UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences to confer 65 Doctor of Medicine degrees on new physicians

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) will confer the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree on 65 graduating medical students in a Commencement Ceremony to be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, at UND’s Chester Fritz Auditorium.

Along with UND President Andrew Armacost, Dr. Joshua Wynne, vice president for health affairs and dean of the SMHS, will preside over this 49th Doctor of Medicine graduation event.

The graduating Class of 2024 students have completed four years of medical education to earn their M.D. degree, beginning with twenty months of instruction on the UND campus in Grand Forks followed by more than two years of training with practicing physicians who volunteer to serve as their teachers in hospitals and clinics throughout North Dakota.

The ceremony’s keynote address, “Adversity, Why, Empathy: Let A.W.E. define the journey ahead of you,” will be given by Jon Allen, M.D., professor and director of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Simulation Center. A former critical care nurse and director of ambulance services in Minot, N.D., Allen has been a fixture in medical education in North Dakota for decades.

“We are so proud of the graduating medical students,” said Wynne. “They have worked exceedingly hard during their four years with us, and all are highly qualified to move into the next phase of their maturation as physicians.”

Adding that education for physicians doesn’t stop after graduation and residency, Wynne noted too how “all of our graduates are prepared for the life-long learning that will help them they stay up-to-date with the latest medical advances. I’ve been in practice for over five decades—and I’m still learning!”

Following graduation, most members of the M.D. Class of 2024 will begin a post-graduate residency, a three- to seven-year period of advanced intensive training in their chosen medical specialty, before beginning independent practice.

In keeping with tradition, more than 54% of M.D. Class of 2024 graduates at UND matched into the primary care specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, and pediatrics. Nearly 19% of the cohort are set to enter family medicine—more than double the national average—while 16 students are entering a variety of internal medicine residencies.

Eleven graduates, almost one out of every five, are entering residencies in North Dakota.

One of those students is Chicagoland native Ken Ryan.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to see the fruit of all your labor,” said Ryan, who is excited to be staying in Grand Forks to complete a family medicine residency at Altru Health System. “[Chicago] is a great area, but I really like it here,” Ryan smiled. “This place feels like home now. I love this building. I love everyone here who helped me get this far. It’s a wonderful place to be for sure.”

Circle Pines, Minn., native Jessica Zola agreed.

“I'm very excited to celebrate with my family and classmates this weekend,” beamed Zola, who is off to an emergency medicine residency in Utah. “I feel excited and ready for my next step after my time at UND.”

View a complete list of the graduates and their residency programs here. The M.D. Commencement can be viewed live online on May 4 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IXszmQSgmE.

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Brian James Schill
Director, Office of Alumni & Community Relations
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
University of North Dakota
701.777.6048 direct | 701.777.4305 office
brian.schill@UND.edu | med.UND.edu