the David Spector Addiction Medicine
Award in research and education, and
graduating in the top three percent of
the NSU-COM class of 2014.
Through all the achievements,
there was one thing Dr. Wellington
missed—a little more time with her
loving family. Even though she is
from South Florida and has some
family members close by, she man-
aged “the challenge of trying to
spend time with all of them while
maintaining my focus on the rigorous
requirements of my studies. I think
fourth year was especially demand-
ing, as I was away from home and
my husband for six months while
auditioning and interviewing for my
residency—a common experience for
fourth-year medical students across
the nation,” she explained.
Her pride and appreciation in
attaining her goal seem to outweigh
any major regrets. Dr. Wellington
warmly reflected on “the opportunity
to be a part of many community out-
reach projects and work with incredi-
ble physicians, including, but not lim-
ited to, Samuel Snyder, D.O., FACP,
FACOI, FASN, professor and chair of
the Department of Internal Medicine,
David Boesler, D.O., assistant pro-
fessor of osteopathic principles and
practice, and former faculty member
Robert Hasty, D.O., FACOI.
“Dr. Boesler worked with me on
several outreach projects, many times
staying late to teach college students
about osteopathic manipulative
medicine or to offer advice, stating
‘I’m always happy to help,’” she said.
Such outstanding mentoring inspired
Dr. Wellington to adopt Dr. Boesler’s
always happy to help
philosophy.
“Because of his mentorship, I dedi-
cated many hours to help others at
NSU and in the wider community.”
As Dr. Wellington envisioned her
life in a new community beyond
NSU-COM, she shared some advice
for incoming students. “When I was
a sophomore in college, I was fortu-
nate to have a great mentor, Dr. Bo-
toman, who has helped me along the
way to achieve my goals,” she said.
“I decided to pay that forward by be-
coming a peer mentor at NSU-COM.
I strongly urge new medical students
to reach out to upperclassmen, ask
questions, seek advice, and learn how
to stay focused to achieve their goals.
Medical school is definitely the most
46
COM Outlook . Summer-Fall 2014
challenging thing I’ve ever done, and
having people around me to talk to
really made a difference.”
Her optimistic tenacity targets a fu-
ture in gastroenterology. “Ever since I
was 15, I’ve wanted to become a gas-
troenterologist,” revealed Dr. Welling-
ton, who said her favorite aspects of
the profession are the complexity and
variety of patients she will be treating.
“I decided this while volunteering at
a hospital near home, and I haven’t
been able to change my mind.”
She realizes it’s pretty unusual to
make such a focused career choice
that young, but she has remained en-
grossed with the field’s many opportu-
nities for research and discovery and
plans to continue to train in hepatol-
ogy. “When I was young and set my
sights on becoming a physician, my
grandfather told me that ‘It’s not the
ship; it’s the sailor.’ In other words,
no matter where life’s circumstances
put you, the only thing that matters is
what you do once you’re there.”
Dr. Wellington is proud to be an
osteopathic physician, whose passion
to envision and accomplish her dreams
will no doubt continue to intensify—
and make her a leader in her field.
