Parkston's Wickersham appointed to Rural Medicine dean role at Sanford School of Medicine
May 22—PARKSTON, S.D. — Dr. Jason Wickersham has been named Associate Dean of Rural Medicine at the Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM), a position he has held on an interim basis since April 2024.
In addition to this role, he will continue practicing family medicine at Avera St. Benedict Health Center in Parkston.
In the position of associate dean of rural medicine, Wickersham will help advance the school's mission to provide a workforce pipeline for rural South Dakota. He will collaborate with rural physicians, ensuring that medical students have meaningful experiences in rural areas, and design and support pathway programs that introduce the youth of rural South Dakota to medical careers. Wickersham will also provide leadership and oversight of all academic, research and public service programs for rural medicine sites, while fostering student professionalism and ethical behavior, and mentoring academic and clinical faculty.
A 2001 graduate of the Sanford School of Medicine, Wickersham completed his residency at the Nebraska Medical Center's Clarkson Family Practice Residency Program in Omaha, Neb. He was named the 2025 Physician of the Year by the South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians, and in 2023 he was given the Edward J. Batt, M.D., Memorial Teaching Award from the SSOM.
Wickersham is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians, at both the state and national levels. He also serves on the Avera Health Board of Directors and the SDSMA PAC Board of Directors.
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