Mook-Lan Iglowitz, MD 

Being from California, many people have asked me why I chose Tacoma, WA. Its cold, its cloudy, its not exactly Seattle. But big city life is just within reach, but with less traffic and we are closer to nature. Tacoma has many charms, and I find myself very satisfied as I settle into T-town and into residency at TFM. In my search for residency programs, I was looking for a well-rounded, unopposed program with a focus on the underserved. Interview day confirmed these mutual interests, a dynamic faculty, and a diverse patient population base. In addition, I couldn’t stop laughing during the pre-interview dinner, which had to be a good sign.

After receiving my B.S. in Biochemistry at UC San Diego, I have worked as a medical assistant, a kibbutz volunteer, and a junior high substitute teacher.  I attended the Medical School for International Health in collaboration with Columbia University to pursue my interests in Global Medicine and working with the under-served. The way I see it, training with the under-served, whether it is in Tacoma or Kampala, is sharpening my skills as a primary health care provider and shaping my future goals for advocacy and intervention. I am fortunate to be working among an excellent residency team and supportive faculty, and invite any questions you may have about the program.

Elizabeth Mathew, MD

Marshall Nickel, MD

I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but because my father was an OB-GYN physician in the Army, we also lived for periods of time in North Carolina, South Carolina and here in Tacoma. The majority of my experiences growing up were here in Tacoma. I went to Brigham Young University for undergrad. After graduation, even though I had majored in Spanish and completed the pre-med requirements, I decided to take a detour and get an MBA at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I worked in finance and investments for about 7 years, and then finally decided to go to medical school in 2004 at the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine. My medical school experience was somewhat unique in that I spent the first 2 years of school at an international campus on the island of Sint Eustatiuspart of the Netherlands. Then the last 2 years were spent here in the US completing my clinical rotations.

Additionally, I was recently commissioned as a Captain in the United States Army in one of the Military health profession scholarship programs. I will be in the Reserves during residency, but will go on Active Duty as soon as residency is over. I look forward to the exceptional training the Army will provide, and the opportunity to serve my country! I chose Family Medicine because I am interested in all areas of medicine, but more importantly, the opportunity to be involved in the continuity of care of my patients. I absolutely love Pediatrics and I also enjoy Obstetrics and Adult and Sports Medicine. TFM has a reputation of excellence in all of these areas, but something I have come to love about this program is their focus on evidence based medicine and both rural and urban training.

My wife, Erika and our five children, Tyler, Hannah, Sara, Emily, and Samantha, love the fact that we get to stay here in Tacoma for the next 3 years. We enjoy our church activities, playing outside, exercising, and hanging out with our family and friends.

Suzanna Parle, MD

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I went to undergrad at Seattle Pacific University and majored in Psychology and Biology. After doing research for a year Seattle, I decided it was time to try some place new. I went to University of Rochester for medical school and there had the opportunity to travel to Kenya and then take a year off and do research on malaria in Tanzania.  My experiences during that time cemented my suspicion that I wanted to do Family Medicine and focus on underserved populations

Amy Pearcy, DO

I was born in the small town of Toutle, WA, in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens. I am the third eldest in a family of 7 children. We are a mixed family of steps, halves, and adopted siblings, but we are all very close; increasingly so as we all get older. My mom and step-dad are both teachers and coaches at the local high school and our family was very active in the community. My dad is also a native SW Washingtonian and is a tree farmer. We also keep in touch frequently though he is always busy with his projects both here and in Idaho.

I attended the University of Washington in Seattle for my undergraduate training, where I majored in neurobiology. My husband is from Tacoma, and also attended UW; we met on our way to a Husky football game our freshman year. We have bought football tickets yearly since, and have only not bought season tickets during the two years we were in California. I went to medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, CA. We enjoyed our time down in California, but were thrilled to return to the NW for my third and fourth year rotations where we could be closer to friends and family.

I think my upbringing in a rural community and my close family ties made family medicine a natural choice for me. I was thrilled at being accepted into the TFM program. I did a fourth year sub-internship here and enjoyed working with both residents and attendings. As I hope to become a full-spectrum family physician, I felt that TFM would help provide excellent training in all aspects including OB and peds, while still encouraging and respecting family life.  My husband and I spend most of our free time with friends and family, and are already planning our tailgating for Husky football season.  We also enjoy movies, skiing/snowboarding, and camping.

Vania Rudolf, MD

Carri Jo Timmer, DO

I was born and raised in Coeur d'Alene, ID. I wanted to be many things while I was growing up, but my own medical issues during childhood always stuck with me making medicine my first choice career. My decision to be a physician was solidified in my early high school years when I volunteered at a local hospital and was mentored by several physicians. With their help I got into college and then medical school.

I attended Seattle Pacific University, majored in Biology and minored in Latin American Studies (Spanish). I immediately went into medical school at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pamona, CA. Once introduced to the profession, I was insistent on being a DO. I was interested in rural medicine and I loved the philosophy of graduating physicians that could provide whole body healing by using the body's own mechanisms. I joined the Northwest Track program and finished my 3rd and 4th years of medical school in the Tacoma area.

Between my 3rd and 4th year of medical school I married an amazing Tacoma man and knew I would forever want to stay in the western WA area. I was more than thrilled to match at TFM. I chose this program because of it's strong reputation and emphasis on rural medicine, obstetrics and pediatrics. It has many advantages that I didn't find in any other program, the greatest being an unopposed training environment. The residents are not competitive and the environment is very learning friendly.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family and friends in the forms of cooking for them, playing games, scrap booking, watching movies, playing piano and sharing in great conversation.

Susanne Wilhelm, DO

I started life in the coal-mining country of southwestern Pennsylvania where my family and ancestors had been since the 1790’s. Halfway through elementary school I was yanked from my roots and transplanted to suburban Detroit. It was there that I went to school at Lawrence Technological University, began a career in software engineering and started my family.

In 1989 I escaped the Midwest by moving to the Seattle area, sight unseen. I thought that a place so close to open water and mountains had to be good and it was better than I had anticipated. So when I decided to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a physician it was with regret that we moved to southern California. Fortunately, Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (try saying that 3 times fast) was just starting a new program that would enable me to return to the Pacific Northwest for clinical rotations after 2 years of basic science.

I had chosen family practice from the beginning. It was the one specialty that was broad enough to encompass all my interests to provide continuity of care. Ever since I left Pennsylvania my goal had been to return to a rural area. When considering residency programs I wanted one that would prepare me to meet this goal. The TFM program supports this with providing one month of rural rotation experiences each year, as well as having faculty members with clinical experience serving in rural locations.

Outside of work I enjoy riding a tandem bicycle with my husband, traveling, hiking and watching the salmon swim upstream to their spawning grounds.