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United Family Medical Residency Home

Ravi Balasubrahmanyan, MD

Ravi was born in Calcutta, India (City of Joy). He was an aspiring cricketer until the age of six, when he was transported to an alien land where his native Tamil was never heard and cricket was an insect. Once here he had a perpetual identity crisis, as no American could pronounce his name or look at it without going weak at the knees, until one kindly old gentleman bestowed upon him the name of Bowl of Soup and Onions (Balasubrahmanyan.) With this new title, he went on to medical school. In typical third year turmoil, he tried his hand at the monastic life. After one summer he decided family practice was the life for him. 

After medical school he left Baltimore and his beloved Orioles to begin residency in Michigan. Internship began with a bang July 1st, being on call for the entire hospital. During residency he discovered there was a world outside of medical life through his involvement in Physicians for Social Responsibility and being a board member of the Local Peace and Justice Committee. 

Ravi finished residency with the dubious honor of being the worst dressed and having the most cluttered desk in the history of the program. Ravi joined a three-person practice in a small coastal town in Massachusetts, where patient visits occurred as often in the local grocery store as in the office. For 1 1/2 years his car could be heard puttering around town on house calls. Following the northern lights and the allure of his "Ole" wife, he came to the Twin Cities. Now a family man with two energetic boys, he enjoys running, baseball, tennis and "cricket anyone"?

Education:  
Medical School: University of Maryland
Residency:  
Michigan State University Hospital
Board Certified: 
Family Practice

Dana Brian, MD

I was born and raised in a rural area of Oklahoma (a redundant phrase - there’s no such thing as urban Oklahoma), in a family of working cowboys, displaced Native Americans (Cherokee and Creek), and various dust-bowl survivors. I was considered a certified genius, mostly because I could read, and when I finally read all the books in the local library, I got to leave town. From there it’s been pretty much all downhill. Residency was completed at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, epidemiologic training at CDC in Atlanta, research at Mayo Clinic, adolescent clinic in Baltimore, and general family practice in St. Paul.

My favorite teenager says I should describe myself as "like, you know, really retro." I suppose that means someone who knows "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" did not originate with the California Raisins and "SDS" are not the initials for a fuel additive. Anyway, my current interests include women and adolescent health care issues, clinical research, psychiatry and addiction medicine in family practice, routine plumbing and mastering the art of dovetail joints. Actually, what I think I’d most like to do is ethnobotany, but it’s hard to grow Aztec corn and tepary beans this far North. But then, it’s hard to do anything this far North.

Education:
Medical School: University of Oklahoma
Residency:
Cook County Hospital
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Jimmie Browning, MD

Jimmie is the third of four children and, as the first name implies, is from the south. My parents were both children of sharecroppers on cotton farms – one from Mississippi and one from south Texas. My father's career was as a cook in the Army. My father couldn't read or write, but my mother got to fourth grade and was, therefore, the family "administrator." When I was 10, my father bought a set of Encyclopedia Britannia's and said, "There it is, Jim, all you want to know."

Growing up a "military brat," I traveled a lot, but half of my early years were spent in Texas near my mother's family. I grew up on country and western music and dedication to military service. So the obvious step in the late 1960s for those of us with no money and no pull with the local draft board, was the service.

I served nearly three years with the U.S. Marine Corps, then used the GI Bill and the Marine Corps Reserves to get through college. From the first day of medical school, I was always interested in Family Practice and small-town medicine. In residency, I also joined the Army Reserves as a physician. I have a firm belief that if we as a nation send our young men in harms way, we must provide the best medical care possible for them. This part time dedication has resulted in two active duty call-ups; one for Desert Storm and the other for support of the U.N. involvement in Bosnia. I am still a colonel in the Army and I still hope, someday, to see the residents march to and from United Hospital for daily hospital rounds.

My clinical practice started as the only doctor in the county in the ranch-lands of central Kansas, 25 miles from the hospital. After five years with only 10 total days off, I decided to move to a farm community 100 miles north. I then spent 13 years in a farm community loving the closeness I experienced with my patients. My patients were my friends; and I cried, I laughed, and I celebrated with them as I had the honor of sharing their life as their physician.

I have four sons, one daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. Moving to Minnesota alone was a major change in my life, but the joy of caring for patients, sharing knowledge and experience with the residents, and a new relationship in my life has filled the gaps.

David Bucher, MD

David Bucher, MD, grew up as a city kid in a farm state – Cedar Falls, Bettendorf (Quad Cities), and Windsor Heights (Des Moines), Iowa. Yep, dad was a lifer with John Deere, thus the various venues. The University of Iowa was my home for seven years for undergrad and medical school (thanks to Early Decision at U of I), then off to Kansas City for residency. Finding the summers and severe weather (and relative conservatism) anathema to my progressive upbringing, when Minnesota called, I answered. Having practiced with diverse private groups in the Twin Cities metro area over the years, I then tried a big health system, but found declining meaning for my daily work with emphasis on productivity, and declining interest in patient’s individual needs. I had participated in teaching residents and students since my first year in practice as a “clinical”, then “adjunct” faculty at the University of Minnesota. Teaching nourishes my soul, so in the winter of 2006-07 when an opportunity to join the faculty at the United Family Medicine residency program arose, I checked it out. The call and drive to teach was clear to me. I am pleased and excited to be joining the faculty. I hope to bring my interests in Sports Medicine, Dermatology, and GLBT health care to the practice and the residents. I look forward to time to participate in bike tours, triathlons, and travel with my partner.

Education:  
Medical School: University of Iowa
Residency:  
Baptist Medical Center Family Practice Residency Program
Board Certified: 
Family Medicine

Ariel Carls, MD

Ariel Carls, MD, graduated from the United Family Medicine Residency Program in the summer of 2006, but just couldn’t tear herself away from the amazing, inspiring staff of the residency and clinic and the diverse, beautiful and complex patients they serve together.

She went to the University of Minnesota, Duluth for her undergraduate studies in order to be near a big lake and have snowboarding and rock-climbing opportunities readily available. As it turned out, it was a great academic experience for her also. She majored in English and was able to spend years wallowing in her love of reading. Out of a deeply felt desire to make a direct, positive difference in people’s lives, she found herself adding in lots of chemistry and such in order to journey down the path to medicine.

Medical school was in the flat, lakeless, mountainless area of Rochester, MN, at the facetiously nicknamed WFMC (World Famous Mayo Clinic). There Ariel’s interest in health care justice and international health grew, making Family Medicine a natural fit. She enjoyed being one of the few Mayo grads journeying into what she sees as one of the most critical and demanding fields of medicine, Family Practice.

Ariel is currently serving as the Quality Assurance Director for the United Family Practice Health Center, enjoying the opportunity to work with patients, staff, and providers to ensure excellent health and wellness of our patients and staff, while meeting our business needs.

Current medical interests include women and children’s health, obstetrics, adolescent healthcare, and health disparities and justice. In her free time, Ariel likes to read, run, kickbox (her pro debut is right around the corner), travel, watch Alias DVDs and hang out with her favorite homo sapien and canine (Paul and Basso, respectively). Ariel and Paul are busy loving the newest member of their family, their daughter Bella.

Education:  
Medical School: Mayo Medical School
Residency:  
United Family Medicine Residency Program
Board Certified: 
Family Medicine

Katie Guthrie, MD 

Katie debuted on the West Coast as the oldest of five oil company brats, migrating between the Midwest and New England. After finishing medical school in Washington, D.C., during the heat of Watergate, she developed significant heat intolerance and moved to the cooler climate of St. Paul, where she completed a family practice residency at St. Paul Ramsey in 1979. There she met, and eventually married, her intern. After a rural rotation in Long Prairie, MN, she opened her suburban New York eyes to the joys of rural private practice, she and husband John, moved North to Deer River, MN, and worked together in a Northern Exposure practice for 14 years. She migrated back to suburbia in 1994.

In her other lifetime, she contemplated marine biology, having been voted the person most likely to “grow gills” on an Earthwatch project, and dance/choreography, galley wench, and is one of the fluting faculty. Instead, she has been cultivating an Auntie Mame in medicine approach, with on-going experimentation on the effects of bright colors on patients and colleagues.

Practice interests include: women’s health care, zebra hunting, community health education, cardiovascular risk reduction, and healing ministry. Long term goals include: early childhood parenting and practice-based research.

Education:
Medical School: Georgetown University
Residency:
St. Paul Ramsey
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Sue Inoue, MD 

Sue, technically a Hoosier, grew up in a Japanese-American household in the south suburbs of Chicago in a predominantly white, working class neighborhood. When the neighborhood bullies found my flatter profile just reason for torment, I, with all the wisdom of my seven years of life, advised my father to adopt a German shepherd, the bigger the better. He appeared to be listening, but then promptly purchased an eighty-year-old upright piano, assuring me that this was the more effective weapon. Although dubious of my father's judgement, I agreed to lessons. Music has since warded off a number of enemies.

I attended college on the south side of Chicago, where I was a volunteer in the pediatric emergency room. I saw children turned away from this rich, private institution because of lack of insurance, and my determination to provide care to the underserved was born.

I took a couple of detours, including a five-month stint in Japan, hanging out with my grandmother, a hipper version of my mother. After medical school, I moved to Austria to do a little research, preferring the café' culture of Vienna to the rigors of residency.

I packed up my cat named "Cat" and returned to the Twin Cities. I did, in fact, do a residency in between nursing recurrent bilateral tendinitis, secondary to compulsive knitting and foot numbness from running. After finishing a Maternal-Child Fellowship in Chicago, the cat and I, again, returned to the Twin Cities to join the faculty at the United Family Medicine Residency Program... happily ever after.

Education:
Medical School: University of Minnesota
Residency:
St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Kathleen Macken, MD 

Yes, I am the eldest of eight children in an Irish-French-German family with a typical penchant for perfectionism that reached its pinnacle at age 14, when my 13-year-old sister had to fight for me by telling people I really wasn’t a "weirdo" because I only had time to break from studying to wash my hair every two weeks. I think what I have matured to is a person with a passion for life, from my family to the high school girl’s basketball tournament to women’s marathon running (of which I’ve only run one. But, from all the stories I tell, you would think it was more) to traveling with my family. 

Included and very important in my passions is a love for family medicine. I truly have never regretted the choice and find it to be forever stimulating, rewarding, challenging, and a privilege. Within its confines, I particularly love continuity of care, family-centered perinatal care, women and children’s care, and the behavioral aspects of medicine. In case you’re wondering, I’ve definitely lost my perfectionism.

Education:
Medical School: Mayo Clinic
Residency:
St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Michael Mercer, MD

Mike was born, raised and educated in Minnesota, but by no means has he remained confined to the state borders. He most enjoys adventure and travel, and having visited all 50 states, now prefers international trips. Among his favorite adventures are sea kayaking in Thailand and New Zealand, and mountain biking in rural Haiti. During the warm Minnesota summer months, Mike looks forward to camping trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and is always ready to introduce a newcomer to the fantastic beauty and tranquility of the North Woods. The international culture at United Family Practice satisfies the travel bug while at work, but at any given time, Mike will likely have two, if not three upcoming trips on the planning docket.

Mike is a fan of all sports, Nascar excluded, with favoritism toward Minnesota teams. He considers athletics a key to physical and emotional health, and encourages all of his patients to develop a fitness plan. When not traveling or working, Mike might be found golfing, biking, or playing a pick-up game of basketball. He also enjoys working on his older St. Paul home, where he resides with his two female companions, Sport and Zoe (cats).

Education
University of Minnesota School of Medicine
Residency
United Family Medicine Residency Program
Board Certification
Family Practice

Jerry Montie, MD

Jerry a self-described Pacific Northwest native, was born and raised in Wisconsin. During high school he was more often seen playing drums in local nightclubs than his 8 a.m. calculus class. Jerry's obsession with music has continued through the years. His experience ranges from many gigs in smoke-filled nightclubs to playing in a back-up band for Rodney Dangerfield. Most recently, he concentrates on writing and recording music in an effort to discover and document his musical brain. Should he find anything worthwhile, he’ll be releasing a CD of original music in the future.

After deciding that it might be difficult to make a living as a professional free-style skier, Jerry decided on a career in family medicine. He feels privileged to have such a great job.

Aside from being a doc and a musician, Jerry also enjoys spending time with family and friends, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and other outdoor activities.

In the future, Jerry hopes to discourage increasing commercialism and promote more sustainable lifestyles for everyone.

"You might say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one..."

Education:
Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine
Residency:
Valley Medical Center, Renton, WA
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Laurie Radovsky, MD

Growing up as a chubby redheaded half-Jewish American in Venezuela, I learned firsthand what is like to be a "stranger in a strange land." This experience would have colored my approach to any career, but has been especially influential in medicine, in which the minority, the marginalized and the disenfranchised fall through the cracks without advocacy and support.

I attended Hampshire College in Massachusetts, a hippie wanna be who was intimidated by pre-med curriculum. I was interested in alternative medicine, but in those days in this country there was only sloppy empiricism to support its use. I went to San Francisco to find myself and ended up working for the arch-establishmentarian California Medical Association. There I met physicians I could respect, and learned that I didn’t have to sacrifice my humanity to obtain a medical degree. I also met doctors who were so dense that I knew that I too could get through medical school. I headed back east to Boston University, where Family Practice was considered on par with witch doctorism. Always the rebel, I followed my heart to the Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency, the eastern equivalent of United Family. After a disastrous attempt at solo private practice in rural Maine, my family and I packed up and headed to Wisconsin. I practiced there five years before we decided we needed to be around more Jews, and here we are.

Still a hippie wanna be and rabble-rouser, my professional interests are women’s health care, cross cultural medicine, alternative medicine (which is now more evidence-based), and the interface between psyche and soma. A disciple of Patch Adams, the doctor clown and citizen diplomat, I seek a professional niche in which having a sense of humor is considered a healing skill.

One of my main goals as a physician is to set an example for patients of physical and mental health. Therefore, I cultivate non-medical interests such as cooking, sewing, singing, reading and playing Scrabble. Some people have pets; I have a compost pit. However, the thing that really keeps me honest is my family: my husband Geoff and my kids Ilana (7) and Jonah (3). My goal is to create a balance that allows me to work hard as a physician and have time to live the rest of life to its fullest.

Education:
Residency:
Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Guy Runkle MD

Guy Runkle, M.D., a native of Orange County, California, left the land of surf and sun at the age of 18 when he entered his 28-year association with the US Army by entering the United States Military Academy at West Point. Through incredible good fortune, he was able to enter the Uniformed Services University immediately after graduation. Residency training brought him back to the sunshine state. He did his Family Medicine residency training at Fort Ord, California, and faculty development fellowship training at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. In the Army, he had the opportunity to live in Maryland, New York, Georgia, California, Washington State, and Hawaii, and has been involved in military medical education for 14 years. While he has no interest in marching from the hospital to the clinic, he is likely to jump out of the car and salute if he hears a cannon fire on the way to or from work, so don't follow too closely!

After retiring from the Army in 2006, Guy spent two years with Auburn Community Health Center, becoming familiar with the challenges of working with the medically underserved, with whom he still longs to make a difference. With his daughter well on her way to completing her undergraduate degree at Loyola Marymount, and as his son graduates from high school and prepares to go off to college himself at Notre Dame, Guy is thrilled to join his beautiful wife Brenda in her return to her home state of Minnesota, and looks forward to enjoying all four seasons.

Guy's professional areas of interest include clinical research, medical education, faculty development, and maintenance of clinical skills. He is always on the lookout for opportunities to sing, is an avid Thespian, and a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic - so be sure to ask if you are interested in joining his new 4th edition D&D campaign!

Education:
Medical School: Uniformed University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
Residency:
Silas B. Hayes Army Community Hospital, Fort Ord, California
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Tim Rumsey, MD

Tim is a failed rock musician, would-be dinosaur hunter, and hockey geek. His wife and three children are the main focus of his life, followed by a continued belief that being a family doctor is a job that matters and, after 21 years, can still say that he is glad to be doing what he is doing. He is the author of a novel, Pictures From A Trip, about two brothers in love with the world who take a trip with a blind friend to the Dakotas and Montana to look for dinosaur bones. Five CME credits are automatically given to anyone reading this book.

His main goals in life are to be a good dad and husband, to be a good family doc, and to play rhythm guitar with the Rolling Stones.

Education:
Medical School: University of Minnesota
Internship:
Hennepin County Medical Center
Board Certified:
Family Practice

Himanshu Sharma, MD

Ten Things To Know About Himanshu Sharma, MD:

1. Medical school in India, Residency in Minnesota, Fellowship in California, Electives in the UK – Australia.
2. Favorite quote from Sherlock Holmes, “Our brain capacity is limited, if something goes in, something else has to come out.”
3. One of the very, very few Indians, who can speak German, and getting better at speaking “Minnesotan”. (Yeah, you betcha!)
4. Immediately after an OB delivery, one should sing “Happy Birthday” to the newborn, as that is the only true birthday.
5. Nerdy hobbies: crosswords, reading and more reading, trivia, chess. Non-nerdy hobbies: swimming, traveling, and table tennis.
6. Nerdy trivia question: Who was born on one continent, lived on a second continent, and died on a third continent?
7. Only favorite shopping place: Barnes and Noble.
8. Affinity for paper is greater than affinity for computer.
9. Starts the day at the office with a crossword, a favorite beverage, and a PPI for EERD.
10. BBC comedy freak, especially “Yes Minister” and “Monty Python”.

Education:
Medical School: Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, India
Residency :
St. Paul Ramsey Medical Centerl
Board Certified:
Family Medicine
Certificate of Added Qualification: Geriatrics

Bradford Toso, MD

Bradford L. Toso, MD, I bought flippers and a used wet suit and began college in Boston expecting to follow in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau. My Norwegian ethos found empathy with the Chinese student community, where I was gifted with my Chinese name. I had imagined for myself a career in a scientific research lab. As there could be only one Cousteau, I completed my degree in chemistry and enrolled in medical school at the University of Minnesota. I earned some honors along the way, but found greater joy in volunteer work and the sports team on which I participated.

I developed a special interest in infectious diseases and spent some time studying tropical diseases in the Philippines. I returned to finish my residency in internal medicine, added two months of peds and started work in community medicine in a bicultural clinic. I became fluent in Spanish, and a novice at classical guitar and folk dancing. Then I began my protest years (later than most). I moved to the Miller Outpatient Department (MOD) Clinic to involve myself more in medical education and geriatric medicine, while continuing in a community service-oriented practice.

Education:
Medical School: University of Minnesota
Residency :
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Board Certified:
Internal Medicine