Current Residents
Here is a random sampling of residents from each class. If you want to see more residents from a particular class, click on the appropriate link. The year indicated is the year the resident will finish residency.
2009 Residents | 2010 Residents | 2011 Residents | 2012 Residents | Fellows
Joshua Brueggemann - 2009 Resident
Welcome to Via Christi! I am a native Kansan and am proud to be part of such a strong training program in my home state. Not only is Via Christi an excellent residency program, but it is also the the source of some of my most valued friendships and mentoring relationships. Via Christi has been the perfect residency home for me and my family. My wife, Sammie, and I have very much enjoyed our time with the Via Christi family and will deeply miss it when we move on next year. Sammie and I have two children, Nicholas and Natalie, and are expecting little Naomi Grace in September. Wichita has been the perfect place to raise our family the last two years, and we are thankful for all it has to offer. We have found a church we love and many opportunities for fun and entertainment in a city that surprised us. We love it here. We have become involved in the community with various projects including sexual responsibility education for youth, our church's vacation Bible schools, and the residency social group. When we get a chance, we like to travel, entertain guests, and play with our kids.
Why Via Christi? I chose Via Christi for multiple reasons. First, it provides opportunities for a robust and thorough training that is easily accessible. As a father and husband, I want to maximize my training opportunities without needing to take extra time away from my family. At Via Christi, I know I am getting the training I need just by showing up to do my job and doing it well. The work is sometimes intense, but the learning is tremendous. Most importantly, I don't need to go searching for opportunities when I should be spending time with my family. Second, the people at Via Christi are wonderful individuals of values and character. They lift me up morally, ethically, professionally, and academically. I can't imagine working with a better group of people. Third, Via Christi Family Medicine works in an environment where family physicians are valued and given autonomy. We have excellent cooperative relationships with specialists in our community and are an integral force in the success and daily operations of the hospital system. Finally, Via Christi embraces my family and welcomes us into the community. The program has been very interested in helping me become the best physician I can be while still fulfilling my primary commitments as husband and father.
Passions: Working outdoors, playing with my kids, church activities, fishing, traveling, eating chocolate, teaching young people about building character and being sexually responsible, following politics, and eating more chocolate.
Favorite Books: I don't read nearly enough books, but I do like movies. Some of my favorites are Cars, The Shawshank Redemption, Meet Joe Black, and It's a Wonderful Life. One of my recent favorite books is Horton Hears a Who.
Favorite Quotes: "A person's a person, no matter how small..." - Horton, Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
After residency plan: I am currently looking for jobs in rural or semi-rural Kansas. I have a Kansas Medical Student Loan I need to pay back by working in an underserved county in Kansas. I plan to practice somewhere where I can do full spectrum Family Medicine including operative obstetrics.
Home town: Shawnee, Kansas
For more 2009 Residents click here.
Sam Ratermann - 2010 Resident
Sam and his wife Shannon arrived in Wichita from Tulsa, Oklahoma with a desire to pursue a career in rural family medicine. Sam's undergraduate training is in mechanical engineering and Shannon is a pediatric physical therapist.
Why Via Christi? OB, procedures, and excellent hands-on training
Passions: Fishing, hunting, golfing, photography, cooking, and anything outdoors.
After residency plan: Eastern Oklahoma
Home town: Bixby, Oklahoma
For more 2010 Residents click here.
Marc Carrigan - 2011 Resident
I am originally from Normal, IL, and attended undergrad at Illinois Wesleyan University and medical school at Southern Illinois University. I am married to the beautiful Stephanie June who graciously supported me through medical school. I chose family medicine because I loved every rotation during my 3rd year and wanted to do it all. Still do! I enjoy any type of outdoor/sporting activity: football, basketball, hockey, running, biking, fishing…. I also enjoy reading, but have had a tough time fitting it in as an intern.
Why Via Christi? The Experience: Not many programs in the country will allow you to do 50-70 C-sections, 150-200 vaginal deliveries, manage pediatric and medicine patients in the ICU, work side by side with sports medicine fellows, and participate in a one of a kind international medicine fellowship. The Residents: I have not met a single person out of 54 residents that I wouldn’t want to hang out with on a Friday night. Everyone is a pleasure to be around… even at 6 AM. There is also such a team attitude here with people willing to help me out during rounds if I get behind, trade call nights, and pitch in a hand whenever needed. The Faculty: Second to none. Great to work with and learn from. Family medicine faculty that are up to date on medicine, peds, and OB. A pediatrician, nephrologist, and ENT on staff. OB/GYN’s, surgeons, and peds intensivists that truly want to teach us how to do what they do. The City: Surprise! Wichita is pretty cool. I was skeptical myself, but came to find that there are tons of restaurants, hang outs, semi-pro sports, outdoor activities, and shopping for my wife. And housing is very affordable.
Favorite Books: "Soul Survivor" by Philip Yancey
Favorite Quotes: "It's strange - those of us who involve ourselves in places where there is the most suffering, look back in surprise to find that it was there that we discovered the reality of joy." - Paul Brand
After residency plan: I love the poor and medically underserved. My wife is a family nurse practitioner and we want to work in a developing country when I finish residency. Our plan is to do a 4-year term and then re-evaluate our future. We are open to career overseas service or moving back to the states to work with the urban poor
Residency stats: 35 vaginal deliveries, 15 C-sections, 4 circumcisions, 25 intubations (as of 11-12-2008)
For more 2011 Residents click here.
Drew Cheng - 2012 Resident
Graduate of Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine
For more 2012 Residents click here.
Kevin Raymer - International Fellow
Undergraduate studies: The University of Kansas, Medical School: The University of Kansas School of Medicine, Married: April 19, 2008 to the beautiful Katie Gee.
Why Via Christi? After visiting quite a few residency programs, I strongly felt the Via Christi would best prepare me to practice as a family medicine physician in an abroad setting. The additional training offered in the International Family Medicine Fellowship will also be invaluable when I serve overseas. In addition to the unparalleled training, the character of the staff and residents is second to none.
Passions: To serve others with what I've been blessed. Spending time with my wife and our family; wilbur, rosko (labradors), scrubs, and amaya (felines). Trailriding, water skiing, camping, hunting, "autoharping," reading, gardening, hop growin', lawn mowin', and the like. Re-watching the 2008 Orange Bowl and the 2008 National Basketball Championship games in the "Rock Chalk Man Cave" (my basement).
Favorite Books: Current fav: John Eldredge's "Walking with God"
Favorite Quotes: "It's our opinions that make us stupid." - Oswald Chambers
After residency plan: I will spend my first post-residency year as a fellow in the Intenational Family Medicine Fellowship. I will then find work in Wichita area until Katie is done with surgery residency. I will be looking to fulfill my loan commitment in an underserved community during that time. We will then likely move to Arizona to fulfill Katie's loan commitment in an underserved community. Once we get through all of that, we plan to overseas to serve as full-time missionaries as soon as our loan commitments are fulfilled. {The above is subject to much change as we learn to follow the will of God.}
Home town: Russell, KS
Residency stats: C-Sections: 77, vaginal deliveries: 132, forcep deliveries: about 6-8, vacuum deliveries: quite a few, colonoscopies: 31, EGDs: 20.