which the applicant’s goals align with  the IMA Foundation.” 

Due to the depth of the applicant field, the IMA Foundation elected to make nine awards this year. The winners from Idaho State University Department of Family Medicine are:

• Weston Burrup - intern in the ISU Family Medicine Residency in Pocatello
• Bethany Gold - intern in the ISU-MMH Rupert Rural Training Program (year one in Pocatello and subsequent two years in the Rupert and Burley communities)
• Brandon Cox - intern in the ISU-MMH Rexburg Rural Training Track - spending his first year in Pocatello and his subsequent two years in Rexburg
• Nick Henrie – 2024 graduate practicing full spectrum family medicine in Cottonwood
• Logan Anderson - 2024 graduate practicing full spectrum family medicine in Jerome
• James Petersen - 2024 graduates practicing full spectrum family medicine in Grangeville

About the winners, Dr. A.J. Weinhold, rural training director and clinical professor says, "The ISU Department of Family Medicine prides ourselves on training full-spectrum family physicians, equipped to serve rural Idaho. We're delivering babies, staffing emergency rooms, seeing children for well-child checks in clinic, performing procedures like c-sections and vasectomies, taking care of sick people in the hospital, and doing home visits.  To have the IMA Foundation recognize three of our new residents and three of our new graduates with these awards, affirms that we are fulfilling our goals to attract and train quality physicians for underserved communities in Idaho. With a total of nine awards being given, having our residents make up two thirds of the recipients is a wonderful feeling."