Education and Residency
COM: Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine–Tulsa, OKResidency: Osteopathic Medical Education Consortium of Oklahoma (OMECO) at Oklahoma State University–Tulsa, OK
Other Education: Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
I wanted to get involved with the ACOFP Resident Council because I wanted to broaden the scope of my interactions with rising medical professionals and diversify my network beyond Oklahoma. I am fortunate to train at one of the nation’s largest osteopathic teaching facilities, home to 11 residency programs and 9 fellowship programs, which makes it a wonderful place to build a strong network of young physicians. I hope to create a career in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and this educational opportunity will catapult me towards my goals. However, I appreciate the benefit of a nationwide and worldwide approach to learning and am looking forward to the mentorship to be found within ACOFP.
I adore my residency program because of the strong emphasis on wellness and work-life balance, as supported by our 2+2 scheduling model. Each month, we spend two weeks of uninterrupted clinic time to build patient relationships, improve continuity of care, and strengthen outpatient skills. The other two weeks of each month are spent on various services, including our own inpatient internal medicine and various inpatient and outpatient specialties. This allows our focus to be uninterrupted and provides a much more predictable schedule that is supportive of families, hobbies, traveling, moonlighting, and personal growth.
To me, family medicine is the perfect mix of all specialties. It allows you to have a finger on the pulse of ever-changing medicine while remaining reliant on the multidisciplinary approach to health. I am looking forward to a long career of a mixture of acute and chronic care, of all ages and genders, always considering the mind-body-spirit connection that osteopathy has taught us. In residency I get exactly that, with a heavy emphasis on osteopathic manipulative treatment and a large panel of patients relying on my OMT for management of their chronic and acute pain. When I’m working in the hospital, I get to focus on my subacute care skills by developing a plan and educating the patient and family in a way that gets them engaged in their care.
When I’m not working or studying, I like to practice yoga, make art, listen to music, take naps with my cats, and travel. I believe that the best doctors are people, and people have diverse interests outside of their careers. Family medicine supports a life full of freedom and diversity in professional expectations, patient impact, and lifestyle. I have wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember, and although I didn’t realize it would be family medicine until my third year of medical school, I am fascinated by the impact I’ve seen my local PCPs make. We have such a unique opportunity as pillars of our community’s health, and some people's only intersection with healthcare. For some people, we can help untangle years of mistrust of doctors and the American healthcare system, and literally save lives on the daily.
