Horizons Fall 2016

41 aspects,’’ Melkonian added. “By the second day, it was obvious to me that this was where I’m supposed to be in my life.” To students like Melkonian, Anderson-Worts leads by example—committed to quality care, community outreach, and teaching life lessons that could never be learned in a classroom. NUMBER OF STUDENTS DOUBLED Since 2001, Anderson-Worts has led 20 medical outreach missions to Jamaica, the country where she was born. Besides students and attending physicians, the trips often include health care professionals such as dentists, optom- etrists, pharmacists, nurses, and occupational and physical therapists. All are volunteers. Since Anderson-Worts’ first mission to Jamaica, the number of medical students who participate has almost doubled—from 16 to 30 on the last winter trip. On each medical mission, the group usually travels to three sites a day, treating patients—who range from pediatric to geriatric—with a variety of ailments. Many have recurrent issues such as hypertension, allergies, or diabetes. Some are farmers and laborers with joint pain. Students take patient histories, check vital signs, conduct physicals, and organize treatment plans. On the recent trip, they examined children with upper respiratory infections. They conducted cardiac exams, listening for murmurs or signs of mitral stenosis and insufficiency. They applied their osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) skills. “The first day, the students are very nervous and slow,” Anderson-Worts said. “By the second or third day, they quickly get the rhythm of the volume and diversity. They’re able to take into account the difference in culture. They get a lot of patient exposure in a short period of time. It helps build their confidence and apply what they learn in the classroom to a clinical setting.” Bruce Peters, D.O., professor at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and director of medical education at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida, has participated in the Jamaica missions since 2009. “Many of these communities have no access to health care,” Peters said. “They’re up in the mountains. The roads aren’t developed. The infrastructure isn’t there. Many of them farm their own land. They have no transportation. The people are so thankful. Word gets around. They count on us coming there twice a year.” Urvi Patel, a second-year NSU medical student, volunteered for the mission because of an interest in global health and community outreach. “It was reward- ing to be able to take what we learned and what we were tested on and actually apply it in a real-world setting,” Patel said. “More than that, it reminded us of why we wanted to become doctors in the first place, and that the rigor of medical school is completely worth it if we can make a difference.” Anderson-Worts decided she would make a difference first by becoming a doctor and later through community outreach. Her family moved from Jamaica to Miami when she was two years old. At age eight, she knew she wanted to become a doctor. Her mother, Millicent Anderson, was a nurse at Osteopathic General Hospital, the forerunner of the Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine and NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Anderson-Worts graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1988. She graduated from NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1994, and earned a master’s degree in public health at NSU in 2002. She met her husband, Edgar Worts, an engineering student and football player, at the University of Miami. They were married in 1998. NSU HORIZONS Many of the residents who are examined have no access to health care. Continued on next page