KEVIN F. MURRAY, M.D., PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Dr. Murray joined Tacoma Family Medicine as our new Program Director on November 1, 2000. He comes to us with a wealth of experience in rural practice and administration as a previous residency faculty member in two of the UW Network programs. Dr. Murray received his medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, completed his family practice residency training with our program in 1981, and has now returned to Tacoma Family Medicine. He has a sincere commitment to caring for the underserved in our community and to providing the best training possible for our residents.

ALAN GILL, M.D. RURAL FAMILY MEDICINE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, FAMILY PRACTICE RESIDENCY

I joined the TFM faculty in September, 2000. I was drawn by our mission of preparing family physicians to care for rural and urban underserved patients. I spent the previous six years as faculty at a rural training site for the University of Missouri-Columbia. Prior to that, I was on the Blackfoot Reservation in northern Montana for four years with the Indian Health Service. I attended medical school at the University of Michigan and residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I have a strong interest in rural health care and in the role of family physicians in meeting the unique demands of small towns. I enjoy full spectrum family practice with special interest in obstetrics, geriatrics, and disability issues. My family and I love the outdoors, which we enjoy through camping and backpacking..

REBECCA BENKO, M.D.

I grew up in a small rural community in eastern Michigan where my physician role model was a general practitioner who did everything from delivering babies to taking care of the elderly to setting broken bones. Out of this experience I developed a deep respect for family medicine and the need for physicians in rural areas. I subsequently went to medical school at Michigan State University and completed my training in Family Practice at Tacoma Family Medicine in 1996. I recently joined Tacoma Family Medicine after 6 years of practice in Newport, WA, a small rural city on the Idaho border where I practice “full spectrum” family medicine with a total of 5 docs in town and 6 physician assistants. My interests include rural medicine, women’s health care, and procedural skills (including C-sections). During my free time I enjoy biking, swimming, running and spending time with my family.

PAULA A. CONSTANCE, ARNP

I grew up in rural Iowa and settled in the Pacific Northwest in 1984 where I have been part of MultiCare Health System ever since. My graduate work was done at the University of Nebraska (Go Big Red!) in the area of adult and continuing education. I’m very interested in areas of community and patient education as well as medical education. I have two children, Ben and Katie. We enjoy SCUBA diving, photography, music, and anything outdoors. My academic areas of interest include dermatology, women’s health care, orthopedics and acute care.

THOMAS R. EGNEW, Ed.D.

I have been with TFM as the Behavioral Scientist since 1979, after holding a similar position at Madigan Army Medical Center. I hold a Master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago and have practice experience in individual and marital counseling, grief counseling, parent education, family violence education, hypnotherapy and guided imagery. My doctoral dissertation at Seattle University involved a qualitative study of the definition and mechanisms of healing and the preparation of allopathic physicians to be healers. I have been involved in published research regarding the training for and implementation of end-of-life care. I believe that physicians are healers, but that medical education does little to prepare trainees to assume this mantle. This is an oversight that can lead to cynicism and burnout in practitioners. My hope is to help trainees learn a practice of medicine that is not only exceedingly technically competent, but also feeds the soul of both patient and physician. My wife Joan is a family physician and our daughter, Halley, and son, Hieu, are the lights of our lives.

DAVID B. KILGORE, M.D.

I’m another one of those transplanted Californians. I grew up in Sequoia National Park, as well as the San Francisco Bay area, attended U.C. Berkeley, then did some research in genetics there before completing medical school and residency in Southern California. My practice experience includes a year of private practice followed by five years in a busy semi-rural community clinic. Areas of interest in family medicine include orthopedics and sports medicine, internal medicine, especially diabetes and exercise treadmill testing, and urban family medicine. I’m married with two sons, and my precious time away from medicine is often spent trying to keep up with them on skis or mountain bike, improving my Spanish, or playing guitar with my sons.

LYNN M. QUANRUD, RESIDENCY COORDINATOR

It was my very good fortune to witness the birth of Tacoma Family Medicine in 1978, having worked with Dr. Roy H. Virak, our first director, in his private practice for 14 years before the residency program became a reality. My roots are in Tacoma, having been raised here and attended school not far from where I presently live. It has been my delight to have a part in the training of 129 outstanding graduates. It has been a rewarding experience getting to know each of them. My responsibilities include resident recruitment, developing schedules, coordinating resident functions, and providing all around support and assistance to the residency program as a whole. You will be working closely with me during the application and interview process.

SUSAN ROWE, Ph.D, CLINICAL PHARMACIST

I have been with Tacoma Family Medicine for five years. Prior to Family Medicine, I worked eight years as the pharmacist in the Critical Care Units at MultiCare Medical Center. I graduated from the University of Washington in 1980 and completed a general residency in hospital pharmacy at Harris Hospital Methodist in Fort Worth, Texas. I graduated again in 2001 with my Pharm.D. degree. I teach practical pharmacology during resident precepting and run an anti-coagulation clinic. Anti-coagulation, congestive heart failure, and smoking cessation are areas of interest and expertise for me. My interests outside of work include my husband, two daughters, community volunteer work, basketball and all sports, walking, hiking, and gourmet cooking.

MITCH SAGERS, PA-C

Originally from Iowa, I was transplanted here at age 2 and have lived in Tacoma all my life. I have been interested in the medical field all of my life and intended to go to medical school after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 1981. A detour in the road led me into the fire service and I have been a firefighter-paramedic for 19 years, all with the University Place Fire Department. In 1994 I entered Physician Assistant school at the University of Washington School of Medicine and graduated in 1997. Part of my training included a 5 month rotation here at TFM and I instantly knew this was a place where I could grow as a clinician and give back to the very unique population of patients here. I have been here at TFM since January 1998, and enjoy so much the staff and patients here. I enjoy spending time with my wife, son and daughter. In my spare time I love to run, bike, play golf and enjoy boating.

JOE SHERMAN, M.D.

Dr. Sherman is a pediatric physician who joined Tacoma Family Medicine in June, 2000 as a part-time faculty with responsibility for the pediatric training of our residents. He brings over 11 years of practice experience to Tacoma Family Medicine. He graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1985, and completed his residency in pediatrics there in 1988. Following private practice in Washington, DC, he spent nearly two years in Uganda as a Research Fellow in Perinatal HIV Prevention with Johns Hopkins University.

LINDA TARBELL, ARNP

I’m another delighted transplant from Southern California, having called it home for 20+ years. I shuffled about the country doing graduate studies in nurse midwifery in rural Kentucky, Cleveland, OH and El Paso, TX. My minor was as a family nurse practitioner. After paying off school loans, I traveled to West Africa and spent one year working there (very interesting and very hot). I then returned to the States and worked in eastern Washington for a couple of years before coming to Tacoma. I enjoy trying to keep up with my daughter and am passionate about adoption issues.

JOHN R. Van BUSKIRK, D.O.

I came to TFM as a second year resident in 1987, after practicing for four years at the Puyallup Tribal Health Clinic. My experiences there reinforced my interest in providing care for the underserved in our society. After completing residency in 1989, I was pleased to join the TFM faculty. I then completed the Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of Washington. I enjoy working with residents to find effective ways to care for disenfranchised people in our community.

KERRY G. WATRIN, M.D.

This is my third tour of duty at TFM, one residency and two faculty stints, the latest beginning in 1990. Terrie, my wife, and I had served in Tanzania from 1986 to 1990. Since returning to the States we have settled into a 60+ year old log cabin, cultivated a garden, and adopted a beautiful curly-haired girl named Lauren and a smiley boy named Nathan. It is paradise to sit with Terrie and the kids and listen to the evening wind blow through the evergreens. I feel called to be a teacher of family medicine, and invite your feedback on how to improve. My special interests include adult learning styles, transition cycles, obstetrics and international health. If I can walk with you in anything, it will be to slow down the moment to a point where you live content in the healing interaction, energized by its special magic, and truly feel a gratitude for the opportunity to be a healer.