PORTLAND, Maine – Maine Medical Center (MMC) held its 12th annual Maine Track celebration event on Saturday, April 27, recognizing the 36 Maine Track medical students who will graduate from Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) 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.
Greg Hardy, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor at TUSM, site director for the Maine Track Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship Program at Stephens Memorial Hospital and the former Chief Medical Officer at Western Maine Health, gave the keynote address. Dr. Hardy received Maine Track’s first ever Roger A. Renfrew Rural Teaching Award in 2013 and has been a champion of rural medical education. Dr. Hardy, a practicing OB/GYN, referred to himself as an “accidental mentor” as he spoke about how medical education became integral to his practice.
“The journey I have experienced in this endeavor has been a highlight of my career,” Dr. Hardy said. “I never envisioned that the joy and responsibility of medical education would become such a big part of my life. Beyond honored, I am humbled by the chance to speak to the Maine Track Class of 2024.”
The Maine Track program is a partnership between MMC and Tufts formed 16 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine, provide financial assistance to aspiring medical students with a connection to 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 at Tufts on May 19.
“This year’s Maine Track class had to be flexible in a constantly changing environment, starting with beginning their medical education during the pandemic,” said MaineHealth Vice President of Medical Education Linda Chaudron, MD. “I look forward to seeing them continue to grow as compassionate physicians and as people as they start the first phase of their careers in medicine.”
When this year’s cohort graduates from Tufts, 439 physicians will have graduated from the Maine Track program since it began. As of 2023, 81 Maine Track graduates who have completed their residency and fellowship training are practicing medicine in Maine.
“Reflecting back on when we started, it’s pretty amazing to see how far we’ve all come as we’ve discovered the physicians we are inherently and those we aspire to be,” said Caitlin Farrington, a candidate for MD and the class speaker for the class of 2024. “We started medical school in the height of a pandemic and in the midst of multiple significant sociopolitical events that have undoubtedly shaped how we approach patient care. It was not an easy path getting to where we are now, and we certainly have a career full of challenges ahead, but I know our class is equipped to tackle whatever the world throws at us.”
You can view a recording of Maine Track Celebration here: MMC Medical Education - YouTube.
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About Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center (MMC), recognized as a Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News and World Report for 2023-2024, is a complete health care resource for the people of Greater Portland and the entire state, as well as northern New England. Incorporated in 1868, MMC is the state’s largest medical center, licensed for 700 beds and employing more than 9,600 people. MMC's unique role as both a community hospital and a referral center requires an unparalleled depth and breadth of services, including an active educational program and a world-class biomedical research center. As a nonprofit institution, Maine Medical Center provides nearly 23 percent of all the charity care delivered in Maine. MMC is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of health care services in northern New England. For more information, visit www.mmc.org.