What is your hometown?
Erie, Pennsylvania
What are your career goals?
I love caring for patients and creating longitudinal relationships and I find the work very fulfilling. However, the longer I practice, the more I feel convinced I also need to be intentional about serving on different medical committees and working on helping improve systems of care to do the best for the most people. I think residency is a great time to explore what that might look like, whether it's serving with the state medical board, AAFP, or with international charities. I would love to be part of the push to eliminate tuberculosis.
What attracted you to the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program?
Duke stood out as a program that cared about not only evidence-based care, continuous learning, and team improvement (which is hugely important to me), but also cared deeply about the patients and their families. I was impressed by Duke's opportunities to not only care for those in the Durham area, but also many opportunities to get involved in international health care conversations — from international conferences to international learning opportunities at Duke partner clinics and hospitals around the world. Ultimately, what attracted me was the people. It was vital to me that I felt confident in the program director's vision and leadership, that the attendings would be physicians I wholeheartedly trusted with my patients' lives, and the residents were dependable and good team members who cared about their patients and supporting their coworkers. I saw all that at Duke.
In your opinion, what makes Duke Family Medicine special?
Duke has a beautiful blend of people who are not only experts in their field, sometimes even internationally renowned, but also excellent communicators and care about the residents on an individual level. I felt like Duke was the best opportunity to learn the most to be the best provider possible for my patients, while also being able to honor living a healthy lifestyle during residency.
What strengths or skills do you have that could be of benefit to the community?
I have a different perspective to bring by having worked as a PA in New Mexico with a population that was more than 60% Hispanic. The diverse experiences the residents at Duke have help us be more flexible and creative in approaches to patients.
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about patient access to resources — connecting people to information, people and places — and helping patients get the care they need. I like helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, anxiety, or ADHD become empowered to manage their conditions and live their best lives. I am passionate that health care resources such as facilities, tests, and medications need smaller profit margins and need to get where the disease is — such as decreasing maternal and fetal mortality, fighting tuberculosis, and treating and preventing HIV.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
Hiking, backpacking, interior decorating, cooking, baking, traveling, studying Spanish, visiting museums, bird watching, reading.
If you have lived in the area for a while, what is the best part of living in the Durham/Triangle area?
So much culture and energy around community. There are so many local projects you can get involved in. I love the opportunities to go to museums and learn about the local history and really feel invested here. The food has been great.
What is something interesting that not many people know about you?
I was in three different honors fraternities in college — academic, biology, and theater.
So far, what has surprised you most about Duke?
It was a pleasant surprise to find out about all the resident perks here.
Education and Training
- Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Gannon University, Master of Physician Assistant Science
- Gannon University, Bachelor of Health Science