Medical school: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Buckingham began her career in medicine as a certified nursing assistant, a path that allowed her to explore the medical field by being part of the patient care experience.
“I was initially drawn to medicine because of the opportunity to use a wide breadth of scientific knowledge to help many different patients,” said Buckingham. “As a CNA, I loved working with and getting to know my patients so that I could make their life a little bit easier during a difficult time and being part of the healthcare team.”
Deciding to combine her experience as a CNA with her interest in learning more about diseases, and workups, as well as forming treatment plans for her patients, she began to pursue a career as a physician.
Buckingham said anesthesiology is an intersection of patient comfort and a carefully orchestrated medical plan.
“An anesthesiologist is also one of the last friendly faces a patient sees before surgery begins,” she explained. “Though the time spent with a patient is limited, I feel that it is a valuable and often vulnerable interaction. That privilege is one aspect that drew me to anesthesiology.”
Buckingham said she also enjoys the real-time application of pharmacologic knowledge used as an aspect of anesthesiology that is not as prevalent in many other fields of medicine.
“I look forward to using my medical knowledge to create a plan incorporating a patient’s previous medical history while considering how this may influence their anesthesia course,” she said.
Buckingham is looking forward to meeting her co-residents and the faculty at UNMC. She is also eager to continue learning, growing, and becoming a more independent care provider.
“I am very excited to move to Omaha! I can’t wait to learn about some of the hidden gems of Omaha and the best restaurants,”Buckingham said. “I would love recommendations for the can’t-miss favorites!”
List some accomplishments you are proud of:
• Graduating medical school (almost!)
• Spending time working with special needs classrooms to help meet student needs
• Having opportunities to travel and explore different places – I am going to Europe before beginning my residency!
Three things about you that others may not know:
• I love all things arts and crafts related. I usually have some sort of project in the works and I am always up for going on a pottery painting adventure.
• This will be my first time living outside of Colorado. I was born in Colorado and attended college and medical school there as well.
• My partner Nick and I have a German Shepherd mix named Bree. We adore her and love to get outside to find good spots to play an intense game of fetch.