Luverne High School graduate Kat Dahl is experiencing first-hand the benefits of family practice medicine in a small rural community.
The first-year medical school student at the University of Minnesota Duluth is in her second week of a two-week internship with her mother, Dr. Diane Kennedy, Luverne.
“It’s been great to be back in Luverne for this experience,” said Dahl, a 2010 Luverne High School graduate.
She’s working in Luverne as part of an elective summer internship that exposes students to medicine in rural communities.
“My mom is my preceptor, so I basically get to be her mini-me for two weeks,” Dahl said.
The point of the program, which is for students between their first and second year of medical school, is to allow them a chance to use what they learned during their first year and help them make decisions about their future careers.
For Dahl, there haven’t been many surprises.
“This is my home, and I spent a lot of time in this hospital growing up,” she said.
“I remember having sleepovers in the hospital on-call room, and some of my mother’s nurses and partners are like my aunts and uncles. … Returning as a medical student and working with people who knew me before I could walk has been so fulfilling.”
For Kennedy, who has practiced in Luverne for the past 22 years, working with a student is nothing new, but mentoring her daughter in that capacity is.
“Our group of physicians in Luverne has always supported educating students. We often have medical students working within our practice,” she said.
“Now that I have a daughter pursuing a career in medicine, I realize how important it is to share my experiences with student physicians and how appreciative I am that patients allow the students to be involved in their care.”
Med school ‘just fit me’
When asked if her mom had anything to do with her career choice, Dahl said at first she didn’t want to choose her mom’s path.
“It’s a huge commitment to education,” Kennedy said about her daughter’s hesitation.
But after a short time as a math major, Dahl realized she’s more like her mother than she cared to admit.
“My science classes were a lot more exciting for me,” she said. And after a short time in medical school, she felt at home.
“I could tell right away … it just fit me. I like science and I like school. I want a career that’s fulfilling for me, and I want to help people.”
This summer’s internship is helping her make decisions about her medical program, and possibly choosing family practice.
“I don’t know what kind of doctor I want to be right now, but I do know that I probably want to live in rural Minnesota,” Dahl said. “If I end up being half the physician and mother that my mom is, I’ll be really happy.”
She said her mom has been a good role model for balancing work and family.
“The ease and grace with which my mom juggles a medical practice and motherhood will never cease to amaze me,” Dahl said.
“I’m so thankful she’ll be there to give me advice when I need to tackle that too.”
Kennedy said she’s proud of Dahl and pleased she’s going into medicine.
“I encourage my children to find something their passionate about and pursue it. Each of my children has a different skillset, and Kat’s skillset is suited to medicine,” Kennedy said.
Her oldest daughter, Jessa, is suited toward academia. “I never dreamed I would have a daughter pursuing Asian History. “
Her youngest daughter, Ellen, 19, is pursuing business.
“At the end of the day, you need to be happy, and you need to find that career that makes you happy.”
Kennedy said her own career has been a good example of how this can work.
“I love what I do. It’s a privilege to take care of patients,” she said.
“There are aspects of my career that are not perfect, but I think that’s true with anyone’s career. The hours are long, the charting is cumbersome, but at the same time I have so much satisfaction every day in what I do.”
Quality care comes with patient relationships
She is hopeful that family medicine will remain the robust career that it is today but there are concerns regarding credentialing and close scrutiny from governing organizations.
“It has become a numbers game and there is constant pressure to further limit our privileges,” Kennedy said.
“At the same time, there is a shortage of competent, well trained, family physicians in rural areas.”
What the numbers don’t reflect, she said, is the total picture of patient care.
“I truly believe that a family physician can provide excellent, cost effective medicine using the relationship with the patient as a foundation,” Kennedy said.
“I believe quality care starts with knowing your patient and all the outside influences that affect their health and well being.”
She said all these issues have come into sharper focus while mentoring her daughter.
“What I’ve noticed over the last week is that when I introduce Kat to my patients, it’s like introducing her to a close friend. And it’s because of those relationships that I continue to do what I do,” Kennedy said.
“Now that Kat has chosen a career in medicine and she’s trying to sort out what specialty she will follow, I am reminded that if I had to go back and do it all again, I would still choose family practice every time.”
Meanwhile, she said she’s glad her daughter has had exposure to a rural medical center where family practice is done right.
“I do think what we have here in Luverne is unique. The competency, camaraderie and cohesiveness of this group is quite unique.”
Dahl said she’s simply enjoying each day and it’s unique challenges.
“Every single day that I’ve worked with my mom has been exciting and interesting. She sees patients in the clinic, rounds on patients in the hospital, delivers babies, and works shifts in the emergency department,” Dahl said.
“Each day I wake up excited for what’s to come. I’ve really enjoyed observing my mom’s broad scope of practice, and it’s made me really proud to be her daughter. … I’d have to say that the most heartwarming experience I’ve had is delivering a baby side-by-side my mom.”
Dahl will return to medical school in Duluth next month, but she will spend the rest of her summer helping her dad, Mark Dahl, and her sister, Ellen, on the farm.
“Ellen has one last year of 4-H, so this will be our last year showing cattle at the Rock County Fair and the Minnesota State Fair,” Dahl said.