Mid Coast Hospital Providers Train Tufts Medical Students

Brunswick, ME – On June 5, two medical students began a nine-month clinical rotation at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick. Maine Track students, Diana Stade and Madeline Wetterhahn, are gaining hands-on training under the supervision of Mid Coast providers as part of the Tufts University School of Medicine - Maine Medical Center Program (TUSM-MMC) Longitudinal Integrated Curriculum (LIC) program.

Commonly referred to as “the Maine Track,” Mid Coast Hospital has participated as a training site for the program since 2011. Through this program medical students explore multiple medical disciplines including OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and General Surgery. The intensive program allows students to fulfill their third-year core competencies while offering a uniquely broad view of the variety of comprehensive care patients receive throughout life.

Marybeth Ford, MD, coordinates the LIC program at Mid Coast Hospital. “Mid Coast Hospital is honored to participate in the TUSM-MMC LIC program. Our providers offer an innovative way to receive training that allows the students exposure to variety of disciplines,” she stated. “We have participated in the program since its inception and are so grateful that the program is succeeding in its mission to encourage medical students to return to Maine. As the concern of physician shortages in Maine's smaller and rural communities continues to grow, this program remains a vital component to the long-term health of Maine.”

A graduate of Gardiner Area High School, Stade earned her undergraduate degree from Bentley University and began her career at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute while taking coursework at the Harvard Extension School. She began clinical research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital developing and implementing a patient-centered plan of care for patients and families, which obtained an award at an international medical informatics symposium.

When asked about her participation in the Maine Track program, Stade commented, “The call of the loons at dusk and the scent of white pine are my memories of Maine from childhood. Returning to my past in the form of a healer and provider for the people of this great state is a humbling privilege and an honor. As a rural physician, my aim will be to educate patients of their illness and empower them to become advocates for their health and wellness.”

Originally from Adams, New York, Wetterhahn attended college at St. Lawrence University. While achieving her undergraduate degree, she worked with the Health and Counseling Center to develop the clinical services and community programming provided to students.
Her experiences in health professional shortage areas–volunteering in hospitals, on a rescue squad, and as a Health Coach in a transitional care program–demonstrated to her the importance of community and preventive medicine. She is pursuing her Masters of Public Health in addition to her medical degree through TUSM’s dual degree program.

“The Maine Track program at Tufts gets students involved with underserved or rural communities early in their training,” said Wetterhahn when asked why she chose the program. “Having grown up in a similar environment, and wanting to practice in an underserved area after medical school, this is important to me. What’s more, the MD/MPH option allows Maine Track students to get training in public health at the same time they are making connections in the communities they might one day serve.”