Where are you from?
I come from the land of corn and soy;
Ope -- that’s right -- I’m a Midwest boi.
Euchre, tornadoes, and snowy deluge:
I escaped to the South for some sunny refuge!
(Also I loved the program but yes I am very excited to never see a snowflake again)
Why did you come to Cahaba FMR?
When I first switched careers from 5000 gallon continuously stirred tank reactors and centrifugal pump curves to inborn errors of metabolism and Frank Starling curves, I planned on practicing medicine overseas. Inspired by the likes of Dr. Kent Brantly working in Liberia during the Ebola epidemic, I wanted to work in an underserved area with people who wouldn’t otherwise receive care. More than that, I wanted to live among my patients as friends and neighbors.
I also knew I wanted to practice full spectrum family medicine - from kiddos to the elderly to obstetrics and procedures. This was confirmed for me throughout medical school -- I enjoyed every rotation (except maybe surgery) but missed the comprehensiveness, continuity of care, breadth, and ongoing relationships found only in family medicine. In my clinical years, my eyes and heart were opened to healthcare disparities in our own country. Though I have a heart for global health, in the short term at least I feel called to work with people who have traditionally been poorly served by medicine in our own country.
When I discovered that there are residency programs that combine full scope FM with a focus on the underserved -- INCLUDING LIVING IN THE SAME COMMUNITY AS THE PATIENTS -- and that I could escape winter, I was sold.
It is so freaking cool to work at a place with people who care about the same things and have the same values as you. Every residency program talks about being a family, but Cahaba truly exemplifies it. Everyone at Cahaba loves each other and loves their patients (who happen to be their literal neighbors) and ARE MAKING A TANGIBLE DIFFERENCE here in Birmingham. What else could you want?
So why CFMR?
TL;DR Because this is my calling, these are my people, this is my home (not just where I live but my HOME), and together with the grace of God we are making things whole.
Undergrad:
University of Toledo (BS Chemical Engineering, BA Biochemistry)
Med school:
University of Toledo (the real UT)
What does your life outside of medicine look like?
I can usually be found running around in circles at uncomfortably brisk speeds or running long with Cahaba Distance Project or sucking wind at Red Mountain Park (because the only elevation I’m used to is the curb) or kicking Dakota’s butt at races. I am also known to play sax and clarinet less frequently than I would prefer and to have all my poem submissions to JAMA get rejected. I love board games and humorous puns and hiking and nature and Studio C and oil painting and superheroes and oil painting superheroes and run-on sentences. I can almost certainly not be found stretching, drinking coffee, or intentionally listening to most music composed within the past century.
What is your favorite food to cook?
Plant-based anything spicy and flavorful (dal, channa masala, curry, pesto etc).
What is a destination you'd like to visit or live?
I love hiking and exploring. Utah is probably my favorite place in the US (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce). Hawaii and Australia are on my bucket list. I had the opportunity to do a backpacking trip through Europe after taking Step 1 (my school gave us 2 months off to study so I took it early and then traveled) and I would love to do something like that again.
What drives you?
My 2012 Ford Focus stick shift.
JK, the invitation to partner with God in restoring in small but meaningful ways the brokenness in the world - disease, poverty, hopelessness etc.
What is your post residency plan?
Pay off debt. Work at an FQHC or DPC in which I can provide quality comprehensive care to underserved patients at affordable costs. Incorporate global health. Get a poem published in JAMA. Start a family. Run a sub-70 half marathon, sub-2:30 marathon, sub-15 5k.