Avera Marshall hosts University of Minnesota medical student

Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center in Marshall is hosting a medical student through the Rural Physicians Associate Program (RPAP) of the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Peder Johnson will be at Avera Marshall for nine months gaining hands-on learning, caring for patients of all ages. He is working under the supervision of preceptors Dr. Jane Hartman and Dr. Alexandria Echols-Simpson. His primary focus is in family medicine, but he will also do rotations in surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, hospital medicine and emergency medicine.

Johnson grew up in New Ulm. He completed his undergraduate degree at St. Olaf College in Northfield. As a student in the University of Minnesota Medical School, he spent his first two years in Duluth and will complete the remaining two years through the Minneapolis campus.

“We’re happy to have Peder join us for this valuable learning experience. Hosting an RPAP student is one way we can support the development of a future health care workforce in rural Minnesota. That is incredibly important as we work to ensure access to health care services in rural areas long into the future,” said Regional President and CEO Debbie Streier.

Growing up in a rural area has given Johnson a strong interest in practicing medicine in a similar setting.

“Being from a smaller town, I gravitated toward what I was used to. I like the idea of working in a smaller setting where you can walk down the hall to talk with a specialist. I know that for being a rural area, Marshall has a lot to offer medically. There’s a big range of services and specialties available all on this one campus. I’m excited to work in all areas of the hospital and clinic and to see how different specialties interact with primary care,” Johnson said.

The RPAP program is a community-based educational experience for University of Minnesota third-year medical students who live and train in rural communities in rural Minnesota. Family medicine physicians serve as preceptors, mentoring students in the professional and personal aspects of being a physician. Students learn clinical medicine, procedures, community health, and the business of medicine. They experience the full spectrum of rural medical care as they follow patients and their families through a disease process or pregnancy.

Schwartz joins Hoffman & Brobst

Hoffman & Brobst, Certified Public Accountants, announced the addition of Stacy Schwartz, a staff accountant, to the professional staff of its firm. She is a graduate of Southwest Minnesota State University and has previous experience in tax. Schwartz and her husband Kevin live in Marshall with their four children.