Maine Rural Healthcare Education Grand Rounds – MERGE Collaborative

Maine Rural Healthcare Education Grand Rounds

The MERGE Collaborative, in partnership with the Building-ME Network, is proud to host the Maine Rural Healthcare Education Grand Rounds. Each month, on the second Friday at 12:00 PM, a guest presenter leads a session on a healthcare education topic with a focus on supporting healthcare educators in rural Maine.

These sessions are offered virtually at no charge. Clicking the button below gives direct access to the Microsoft TEAMS meeting.

Next Presentation

January 10th, 2025 – 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM

AI Supported Precision Medical Education

Presented by Kalli Varaklis, MD, MSEd

DIO – MaineHealth Maine Medical Center – Portland

This 30-minute virtual session will review how artificial intelligence is impacting the field of medical education and how it can be used to improve outcomes. Participants will be able to:

Understand the limitations of competency-based education
Appreciate how is Augmented Intelligence is being utilized in Education NOW
Explore how AI can support GME education in the future

Dr. Varaklis currently serves as DIO of Maine Medical Center, overseeing graduate medical education for more than thirty residency and fellowship programs. In addition to her work at Maine Medical Center, Dr. Varaklis also serves as principal investigator for the Maine Rural Graduate Medical Education (MERGE) Collaborative, a state-wide effort across all ACGME Sponsoring Institutions to create more learning opportunities in Maine’s rural spaces.

All Maine Rural Healthcare Education Grand Rounds sessions are recorded and made available on our YouTube Channel. Click the button below to browse and view the archives.

Access Maine Rural Healthcare Education Grand Rounds Archives

Want to Learn More?

Get in touch with our leadership team for more information

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partnering institutions

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Jackman Community Health Center

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with clinical experience in an isolated rural primary care medical practice with unique additional exposure to acute emergent care, as the nearest emergency departments are 60-90 minutes away, and tertiary care is 2.5 hours away.

Rotation Director: Patricia Doyle, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 and above

Click here to contact us and apply

Franklin Memorial Hospital - Hospitalist IM

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the opportunity for rural inpatient care in a 65-bed hospital. Residents will work closely with a hospitalist providing evidence-based quality care in an acute care in a rural hospital setting including managing patients both on the ward as well as in our 4-bed intensive care unit.

Rotation Director: Nick Perros, MD

Rotation Requirements: Mid-PGY2 or above, Internal Medicine or Family Medicine

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Blue Hill Primary Care

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with a modern rural general family medicine outpatient practice experience with an interprofessional team of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Nurses, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Diabetes Educators affiliated with a Critical Access Hospital on the Coast of Maine.

Rotation Director: Mike Murnick, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 and above

Open Job Opportunities: Family Medicine Physician (2)

Click here to contact us and apply

Megunticook Family Medicine – Direct Primary Care

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with experience in solo or small, rural, general family medicine, Direct Primary Care (DPC) practice. Megunticook Family Medicine has been an independent DPC practice since 2015.

Rotation Director: Brian Pierce, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 and above

Click here to contact us and apply

HealthReach Community Health Centers – Geriatrics

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with clinical experience in care of older adults in a primary care setting, with a particular focus on the diagnosis and management of cognitive impairment. Rotation will include Clinical experience working with patients and families affected by common geriatric syndromes (polypharmacy, advanced comorbid illness, falls/frailty, cognitive impairment, etc), as well as experience in promoting wellness in older adults. Residents will perform focused consultation for cognitive impairment/evaluation of dementia.

Rotation Director: Amy Madden, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 and above

Job Openings: Family Medicine Physician (7)

Click here to contact us and apply

HealthReach Community Health Centers – SUD

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with clinical experience in management of substance use disorders in rural settings using a team-based approach. This rotation will include Clinical experience working with patients receiving SUD treatment at multiple rural health center sites, 1:1 education with addiction medicine specialists embedded in rural health centers, and exposure to team-based model of care working with other professionals at the sites, including Behavioral Health Consultants and Connectors.

Rotation Director: Amy Madden, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 and above

Job Openings: Family Medicine Physician (7)

Click here to contact us and apply

Western Maine Health – OB/GYN

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the GME learner with clinical experience in a rural, full scope, OBGYN practice. This rotation will provide multiple surgical opportunities each week in addition to a resident-based outpatient schedule which would include: contraception management, gynecological consultation and obstetrical care.

Rotation Director: Jeannette Andrews, DO

Rotation Requirements: PGY 3 or 4 OBGYN residents or Family Medicine residents with a passion for women’s health and who have performed >30 obstetrical deliveries

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Franklin Health Internal Medicine

Elective Educational Objective: Franklin Health Internal Medicine is a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic providing comprehensive primary care to a large rural catchment of patients. During this unique rotation, trainees will be exposed to a wide breadth of outpatient internal medicine in the rural western mountains of Maine.

Rotation Director: Stephen Goss, DO

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 or above, Internal Medicine or Family Medicine

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Franklin Health Behavioral Services - Psychiatry

Elective Educational Objective: To provide the trainee with a full spectrum outpatient rural psychiatry experience.

Rotation Director: Kristen Mazoki, DO

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 or above in Psychiatry, Family Medicine, or Internal Medicine

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Franklin Memorial Hospital – Emergency Department

Elective Educational Objective: To gain knowledge in diagnosis and management of a broad variety of pathology in a rural emergency department setting, become comfortable with diagnosing and managing medical and traumatic emergencies in a setting where all needed resources may not be readily available, and learn how to get the patient to the appropriate resources while still providing equitable care for others awaiting treatment and or disposition.

Rotation Director: Jodi Conrad, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 or Above in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatric, Internal Medicine, and Surgery

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Western Maine Health – Addiction

Elective Educational Objective: To Provide the GME learner with a general rural family medicine outpatient practice experience in a multi-physician and nurse practitioner primary care practice with a focus on rural addiction medicine outpatient experience.

Rotation Director: Lisa Miller, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 or Above

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply

Western Maine Health – Primary Care

Elective Educational Objective: To Provide the GME learner with a general rural family medicine outpatient practice experience in a multi-physician and nurse practitioner primary care practice. Western Maine Primary Care is a level three patient centered medical home (PCMH) and a designated Rural Health Center.

Rotation Director: Laura LaRosa, MD

Rotation Requirements: PGY2 or Above

Job Openings: MaineHealth has many rural physician opportunities. For more information on openings, please contact physician recruiter Donna Lafean at donna.lafean@mainehealth.org.

Click here to contact us and apply