RESidENcy PROGRAM Scholarly and Community Medicine Projects

Patrick McKenna, MD
PROJECTS COMPLETED
DURING RESIDENCY:
Community Medicine Project:
The Verona Clinic Community Garden
Scholarly Project:
Communicating Benefi ts and Risks of Screening for
Prostate, Colon and Breast Cancer -- This paper,
co-authored with Bruce Barrett, MD, outlines
several strategies for effective communication of
complex statistical information regarding screening
for cancer. The article introduces and encourages
“natural frequency presentation,” a relatively
new method for portraying benefi ts and harms, that
recent evidence suggests is better understood and
more concordant with patients’ values than other
methods. The paper was published in the April
2011 issue of Family Medicine.
Thanks to my family, my wife Tonya, and my kids, Evie and
Egan, for their day-to-day support through Residency. Thanks
to my parents, Anne and Joseph, for their work in instilling
the values that have carried me through my life: service and
education, respect for others.
– Patrick
Patrick McKenna grew
up in the northern
Wisconsin town of
Antigo. After earning
his bachelor’s degree
in biochemistry from
UW-Madison, he took
an untraditional path
to medicine by fi rst
pursuing an MBA in
Chicago and a Masters in Fine Arts at
the University of Alaska. Ultimately,
though, his Wisconsin roots lured him
back to The Dairy State to attend
medical school at the UW-Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health.
Patrick’s leadership and commitment
to public service are evidenced by
his work during medical school as a
LOCUS Fellow and with the MEDIC
free clinics in Madison. He served
as MEDIC Council president during
his second year and received the
2006 McGovern-Tracy Scholar award,
which recognizes medical students
who exemplify values of community
service and leadership while in
training. He also has a passion for
global health and served as both
a member and co-chair of the UW
Global Health Interest Group. In his
spare time, Patrick enjoys athletics
of all kinds, including basketball,
broomball, running, bicycling,
canoeing, and skiing. He also enjoys
gardening, cooking, baking, and
sewing, and he has strong interests
in politics, rural policy, sustainability,
and creative writing.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
pamckenn@gmail.com
608 . 469 . 0219