What is your hometown?
I grew up in rural Alabama, near the small town of Haleyville.
How or when did you become interested in science and medicine?
Science and medicine have always fascinated me, both at home and at school. My Mom loves to show off pictures of me at about age 5 wearing disposable operating room garments and listening to a doll’s chest with a stethoscope. There were a number of times growing up that I “decided” that I wanted to be a doctor, but it wasn’t until after pursuing some other options in high school that I finally made up my mind.
How or why did you choose the UI to attend medical school?
I limited my med school applications to states in the Midwest because my fiancée was a student in Des Moines. After visiting the schools I was most interested in academically, Iowa stood out as being the place where I would most enjoy my education. I liked Iowa City, I found the other medical students already here to be very helpful and friendly, I liked the campus, and I loved the idea of the learning communities. I just felt right at home here.
Is there a teacher, mentor or Carver College of Medicine faculty member who has helped shape your education?
You mean I’d have to pick just one? So many people, and not just those here, have had profound impact on my education. Seeing such passion for medicine, and for medical education, in the actions of those associated with the Carver College of Medicine absolutely inspires me.
What kinds of opportunities or advantages does being a medical student at Iowa provide?
I feel like I have the advantage of being able to customize my med school experience, rather than just working to be another graduate of the program. I participated in the pathology externship and had the opportunity to make real contributions to patient care as a second year medical student. As a member of the Medical Student Ambassadors Program I was able to visit area elementary schools for short programs about health and wellbeing. Fellow medical students have visited developing countries in programs partially facilitated by the College of Medicine. Pretty much anything a medical student is interested in can in some way be explored during his or her time here, and I’m not sure you can say the same of all other medical schools.
The fact that the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is a relatively large tertiary care center is also a great advantage. We have the opportunity to see firsthand presentations of illness and injury that may be rarely seen in primary care, affording us a priceless learning tool.
Please describe your professional goals and interests.
Aside from finishing med school, my only real goal is to maintain a patient-centered attitude about medicine. A friend of mine who is a physician told me that he feels like he is losing touch with the human side of medicine, treating it as a career instead of something he loves to do. I do have a particular interest in pediatric cancers, in part from experiences while volunteering in a children’s hospital and in part from experiences in pathology. However, wherever my path takes me, my greatest goal is to always keep my attitude focused on the wellbeing of my patients.
What are some of your outside interests?
I am fascinated by computers, and I currently maintain the website for the Iowa City chapter of the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity in my “spare time.” I also enjoy building and flying model rockets and playing guitar.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your work?
Before my grandmother passed away with cancer, she told me not to take little things for granted. It wasn’t until several years later, after having an accident that broke my neck and left me temporarily paralyzed, that I really understood what she meant. It’s easy to lose appreciation for “little things” like being able to brush your own teeth and bathe yourself, but to someone who loses the ability, they suddenly become really big things. Now that I’ve come to medical school, I’m finding that there are many “little things” that either might be a key to the correct diagnosis or might be very important (though perhaps unspoken) to the patient. Now I try to always pay attention to and appreciate the “little things.”
If you could change one thing about the world of medicine, what would it be?
It’s too bad I can’t offer a realistic plan for doing so, but I wish we could make basic healthcare more accessible to everyone. It is a shame that a country as great as America has so many citizens who do not receive appropriate healthcare and medical screenings because of inadequate insurance, demographic factors, etc., and the problem is much worse in most developing countries. In a world where research and technology has advanced the field of medicine so far, I wish there was at least a reasonable way to give every individual access to routine medical services.
What one piece of advice you would give to students who are interested in applying to medical school?
My advice is to be careful taking advice from medical students about whether to go to medical school, but listen to your upper classmen once you get here. Because med school classes really are intense and require a great deal of studying, we tend to overemphasize the difficulty. If you have a passion for medicine, don’t let us discourage you. However, once you’re actually here, we might be able to offer some helpful suggestions just because we’ve already gone through those classes.
What do you see as "the future" of medicine?
I certainly hope that the “future” of medicine entails people continuing to take a more active role in their own healthcare. Of course that means that we, as healthcare providers, must ensure that our patients are accurately and adequately informed. Drug companies are happy to advertise to the general public for the sake of making a profit. Shouldn’t we educate our patients for the sake of their health? The number one killers in America today are diseases that have lifestyle choices as major risk factors. The true success of medicine depends on cooperation between an educating and treating healthcare provider and a patient that understands his or her own health.