Full Circle Moment
By Stacy Kusler on
Tyrone Berentson is a family physician at SMP Health St. Andrew's in Bottineau, North Dakota. Now in his third year of practice, he has come full circle: from the recruited to the recruiter.
Rewind eight years: In the spring of 2017, Berentson was a third-year medical student. Coming off a month of mandatory rural training in western North Dakota, he was freshly set on wanting to go into the family medicine specialty. Yet he was still not sure what type of community or practice setting would be right for him.
That's when he heard about an event in his campus community in Minot, North Dakota. The event was called the Minot Community Showcase, one of four Showcase events held that year, which offered medical students and residents an opportunity to meet and connect with multiple healthcare employers from across the state.
Berentson knew he wanted to eventually practice near his hometown of Minot, so he was drawn to employers at the event that fit his criteria, including two rural Critical Access Hospitals. Those conversations and connections were pivotal for Berentson as they sparked the realization that rural family practice might be a great option for him.
"Once I landed on family medicine and had the opportunity to rotate in rural hospitals, that's when I started to consider the idea of working in a rural location," Berentson said. "Being able to spend time and submerge myself into the communities while learning and training at the hospital helped to give me a glimpse of how impactful rural medicine can be."
A Rural Focus
A future as a rural family medicine physician was now his goal, and because he knew he wanted to stay in North Dakota, Berentson eventually applied for the state-sponsored tuition reimbursement program called RuralMed. With this program, Berentson committed to working for five years in a rural community after completing residency training. In return, his medical school tuition would be fully paid, and his overall student loan debt would be drastically reduced.
As Berentson navigated his way through the rest of medical school and residency – even adding a year of a sports medicine fellowship onto his training – he remained in contact with the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health to stay informed of potential practice opportunities that would fulfill his RuralMed commitment.
"We actually received a call from Stacy Kusler, workforce specialist at the Center for Rural Health, indicating Tyrone was looking for a rural practice location," said Chris Albertson, CEO of SMP St. Andrew's. "We had been recruiting for some time though other channels with no luck."
Once Berentson connected with leadership at St. Andrew's, he knew he would be able to create the type of practice that would fulfill him. He was drawn to the facility because of the flexibility and autonomy offered by leadership during his recruitment conversations. Spending an extra year after residency doing a sports medicine fellowship, it was highly important to Berentson that he be able to incorporate sports med into his practice.
"St. Andrew's has been fantastic at allowing me to practice a very broad scope of medicine even as I push to bring new procedures and services that were not previously offered," Berentson said.
Being able to have those conversations at the Showcase, and then see the facility first-hand, played a major role in me eventually choosing Bottineau.
While St. Andrew's was not one of the connections Berentson made at the Community Showcase event back in 2017, the event certainly re-routed his path to a rural practice.
"Being able to have those conversations at the Showcase, and then see the facility first-hand, played a major role in me eventually choosing Bottineau," Berentson said.
Fulfilling Work
Berentson has worked hard over the past three years to mold his practice to serve his patients in Bottineau, a town of around 2,000 people nestled on the edge of the Turtle Mountains. Just a short drive away from Lake Metigoshe, which offers recreation year-round, Bottineau is a vibrant community with activities like pickleball, basketball, volleyball, golf, and even an active local theater group. He feels needed in the community, and that his service as a physician is appreciated.
"Working in a rural setting is extremely rewarding, especially as a provider who tries to practice a wide spectrum of medicine. There isn't a day at work that goes by without a patient commenting on 'how lucky we are to have you in our community,'" Berentson said.
"Tyrone has brought a freshness to the medical practice at St. Andrew's," added Albertson. "His willingness to take an active role in process improvement and be involved in the community has been a true blessing for our hospital and clinic."
Advice for Future Physicians
Once the recruited, Berentson has now become the recruiter as he works to add more health professionals to his team in Bottineau. As part of St. Andrew's recruitment efforts, which includes adding another physician, as well as helping the local college recruit athletic trainers, Berentson attended the Bismarck and Minot Community Showcases, and the Grand Forks Spring Meet and Greet this past April.
"Having the full-circle experience was a neat moment at the Community Showcases," he said. "I was able to stand across the table from students who are in the position I was in not so long ago."
My advice to students is to allow yourself the grace to be flexible and find what you're passionate about by giving a full effort to each rotation.
The message he shared with medical students at each of the events was to be open to all possibilities.
"My advice to students is to allow yourself the grace to be flexible and find what you're passionate about by giving a full effort to each rotation," Berentson said. "At the end of the day, you are going to be a doctor, which is a pretty awesome achievement, so you might as well love what you do."
is the connection between rural healthcare facilities in North Dakota and qualified health professional job seekers. As the workforce specialist, she assists rural facilities to attract medical providers and other health professionals to their communities by sharing job opportunities. Through her position, Stacy is working to reduce the healthcare workforce shortages throughout the state.
