Are you in a special track or focus during your residency?
While I was growing up in Green Tree, my parents instilled a simple yet powerful philosophy in their children. They firmly believe that education is the key to success and expanding your knowledge base will open doors in the future otherwise closed. This is a motto that I still believe in today and has helped to develop my specific residency focus.
After attaining my master’s degree in medical education through LECOM, I hope to use my new skill set to help teach medical students at Duquesne University's Osteopathic Medical School. Education is the key to success, and I would like to pass this motto onto the next generation of physicians, just as my mom and dad taught me.
While in my third and fourth years of medical school, I shocked myself by falling in love with Obstetrics. Seeing both the new mother and new baby in the same room expands post-partum care otherwise not possible. Playing a key role during life changing events, such as the birth of a child, is both an honor and privilege, and something I strive to be a part of in the future. I plan on pursuing the high-intensity Obstetrics pathway during residency, with the aspiration of applying for the UPMC OB/GYN family medicine fellowship after residency.
Why did you choose UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine Residency Program? Why Pittsburgh?
UPMC Shadyside has been involved in my immediate family's education for over 20 years. My mother and father are proud graduates of UPMC Shadyside's School of Perfusion. They first met in one of the operating rooms in this hospital. My younger sister, Amber, followed their footsteps, graduating from UPMC Shadyside's School of Perfusion two years ago. My older brother, Adam, transports patients to UPMC Shadyside as a paramedic for the city of Pittsburgh. Finally, my sister-in-law, Marissa, is completing rotations at UPMC Shadyside during her CRNA training.
UPMC Shadyside has played a key role in my loved one’s education, and so it’s easy to see why the UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine Residency has been my post-graduate educational goal from the beginning. I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to learn at my family's alma mater.
What are your goals while here in the residency program? How will this prepare you to be an excellent physician?
My goals in the residency program are focused on my specific interests, which is teaching and obstetrics. My overarching goal is to begin to build the foundation for my future in family medicine. I am excited to learn in such a welcoming environment and cannot wait to see how much I have grown as both a physician and a person over the next three years.
Do you have any specials interests outside of the residency?
I am very close with my family and enjoy spending most of my free time with them. We are blessed to have my parents’ house next door to my grandparents’ house, making Sunday dinner a weekly tradition. Growing up, I would spend the winters sled riding down my grandparents’ hill, then spend the summers watching my pap pap’s tomato patch flourish between softball games. Now, I enjoy spending time outside, especially with my three West Highland Terriers Annie, Mia, and Daisy. You’re most likely to find me sitting outside with my Pap Pap guarding over the tomato patch, or on the back porch with my mom helping to water the flowers.