Dr. David Collins Receives UND Clinical Community Faculty Award

David Collins, MD, FACEP

Dr. David Collins, FACEP, Emergency Medicine Physician at Ortonville Area Health Services (OAHS), recently received the Dean’s Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Clinical Community Faculty from the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This award was presented during the school’s commencement ceremony in early May.

The award recognizes dedicated community faculty members who provide exemplary instruction in the art and science of medicine within their hospitals and clinics. It highlights the critical role these physicians play in teaching, training, and mentoring medical students and residents. Recipients are nominated by department chairs or peers for their ongoing contributions to medical education and patient care. Dr. Collins was one of just ten faculty members honored from a pool of more than 1,300 community faculty across the UND system.

Dr. David Collins after receiving the Dean’s Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Clinical Community Faculty.

This recognition reflects Dr. Collins’ dedication to rural healthcare and his commitment to educating the next generation of medical professionals. His strong mentorship, both in clinical settings and the classroom, played a key role in his selection. In addition to his work at OAHS, Dr. Collins has contributed meaningfully to UND’s medical education initiatives, including helping develop a Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum and creating a POCUS elective that some students have completed through OAHS. In addition, he assists with student rotations at OAHS and dedicates time to lecturing first- and second-year students at the UND campus.

“My love for education started at a young age but truly took shape during my undergraduate studies,” said Dr. Collins. “That passion was further fueled during my time at Ortonville, where my preceptors involved me in every aspect of patient care and ensured my learning was hands-on. Their mentorship reinforced my belief that the best education comes from immersive experiences. Now, I make it my mission to provide those same opportunities for future generations, so they can develop the skills and confidence to thrive in medicine.”

Dr. Collins and his wife, Michelle, who is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) at OAHS.

As a native of Carrington, North Dakota, a rural town similar to Ortonville, Dr. Collins grew up understanding the essential role of healthcare in small communities. His interest in science and learning led him to pursue a career in medicine. After earning his medical degree in 2017 from the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks, Dr. Collins completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Missouri – Columbia.

During his medical training, Dr. Collins completed his third-year family medicine clerkship at OAHS with Dr. Robert Ross and returned in his fourth year for an acting internship with Dr. Allan Ross and Dr. Stacy Longnecker. These experiences deeply shaped his commitment to rural medicine and affirmed his desire to provide acute care in a community setting similar to his hometown.

Dr. Collins is board certified in Emergency Medicine and holds the FACEP (Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians) designation, reflecting his ongoing leadership and commitment to education in the field of emergency medicine.