HOW DO YOU START THE DAY?
I wake up with gratitude and rejuvenation; sometimes I stretch in the mornings prior to heading into the hospital.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A DOCTOR?
My mother is an epidemiologist and the former director of the Howard University Cancer Center. As the director, I followed her around the cancer center and hospital often as a young boy and saw brown and black physicians, clinicians, researchers, and leaders. They all looked like me. This lived experience inspired me to pursue becoming a physician.
WHY DO YOU LOVE ANESTHESIOLOGY?
I love anesthesiology because of the blend of pharmacology and physiology. I love the opportunity to meet a new patient the morning of surgery and to help ease their mind. The interaction is short but highly important.
IF YOU COULD GIVE YOUR PRE-2020 SELF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Believe in your power to overcome adversity, remember that everything happens for a reason, and cherish the good times because nothing lasts forever.
WHAT HAS BEEN MOST INSPIRING THIS YEAR, AND WHERE HAVE YOU FELT THE MOST POSITIVE GROWTH?
Going viral as the Tik Tok Doc was an incredibly humbling and exciting part of this year. It is an aspect of the year and the people I have met I will always cherish and never forget. Life comes at us fast and sometimes all we can do is smile and dance!
