College of Medicine

Growing up in a medically underserved area with disabled parents impressed upon me the importance of health-care accessibility and the number of gaps in care that occur when physicians are needed but not present. Early in my education, I was invited to be a part of the first pre-college SSTRIDE (Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity & Excellence) class in Okaloosa County. I remained with this program all the way through USSTRIDE during my undergraduate years at FSU. This program greatly influenced my decision to become a physician, so I could fill the need for physicians where they are needed most. My graduate studies at the USF Morsani College of Medicine and my seven years of experience as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant provided more evidence and reinforcement that my decision to pursue my M.D. was the correct decision.

Last year, I volunteered as a Certified Medical Assistant at Health & Hope Clinic in Pensacola. It was encouraging to see the many people who had the calling to serve the underserved, and how a unified effort allows for care to be provided to a broad number of people in need that would normally have to go without. Countless patient encounters come to mind when thinking about how many lives were changed for the better by the services this clinic provides daily. Many of those encounters occurred during Health & Hope Clinic's community outreach through Parent University Pensacola. We would provide free health screenings, community resource guides, diabetic education, vaccines, overdose education and Narcan. With only this monthly outreach portion of my time at Health & Hope Clinic, we were able to provide care and information to entire auditoriums filled with people who never received it before. The lion’s share of what constitutes effective outreach is the knowledge and the will to provide it. The remaining component is resources, which, in my case, were largely donated medical supplies. That's all it really takes.