Recap of SNMA AMEC 2019: Philadelphia

My first AMEC as a physician!

**It’s been a while since I last wrote, and a lot has been going on over the past few months, so the next few posts will be recaps from my experiences since March 2019**

Back in April, I had the pleasure of attending the 2019 Student National Medical Association's (SNMA) Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) which took place in Philadelphia, PA. It was not only my first time attending as a physician, but it was my final time (at least for a while) attending as a board member. Yep, that's right! My term of Immediate Past President is officially over and I am free of all SNMA duties! I have served on the national SNMA Board of Directors for four years starting in 2015 as National Osteopathic Co-Chair, and then as 2017-2018 National President which most people might not be aware is a three year term which began with my president-elect year in 2016 and ended with an immediate past president year that I completed with this year's AMEC. So yes, as much as I love the SNMA, I am relieved to break away from the politics of it all.

Teaching high school students CPR

This year's AMEC started off with a community service event. Through a partnership with the SNMA and the Student Health Impact Project (SHIP), a Healthy Attitude Summit was held at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) for over 200 high school students from Baltimore, Camden, and Philadelphia areas. There were many different stations covering everything from Mental Health to Nutrition, and I had the pleasure of teaching at the CPR station. It was so cool teaching and interacting with the students, and I even learned something new. Did you know that "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars has replaced the "Stayin Alive" by the Bee Gees as the new CPR song? Same beat needed for compressions, and the students enjoyed having a song that was closer to their age-range. The event also featured Rodney McLeod, NFL Safety for the Philadelphia Eagles, who has done a lot of great work with SHIP and educating students on living healthy lives. 

Rodney McLeod, NFL Safety for the Philadelphia Eagles

The next day is when the conference began for most attendees, and when the work began for me. I actually thought that I would be able to relax and enjoy this year's conference since I'm no longer a student, but I was wrong! Starting at 8am that morning I had to attend a Board of Directors meeting and because this year's term included sitting on the Elections Committee, I had the task of debriefing the candidates. Following the meeting, we all attended the opening meeting where Rodney McLeod was the keynote speaker, and then we rushed upstairs for the ribbon cutting ceremony and official opening of the professional exhibit hall. This is where residency programs come to promote their programs, so I also walked around to speak with a few programs with openings that I had submitted applications to, and to reunite with past friends who are now resident physicians but were at the exhibit to recruit for their programs. It was great being able to network and catch up with friends at the same time!

They paved the way. So much excellence in one session!

Following the exhibit hall, and after dealing with elections and other SNMA business, I had the pleasure of attending a plenary session which consisted of a panel of physician leaders who also had the accomplishments of being firsts and paving the way for us. They are pictured above, and for those of you who don't recognize each person, I'll name them off from left to right. First you have Dr. Velma Scantlebury, the first black female transplant surgeon in the United States, and my amazing mentor. Next is Dr. Altha Stewart, the first African-American president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In the middle is Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey who served as the first female chairman of the SNMA Board of Directors, and next to her is Dr. Patrice Harris, the first African-American President-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA) in all of its 148-year history. Lastly, (but certainly not least) is Dr. Augustus White, III who was so many firsts that I'm not even going to try to list them all, but he was the first African-American medical student and graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, first black surgical resident at Yale University, first black professor of medicine at Yale, and first black department head at a Harvard-affiliated hospital (Beth Israel Hospital). He is standing next to Gabriel Felix, the now Immediate Past President of the SNMA. So much black excellence I can hardly contain myself!!!!

Finally met Dr. Caudle!

I was only able to attend one other session at the conference that day, but it was a session I just couldn't pass up. If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you'll remember my Minority Women in Medicine posts where I interviewed and highlighted minority women in osteopathic medicine. One of those women I had the pleasure of interviewing was Dr. Jennifer Caudle and she was able to attend this year's AMEC and present a workshop on her journey in medical broadcasting. This was my first time meeting her since I wrote my original post five years ago, and she was even more awesome in person. I truly enjoyed both meeting her and having the opportunity to attend and learn at her workshop.

I love my mentor!

After the workshops ended for the day, I took the opportunity to hang out with Dr. Scantlebury and explore some more of Philly. It was a gorgeous day and the tulips were in full bloom. 

Happy to have left a legacy

The next day was the day we installed our new SNMA National President. Our now Immediate Past President Gabriel Felix gave an excellent farewell speech complete with a goodbye song. It really made me reflect on all the emotions involved with becoming and ending my term as president. Pictured above our some of the past SNMA presidents with the current president Omonivie Agboghidi. I look forward to seeing all her accomplishments over the next year and the legacy she will bring to the organization. As you can see underneath the presidents photo, I am happy to have left my own legacy within the organization, but I surely hope I am not the last of my kind!

Dr. Eugene Harris, III from Married to Medicine

Later that evening, I had the pleasure of attending a mixer hosted by White Coats Black Doctors where I was able to meet and chat with Dr. Eugene Harris III, from the hit Bravo TV show Married to Medicine. He also served as the SNMA closing banquet speaker the following day where he gave a very inspiring and excellent speech. When I asked him if he was ever involved with the SNMA as a medical student, his response was “not only was I involved, but I served as chapter president.” Hearing that made me so happy!

Shout out to the DOs!

Another favorite part of the conference was all the osteopathic representation. I ran into so many of my favorite DOs including Dr. Tyree Winters (literally one of the great faces of the AOA’s “Doctors that DO” campaign), and Dr. Courtney Scrubbs who mentored me during my time as osteopathic co-chair for the organization. It was a great ending to NOM Week 2019.

Here's to another 55 years!

The final part of the conference was the Saturday dinner banquet. This is always my favorite event, because the graduating medical school seniors within the organization are recognized and receive their graduation stoles. There were soooo many graduating seniors, and I was so there to share in that happy experience. It was also where the Chairperson of the Board of Directors gave her final farewell speech, and it was one that focused on shining our light even when confronted with hate. It made me proud of both her and everything the SNMA represents.

I loved my dress!

That pretty much wraps up my SNMA AMEC 2019 experience. For those who weren’t able to make it this year before the event sold out, the next conference will take place the week leading up to Easter Sunday 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio, so mark your calendars now! I highly recommend this conference for both pre-medical and medical students alike, and those of you who have been following me for a while already know that I credit the SNMA with helping me gain an acceptance into medical school. Oh, and shout out to all the people who recognized me from this blog and took the time to stop me and let me know how much it has helped them. I appreciate you all more than you’ll ever know. 

Graduation Week 2018: Say Hello to Dr. Ward!

On May 24, 2018, I finally achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a physician! God is sooo good!!!! There have been so many emotions flooding through me these past few weeks, but now that I’ve finally calmed down from the high of graduation, I can reflect a little bit. I’m still at a loss of words to describe the joy I feel for this new accomplishment, so I’ll just let all the pictures speak for me. ***WARNING: Photo overload ahead!***

Hooded!

Hearing my name with "doctor" said in front of it as I walked across the stage was so surreal! It was even more amazing hearing the cheers of my friends and family.

My daughter has been my biggest supporter on this crazy journey. For years, she has told her teachers and friends that her mommy is a doctor. Now when she says it, it will be true! I'm so extremely thankful for her always being so understanding of my crazy schedule and the sacrifices made to get to this point. I hope I have inspired her to pursue any and all of her dreams.

So thankful for my amazing parents! My mom, who was the first African-American female from the state of Mississippi to graduate from the United States Military Academy (West Point), gave birth to the first doctor in my family. Excellence is in my DNA! And my dad is just downright awesome and not afraid put me back into reality when I get too big-headed, LOL.

My sisters are everything! I literally couldn't have made it through medical school without the support, babysitting, advice, and constant laughs they bring me. 

Thankful to this amazing guy for putting up with all my med school craziness for the past three years! Whether it was being my voice of reason when I had crazy ideas (and still supporting me when I did the crazy things anyway), listening to my rants, cheering me up during the rough times, or helping me stay current with the outside world when I got too far under my med school rock, I am so very appreciative of you! 

My circle may be small, but the love is strong! This journey would not have been anywhere near possible without the people you see above! I am truly blessed!

Thankful for everyone in my med school family. You all made this journey that much easier, and I am blessed to not only call you all my friends, but my colleagues. The GA-PCOM class of 2018 was the best to ever do it!

 

Check out all these beautiful black doctors! So proud of my classmates!

And of course, I couldn't end without giving a shout-out to the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). It has been such an amazing part of both my pre-medical and medical school experience, and I am proud to say that I graduated with SNMA!

Recap of SNMA AMEC 2018: San Francisco, CA

Last month I officially ended my tenure as National President of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) with a successful Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) in San Francisco, California. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you know that I hold the SNMA near and dear to my heart, but it has also taken up A LOT of my time over the past few years. This past year was especially taxing as I not only had to make sure my executive agenda was being implemented by our base of over 7000 members, but I also had to plan and organize three National Leadership Institutes, our annual conference, and stay the “face” of the organization, all while being on surgery audition rotations and completing other medical school clerkships. To say I’ve been busy is an understatement, but despite it all, it was an experience I wouldn’t have traded for the world.

The SNMA AMEC takes place every year the four days leading up to Easter Sunday, and it takes over a year to plan. As SNMA National President, my major role in AMEC was conference programming. This meant developing the theme for the conference (including coming up with the title and description), putting together workshops that fit within the theme, making sure each national committee had a role in the conference, and working with the convention planning committee to make sure everything was on track. I even got to pick out the food for my luncheon, and meet with key hotel staff, so that was pretty neat. Our National Headquarters staff took care of logistics such as figuring out which rooms to put speakers in, costs, sponsors, and other technical details, but for the most part, the majority of the conference falls on the president. Yes, this was essentially “my” conference, so the stress levels were to the max to make sure everything went smoothly and that everyone attending had a great experience. This conference was also extremely important to me because the very first AMEC I ever attended was as a pre-medical student in 2007 at the same location in San Francisco. It was definitely a full-circle moment for me!

From 2007 as a pre-med to now 2018 as a graduating med student

I arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday, and the first point of business was helping to stuff bags for the conference attendees, followed by a pre-conference meeting with hotel department personnel. When we walked into the room we were greeted by about 20 friendly individuals from the hotel. We then discussed how we wanted the week to go, and I was very pleased that everyone was interested in my wants for the week. I was even given a VIP pendant so that I could be identified by hotel personnel in case I needed anything. I think the only major concern was that I had requested beef for my luncheon which was to take place on Good Friday, but after discussing with the hotel chef, I happily switched it with the fish that was being served for the Saturday banquet. 

The calm before the AMEC craziness hit

Since Tuesday’s task list didn’t take too long, and the first meeting on Wednesday didn’t start until 5pm, I was blessed with some free time to relax and explore before the conference craziness started. I linked up with an old high school friend who lives in the area and is also a great photographer, and we knocked out my graduation photo shoot. We also took a short trip to Pacifica, California where I got the chance to hike the trails and take in some awesome views. It was a very much needed calm before the storm.

Morning Views

Thursday was when the real work began. My day started with an 8am Board of Directors meeting where we discussed business and heard the presentations from candidates running for office. After that, it was off to the opening Plenary Session where I met with the speakers beforehand, gave a few remarks, and then listened to a great keynote speech by Brigadier General Telita Crosland. After that, we rushed to the exhibit hall where we had to do the opening ribbon cutting ceremony. I was actually surprised that I had a little time to visit some of the exhibits this year, and it was great meeting and interacting with some of the members. Sadly, I didn’t get to attend any of the workshops, and the rest of the day was followed with a 2-hour House of Delegates session, a Stanford reception, and regional meetings. I didn’t make it back to my hotel room until after 11pm, and I was too tired to participate in any of the night events. Luckily, the hotel gave me an AMAZING presidential suite with a breathtaking view of the city, so I was very happy to relax, listen to music, and enjoy my room.

Dr. Velma Scantlebury and my wonderful mentee D'Sena'

Friday was more of the same schedule, but it was an exciting day since it was also when I held my Presidential Luncheon and passed down the reigns to the new national president. The keynote speaker for the luncheon was my phenomenal mentor Dr. Velma Scantlebury (the first black female transplant surgeon in the US, for those of you who don’t know), and she gave a phenomenal talk. We also didn’t go over on time (the luncheon is only scheduled for 2 hours), which rarely happens! I was ecstatic! The rest of the day was a lot less busy after that, but I was still swamped with things to do, so I was extremely grateful for Dr. Scantlebury and my mentee who went out and picked up a cake I ordered along with drinks and supplies so that I could throw a surprise get together for the national committee chairs later that evening. I also had to briefly speak at the Osteopathic Schools reception being held that evening, but it was an absolute pleasure meeting with Dr. Adrienne White-Faines, the CEO of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), who even gave me a twitter shout-out!

Twitter shout-out from the CEO of the AOA!

I just realized this post is super long, so I’ll do a quick wrap-up of the rest of the conference. Basically more meetings, a great pre-medical luncheon, and a closing banquet with a graduation component for the 4^th year medical students complete with a gorgeous blue graduation stole, free membership into the NMA, and a great keynote speech given by Dr. Zoanne Clack (one of the writers for Grey’s Anatomy and also a proud SNMA alumna). Overall, it was an amazing conference, and I received a ton of great feedback.

My National Committee Chairs were the absolute best!

I am so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to serve as the 2017-2018 SNMA National President, and I am even more thankful to have served with a fantastic Chair, Vice-President, National Committee Chairs, and the Board of Directors. There are honestly no words to describe how good it felt seeing my vision come to life, and this past year has been an experience I won’t forget. I look forward to continuing to serve this amazing organization, and I can’t wait to see what the current SNMA president accomplishes this year. I’m also excited that his conference will be taking place in Philadelphia, PA next year where I will be for residency, so I look forward to seeing you all there!

End of conference slay

2018-2019 SNMA National President Gabriel Felix

Greetings From Ohio!

General Surgery Essentials

It has been entirely too long since my last post, so time for another update! After my general surgery audition rotation in Philadelphia, I landed right back in Georgia for a required 4 week rural family medicine rotation. I had a lot of autonomy, nice hours, an awesome preceptor, and plenty of relaxation time, so I was really happy. Plus, I really enjoyed my time back home, and I was able to spend time with my daughter who I hadn't seen in two months. We both enjoyed much needed mommy/daughter bonding time, and it made me really happy that she is still doing okay despite me being away so much for 4th year auditions.

Selfie with the Georgia Family Medicine crew

After a pretty chill month, it was time to get back into the operating room, so I hit the road to Ohio where I am at now for general surgery audition #3. Today marks the start of week three, and so far I am enjoying my experience. As with any surgery program, the hours are long, but here, there are a huge variety of surgical cases every day, the residents and attending physicians are all super nice, and I enjoy working alongside the other auditioning medical students. Plus, over the past few months I have become super comfortable with suturing, hand tying, and patient management, so everything is a lot less overwhelming now.

Snagging in a little extra study time in between surgery cases

In addition to being on the surgery grind, I also had to fly to Philadelphia last weekend for the Student National Medical Association's (SNMA) National Leadership Institute hosted by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. As National President of the SNMA, I was responsible for securing the location, finding speakers, putting together all programming, and making sure the weekend ran smoothly. To say I was stressed would be an understatement! Thankfully, I had the help of amazing individuals who helped me with everything from planning these past few months to handling minor things during the event so I could tend to meetings and such last weekend. Team work truly does make the dream work, and I continue to be reminded every day that I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything without the support and help from the fantastic people who surround me. I am super blessed, indeed!

Thank you to everyone who attended the SNMA September 2017 NLI!

Lastly, in terms of general 4th year updates, I have submitted all my residency applications, and now I'm just praying for a decent number of interviews. This waiting game is sooo stressful! The good news is I have one more general surgery rotation after this one, and then I'll be able to head back to Georgia and breathe again.

I think that covers everything for now. The next time you hear from me, I should be in Delaware finishing up the last rotation of my fourth year general surgery grind. I hope everyone reading this is doing well, and I look forward to updating everyone again soon!

Breaking Barriers and Excited for What’s to Come!

My excitement at becoming SNMA National President!

It has been a while since my last full post, and sooo much awesomeness has occurred! I’ve officially made it to my 4^th year of medical school, am currently enjoying the tail end of a very much needed two-week vacation, and probably what everyone is most aware of is the fact that I recently became the first osteopathic medical student to serve as National President of the Student National Medical Association! Life has been a complete whirlwind for the past 2 months, but I’ll focus this post on the SNMA, and leave my upcoming posts for school, vacation, and mommy-mode updates.  

Extremely blessed to have my daughter and sister attend the conference

On April 14^th, I ended my term as President-Elect of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), and was inducted as National President during the Annual Medical Education Conference that was held in Atlanta, Georgia this year. It was such a blessing to have the conference where I live because I was able to bring my daughter to my induction which meant so much to me. Most people don’t realize how much she goes through this journey with me, and despite knowing she’s proud of me as a mother, I wanted her to get the bigger picture and really see why I’m always on conference calls or traveling when I could be spending that time with her. I also brought my sister to the conference, because if it weren’t for her coming all the way to Georgia to take on the job as nanny this past summer, life would be a lot harder and way more expensive (still have to pay her a ton, but a lot cheaper than a stranger LOL). My daughter still talks about the event, and I am extremely happy that I could expose her to thousands of individuals on the path of becoming physicians and let her see her mommy in action at the same time :-)

I attend the best medical school ever!

I was also pleasantly surprised at the amazing support I received from my school during the conference. Not only were both the Philadelphia and Georgia campuses of PCOM well represented at the conference, but the administrative staff even put together a small party to celebrate my new milestone. There was cake, great people from my PCOM family, and I was even surprised to see my picture in an ad in the program book. It was equally great meeting fellow students from my main campus and forming new bonds. I couldn’t attend a better institution and I continue to remain grateful for all the support.

Love my PCOM family!

I am looking forward to my year as president and I’m excited to take you all along on the journey. The SNMA is an organization I am extremely passionate about, and my goal is to use my position to continue the mission of the organization and focus on my passions of inspiring youth to become physicians, supporting my fellow non-traditional students, breaking barriers, and representing the osteopathic medical profession. I hope you all will stick around for the ride!

Featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution!

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, and soooo much has happened since then, but I'm currently traveling and will have to share all of the exciting updates next week. Until then, please check out my most recent feature in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that can be found HERE. I am super honored to have my story shared, and I hope it inspires some of you. Wishing everyone a very happy Memorial Day weekend!

Updates on an Exciting Month!

Daniel Hale Williams Pre-Medical Honor Society at UVA

It’s getting harder and harder to post frequently, but I’m still here! The past month has been a complete whirlwind, but I have enjoyed every last bit of it :-)

My most notable experience this past month was being invited to the University of Virginia to be a keynote speaker for the “Path Toward the White Coat” event hosted by the SNMA MAPS chapter Daniel Hale Williams Pre-Medical Honor Society at UVA. It was an amazing experience being able to connect with some of the organization’s pre-medical students, and their hospitality was top-notch. They showed me their beautiful city and campus, and even took me on Monticello and vineyard tours. I was impressed by the students, and it was a great reminder of where I used to be. I was happy and honored to offer my advice and be a part of a great program. Thank you, UVA!

Not a doctor yet, but thankful for the invite!

As for rotations, when I last left off, I was just finishing up my Family Medicine / Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (FM/OMM) rotation. Since that time, I completed an ambulatory internal medicine (IM) rotation, and I am currently on an inpatient IM rotation that includes pulmonology, critical care, and some outpatient care. The patients are definitely a lot sicker on this rotation, but I am really enjoying the experience. My preceptor allows me to see all the new consults and do charting on my own, so the autonomy is a plus. It forces me to develop good assessments and plans, and I like being involved with patients from day one. I am also rotating at three hospitals in the northeast Georgia area, and while the drive is a bit far, it’s actually one of the best commutes I’ve had so far. I just have a straight 40 minute drive in the morning with virtually no traffic, so it’s quite enjoyable. Definitely beats sitting in up to two hours of traffic when driving towards the Atlanta area! Plus, the hospitals are in pretty scenic rural areas and I just love the country feel (and the super sweet tea in the cafeteria!). The picture below is the view from a patient room in one of the hospitals I am in…Sooo pretty!

Gorgeous view from hospital room

In my last post, I wrote about recently completing my COMLEX Level II – PE exam. I am happy to say the results are in, and I passed!!!! Sooo happy to have that over with and now it’s on to the next one. Right now, I am registered for COMLEX Level II – CE on May 8^th, but I am considering pushing it back a few weeks if I can find a testing center that isn’t too far away. I’m 27 days away, and I’ll be missing a few days of study time this week due to the SNMA AMEC conference, so if my practice scores aren’t where I want them to be in about a week or so, I have no problem taking more time to study.

Study Grind!

This week, the biggest thing on my plate is the Student National Medical Association’s Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC). On Friday, I will officially become National President of the organization, and I am sooooo excited! I can’t wait to re-connect with our members, attend awesome workshops, and present my executive agenda. A lot of hard work has been put into making this conference a success, so I’m looking forward to another great conference and an exciting new year. So for those of you who will be in attendance this week: don’t be afraid to say hello when you see me and I look forward to seeing you all right here in Atlanta!

See you in Atlanta!