WO R KF O R CE
ALL ROADS LEAD TO HOME
Internal Medicine resident Mat Gerving looks to use the RuralMed program to bring care to underserved parts of North Dakota From a young age, Mat Gerving told people he was going to be a doctor someday. Early exposure to healthcare was thanks to his mom, who worked as a nurse while Gerving was growing up. “I was a military kid until I was about 15 years old,” Gerving said. “There would be days when my mom would take me to work with her so I wouldn’t be home alone.” Gerving and his family moved around a lot during his elementary days, but settled in Beach, N.D., when Gerving was a sophomore in high
Photo courtesy Sanford Health
school. As he watched upperclassmen graduate, he noticed none of
COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME Dr. Mat Gerving on rotation in Dickinson, N.D., where he hopes to establish a practice. 14
North Dakota Medicine Holiday 2021
them had plans to pursue a medical degree. “We didn’t have the school visits from health professionals or anything. It just wasn’t a thing,” Gerving said. While not having footsteps to follow was intimidating, that didn’t stop him from dreaming big.
