Originally from the tiny township of Schreiber in the wilds of Northern Ontario, Dr. Gordon has always been a family doctor at heart. Being from a big family in a small town, he remembers the broken bones and scraped knees of his youth and the many visits to his family doctor--whether that was in the office, the emergency room, the hospital, or even the home. While Northern Ontario still holds a special place in his life, his home prior to residency was actually much closer to Chehalis in nearby Victoria, BC where much of his family still lives. Before medicine, he completed a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology as well as a Bachelor of Art in Philosophy from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. After undergraduate studies, he completed a Master of Health Informatics from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. He worked very briefly in clinical informatics at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC before finally deciding to become a physician. He completed his Medical Degree at Saba University School of Medicine in Saba, Netherlands but not before doing a medical school rotation with Chehalis Family Medicine in his fourth year. Impressed with the program and the people who make it work, he couldn’t be happier to be a part of the Chehalis Rural Training Program. Ultimately, his dream is to assume the role so admired by him as a kid and become a rural family physician. Now, being a part of the Chehalis Rural Training Program, he is well on his way to that end. He is well-supported by Danielle, his lovely wife, and his seaweed loving son, Evander. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and spending whatever free time he has outdoors with his family.
Jideofor Ndulue, MD
Dr. Ndulue was born and raised in southern Nigeria. He attended medical school at the College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Nigeria. He spent an additional year after medical school as an intern, rotating through the Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. He subsequently worked as a medical officer in primary care in a rural part of southern Nigeria, where the focus was to improve prenatal care, reduce maternal mortality, and prevent chronic non-communicable diseases. During this time, Dr. Ndulue became interested in epidemiology and working with the underserved population. He earned an Erling Persson scholarship to study Master of Science in Public Health at Umea University, Umea, Sweden. While in Sweden, he worked with Roda Korset (Red Cross) to help refugees coming from war-torn countries settle-in. On moving to the United States, he worked as a research associate at the University of Nebraska Medical Center at Omaha. He chose the Chehalis Rural Training Program because of the broad-base training and the opportunity to work with the medically underserved population. When not working, he spends time with his wife chatting, biking, pretending to try a new sport, or exploring the beautiful outdoors of Washington State.
Angela Shimoda, MD
Angela Shimoda is from Denver, Colorado area. She spent several years in the Midwest while pursuing her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. While there, she sought experiences in healthcare and medicine both locally and abroad, and she developed an interest in working with and providing healthcare to vulnerable populations. Angela moved back to Denver to attend medical school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. During this time, she became very involved with the local free clinic, and continues to be committed to working with the underserved in her community. She is specifically interested in obstetrics, women's care, full-spectrum family practice, and global health. She is hopeful about improving her Spanish skills and is working towards proficiency so that she can use this with patients. Angela is an avid skier and snowboarder and is excited to be training in Washington where there are new mountains to explore. She loves hiking and camping, and spending time outdoors with friends, family and her dog, Mochi. She also enjoys knitting (a new quarantine skill!), reading, cooking, playing board games and traveling (when safe of course).
Jason McKinley, MD
Hailing from BC, Canada, Dr. McKinley is a family man at home as well as in his practice. Before family medicine, he received his Bachelor of Science in biology at the University of British Columbia, followed by a master's degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Alberta. He practiced as a Physical Therapist for seven years before pursuing a degree in Medicine from St. George's University in Grenada, West Indies. While in Grenada, he was president of the Musicians' Collective through the university and started a biannual music festival as a joint effort with the Grenadian community to raise money for public schools. He also served the student body as a tutor through the medical honors society. He has a passion for health and wellness education and strives to establish a lasting connection with his patients in order to serve their healthcare needs. He knew the Chehalis Rural Family Medicine program would provide the supportive environment in which he would be challenged to become the best all-round rural family care practitioner he can be. When not busy with medicine, he spends time with his wife of 13 years and their daughter camping, fishing, gardening and exploring the great state of Washington. He also enjoys playing guitar, rock climbing and practicing martial arts when time allows.
Brianna Sexton, MD
Dr. Sexton was born and raised in Philomath, Oregon, a small logging town about an hour and a half south of Portland, For undergrad she moved south to the University of Oregon and majored in Human Physiology. For a few years after graduating she worked for a sliding scale medical clinic and though she has always intended on going to medical school this experience shaped her interests and pointed her toward a career in primary care. For medical school, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she managed a rural student run free clinic. Dr. Sexton spend her medical school clinical years in a longitudinal program in western North Carolina that solidified her belief in the power of long-standing doctor patient relationships to affect lasting change in patients' lives. Some of her interests in primary care include broad spectrum family medicine, addiction medicine, population health, group visits and underserved care. Her personal hobbies include spending time with her husband and their daughter, disc golf, hiking, biking, camping, snowboarding and nerdy board games.
Dr. Sexton chose the St Peter Family Medicine Chehalis Rural Training Track for residency because of the strength of the first-year training in a high volume, larger hospital followed by two years in a more rural setting that she could see herself practicing in in the future. Additionally, she could tell right away that the faculty and staff of Chehalis Family Medicine were kind, caring and supportive people who would help her develop into an excellent and well-rounded family doctor!
Kate A Slaymaker, DO
Born and raised in a small town in central Virginia, Dr. Slaymaker is now a Pacific Northwest transplant. She was the recipient of United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award, recognized for outreach to underserved, rural and Appalachian communities while in medical school. Dr. Slaymaker chose Providence St. Peter Family Medicine Chehalis Rural Training Program in hopes of continuing to engage in meaningful work with populations in need during residency; turns out this was an excellent choice. She is a mother of one. In her free time, she enjoys bike rides, hiking, walks. She describes herself as an avid knitter and is learning to weave. She achieved all 3-star gold medals and 100% completion in Overcooked. During residency she was very actively involved in developing the partnership with Gather Church. She joined the faculty group after completing her residency training and is excited to continue with our team.
Chiagoziem Obiajunwa, MD, MPH
Dr. Obiajunwa grew up in university staff quarters in a small college town in the southwestern part of her home country of Nigeria, and as a little girl, life revolved around academics and healthcare. Before long, she had been bought over by the desire to be a doctor and be able to meet people at their most difficult moments and provide help to them. During medical school and as an intern back home, she volunteered in medical missions several times, which involved camping in rural sites and providing prevention and treatment of diseases. The sheer lack of resources and access caught her attention and sparked within her a keen interest in rural medicine. On moving to the United States, Dr. Obiajunwa got an MPH degree at Harvard, with an emphasis on Quantitative Methods and as she rounded up her studies, she was excited to cross the entire width of the country to start residency here in Washington. She feels, it has been a great experience training in the St Peter Family Medicine - Chehalis Rural Training Program. She feels it has offered her the wonderful opportunity to learn how to be a family physician in a truly underserved community, and in a multidisciplinary manner. She has a special interest in Obstetrics. Outside work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, biking, or seeing new places.
Kate Shield, MD
Hailing from a small town in Ontario, Canada Dr. Shield pursued an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Social Psychology at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. She then attending medical school at Ross University on the island of Dominica and completed her clinical training primarily in Michigan and New York. While attending medical school Dr. Shield was an active member in her Student Government and acted as the Health & Environment Chair for two semesters. She chose the Chehalis Rural Training Program as she felt very at home on the day of her interview and felt very comfortable with the faculty, staff, and residents she met and felt a strong connection with the mission of the program. She has been involved with the growth and development of the program and appreciates the emphasis on wellness and work/life balance. Her interests in medicine are vast and include preventative medicine, prenatal care/women’s health and procedures. Her plan for after graduation is full spectrum rural family medicine including OB. Outside of residency, she enjoys spending her time in the outdoors - camping, hiking, mountain biking or skiing with her family.
Benjamin May, DO
Dr. May was born and raised in Washington State. He completed his undergraduate education at Southern Virginia University in Biology and Chemistry and played on the men’s soccer team. Dr. May attended medical school at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is completing his residency at Providence St. Peter Hospital Family Medicine Residency – Chehalis Rural Training Program and chose to train in rural medicine because he wanted to be able to understand and best serve communities in rural areas. He strongly believes that with patient-centered and evidence-based care, people can achieve better health and happiness in the long term. Dr. May has a special interest in treating the entire family from newborn to adult. He also has special interests in hospital medicine and using osteopathic manipulation to treat musculoskeletal and sports injuries.
Away from medicine, he enjoys spending time with his family (including three amazing and crazy kids), cycling and soccer. He also enjoys listening to and making music with the guitar and piano. After residency, Dr. May will work at Mason General Hospital in Shelton, WA where he will provide care in the outpatient family medicine setting and as a hospitalist in the 25-bed critical access hospital. He will also provide hospital-based newborn care.
“I chose Chehalis Family Medicine because I wanted to do rural and broad training with the ability to make my own decisions. I wanted to be a hospitalist and this program prepared me for the full breath of family medicine. I feel comfortable graduating and starting my new job as a hospitalist in a critical care hospital.”
Jordan Snell, DO
Dr. Snell grew up in the small farming community of Lexington, NE before moving to the front range of Colorado after high school. Among other adventures there, he studied Human Biology as an undergraduate, spent time helping develop novel catecholamine testing methods in the chemistry lab, and worked all the way through as a CNA. His rural upbringing and the desire to practice Family Medicine stuck with him through medical school. Paired with his love for both the mountains and sea, St. Peter Family Medicine’s Chehalis Rural Training Program was an ideal fit. Dr. Snell values the passion of the faculty for making excellent care accessible to the underserved and marginalized, and enjoys the challenge of rural inpatient medicine. After residency Dr. Snell will stay close by, working in the critical access hospital of Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma, WA. He has three elementary school-aged children and lives in Centralia, WA.
Ravneet Jaura, MD
Dr. Jaura feels privileged to have had the opportunity to join and graduate from the Chehalis Family Medicine Residency program. She knew during her interview with the residency team that it was a great fit for her as everyone was very welcoming and the program offered the rural training that she was looking for. Most importantly, she appreciated the sense of a close knit family. Having finished her training at this program and reflecting back, she would not have done it any differently. There were always adequate opportunities to meet everyone’s training interests such as Ob/GYN, Sports Medicine, Palliative Medicine or Urgent care, and she felt prepared in practicing full scope medicine after completion. She is also grateful for the support that the program offered throughout the 3 years both on a professional and personal level. The program places an important emphasis on resident wellbeing which is critical in residency training in order to provide appropriate patient care and have a work life balance. After residency, she continued to work with Providence in Olympia in the urgent care setting prior to moving back to British Columbia, Canada. She is currently practicing outpatient full scope Family Medicine in British Columbia and feels that the program has prepared her well in transitioning to independent practice.
Kristina King, MD
Dr. King focused on English Literature while earning her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia, then explored education in both naturopathic and oriental medicine prior to pursuing a conventional medical education. Upon graduating from medical school in 2016, Dr. King was drawn to the family-like atmosphere at Chehalis Family Medicine (CFM), inspired by the tireless dedication of the faculty in training resident physicians to provide exceptional, full-spectrum primary care to all. In addition to her comprehensive training at CFM, Dr. King completed her fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine. She recently joined an integrative medical practice in Vancouver, BC, where her practice focuses on the whole person, uniting the best of conventional medicine with nutrition, movement and other mind/body/spirit disciplines to support each individual’s unique balance and innate capacity to heal. She has specialized training in plant-based nutrition and somatic healing through dance and creative expression. Her personalized, preventative approach allows her to work intimately with her patients to investigate the root cause of symptoms and health concerns. She engages the healing power of community through group visits, retreats and other collective experiences to promote optimal health and well-being through connection with others. She utilizes advancing technology to offer the convenience and accessibility of virtual, interactive visits and experiences.
Jennifer Knox, MD
