Dr. Tunberg is a board certified surgeon, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has served over 25 humanitarian medical missions to various parts of the world; including, Haiti, Ukraine (eastern Europe), Mexico, Vietnam, Gaza Strip (Israel), and the Philippines. Additionally, he recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (east Africa).
Dr. Tunberg knew he wanted to be a medical doctor at age 16 in TRF. He is an honors graduate of Lincoln High School Class of 1968. He participated in sports, and various community activities. Dr. Tunberg did his pre-med education at UND, where he also played baseball for 4 years with the “Fighting Sioux”. Prior to medical school, he worked in the TRF family business, and then in the operating room in Fargo where he found his love for surgery.
Dr. Tunberg graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1979. He did a surgery internship in Boston, MA at Tufts University – New England Medical Center. He then completed his surgery residency training in Milwaukee, WI, which included time in the surgical and physiology research lab at the Medical College of WI. During his surgery residency years in Milwaukee, he also worked part time as an emergency medicine physician, helped staff a public health clinic for the homeless, and he and two other physicians started a community free clinic for the Hmong refugees. He also did his first medical mission outreach to Haiti.
After graduating from his surgical training, Dr. Tunberg began his surgical career in Indianapolis, IN where he practiced surgery and taught surgical residents at Methodist Hospital. He received clinical teaching appointments from Methodist Hospital and the Indiana University School of Medicine for two years.
He and his family then moved back to Minnesota to practice community surgery in Cambridge, and be closer to their TRF family. Eventually he expanded his surgical practice to Fridley, Coon Rapids, and Maple Grove. During this time Dr. Tunberg also was given a clinical teaching appointment at the U of MN Medical School, and also continued his medical mission work. He is still practicing part time.
During his 30 years of surgical practice, he has served as chief of surgery for 10 of those years, and twice as chief of the medical staff, including the hospital board of directors. He has passed his ABS national board exams three times, and was also an invited national surgical board examiner. He has received three AMA Physician Recognition Awards, and a Unity Hospital Patient Care Award. Dr. Tunberg has chaired numerous hospital medical committees. He was also selected to be on the board of directors of the Minnesota Surgical Society, and the board of the West Metro (Mpls) Medical Society. He has been a professional peer reviewer for the MN Board of Medical Practice, and the Foundation for Health Care Evaluation, and the MN Medical Association.
Dr. Tunberg has been a member of multiple professional organizations, including AOA (Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Medical Society). He has several medical publications, and given numerous hospital and community scientific and medical mission related presentations in hospitals, schools, community centers, and churches. He also served a term on a church based preschool board of directors in Minneapolis.
Dr. Tunberg finds the highlight of his career is the international humanitarian work in the countries listed above. This includes doing many surgical operations; teaching new surgical techniques; consulting on more complex surgical cases; bringing needed surgical supplies, equipment, and medicines; working to try establish new professional connections between the U.S. and the third world physicians; treating hundreds of non-surgical medical patients as well; helping build homes for the homeless; with another friend carried 500 Bibles into the Gaza Strip; and given dozens of lectures and presentations in second and third world hospitals, community centers, schools, and churches. Spontaneous cultural exchanges happen everywhere.
Dr. Tunberg credits his early family and community support in TRF as the foundation for his life’s path. He feels our world is so much bigger than ourselves. People all over this earth are badly in need of encouragement, love, and support. And this begins in our own communities. Finally, Dr. Tunberg has found it humbling to learn that it is difficult to out give a person in severe need. We give out of our abundance, the person in great needs gives out of their poverty.