Donor profile: Deb Kullerd, MD, MPH, CMD

Deb Kullerd, MD, MPH, CMD, a family physician in Nemo, South Dakota, has been donating to the AAFP Foundation for “maybe 20 years or more.”

“AAFP was my professional home,” she said. “And I felt that supporting the AAFP Foundation was a way for me to live out my values.”

Kullerd hails from the Gulf Coast of South Texas and began her career in medical technology and education. It wasn’t until she was 32, with an 18-month-old daughter, that she entered the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio.

“That kind of put me in a position where I was … struggling with a lot of the cultural expectations that were placed on women, particularly at that point in time,” she said. Kullerd drew courage from “some very strong women that I was exposed to from my adolescence and young adulthood … women who chose paths based on their values.”

Among Kullerd’s values: paying her bills. So when a U.S. Air Force recruiter reached out offering to double her salary, it warranted consideration.

“I was in my first year of residency when I joined the Air Force,” she said.

Kullerd was allowed to complete her residency in San Antonio as part of her active duty before getting placed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., “which was fantastic!” she said. “It was like a rural fellowship in family medicine, because I got to do absolutely everything.”

Throughout medical school, residency and her first years of practice, a handful of “rock star” mentors helped Kullerd endure the early years of training and develop confidence.

“They helped me to imagine my future in medicine. And when I discovered family medicine, it was like I found my tribe,” she said. “People who were empathetic and compassionate and community-minded, and really committed to knowing their patients as individuals.”

Kullerd appreciated how family medicine offered a chance to go beyond simply treating disease and get to know patients and families over time. It also gave her an opportunity to become involved in her community and respond to their needs, which inspired her to earn a master’s degree in public health.

With that same spirit of appreciation and desire to serve others, Kullerd chose to give annually to the AAFP Foundation.

“I can’t personally mentor every medical student or resident that’s struggling,” she explained, “but my donations to the Foundation provide opportunities to young physicians and medical students and help them to learn leadership skills and networking … and this develops your next generation of family physicians.”

As for her own professional development, after fulfilling her Air Force commitment, Kullerd moved to a small town in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, where she’s practiced family medicine for more than 30 years. But that’s not the end of her story.

As her patients aged, her involvement in elder care, hospice and palliative care increased. So at age 64, Kullerd completed a fellowship in geriatrics.

“I’m probably the only geriatric geriatric fellow you’ll ever meet,” she laughed.

Kullerd considers donations to the AAFP Foundation a way for physicians to express gratitude for those who helped them in their careers, “because none of us arrived here without the help of others.”

She also reminds colleagues that their support today will benefit the communities of tomorrow.

“Don’t just ‘doctor’ right now. Think about doctoring the future,” she said.

To make a one-time or recurring donation to the AAFP Foundation, click here.