LEWISTON — Central Maine Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program recognized five residents at their recent graduation program. Honored at the commencement exercises were family physicians Brian Dressel, M.D., Carlos Martinez, M.D., Shauna McElrath, D.O., Sumathi Rajanna, M.D. and Gary Rivard, D.O.

Several awards were made during the ceremony. The Dr. Bruce Johnson Residency Teacher of the Year Award was presented to family physician and sports medicine specialist Peter Sedgwick, M.D. The recipient of the award is determined by the graduating residents and honors the physician they believe made the most outstanding contribution to their residency education.

Sedgwick practices with Central Maine Sports Medicine, a CMMC healthcare practice.

Edmund “Ned” Claxton, M.D., CMMC Family Medicine Residency Program director, was presented a plaque for his mentorship of the graduates. He awarded the graduates their diplomas at the ceremony.

The 76 High Street Family Medicine Center nursing and front office staffs, along with Residency Program secretary Jill Freda, were recognized for their contributions to the residents’ training experience.

Residency Program faculty member Bethany Picker, M.D., was selected by the graduating class to present the commencement address that she entitled “Change: A Leap of Faith.” Her personalized message addressed the graduating residents’ talents for change and adaptation and explored how valuable those skills will be as they embark on their careers as family physicians.

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David Lauver, M.D., CMMC medical staff president, commended the graduates on their contributions to the quality of CMMC’s patient care and wished them well on their career paths.

Four of the five graduates will continue their studies or begin practice in northern New England; three of these four will stay in Maine.

McElrath began a one-year hospitalist medicine fellowship at CMMC in July. Rivard joined the CMMC Family Medicine Residency Program as a faculty member in July. Dressel will begin work at Winthrop Family Practice in Winthrop. Rajanna is relocating to New Hampshire to join the Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Nashua Family Practice group. Martinez will move closer to family in Virginia and work in an urgent care center.

Central Maine Medical Center created the Family Medicine Residency Program in 1978 to support the training of family physicians in order to provide well trained family doctors to the Lewiston-Auburn area as well as to other areas of Maine.


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