Minnesota Family Physician Volunteers with Princeton School District: How Dr. Jeremy Peterson Has Made an Impact on Student Health

At the end of the day, the focus is on what’s best for the kids in every aspect of their health. Taking care of the whole person is what family medicine is all about.

There are countless ways a family physician can serve their community and adapt to the needs of their patients. In Minnesota, ABFM Diplomate Jeremy Peterson, MD, FAAFP, chose a unique path by serving as the first volunteer medical advisor to the Princeton Public School System, forging a formal relationship between his health organization and the school district.  

“A lot of family physicians are the local community health expert, especially in rural communities like Princeton. This is just taking it one step further,” Dr. Peterson said. “Especially in the days of medical misinformation, it’s important that Princeton schools know that the person serving in this advisory role is board certified, fully credentialed, actively practicing, and able to serve.” 

Although his relationship with the school district goes back to 2010, Dr. Peterson’s collaboration with district leaders grew exponentially when COVID-19 affected the district in 2020.  

“All of a sudden, everyone was doing the best they could with the resources they had in front of them,” said Dr. Peterson, who advised the school district on what events could safely go forward when the threat of the pandemic was at its most critical. 

“We walked through the decisions together. As the Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Education set parameters, my role was really to be the medical interpreter. I took the language coming in and put it in terms everyone could understand,” Dr. Peterson explained.  

The pandemic slowed down, but the relationship continued to develop between Dr. Peterson and key members of the school district. This led to the formation of the voluntary medical advisor role. 

As he prepared for the role, Dr. Peterson took the possible responsibilities to his primary clinic, the M Health Fairview Clinic, to explain his intentions and get their feedback.  

“They were instantly on board and loved the potential of this position. I knew it fit their mission of being driven to heal, discover and educate,” he said. “Having the full faith of my health care organization, I felt more empowered. I knew Fairview trusted the work I was doing.” 

Dr. Peterson’s role of medical advisor officially began at the start of the 2023-24 school year. Over the past year, he weighed in on issues as diverse as bus schedules, fighting the spread of disease, and sports medicine.  

The issue of bus scheduling was a particularly intricate one, as a bus driver shortage forced the district to begin a tiered bus schedule in 2020. This led to primary (elementary) students starting and ending each school day earlier than secondary students. However, there was continued debate about whether primary students should continue to be on an early shift. A task force of school officials, featuring Dr. Peterson, was formed to address the issue.  

“What we concluded was, within a tiered system, primary students should still begin each day at the earlier start time due to sleep related concerns for secondary students. For this school year, school start times would be 15 minutes earlier to allow for secondary students to have more instructional time while still participating in the extracurricular activities that contribute to student wellbeing” Dr. Peterson explained, noting that input was weighed from countless sources including principals, athletic coaches, parents, and more.  

In future school years, a multi-tiered system will be implemented to better adjust bus timing to honor sleep needs and the importance of after-school activities. “This task force was about addressing a public health concern, balancing our students getting enough rest, our bus drivers being able to do their jobs, and our athletes and their coaches getting to practice on time while maximizing direct instructional time,” Dr. Peterson said. “It was a phenomenal group to work with.”    

Dr. Peterson has thrived in his dual role as advisor and practicing physician. He sees some of the same students and parents in school and clinical settings, and it allows for an integration of medical expertise with a strong community presence. “This is a great opportunity to do some pro bono work for the community I live in and serve patients for the right reasons,” he said. “When decisions are made that affect the health care of students, my goal is that whatever happens ultimately serves the needs of the community.” 

As a new school year begins, Dr. Peterson feels more confident than ever to pursue collaborations and initiatives that would improve the health of the community. For example, he is serving on the school’s advisory committee to explore having a telehealth urgent care clinic on site that could treat children for simple ailments like strep throat without their parents having to ask off work.  

“Helping students has been a huge passion of mine, and it’s really an honor to get recognition for work I love doing day to day,” said Dr. Peterson. “At the end of the day, the focus is on what’s best for the kids in every aspect of their health. Taking care of the whole person is what family medicine is all about.” 

Dr. Peterson has been a board-certified ABFM Diplomate since 2010. 

Aaron Burch serves as Editorial Content Manager for the American Board of Family Medicine. He has been writing professionally in the health care field since 2014.