MCG Admissions

"When looking for a medical school, I wanted a place that would challenge me as an active learner, rather than a passive one."

Fast Facts

•  Graduated from Georgia Southern University 
• President of AU/UGA Medical Partnership's Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) Student Section

• I am 25 years old.  I graduated with a biology degree from Georgia Southern University in 2016.  Hail Southern!  Before joining the Medical College of Georgia family in 2018, I worked as an ER Tech at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro, GA and as a Medication Reconciliation Tech at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.  These positions were very formative in my decision to pursue a career in medicine.
• I am very happily married to my wife, Morgan Brodmann; this August will be our 4 year anniversary. She, along with our daughter Lexi (cat), get me through the days when medical school is especially heavy.  During my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, lifting weights, watching movies, and playing basketball with my classmates on Friday afternoons.

What motivated you to want to be a physician?

• My time spent at East Georgia Regional and the patients I met there were very influential in my wanting to be a physician.  My eyes were opened to the prominent role that a caring doctor plays within a healthcare team towards the goal of strengthening a patient’s health and well-being.  I believe God has called me to love my neighbor and to serve those around me, and He has given me the resources and the passion to do that through being a physician.

Why did you choose the Medical College of Georgia's AU/UGA Medical Partnership Campus?

• When looking for a medical school, I wanted a place that would challenge me as an active learner, rather than a passive one.  The AU/UGA Medical Partnership Campus has done exactly that through their small group, problem-based teaching style.  This method constantly encourages me to further engage my fellow classmates in respectful and collaborative discussions.  In this setting, I find myself feeling more comfortable and equipped to learn from each of their unique insights and talents, in order to strengthen my own medical knowledge base and skill set.  This school as a whole, from peers to professors, has truly felt like family to me since week 1.

What is a typical day for you like?

• During my first year, I tended to wake up an hour to two before our 8 a.m. class to study; I feel that I concentrate better in the mornings than at night.  I would have small group learning from 8-10 a.m., where my classmates and I would discuss a patient case that integrates the learning material for that week.  Then I would have anywhere from 1-4 hours of large group lecture, where our professors expounded on the learning material that was introduced during small group.  How I spent my time for the remainder of the afternoon varied depending on the day of the week.  I may have attended our Anatomy lab or I may have attended Essentials of Clinical Medicine course, wherein we are taught the art of doctoring through means of taking patient histories, performing physical exams, and learning how to engage with patients in a professional and caring manner.  After all this, I would often read some of our recommend text for the week before packing up and heading home for dinner.

What has been your most meaningful experience in medical school?

• The first time I presented a patient case history in front of my small group, I felt like I had not done a good job.  After talking with my preceptor, he agreed to help me with this skill.  A number of times throughout the rest of the semester, he would meet with me before class and we would discuss the current case, practicing how to interpret and articulate the relevant finding.  I am extremely thankful for his willingness to set aside his time and energy for me in this way.

What has surprised you the most about MCG?

• My experience above is just one of the countless examples of the lengths in which the MCG teaching staff has gone above and beyond, all for the purpose of bettering our efforts to take care of our future patients in the best way possible.  So many professors have impacted my learning, not simply by their lectures, but primarily by their actions.  Sitting down with any one of them, it will take all of 15 minutes to know how much they care about you and want to you succeed.

What advice do you have for students just starting their journey in Medicine?

• First, make time to serve others in your community to some capacity during medical school.  It will help your remember your passion for wanting to be a doctor when the waves of studying come crashing.  Second, don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.”  Instead, be willing to look for an answer.  I used to think that being a doctor meant you knew everything about everything in medicine.  False!  Brilliant doctors don’t equal best doctors.  There is rarely a perfect answer to the question in medicine.  Caring doctors equal best doctors.  The caring doctor will do everything he/she can to find the best answer for the good of his/her patients.

"At MCG, your voice is heard and matters. MCG goes above and beyond to make sure you feel welcomed, supported, and respected. You can tell that MCG really cares for us and not only wants us to be great doctors, but happy student-doctors as well."

Fast Facts:

• Graduated from Georgia State University

Tell us a little about yourself.

• I am a nontraditional student. I received both my bachelor’s degree and my Master’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. During school, I worked as an emergency room scribe, pharmacy technician, and Kaplan MCAT instructor. My family is closeknit and extremely supportive. My parents live in Acworth with two of my siblings. My other sister is in Macon completing Law school. I live here in Augusta with my fiancé and our two children.

What motivated you to want to be a physician?

• My love for science and knowing how the human body works called me to medicine, interacting with patients as a pharmacy technician and hearing their stories motivated me to become a physician. I want to be a listening ear for my patients, so that they feel heard and cared for, not just another bed in the hospital, or appointment in the calendar.

Why did you choose the Medical College of Georgia?

• I chose the Medical College of Georgia because I saw how close the students were. On my interview day, as well as during Igniting the Dream, I witnessed the current students laughing and joking with each other. I heard their testimonies on how caring the faculty were and how everyone really had each other’s back. I anticipated, correctly, that an acceptance to the Medical College of Georgia class would be an acceptance into a family.

What is your favorite thing to do on campus?

• My favorite thing to do at campus is to go to the wellness center with a group of friends and take one of the many fitness classes offered. It’s a great opportunity to bond with my classmates while improving our wellness.

What has been your most memorable experience at MCG?

• My white coat ceremony was my favorite experience. The Medical College of Georgia has the white coat ceremony later in the first year, after we complete our first module. At first I was disappointed that I would have to wait so long to get the coveted coat, but having gone through 6 weeks of lecture, studying, and testing with my classmates made the experience even better. I felt worthy of the white coat, like I had earned it, and had friends to share the moment with. Had we had our ceremony in the very beginning, I would have just been getting a coat with a bunch of strangers.

What advice do you have for students just starting their journey in Medicine?

• Make sure this is something you want, because the road to medicine may not always be easy or go as planned, but if you have the drive and right motivation you will be successful.

What's next?

• After medical school and residency, I want to go back home to Acworth/Kennesaw and either be a community physician, work in academics, or a combination of the two.