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Since his first year as an Internal Medicine resident at WMed in 2018, Eric Edewaard, ���ϲʿ���ֱ��, has been a member of the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians (MI-ACP).

The organization is the professional home for internal medicine physicians, Dr. Edewaard said, and he has drawn value – both in training and as a practicing physician – in the work the MI-ACP does around professional development, patient advocacy, and governmental advocacy at the state and national level.

Now, six years into his career in medicine, Dr. Edewaard has been selected by the MI-ACP as the recipient of the 2024 Dr. Jan Rival Early Career Physician Award. The award is given to a physician who shows significant professional achievement in patient care, research and/or medical education, and a promising career as a physician.

“It means so much, especially coming from the MI-ACP, which is an organization that means so much to me,” said Dr. Edewaard, an alumnus of the inaugural ���ϲʿ���ֱ�� Class of 2018 at WMed who completed his residency training in Kalamazoo in 2021 and is now an assistant professor and co-clerkship director in the medical school’s Department of Medicine.

“I’m really proud of the work I do with our residents and students,” Dr. Edewaard added. “My mentors in the Department of Medicine – as a student and resident – put so much emphasis on being really great teachers and I benefited greatly from that. Now, I think that’s the most meaningful part of the work I do at WMed.”

Dr. Edewaard is set to receive the Dr. Jan Rival Early Career Physician Award on Saturday, October 26, at the MI-ACP 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held in downtown Kalamazoo.

In addition to his duties at the medical school, Dr. Edewaard is an active member of the MI-ACP. He is currently a member of the organization's Governor’s Council and serves as co-chair of the Program Planning Committee. Through his work with the Program Planning Committee, Dr. Edewaard helped organize and finalize details for this year’s annual meeting in Kalamazoo.

“I think we’ve designed a really great educational program and I’m really excited to hear from the array of speakers who will be presenting at the conference,” Dr. Edewaard said. “I think we’ve brought together some of the best experts and leaders in their fields in the state of Michigan to help educate us.”

Dr. Edewaard said he is also proud that he will receive the award in October in Kalamazoo. He said he is also humbled to receive an award whose namesake “was a remarkable physician” and someone who he was fortunate to meet before Dr. Rival passed away in 2023.

Dr. Rival was a Holocaust survivor and a longtime internal medicine physician and cardiologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. According to the MI-ACP website, Dr. Rival was a dedicated member of the chapter and served as its Governor from 1998-2002. He was also a member of the Governor’s Council and the recipient of the MI-ACP’s Laureate Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. As a physician and educator, he valued the opportunity to teach residents and those early in their careers.��

“I think Dr. Rival is a really great example of someone who used their career to build others up and contribute back to the profession,” Dr. Edewaard said. “Those are certainly very big shoes to fill but also something aspirational for me.”

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