I grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota and attended the University of North Dakota for my undergraduate degree graduating summa cum laude in 1993. I attended medical school at the University of Minnesota and graduated with Alpha Omega Alpha honors in 1998. I completed residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona where I was elected Chief Resident during my final year of training. I practiced Emergency Medicine throughout North Dakota and Minnesota for over two decades. During my clinical years, I was the Director of Medical Education for the ER and educated students from a myriad of institutions and clinical degrees: medical/surgical residents, medical students, physician assistant/nurse practitioner students, nursing/paramedic/EMT students, and pre-medical shadows. I have a passion for teaching and decided to focus solely on this as I evolved to the next stage of my career. In addition to didactic education, for the past few years I have worked with the organization MedSchoolCoach where I mentor pre-medical students in organizing their academic, research, clinical, and leadership experiences on their journey to medical school matriculation. I also guide students through the application process, working on written materials as well as interview preparation. I also mentor current medical students through the residency application process and subsequent MATCH into a specialty training program. I have been blessed with the recognition of decades of experience and a promotion to “Director Level Advisor” with MedSchoolCoach where I guide other physician advisors with less experience in their efforts to help students. In 2022, I helped start the Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS) program at Bethel University. After a few years as Program Director and Program Moderator for the MSMS program, I chose to take a more direct teaching role for the Master of Science Physician Assistant program at Bethel University, and currently hold the position of Director of Didactic Education. I am still heavily involved with the MSMS program, as my wife, Dr. Tamara Nelson, took over my position as Program Director/Program Moderator for the MSMS program. In the spring semester of 2026, I was asked to teach for the MSMS program through Tiber Health Network/Ponce Health Sciences University School of Medicine. I am honored to return to the MSMS program through this teaching role.