Member of the Week: Dr. Richard Ferguson
Practice: I am currently working full time as the Chief Medical Officer for a Dual SNP, Medicaid/Medicare, health plan. It is located next to Fashion Place Mall in Murray. My clinical contact occurs through locum ED shifts which is about every 8 weeks out in Bemidji, Minnesota at critical access hospital called Cass Lake Lake Hospital. I have practiced locums Emergency Medicine in over 7 States for the past 10 years since graduating residency at the University of Utah.
Residency: University of Utah
Any additional training or fellowships? MBA from the University of Utah
A bit about Dr. Ferguson: I grew up in Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh, PA area. I went to school at Northwestern University upon graduating high school and then went on to medical school at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. My most memorable year so far was my gap year when between medical school and undergrad where I developed a love for all things Japanese when working for the Japanese government in Aichi-Ken. I served in the U.S. Army as a Battalion and Brigade Surgeon for 7 years in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. I have lived in Germany, Texas and the Middle East during my time in the military. One of most impactful times of my life as a physician was in caring for soldiers and their families abroad. I have two sisters, one older and one younger, DeeDee and Deborah. The both live out East in Maryland and New Hampshire respectively. My mother lives in Orlando. My biggest hobby has got to be triathlon training and I am well on to my goal of doing a triathlon in every State. I have competed in about 37 triathlons and Half-Marathons already. I also enjoy wine tasting when possible and enjoy the Captiol West Ballet.
What do you wish you’d known when you graduated from medical school? Always remember to be an advocate for patients and your fellow physicians. We often overlook the benefits of active listening and motivational interviewing to help patients feel less anxiety with care outcomes. We as Docs don’t do enough to advocate for ourselves in our personal and professional lives.
What keeps you passionate about family medicine? We as a specialty are on the front lines and have the power to better address health disparities and medical biases in medicine that are subspecialized colleagues. I hope to encourage my future residents, medical students and my fellow family docs on the need to undue health disparities as a long-term goal in our specialty.
Where will we find you on your day off? Swimming in my pool or running on the Jordan-River Parkway trail.
What are you…
reading right now: The Broken Earth Series- N(ora). K. Jemisin
watching right now: Peacemaker Series – HBO Max
listening to right now: Consider this – NPR