Saint Paul --Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Steven I. Altchuler, Carl S. Smith, Jon V. Thomas, and Linda L. Van Etta to the Board of Medical Practice. All four are licensed Minnesota physicians.

Steven I. Altchuler, Ph.D., M.D., of Rochester, is a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He also serves as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Mayo Medical School. Altchuler received a B.S. in Life Sciences and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his M.D. from the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas and completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic. Altchuler is board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry by American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also board certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. Altchuler is appointed to a board seat for an at-large medical doctor. He resides in the first congressional district and will serve a four-year term ending January 5, 2009. Altchuler was first appointed to the board in January 2000.

Carl S. Smith, M.D., of Minnetonka, is a urologist and currently serves as the Division Chief of Urology in the Department of Surgery at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He also serves as a Senior Associate Physician at Hennepin Faculty Associates. Smith received a B.S. in Mathematics and a M.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He completed his residency at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, and a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Smith is board certified in Adult and Pediatric Urology by the American Board of Urology. He is appointed to a board seat for an at-large medical doctor. He resides in the third congressional district and will serve a four-year term ending January 5, 2009. He was first appointed to the board in February 2001.

Jon V. Thomas, M.D., M.B.A., of Vadnais Heights, is an otolaryngologist and currently serves as the Managing Partner of Ear, Nose, Throat Specialty Care of Minnesota, located in St. Paul. He received a B.A. in Chemistry from Carleton College in Northfield, a M.D. from the Mayo Medical School, and a M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Thomas completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic and is board certified by American Board of Otolaryngology. He is appointed to the board seat for a medical doctor from the fourth congressional district and will serve a four-year term ending January 5, 2009. Thomas was first appointed to the board in February 2001.

Linda L. Van Etta, M.D., of Duluth, is an infectious disease physician at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. She also serves as the hospital epidemiologist for St. Luke's. Van Etta received a B.S. in Medical Technology and Biology from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, and a M.D. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She completed her residency at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and a fellowship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis. Van Etta is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease by American Board of Internal Medicine. She is appointed to the board seat for a medical doctor from the eighth congressional district and will serve a four-year term ending January 5, 2009. Van Etta was first appointed to the board in February 2001.

The Board of Medical Practice is responsible for licensing and disciplining physicians as well as the regulation of acupuncturists, athletic trainers, physician assistants, and respiratory care practitioners. The board is made up of 16 members appointed by the Governor.