Family Medicine Vital Signs

Our Intern Residents were recently asked the question, “Why Utah?” Below are the responses from our Sugar House Clinic Interns…

Robin Brown:

I’ve been a lifelong Pacific Northwesterner and I was feeling the pull to try something new. I was attracted the the warmth, kindness and openness of the current residents, to Dr. Van Hala’s contagious laugh, to the comprehensive curriculum, and to the immediate sense that I would be supported in whatever direction my training leads me. I knew the proximity to the outdoors was cornerstone to my happiness and have an endless list of places in Utah to explore. You can find me making string toys for my black cat Ella, listening to new podcasts (I just finished the bizarre and captivating, S-Town), finding a tasty ramen shop, and figuring out how to stay cool in my new desert home.

Anna Holman:

I chose to stay in Utah after medical school at the University of Utah because I loved the program’s focus on quality improvement, wellness, and the opportunities for Sports Medicine training within the program.  Although I went to medical school here, I didn’t get to spend time at Salt Lake Regional or with many of the Family Medicine faculty, so I am looking forward to that. I am also excited to stay in Utah so I can keep playing in the mountains in my free time!

Jessica Petrovic:

Deciding where I wanted to go for residency was easy, I ditched the excel spreadsheet of pros and cons (let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to choose a program based on their EMR or benefits package) and went with my gut. It felt a little uncomfortable to choose a place that I had only visited once and one year prior had never even considered living, but I am so glad that I trusted that feeling! While my husband and I loved our home-state of Oregon, we were ready for a change and Salt Lake City/University of Utah suited us just perfectly. I found the faculty and residents to be inspiring, intelligent, active and happy people – exactly who I wanted to work with. Additionally, the program had the perfect mix of academic and community training that I just didn’t find anywhere else. But it was the mountains that really sealed the deal for our family. We feel so lucky to live in rapidly-growing city with endless outdoor activities, dogs on every corner, and a strong sense of community. When we’re not working, you’ll find us doing projects on our house, riding our bikes to new restaurants, running/hiking on the canyon trails and exploring all of the beauty that this state has to offer.

Lindsey Yanke:

While I am originally a die-hard Packer cheesehead, I decided that for residency eating cheese in the mountains with my husband would be better than staying in the land of Green & Gold. Two years ago I convinced my husband to pursue his pediatrics residency out in Utah so that I could have a strong reason to also do my residency close to mountains.  Peter and I have a large dog in a small dog’s body, named Molly, who is eager to make friends with anyone and any dog who will play with her.  Together we (including Molly) have already enjoyed yurting, kayaking, hiking, camping, and finding fresh powder, and we are excited we get at least another 3 years to explore Utah!