Gillette Resident Gets Experience In Community Medicine At CCMG Pediatrics

Brandon Izatt is spending the next four weeks in the community where he grew up, experiencing what it’s like to practice in a busy pediatric clinic. Brandon is participating in the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP), a four-week, elective immersion experience in community medicine for students between their first and second years of medical school. They work side-by-side with local physicians to get early exposure to the challenges and rewards of practicing primary care medicine in rural settings like Gillette. RUOP is a collaborative effort of the University of Washington School of Medicine, participating campuses like the University of Wyoming, and the Area Health Education Centers.

Brandon is a student in the WWAMI program, which trains medical students that live in states without a medical school. This includes Wyoming, Montana, Alaska and Idaho. He will eventually complete his third and fourth years of medical school at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Brandon’s undergraduate degree is in Physiology, and his original career interests were physical therapy or dentistry.

“I eventually decided on medicine,” said Brandon. “That checked all the boxes for me.”

Brandon is shadowing with the team of Dr. Francesca McCaffrey, Dr. Kyle Sabey and Physician Assistant Val Amstadt at CCMG Pediatrics.

“Working with students is one of my favorite parts of the job,” said Dr. McCaffrey. “We always want to encourage students to come back after medical school and practice in areas like Gillette, especially when they can see how rewarding it can be in a clinic like ours.”