How to Overcome Biases in Medical School

Sarah Onorato presents a case to Dr. Ann Marie Kumfer & Dr. Debra Bynum

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Dr Ann Marie Kumfer is a new residency graduate and academic hospitalist at UNC. After completing medical school at Texas Tech University, she moved up to North Carolina for residency. She liked UNC so much, she decided to stay as an academic hospitalist after completing residency in June. She also serves as a section editor for the Human Diagnosis project. She is passionate about diagnostic reasoning, teaching, and guacamole.

Dr. Debra Bynum is the Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of North Carolina. Originally from eastern North Carolina, she graduated from Davidson in 1990 with a degree in Biology and a focus on ecology and marine biology. From there, she came to Chapel Hill for medical school and stayed at UNC for residency training. After completing a year as Chief Resident, she joined the faculty at WakeMed hospital where she worked in the clinic caring for Raleigh’s underserved, attended on the inpatient service with UNC residents and students, and helped to found one of the first hospitalist programs in the area.

After three years at WakeMed, she returned to UNC for further training as a fellow in the Geriatric Medicine program and was appointed to a faculty position in 2001. During the subsequent fourteen years, she held multiple leadership positions within the School of Medicine, the Department of Medicine, and the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and Internal Medicine Residency programs. She directed the Acting Internship for senior students as well as co-directed the clinical skills course for second year students, served on the School of Medicine education committee, and helped to design, implement, and co-direct both a transition course for new third year students as well as a teaching elective for fourth year students. She served as the Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship from 2008-2014 and was selected to lead the Internal Medicine residency program in May of 2014.

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