After working at Libby Clinic for only a few days, Dr. Ben Paulson hadn’t yet had time last week to explore the jewel of Lincoln County, the Kootenai National Forest, but he had plenty of suggestions of places to go.

“One of the big reasons I wanted to come to Libby is I heard great things about hiking, fishing and really anything you want to do outdoors,” the second-year medical resident said. “I’ve probably had four or five people pull me aside to a map and tell me where I need to go.”

Paulson, an Idaho and Washington native, recently began his two-month family medicine residency. He saw patients at the clinic by day and patients at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital by night.

“I’ve done a few procedures, and I was on call last night at the hospital,” he said. “We had some busy patients last night.”

As part of family medicine, Paulson will see an array of patients from pregnant mothers and babies to the elderly.

“That’s one of the things I like most about medicine is the variety that you get,” he said. “I’m thinking I won’t specialize too much right now. I’d like to stay as broad as I can for a while.”