Education
COM: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
Residency: Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center Family Medicine Residency in Milwaukee, WI
Other Education: Master's degree in public health from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Florida, and Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana
Why did you choose this residency program?
I liked that this program would challenge me while still giving me a work-life balance. We see very complex patients, so there's a lot of learning. I also loved how osteopathically focused the program is. This program also is extremely open to resident feedback, which is very nice.
Why did you choose family medicine?
I chose family medicine because I love the relationships you get to develop with your patients. I also loved that every day looked a little bit different.
What is a typical day like in your life as a resident?
It depends whether I'm on inpatient or outpatient. If I'm on inpatient, I typically get to work by 6:30 a.m., get sign out, prechart on patients, see patients, round, then place orders and follow up with consultants throughout the day. We typically will try to do some teaching right after rounds. If we aren't capped, I'll check the ED to see if we have any potential admits that I can read up on. We update hand offs and then sign out to the night person around 6 p.m. (though usually my interns are sent home before then).
For outpatient, I get to clinic around 7:30-8:00 a.m. and go over my list with my MA. Then I see patients, staff, clean out my in-basket, and try to leave with as many notes done as possible. On electives, we usually have four half days of clinic, and the rest of the time will be spent doing your elective, which looks different depending your elective that month.
What do you like to do in your time outside of residency?
I enjoy reading, working out with my Peloton app, cooking, and traveling.
Why did you volunteer to join the Resident Council?
I like being able to advocate for other family medicine residents, and I love the ability to really make a difference at conference.
Were you involved with ACOFP as a student?
I was. I was an ACOFP member for all three years in medical school and served as the national liaison for my chapter.
What is your one word of advice to students?
In residency, if you aim for perfection or even greatness in the first few months, it will be a very hard few months and might cause some level of burnout. I always recommend that the interns just aim to get 1% better every day. Intern year is a steep learning curve, and we expect that you may struggle a bit in the beginning. Ask your coresidents for help; we've all been there.
If you could meet one famous dead person, who would it be?
I'm between two here: Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers) because he was so radically and unapologetically kind. He even had a Black man share a pool with him in the 1960s, which was viewed as him promoting equal rights. The other would be Robin Williams because he just was so entertaining, was incredible in his comedy, and had such a selflessness to him that I think would be interesting to see.
What would you title an autobiography or memoir?
Listen to Your Gut, Feel with Your Hart
