Michael Zaruba, M.D., received the Marion D. and Theodore Koefoot, Jr., M.D., Outstanding Preceptor in Rural Family Medicine award at the annual University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Family Medicine banquet.
Dr. Zaruba practices at Auburn Family Health Clinic in Auburn, Neb.
"The department of family medicine is proud to recognize Dr. Zaruba with the Koefoot Award," said Michael Sitorius, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Family Medicine. "We appreciate his commitment to the students of UNMC as a mentor and as a role model within his community. Like many of our preceptors, Dr. Zaruba is dedicated to training the next generation of physicians."
The Koefoot Award was created in 2005 in memory of Dr. Theodore Koefoot. He was a charter preceptor for UNMC's rural family medicine preceptorship. The award is granted to a rural Nebraska family physician who provides outstanding teaching and mentoring of medical students during their family medicine rural preceptorship and serves as an outstanding community physician.
The award was established through a gift made to the University of Nebraska Foundation by Dr. Koefoot's wife, Marion, and his family, Gretchen and Nick Vondrak, Sarah and Gary Gernhart, Stephanie and Nicholas Vondrak, and Suzanne and Brad Hansen.
Marion and Dr. Koefoot's grandchildren, Suzanne Hansen and Nicholas Vondrak, were in attendance to recognize the importance of family medicine and acknowledge the influence of a preceptor's family to the medical student experience.
The highlight of the evening included testimony from a student who spent his rotation with Dr. Zaruba.
"Because of Dr. Zaruba's mentorship and guidance, I have had the best hands-on learning experience," said nominator and UNMC graduate Clayton Damme. "On a daily basis he guaranteed that I felt like I was part of the clinic team and always made me feel like my contributions were valuable."
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