Congratulations to Dr. Paul Karr on receiving the Flint Family Medicine Preceptor of the Year award. Dr. Karr was nominated by a student, who said this of Dr. Karr.
“My family medicine clerkship at Dr. Paul Karr’s office in Burton, Michigan was one of my most memorable experiences filled with incredible growth. I was highly anticipating this rotation as a future family medicine physician.
Prior to my rotation with Dr. Karr, clinical feedback that I would receive on other rotations would include, “Be more outspoken” or “Be more confident.” As a naturally extroverted person, I could not understand why on rounds I would stay silent and doubt myself or when asked a question from my attending, I would reply the correct answer in question form. I would show up to rotations filled with imposter syndrome. As a first generation Latina, many times I felt out of place and as if I did not belong. That imposter syndrome was inhibiting my ability to be confident and thrive. It was as if Dr. Karr somehow knew this because from day one he began to work on my confidence.
What I appreciated the most from Dr. Karr’s teaching style was that he trusted me and his trust in me allowed his patient’s to trust me as well. He sent me in to see patient’s by myself from day #2 and was clear with his expectations. I would go in, do the interview, and present him with an assessment and plan. The first week was so difficult for me. Dr. Karr would listen patiently as I presented the assessment and plan and if I answered with a question mark, he would encourage me to collect my thoughts and present more confidently. He was incredibly patient. He challenged every assessment and plan I presented, even with simple bread and butter cases where I was sure of the plan. Over time, I began to believe in myself and present more confidently. There were many times when I was wrong, but he was always encouraging and explained his thought process. If I did not know something, he would give space to look it up because as he always says, “As family doctors, we don’t need to know everything, but we need to know where to look it up.” That month I became so comfortable with being bold even when I was wrong. I had incredible growth and was able to overcome a lot of the imposter syndrome that I had been dealing with.
Additionally, I appreciated how Dr. Karr ensured I had as much hands-on experience as possible. I was able to suture, inject, anesthetize, do a scrape and punch biopsy, and the list goes on. Even on my last day he noticed I did not have the opportunity to make a cast, so he showed me how to make a cast on himself. After this rotation I felt so grateful, but it was not until I was on my other rotations where I was able to appreciate my growth. At the outpatient family medicine clinic I did my fourth year Sub-I rotation, my attendings told me how impressed they were of my confidence, knowledge base and clinical skills. Dr. Karr’s teaching, mentorship and guidance was critical in the development of my confidence and strong clinical skill set. He is an outstanding community preceptor and deserves to be honored for his dedication to train the next generation of family physicians.”
