Alabama has a lot of health disparities, so I try to gear my practice to trying to address this both clinically, and in my research/educational avenues. Most of my clinic is at Cooper Green, which is the county clinic with a high rate of uninsured/underinsured patients. I involve trainees in my clinics there so they can be exposed to patients from underserved populations.

I love working with the residents to answer big questions. My research on homelessness, pain and addiction routinely requires asking "how is it that our health services fail to serve people with challenges due to disability, illness, lack of money, or trauma occurring across the lifespan? How do we serve them better?” They are passionate about these issues, and I learn from every single one of them.

There is nothing quite like following a group of mentees throughout their three years in residency and witnessing how they flourish and evolve and develop—both in their professional skills and in their soft skills. It’s a source of great inspiration and I learn and develop myself along with each group. I’ve been so impressed with the Internal Medicine Residency Program that I once asked the program director if I could go back and do my residency here at UAB! (They said yes!)

I love the fact that I can train at a world class institution and still live downtown near the hospital at an affordable price. Birmingham is an up-and-coming city with lots of live music and new foods to try. The city also has an amazing history that I have enjoyed learning more about.

Come to UAB! It is a perfect combination of a rigorous academic environment in a large research hospital with a friendly group of residents and leaders. Add Birmingham to the mix — a growing mid-size city with everything you could want to do in a metropolitan area without the traffic — and you have the perfect residency.

I was thrilled to come to Birmingham with my wife in a couples match: internal medicine and obstetrics-gynecology. Participating in the Health Disparities Track has been a highlight for me, especially the trip to EJI. It gave me room for my own introspection and inspiration to take back with me as I returned to the wards and to the patients I serve.

The collaborative culture at UAB makes it a joy to practice medicine and allows for more success when conducting research. As I focus on improving equity in access to HIV prevention services for disenfranchised communities, I really love being able to engage with residents. Watching them become more confident in their ability to provide stellar health services is one of the best experiences for me as an attending.

I love the team growth atmosphere and the approachability of even the most senior faculty. Personally, in this atmosphere, I have blossomed from an easily intimidated first generation college graduate to now functioning in many leadership roles including the Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program Director and the Medical Director role of an integrated clinic that houses substance use disorder clinical care and research for underserved patients. I love the way my UAB colleagues see and foster potential in trainees and each other!

I love UAB because I found a family here. People go out of their way to help you get where you want to go, and before viewing you as a student, resident, fellow, faculty member or anything else, they view you as a person.