Maine Track Celebration Honors Class of 2022
Maine Medical Center (MMC) held its tenth annual Maine Track Celebration event on Saturday, April 30, recognizing the 46 Maine Track program students who will graduate from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston in May. After completing the program that includes classroom instruction in Boston with community-based practice in Maine, this year’s class will begin residencies this summer, 12 of them at MMC.
Captain Chris Cassidy, the president and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, delivered the ceremony’s keynote address. Captain Cassidy, who grew up in York, Maine, also has served as NASA Chief Astronaut and is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL. He is currently leading the effort to build the National Medal of Honor Museum in Texas, the foundation’s leadership institute and a monument.
“I’m very lucky to have served our nation in two great jobs, and in reflection upon retirement from the government and military, it was that sense of service that has resonated with me,” Cassidy said. “I am excited and honored to share this day with these Maine Track students, as they begin their careers serving patients in Maine and other rural communities.”
The Maine Track program is a partnership between MaineHealth and Tufts formed 14 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine, provide financial assistance to aspiring medical students from Maine and develop an innovative curriculum focused on community-based education. MMC’s annual Maine Track celebration marks the local recognition of the medical school students, who also will take part in a graduation ceremony with Tufts on May 22.
“The past two years has demonstrated why the medical field is one of continuous learning and growth,” said Doug Sawyer, MD, MaineHealth’s Chief Academic Officer and interim Chief Medical Officer. “We are proud of the role the Maine Track program plays in Maine Medical Center’s tri-part mission of caring for our community, educating tomorrow’s caregivers and researching new ways to improve care, and we look forward to seeing the continued success of our graduates, many of whom will continue their education in residencies at Maine Medical Center this summer.”
When this year’s cohort graduates from Tufts, 362 physicians will have graduated from the Maine Track program since it began. As of December 2021, 33 percent of Maine Track graduates who have completed their residencies are practicing medicine in Maine.
“I am honored and humbled to be a part of this amazing group of students in the Maine Track, whose intelligence, compassion, resilience and commitment to our state is inspiring,” said Ben Davison, a candidate for M.D. and the class speaker for the class of 2022. “The Maine Track program and its incredible faculty provided me a world-class education in my home state, giving me an opportunity to learn rural medicine first hand, connect with the population I’ll serve and build professional networks.”
You can view a recording of Maine Track Celebration here.