Anise Adams, an African American, fourth-year medical student at University
of Nebraska Medical Center has received the 2002-2003 Academic Physician
and Scientist Minority Medical Student Scholarship for $5,000.
The scholarship is awarded to a medical student who is in good academic
standing from a traditionally underrepresented group as defined by the
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The student also must
be in his or her senior year of medical school and scheduled to graduate
at the end of that academic year. Each year, AAMC officials hold a random
drawing to select one of the existing 125 U.S. medical schools licensed
by AAMC to receive the scholarship the following year. After notification
of selection, officials of UNMCs College of Medicine chose Adams to be
the recipient.
The daughter of Bill Adams of Miami and Linda Harrison of Omaha, Adams
graduated from Papillion LaVista High School in 1994. She was president
of her senior class, vice president of the student council and a member
of the honor society. In 1998, Adams earned a bachelors of science degree
in biology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. She will receive her medical degree in May 2003 and pursue a residency
in general surgery.
Adams grandmother was a minister and always encouraged her and her
three siblings to serve the community and help others. Adams love of science,
combined with her grandmothers inspiration, sparked her dream to study
medicine in junior high school.
Adams is grateful for the recognition she has received as a minority
medical student, but is quick to point out that her success has always
been a personal goal. She doesnt like to see herself as an exception,
but feels low standards of achievement by some minorities, combined with
negative external perceptions by some non-minorities, fuel the notion that
individual achievers like Adams must be exceptional super-students.
Whenever I have the opportunity to talk with younger students, I try
to point out that they also have access to the same things that helped
me succeed, Adams said. First of all, optimism and hope are so important.
There have been so many days when I really felt that I couldnt do this.
You really have to be ready to make sacrifices. You have to believe that
you will get past the many blocks that may cross your path.
Perseverance is another vital part of success, no matter what
you want to do in life, let alone attend medical school. There are always
going to be people around who dont believe you can make it, and maybe
even believe that you dont belong. Sometimes spite drove me forward —
I wasnt going to let anybody make be believe that I cant be a doctor.
The best way to get back at people with negative beliefs about your ability
is to succeed.
Adams believes talking to children about advanced education needs to
start in elementary school, not high school. By high school its too late
to challenge the poor academics and self-esteem issues among minority children.
She believes mentors, parents and teachers have to encourage the study
of math and science by the third grade.
Does the kid like to read, does he or she have a natural curiosity?
Adams said. I think that our educational process has to incorporate more
opportunities for children to learn how to share and give more of themselves.
Kids need to learn about the elderly and the fragility of babies.
Last summer, Adams spent 30 days immersed in Latino culture in a special
program for American medical students in Guatemala. I learned to really
communicate in Spanish, she said. Even more, I really came to appreciate
how spoiled we can be in America. Americans can have 50 pages of doctors
to select from in the yellow pages while Guatemalan people may have to
drive an hour to get to a physician at all.
I met a priest there who has created a land program to enable the poor
to become independent farmers. They gave back a portion of their earnings
to the program and this money helped fund a new hospital and school. Guatemalans
really reminded me of just how much a single individual can do for his
or her community and how much more each American could do to help our country.
In Guatemala, Adams worked at a primary care clinic mostly doing ophthalmologic
exams. She discovered that many of that nations children suffer from profound
birth defects and other problems. Because medical services are so limited,
particularly in rural areas, the children and their families view their
medical treatment as a miracle. In addition, doctors in Guatemala become
part of the family, she said. There is a tremendous personal involvement
with the children and their parents.
Adams desire to become a surgeon was solidified during a rotation
with pediatric surgeons at Childrens Hospital in Omaha.
I like the hands-on nature of surgery, Adams said. You have
the challenges of diagnostic analysis combined with the technical skills
of surgery — youre directly healing people.
This fall, Adams began a rotation at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. She worked in the CDC Emergency Operations
Center on the transfusion-related transmission of West Nile virus. Adams
helped with a West Nile virus sero-survey in Louisiana and participated
in the investigation of a Rhabdomyolysis cluster in Illinois. Rhabdomyolysis
is an acute, sometimes fatal disease characterized by destruction of the
skeletal muscle.
Adams said she learned a lot about the public health side of medicine
in America while at the CDC and also had a lot of fun. Her initial
responsibility was to assist with statistical analysis and creation of
a booklet that offers state-by-state variables on pregnancy-related health
issues and each opportunity thereafter was progressively more challenging.
Epidemiology and public health is very important, Adams said. We
have to look more at the health of the population as a whole, rather than
just the individual. As a physician focusing on just individual patients,
it is easy to get tunnel vision. But the key to mass health improvement
is prevention and prevention is still woefully inadequate and under funded.
There is a lot of misinformation out there and my experiences at the CDC
have really helped me develop a sense of big picture medicine.
In December, Adams will begin a rotation in cardio-thoracic surgery
at Boston University Medical Center. After that, she will complete her
studies at UNMC and, on May 17, 2003, receive her medical degree.
Adams wont know until the annual medical residents Match Day where
she will do her residency. One thing is for sure — she wont be going
alone. Adams will be getting married next summer after her graduation.
Her fiancé, currently a member of the flight crew on the U.S. Air
Force AWAC surveillance aircraft, will leave the military and join her
when she does her residency.
I am really happy with the great opportunities and experiences I am
receiving, Adams said. I know a lot of efforts have been made on my behalf
since junior high school and especially at UNMCs College of Medicine.
I am really grateful for the opportunities that UNMC has given me. I feel
I have been given the information and insight I need to be a good physician.
I look forward to developing an excellent medical career and enjoying life
with a great supportive husband.