Biography
Kesler earned her medical degree from the University of South Dakota, where she was awarded a scholarship by the U.S. Navy. She served as a Naval Medical Officer after completing a preliminary Internal Medicine postgraduate year of training at Maine Medicine Center. She completed her preventive medicine residency training at the St. Paul Ramsey Occupational Medicine residency program in St. Paul, Minnesota and is board certified in Occupational Medicine. Dr. Kesler is a Professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Department of Internal Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she is the Program Director for the Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency program, the Director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Promotion (COEHP), and the Preventive Medicine Section Chief. Dr. Kesler has been at the University of New Mexico for over 20 years.
Personal Statement
Dr. Kesler dedicates the majority of her career effort to preventive medicine, with a focus on occupational and environmental medicine as well as public health and general preventive medicine. Dr. Kesler is program director for the public health and general preventive medicine residency program at UNM. Dr. Kesler created the original application for the successful ACGME accreditation of the residency program and led the creation of the public health and preventive medicine curriculum for the program. She has a long history of involvement in medical education for physicians both at the University of New Mexico and in the external positions that she has held. Dr. Kesler has held leadership positions at the national level to include serving as the Chair of the American Board of Preventive Medicine and Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medicine Education Preventive Medicine Review Committee. Dr. Kesler has leadership responsibility as well at the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine through her work as a member of the Council on Education and Academic Affairs. In leading the occupational and environmental medicine programs for the University of New Mexico, Dr. Kesler also uses her expertise in both occupational and environmental medicine to create surveillance systems, implement prevention practices, and educate worker and communities in a variety of topic area. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of occupational and environmental medicine.
Areas of Specialty
Specialization #1: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Specialization #2: Public Health and General Preventive Medicine
Certifications
Certification #1: American Board of Preventive Medicine in Preventive Medicine (Occupational Medicine)
Achievements & Awards
Health Achievement in Occupational Medicine Award, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) 2014
"Outstanding Achievement Award” Committee Award, for the Maintenance of Certification Committee (Chair), ACOEM 2011
Presidential Award, ACOEM 2007
Languages
- English