MEDIA ADVISORY
June 7, 2005

UCSF FRESNO GRADUATES CLASS OF 2005 THIS THURSDAY
Two Valley natives are among the physicians who will stay to provide care for community members

FRESNO – The UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program will graduate more than 60 resident physicians in a ceremony to be held Thursday, June 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at Copper River County Club ( 11500 North Friant Road ) in Fresno.

Several of the doctors in the class of 2005 will remain in the Fresno vicinity to care for area residents.

Among them:  

• Tricia Birdwell, MD, originally from Madera, intends to practice in Madera and Kerman.
• Sharmel Kettler, DO, originally from Fresno, plans to practice in Hanford and Lemoore.
• Five of the graduates will be staying in Fresno to join the UCSF Fresno faculty or serve as chief residents during the 2005-06 academic year.

Graduation highlights include:

• Graduation address by Joan Voris, MD, Associate Dean, UCSF Fresno
• Presentation of the prestigious Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching. Of the four Kaiser awards presented by the UCSF School of Medicine, one is given to an outstanding faculty member in the Fresno program.
• Other awards include: Outstanding First-Year Resident, Outstanding Resident Teacher, Outstanding Attending Teacher, Outstanding Non-Physician Teacher, Borba Awards for Outstanding Research, Robert S. Peters Award for Research and the Dizon Community Service Award.

UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program plays a substantial role in providing health care services to San Joaquin Valley residents and training medical professionals in the region. UCSF Fresno has trained one-third of Valley physicians currently practicing in one of the seven specialties in which

UCSF Fresno provides training. UCSF Fresno, which celebrates its 30 th anniversary this year, has graduated approximately 60 physicians every year, totaling more than 2,000 to date. UCSF Fresno faculty and medical residents care for the overwhelming majority of the area’s underserved populations. In addition, UCSF Fresno educates about 200 medical students each year as well as provides academic preparation programs for middle- and high-school students interested in the health professions.

For more information about the UCSF Fresno graduation ceremony, please call (559) 459-5005.

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