Accomplishments

I didn’t get to walk Friday before last; had a bout w/ kidney stones and the doc thought that I may have had appendicitis. Told me that flying to Missouri would not have been wise. Still, I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I’ll defend my dissertation in June and after that, I’ll start my next adventure as an osteopathic medical student. If you’d told that Black kid who was a freshman at New Caney High School in 1985 that he’d one day have a 12 year career as a university faculty member, finish a PhD at the University of Missouri in almost exactly three years, and earn a seat at a Texas medical school, he’d have laughed at you… At the time, I wasn’t sure that I’d do much more than play football and there were times when I didn’t think that I’d live past 24… #past #present #future #phd

To all of the medical school applicants embarking on the new application cycle...

As we embark on another application season, I want to remind you that your medical school application is your opportunity to show the admissions committee what makes you unique and why you would be a good candidate for a seat at xyz medical school. You want to make the most of this opportunity by expanding upon your experiences and showing, through your words, why medicine is the career that you aspire to. While you are working on your personal statements and primary/secondary applications, you may discover things about yourself that you didn’t know were there and I believe, most people will start to mature in their thinking as a result of the experience. The medical school application and interview process is anxiety-provoking so please, make sure to take care of your spiritual, physical, and emotional selves. And if the application season does not end with the outcome that you want, understand that it is not a reflection of you as a person. The path to medical school is not always straight and for some, you may have to take a detour (or two or three) but the journey is every bit as important as getting to medical school; speaking from experience, I will be a much better medical student and physician because of my journey. Embrace it. I wish you all the best as you move into the 2021-’22 application season and for those of you whom I’ve gotten to know over the last year or two, I’m expecting NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS FOR YOU!!!!

Crazy month

It's been a crazy month. Yesterday, my wife and I had to part with our cat, Sudan, and today, I have to put all of those emotions to the side and focus on this webinar that we are hosting abour racism and health. We've also had several publications to drop and earlier this month, we did a webinar AND a poster session for the National Rural Health Association's Health Equity Conference. Lord, give us strength...

In other news, I was given the go ahead to schedule my dissertation. June 21st at 1400 hours, I will defend my dissertation, titled "Primary Care Provider PrEP Prescribing Practices: Southern United States." If all goes well, I will be a doctor X 1. Keep me in y'alls prayers...

Outside of that, I'm eagerly awaiting the start of medical school. On the 24th, Monday, I'll be visiting UIWSOM. They are holding socially distanced tours of the school. I hope to take a few pictures When I get back, I'll post them.