Giving back to the community in which you live can be very rewarding. For those who have done it, you know how it feels and what it means to give of your time and talents.
Dr. Kristopher Schamber says, “I want to help; and when someone asks, if I feel I am capable of doing the task, I want to make a difference.”
This kind of positive community attitude, along with his expertise as a physician at Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s Internal Medicine, has led to recognition for the doc.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently bestowed on Schamber the designation of Fellow, or FACP, a designation honoring the work he does with his patients as well as in his community.
“It is an honor and distinguishing to be a Fellow of the ACP,” Schamber said. “This recognizes the work we do outside of the workplace, throughout the community, as well as excellence in medicine.”
The ACP website states it this way, “ACP Fellowship is a mark of distinction representing the pinnacle of integrity, professionalism and scholarship for those who aspire to pursue careers in Internal Medicine. The most important considerations for ACP Fellowship are excellence and contributions made to both medicine and to the broader community in which the internist lives and practices.”
While Schamber knows he can’t take on every community challenge put before him, he has honed his efforts to a couple of areas.
“It is important to seek those opportunities I am passionate about and hospice care and dementia care are the two big ones for me,” he says.
That passion gave way to activities at the Senior Center (The Hub) where Schamber volunteers his time for quarterly presentations called Doc Talks and his involvement in the Dementia Friendly Program, among other activities.
“Since my days in medical school and residency, I also have a passion for helping in underserved clinics,” Schamber added. “So when the opportunity came to help at the Sheridan Health Center that was a no-brainer for me.”
To obtain this new accolade, it requires letters of recommendation from two physician colleagues. For Schamber, those two colleagues were Dr. Ian Hunter, Sheridan County Public Health Officer and physician at SMH Internal Medicine; and Dr. Robert Monger, Rheumatologist at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Governor of the Wyoming ACP Chapter and Clinical Dean for the Wyoming WWAMI Medical School Program.
“Dr. Schamber certainly deserves to be recognized as a Fellow of the ACP,” Hunter said. “He puts in the work, cares greatly about his patients and community to the point of action beyond his paid job. This recognition speaks to the level of competency and caring of Dr. Schamber and we are lucky to have him in our community.”
Dr. Monger also has high praise for this accomplishment, “Dr. Schamber is an outstanding physician, and being awarded FACP is a true mark of excellence because to be awarded FACP a physician is nominated by and then voted on by fellow physicians for the honor. It’s awarded to physicians who practice excellent patient care and also are involved as leaders in the physician community.”
When asked what may be on the horizon for him, Schamber humbly says he is definitely interested in leadership roles in the community in the future, but they aren’t on his immediate radar.
“Thinking about what’s next is a tough one,” he adds. “I do these things because I’m passionate about them and to help the community. I didn’t have this end in mind. I just hope this demonstrates my dedication to the field of medicine and to the community.”
“That’s not to take anything away from the other physicians in our community who work just as hard and put is just as much time, if not more,” he adds humbly.