2011-12 Faculty Senate Members > Medicine
Gerald Ackerman
Term Expires: May 2013
Phone: (775) 738-3828
Email: gackerman@medicine.nevada.edu
Brief Bio: Gerald is the assistant director for the Center for Education and Health Services Outreach in Elko, responsible for developing and overseeing the operation of programs that serve all population groups within the state. These programs not only include patient care and service, but also encompass medical and continuing education as well as training opportunities. In addition to these duties, Ackerman is also actively involved in shaping state, regional, and national policy that affects rural, frontier, and urban underserved areas.
Elissa Palmer
Term Expires: May 2013
Phone: (702) 992-6888
Email: ejpalmer@medicine.nevada.edu
Brief Bio:Elissa J Palmer, MD, is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Family and Community Medicine (Las Vegas) at the University Of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) where she also directs the development of the rural track residency in addition to being the Program Director of the OB fellowship. She joined UNSOM in July 2006. She was on the Faculty Council, holds the position of treasurer of the Medical School Associates South Practice Plan, has an adjunct clinical appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and represents UNSOM on the Southern Area Health Education Board and on the HRSA workforce development project for southern Nevada.
Dr. Palmer, MD received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was Chief Resident at her residency at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She was in private practice in Stowe, Vermont and Lewiston, Maine before becoming the director of Altoona Family Physicians Residency in Pennsylvania. While at Altoona Regional Health System, she directed several interdisciplinary departments in addition to the Family Medicine Residency Program, including Women's Health, the Rural Office and the Pregnancy Care Center from 1995 to 2006.
She completed the National Institute for Program Director Development (NIPDD) fellowship and has always practiced the full scope of family medicine, including office based medicine, home visits, hospital medicine and obstetrics. Active in policy and legislation since graduating from residency, she served on that committee for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) and is a key advocacy contact for the American Academy of Family Physicians for southern Nevada. Dr. Palmer served as the vice chair and chair of the Pennsylvania Program Directors and Medical School Chairs Assembly, was a member of the Board of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and active on the Public Policy Committee and Resident and Student Affairs Commission.
She is currently the Immediate Past President of the national Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD). Dr. Palmer represented AFMRD on the Advisory Board of the Genetics in Primary Care Faculty Development Initiative, including work on cultural competency. She taught in several national diabetes programs. As a member of the Academic Council, Dr. Palmer teaches in the National Institute for Program Directors fellowship. She has lectured on genetics, leadership and primary care in the US and taught Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) courses in the USA and England. A key grant effort, now a self-sustaining program, was to bring the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course to the state of Nevada. In addition to being the principal investigator on several grants, she has multiple regional, national and international presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Palmer has received several clinical awards and was the recipient of the national Mead-Johnson Award and Parker-Davis Award for Family Medicine teaching in addition to the Gold Level Award for Residency Program Directors. She received the national Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Advocacy Award in April 2010.
Kami Larsen
Term Expires: May 2012
Phone: (702) 671-2231
Email: klarsen@medicine.nevada.edu
Brief Bio:Dr. Kami Larsen received her Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Nevada, Reno and went on to complete medical school at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. After completing her residency training in pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine Las Vegas program she went into private practice in Henderson, Nevada. After four years of solo practice she returned to UNSOM and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in Las Vegas and is currently the Associate Residency Program Director. Her primary areas of interest outside of resident education are in immunizations, outreach and international medicine.
Amy McFarland
Term Expires: May 2012
Phone: (775) 682-7734
Email: amcfarland@medicine.nevada.edu
Brief Bio: Amy McFarland is an Education Coordinator for the Division of Interdisciplinary Medical Education.
Catherine Goring
Term Expires: May 2011
Phone: (775) 784-4202
Email: cgoring@medicine.nevada.edu
Brief Bio: Dr. Goring graduated from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in 1984. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, an affiliate of the University of Michigan. Dr. Goring is an excellent advocate for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. She regularly attends residency activities and serves as an attending physician in both the outpatient and inpatient settings.