FRESNO – The UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program will graduate 93 medical residents and fellows in a ceremony to be held Thursday, June 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the William Saroyan Theatre (700 M Street) in Fresno. A social hour for the graduating fellows and resident physicians, their families and friends and UCSF Fresno faculty and staff members will precede the ceremony, at 5:30 p.m. (Note: The best time to conduct interviews is during the social hour prior to the start of the graduation ceremony).
Thirty-eight percent of the graduates are expected to stay and care for patients in the greater Fresno area and the Central San Joaquin Valley.
Among them:
- Richard Kiel, MD, grew up in Coarsegold and graduated from Yosemite High School and California State University, Fresno. Dr. Kiel is finishing up a chief residency in internal medicine and will be staying at UCSF Fresno to start a three-year cardiovascular fellowship with the option to train for another one to two years in further subspecialty fields. Kiel was drawn to cardiology as a first-year medical student because of the huge impact heart disease has on the U.S. population. “It remains the biggest cause of death in our country,” he said. Having fellowship training is vital to bringing the most qualified physicians to the Valley, he added. The Valley has far fewer physicians, particularly specialists when compared with the rest of the state.
- Veronica Ramirez, MD, grew up in Dinuba and graduated from Fresno State where she took part in the Health Careers Opportunity Program, sponsored by UCSF Fresno’s Latino Center. The program provides academic advising and support to students interested in careers in health and medicine. Dr. Ramirez met her husband Rene Ramirez at Fresno State and they attended medical school together in Philadelphia. He is a resident in emergency medicine at UCSF Fresno. The granddaughter of farm laborers from Mexico, Dr. Ramirez was inspired at an early age to become a doctor by her mother, who has epilepsy. After completing a residency in pediatrics, Dr. Ramirez will stay at UCSF Fresno as a 4th year chief resident. Afterward, she plans on practicing in Fresno and is interested in becoming a faculty member at UCSF Fresno.
- Carolina Sueldo, MD, became a physician because she wanted to do exciting work, and she liked the idea of being able to help others. Born and raised most of her life in Fresno, Dr. Sueldo graduated from high school and earned her medical degree in Argentina. Because of her Fresno roots, she chose to complete residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF Fresno. After she completes a three- year fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Connecticut, she plans to return home to practice. Both of her parents are practicing physicians in Fresno. Her mother Dr. Maria Baccaro has an established private practice in psychiatry, and her father Dr. Carlos Sueldo is a clinical professor in the obstetrics and gynecology program at UCSF Fresno.
Graduation highlights include:
- Welcome remarks by Joan Voris, MD, Associate Dean, UCSF Fresno
- Graduation address by Herb Bivens, MD, Assistant Program Director and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, UCSF Fresno and recipient of the 2011 Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Presentation of the prestigious 2012 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 honors include: Outstanding First-Year Resident, Outstanding Resident Teacher, Outstanding Attending Teacher, Outstanding Non-Physician Teacher, Borba Award for Outstanding Research,the UCSF Fresno Community Service Award, Excellence in Physician Values Award and the recently established Leon S. Peters Foundation Resident Award
For more information about the UCSF Fresno graduation ceremony, please call (559) 499-6520.
UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program, established 37 years ago, plays a substantial role in providing healthcare services to residents of California's San Joaquin Valley and training medical professionals in the region. The medical education program has trained approximately one-third of Central San Joaquin Valley physicians. Annually, UCSF Fresno currently trains 245 medical residents in eight specialties, 45 fellows in 12 subspecialties and about 250 medical students on a rotating basis.
UCSF Fresno faculty and medical residents engage in a broad spectrum of research addressing health issues pertinent to the Valley. UCSF Fresno faculty and residents also care for the overwhelming majority of the region’s underserved populations. In addition, UCSF Fresno provides academic preparation programs for middle- and high school students interested in the health professions through the Doctors Academy and Junior Doctors Academy. UCSF Fresno is a key partner in the UC Merced San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education and is expected to play a significant role in the training of medical students in the program.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
For further information, visit www.fresno.ucsf.edu and www.ucsf.edu
