It’s been a long four years, but graduation day is near for four outstanding
University of Nebraska Medical Center med students. Patrice Tyson, Tina
Flores, Eboni X. Carter and Bothaina Abdul-Fattah not only forged their
way through a grueling curriculum, but these four also maintained a steady
community participation on behalf of the Student National Medical Association
(SNMA).
SNMA members serve at community health fairs and numerous other outreach
programs during their education at UNMC. SNMA units are student chapters
of the 100-year old African-American founded National Medical Association.
Ebony Xaivier Carter is a 1993 graduate of Omaha North High School.
She spent her entire life in Omaha and comes from a family with relatives
that include two registered nurses, a physical therapist and a certified
nurse assistant. In high school she was a leader in the Junior ROTC
program, winning the National Legion of Valor award and was a member of
the National Honor Society. She also did an internship at UNMCs
Eppley Institute for Cancer Research, sponsored by UNMC’s Minority High
School Research Apprentice Program.
Carter graduated from Creighton University in 1997 with a B.S. in biology.
During her undergraduate years, she received a second extended opportunity
to work with UNMC researchers when she studied under Howard Gendelman,
M.D., director of the Center for Neurovirology and Degenerative Diseases,
on the effects of the AIDS virus on the brain.
“I chose UNMC’s med school because of my experiences with those research
programs,” Carter said. “I chose family practice as my specialty because
I feel it gives me the best opportunity to have an impact on patients,
especially being able to teach them important lifestyle changing skills
that can prevent medical complications in the future.”
Carter received Portsmouth Family Practice Center in Portsmouth, Va,
for her residency. She said it was her first choice because it is
a community-based program with a diversity of residents and patients.
“As a minority physician who grew up in an underserved community, I
want very much to one day work in a small to moderate-sized city serving
those people in communities who are often left out, especially when it
comes to preventive medicine,” Carter said.
Although Tina Flores graduated with Carter at North High in 1993, Flores
grew up in South Omaha’s Hispanic community. She also was in ROTC,
the National Honor Society, and lettered several times in both soccer and
cross country.
Flores said she knew she wanted to work in the field of science even
before high school. Then, at ages 16 and 17, she also did summer
research internships at UNMC Eppley Institute for Cancer Research. During
her senior year at North, Flores was accepted into the former UNMC Multicultural
Vantage Program which provided financial support for minority undergraduate
and medical school students.
Flores graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1997, with
a B.S. in health sciences. Once at UNMC, she became active in the
SNMA because the organization provided all minorities with a social support
system, and also created opportunities to give back to the community while
in school.
Medicine is a service-oriented profession,” Flores said. “Growing up,
I always remembered the comfort level we had with our family doctor. I
love that kind of relationship and working with adults, kids, infants —
everybody. I never get bored or tired.”
“Being from South Omaha and speaking Spanish, I can relate to the problems
people experience. And the kids really listen to me when I tell them
about staying in school and not getting pregnant.”
Flores will do her residency at the University of Texas Health Science
Center in San Antonio, Tex. She wanted to totally immerse herself
in a heavily populated Hispanic community, greatly expand her Spanish language
skills and cultural knowledge and then return to practice in South Omaha,
eventually opening her own clinic.
Bothaina Abdul-Fattah has a history in Omaha, too, and virtually circled
the globe before coming back for medical school. Born in Kansas City,
Mo., Abdul-Fattah’s father is from Jordan and her mother is from Iraq.
Her parents moved to Omaha when she was one-year old and stayed until she
was seven, then the family moved to Saudi Arabia, where she lived until
college.
Abdul-Fattah returned to Omaha in 1991 and entered the University of
Nebraska at Omaha. She graduated in 1995 with two degrees — a B.S.
in biotechnology and a B.A in general science. She minored in Spanish.
At UNO she was a member of the university-wide honor society, biology and
Spanish honor societies, as well as the most outstanding student in biotechnology
in 1995.
“I chose UNMC med school because it is a very good school and I did
not want to move to a city where I did not know anyone,” Abdul-Fattah said.
“I already knew a number of physicians on campus, plus my brother, Josif,
was attending Creighton Universitys dental school. He also will
graduate in May. It has been so nice to have my brother in the same
city while we completed our degrees.”
Abdul-Fattah is going to study obstetrics and gynecology at the University
of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, Md., her first choice.
“I chose OB/GYN because I think this field encompasses all the aspects
of medical practice,” Abdul-Fattah said. “It has obstetrics, pediatrics
in the form of perinatology, surgery and continuity clinics, even emergency
situations. I always wanted this field from the beginning of medical
school.
Baltimore also has another significant value for Abdul-Fattah, her husband,
Yahya Mitchell, and their three children a large Islamic community with
excellent Islamic schools. Mitchells mom is a native Omahan and
his grandmother, the late Joyce Harrison, was a revered community activist
in North Omaha for decades. After completing her residency, Abdul-Fattah
has an obligation to work in an underserved community for three years,
then she would like to enter academia and teach medical students.
Patrice Tyson, former president of SNMA, is a native of New Orleans,
La. She graduated from Eleanor McMain Magnet School in 1993 and attended
Xavier University. Tyson graduated from Xavier in 1997 with a B.S.
in chemistry.
Tyson participated in numerous science-related activities throughout
high school and several summer internships at Xavier. One of her
college internships involved research at Omaha’s Boys Town National Research
Hospital.
“I wanted to try some place different for medical school, and my Boys
Town experience with Omaha inspired me to apply at UNMC,” Tyson said.
“I chose pediatrics for my field because I think kids are a joy to work
with and also pediatrics gives me the opportunity to shape a healthy lifestyle
at an early age.”
Tyson will do her residency at the Louisiana State University Pediatrics
program at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. Following her residency,
she hopes to obtain a fellowship in gastroenterology.
“I am looking forward to returning to my home town,” Tyson said. “Im
ready to apply my education to local patients. I hope I receive a
lot of exposure to a number of diseases and the opportunity to manage them.
I am proud to be adding to the ranks of minority physicians and hope to
encourage others to see a medical career as an achievable goal for themselves,
too.”