Beverly Jordan, M.D.It’s not unusual for Beverly Jordan, M.D., to be stopped in the grocery store for general medical advice, questions about state allocations for Medicaid or even for homework help, especially if the subject is math or science.

“I always say ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this kind of work, but I’ll do my best to help you,” she said with a laugh.

Jordan is a 2006 graduate of the UAB School of Medicine and family medicine physician in Enterprise, Ala. After completing medical school, a residency in family medicine and a fellowship in sports medicine, Jordan set her sights on practicing in Enterprise for one reason: it’s the city nearest her hometown of Jack, Ala. that has a hospital. 

“It was important to me to be able to go home and serve the same community I grew up in—the one that  allowed me to go to medical school by raising me and giving me an education,” Jordan said. “I really wanted to give back to the area that gave me so many opportunities.”

From a young age, Jordan said, she knew she wanted to be a physician. When she was a young teenager, her beloved aunt was paralyzed in a fall and seeing her through rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta confirmed Jordan’s desire to become a doctor.

“I grew up wanting to be a physician, but I had no idea what kind of doctor I wanted to be,” Jordan said. “I went into college thinking to be a neurosurgeon, but when I got to the University of Alabama, my experience as an athletic trainer for the university and working with James Robinson, M.D. opened my eyes that family medicine is more than doing procedures. I would have the chance to take care of patients and their families and be an influence in my community.  I knew at the end of my sophomore year of college that I wanted to be a family doctor.”

Jordan earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training before coming to the School of Medicine, where she was a member of the second class of the Rural Medical Scholars Program, a group she said supported and encouraged one another to achieve their goals toward becoming primary care physicians. She also had opportunities in medical school to shadow, particularly John Meigs, M.D., a family physician in Centerville, Ala.

“Dr. Meigs was always willing to take students into his clinic and was a great teacher who opened his practice to us. He’s been one of my mentors in both family practice and organized medicine for years,” she said.

Jordan graduated from medical school in 2006 and began the three-year Family Medicine Residency Program in Tuscaloosa. She then completed a fellowship in sports medicine at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham. She joined the Professional Medical Associates in Enterprise, a multispecialty primary care practice with four doctors and three nurse practitioners.

“I love being able to take care of my patients. Anyone who walks through the door is in my purview and every day is a new challenge and adventure,” Jordan said.  “It’s wonderful for me to be taking care of their families, taking care of the community and being thought of as a leader—someone to turn to when they need information about any topic.”

That’s how she gets asked for advice on myriad topics: her patients expect her to be informed on issues—not only medical—that could affect their lives. She said that with the recent uncertainty over appropriations in the state budget, people would ask her about Medicaid spending and healthcare funding.

“My patients count on me to know issues,” she said. “And as a family doctor, patients count on you to treat a variety of things wrong, from their hearts and lungs to their kidneys and their brain. They expect me to apply that same thoughtfulness I put into their medical care into understanding other issues so I can do my best to treat the whole picture and the whole person.”