Tell us about the position you are starting:
I am a quarter of the way through my first two years of a four year adventure as an Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Infectious Diseases fellow here at UNMC. I will spend these first two years here learning adult ID, followed by two years at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center here in Omaha, where I will learn pediatric ID. I could not be more excited!
Tell us about your background:
I was born and raised in Kansas City. Went to undergrad in Tulsa, then moved up to the NW for a while before moving back to KC for med school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) and grad school for my MBA at Rockhurst University, then moved on to med-peds residency at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). #ChiefsKingdom!
Why did you choose to come work at UNMC?
There was an unmistakable sense of friendliness, collegiality, and sense of collaboration within the department when I interviewed. And there was not a single interview that I did not actually enjoy. Add on top of that the fact that UNMC has a fantastic reputation in the field of ID, with a wide range of experts in their respective fields. It was also important to me to have a vast breadth of clinical exposure, as well as support for various research and academic endeavors. This has certainly proven true, and the support and guidance we receive as fellows is top notch.
What makes you excited about working in ID?
I could go on and on, but I’ll hold back. To put it briefly, ID is a field in which the microscopic world interacts with macroscopic individual and population in ways that are extraordinarily complex and beautiful. It is a field which touches on all systems of the body and requires knowledge of all sub-specialties. And it is a constantly evolving (sorry for the pun) field – a field of study that was made for the curious.
Tell us something about yourself that is unrelated to medicine?
My wife and I love to travel, and we do so at every opportunity we get. I have personally road-tripped to every state in the continental US, and between the two of us, we have been all over the world. I love camping and hiking and just being as outdoors and active as possible. I’m also a prior soccer and tennis player.