Anne Nofziger, MD, ‘00, Serves as Associate Chair UR Department of Family Medicine
Anne Nofziger, MD, ‘00, grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana, where primary care was a huge need, and her father was a valued family physician. “Everyone knew my family or had a story to tell us about a family member's care,” she said. When she was choosing a specialty, Dr. Nofziger wanted to have the same continuity with generations of families and help them reach their health goals. She has been a devoted family medicine physician for close to 30 years and now serves as Associate Chair, University of Rochester Department of Family Medicine.
In her first year as Associate Chair, Dr. Nofziger is committed to learning about how the department interacts with the wider institution in all mission areas, and how she can help with that. She also serves as Associate Dean, Advising and director of the Dean’s Teaching Fellowship for SMD faculty. “One of my favorite things is mentorship and that is a big part of my roles,” she said. “I like helping faculty and learners identify and develop their strengths, work on areas for growth, and connect with needed resources to move their career in desired directions. Beyond mentoring individual faculty, I conduct numerous faculty annual reviews, and support the promotion process in our department.”
Dr. Nofziger has the highest regard for the UR Department of Family Medicine Residency program. When she was searching for residency opportunities her advisors recommended UR as one of the first and most highly regarded Family Medicine programs. “My husband (Alec O’Connor, MD) and I were in the couples match, and Rochester offered excellent Family Medicine training based in a community hospital, as well as Internal Medicine training in a large academic medical center for him,” she said. “We interviewed during a week when it snowed 40 inches in Rochester, and we liked that! More importantly, we really appreciated the culture of learning and collaboration we found here.”
Dr. Nofziger found the program to be everything it promised to be. “I learned all the basics of comprehensive primary care for patients of all ages,” she said. “Beyond this, I didn't fully understand how valuable my training in psychosocial medicine would be until later. That is such an important strength of our program, underpinning formation of strong therapeutic relationships and supporting patients' goals to improve their health.”
She was so impressed with the department that she stayed and became part of the faculty. “I have amazing, dedicated colleagues, and work in a culture of collaboration and service,” she said. “We have a commitment to keep learning and reduce disparities in our community. I also had the opportunity to get involved in medical education at a time of curriculum change in the medical school. At this point, I have had continuity relationships with many patients since residency-- approaching 30 years in some cases! I have had the privilege of teaching and mentoring many medical students and junior faculty --- so many of whom have gone on to do amazing things.”
1/3/2024
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