Members In The News

As the daughter of a nurse and a member of a large extended family, it might have been expected that Sarah Brown, M.D., M.P.H., would choose a career focused on helping others. The unexpected part of Brown’s story is the great lengths to which she has been willing to go to do it.

“In college, I thought I was going to become a teacher or a social worker because of my family background,” said Brown, who has two biological siblings and 23 more through foster care, kinship care and adoption. “After college, I wanted to be more intellectually challenged, and I saw that doctors have a unique role to advocate for and help the people around them.”

A friend in need came to live with Brown’s family while she was in elementary school. From that simple beginning, her parents developed a passion for “helping kids navigate traumas and keeping biological sibling groups together.”

The experience shaped Brown’s worldview, and she spent three years in human services after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Still, Brown yearned to learn and do more, and she returned to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning both her medical degree and a master’s in public health. Her master’s work focused on community-based health programming and research, which influenced her perspective on the efficacy of grassroots public health.

Dr. Beasley practiced in the trenches for over 40 years at the Verona Clinic, and has over 20 years of collaboration with colleagues in the UW Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering with over 30 publications relating to the intersection of Human Factors and Primary Care.

John Beasley, MD, was invited to do a Webinar presentation for the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) on “Using a Human Factors Approach to EHR Use in Primary Care.” It was presented December 14th, 2022.

In this 25 minute session, Dr. Beasley discusses how an understanding of how Human Factors can inform the policies and purposes of technology use, the importance of system understanding, where some technological improvements are needed and some effective strategies for physicians to use when they use the EHR in patient care. 

If you are interested, here is a link to the file in Google Drive.

Rita has practiced hospital medicine, clinic and obstetrics within the span of her 20 year career. She is a very talented clinician with a huge following in our community. She has been brave enough to post extremely well written education on masks and vaccinations for COVID in our very divided community. 

"Some doctors simply prescribe actions or medication, but in my experience, Dr. Raverty listens, then presents ideas, suggestions, and expert advice, and then together, patient and doctor, a decision for the best course of action is made. It feels like a healthy, on-going partnership for mine and my entire family's well-being."

"Her loyal patients come to see me on her days out of clinic, but are sure to give her a nod of praise almost every time, and it is well-deserved. She has never lost sight of making patients a top priority, all while rearranging the system in which they were served."

Check out Zach Baeseman, MD’s Ted-style talk on Healthcare and Humanity. Dr. Baeseman shares the riveting story of his journey into family medicine and the current state of healthcare.

Dr. Baeseman’s talk was initially presented as part of St. Norbert College’s SNC talks series.

Congratulations to WAFP-Foundation President, Zachary Baeseman, MD, MPH, FAAFP - featured AAFP Boundary Breaker! Dr. Baeseman is a rural family physician, has taken a lead in getting his rural communities adequate and accurate health information.

Nivedita Nair received the WAFP sponsored 2021 Founder’s Award. She was honored at the UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health's 20th Anniversary of the McGovern-Tracy and Students Scholars Event in May. She is recognized at the 23:49 mark of the video on the UW website.  Here is what she had to say:

"In Family Medicine, providing competent care involves healing with compassion,building relationships, and engaging communities. I developed this impression from fiercely passionate mentors, who live advocacy as their life mission. One such influence is my TRIUMPH mentor—he embodies community justice in every action he undertakes. For my TRIUMPH project, we collaborate with a shelter in Milwaukee to identify health needs, explore assets, and create wellness programming for housing-insecure parents. Through this, we connected with a determined mother who explained how the social systems she relies on for support are often inadequate, even restrictive. She wants to become a nurse but couldn’t go back to school without losing access to essential public benefits. Her need to fight for her success led me to confront my own privilege. My mentor saw the opportunity to leverage that privilege to make positive change; he connected this mother with a training opportunity that would not interfere with her eligibility for public benefits. This was a simple act of advocacy, but essential for her path to success. He demonstrated the immense potential for growth and wellness if those with social advantage support and advocate for their communities, particularly for marginalized populations. From those I have had the privilege of serving, I learned there is always room to grow—for ourselves, in our practices, and with our communities. From those who have shared their visions of health through mentorship, I appreciated the immense social capital of healthcare providers. My future in Family Medicine involves leveraging my power to amplify lessons learned from bonds with my patients, to ultimately strengthen our shared communities. I also hope to nurture my communities by sharing my devotion to advocacy with future students, to provide the mentorship I found so essential to forging my own identity as a physician."

David Marshall, MPH, WAFP's Student Director and currently serving on the WAFP-Foundation Board, won the 2021 Compassion In Action (CIA) International Health Leadership Award. He was honored at the UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health's 20th Anniversary of the McGovern-Tracy and Students Scholars Event in May. He is recognized at the 21:42 mark of the video on the UW website.  Here is what he had to say:

"In response to the challenges of COVID-19, it has been an honor to remotely collaborate with community leaders to encourage, empower, and enrich the community of Mfangano Island in Western Kenya. Through data briefs, educational pamphlets, radio broadcasts, and the provision of supplies, our multidisciplinary team has helped this austere community weather these unfamiliar times. I connected our team with the U.S.Ambassador to Kenya and USAID, enabling us to join a task force focusing on COVID-19education, and our pamphlets were eventually officially adopted by Kenyan Ministry of Health. I continue to be an integral member of the research team, working on the MOMENTUM study, which aims to better understand quantifiable delays in transportation during pregnancy-related, obstetric, and neonatal emergencies on Mfangano Island. From this experience, I have cultivated a deeper appreciation for solidarity, flexibility, and togetherness.While my career in medicine and public health has just begun, I chose to pursue family medicine because it is optimally positioned at the crossroads of individual patient care and community well-being. Supporting individuals and communities along their journey to improved health is truly a privilege,and while worlds apart in both culture and distance, the needs of communities such as Mfangano are similar to those found in my own community right here in America. I aspire to be a full-spectrum family medicine physician in a disadvantaged community,working to increase access to obstetric services in hard-to-reach areas and to reduce maternal and child health inequities. I am determined to continue to prioritize the voices of underserved communities, both locally and globally, as we navigate together the crossroads of individual and public health that energizes my passion for family medicine."