• FPs Get ‘Tattoos’ at FMX to Symbolize Their Personal Stories 

    Dear World Storytellers Help Family Physicians Connect Life Memories to Family Medicine Journey

    Nov. 10, 2022 — As the first point of contact for people of all ages, genders and backgrounds in the health care system, family physicians have plenty of patient stories to tell. But physicians’ own stories are the engine that drives the care patients count on — the why that powers their how.

    Family physicians learned powerful new ways to express and share those stories in a Main Stage event at the Family Medicine Experience in Washington, D.C. Dear World, a nonprofit organization that strives to connect people through meaningful storytelling experiences, led the group exercise and gave FMX attendees a chance to connect their personal memories to their unique family medicine journey and patient care philosophy. 

    Docs Mark the Occasion … and Their Bodies

    Dear World storyteller Ethan Butler walked attendees through an exercise that helped them craft messages related to important moments in their lives. Ultimately, attendees had their very own “brain tattoos” written on their bodies with washable marker. They then posed for portraits featuring those messages.

    If the idea of hundreds of family docs lining up to get voluntarily inked and photographed seems improbable, rest assured … the queue was long.

    Thomas Pennington, D.O.: How Did I Get Here?

    A second-year family medicine resident at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., Thomas Pennington, D.O., joined Butler onstage to share his inspiring story of overcoming exposure to domestic violence, drug use and abandonment as a child.

    “Having the police at our house was just a regular thing. Going to jail was normal,” said Pennington, who grew up as a C student with no parental support in one of Virginia’s poorest cities. He was frequently told, “You aren’t good enough. You’ll never make it.”

    Yet there he was in the spotlight at family medicine’s premier event. The brain tattoo phrase Pennington chose to help tell his story was, “How did I get here?”

    “I’m a poor kid sitting here on the Main Stage at FMX,” he said. “I’m living my dream being in front of you. I’m so grateful to be with you.”

    After losing his parents to divorce (father), death (stepfather) and abandonment (mother), Pennington found a new home in the care of friends who gave him work, a place to live and inspiration to want more from life. He fell in love with medicine while volunteering at a free clinic and set his sights on a career in health care so that he finally could feel like he was, in fact, “good enough.”

    “Growing up my whole life being told I wasn’t good enough and I would never make it — it’s hard to get those things out of your head,” he said during the final Main Stage event. “I get up every day and try to better myself and to do good.”

    Pennington learned to study for the first time as an undergraduate and initially struggled in medical school. He finally started to believe in himself during his second year at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. At a key moment, an adviser told him, “I believe in you,” and assured him that he would make it.

    Now Pennington delivers similar messages to his patients.

    “I tell patients they are good enough; they are worthy,” he said. “I’m here to serve them. I’m a friend who is here to help them.”

    Catherine Hansen, D.O.: What Would Debbie Do?

    Catherine Hansen, D.O., of Burlington, Iowa, wrote “What would Debbie do?” on her arms.

    “Debbie is my mother,” Hansen explained. “She was the foundation not just for my family, but our community. She was on the school board, a Girl Scout leader, a basketball coach. Any time you needed a volunteer, she was there and involved.”

    Hansen said she experienced her share of struggles in medical school and residency, and her mother died of glioblastoma before she completed her training in 2020.

    “I’ve had a hard go,” Hansen said through tears, “but I could always call her. She was very supportive.”

    After her mother’s death, an acquaintance reached out to let Hansen know her mother had a profound impact on her life.

    “When I don’t know what to do,” the woman told Hansen, “I ask myself, ‘What would Debbie do?’”

    Hansen said she holds on to that thought and hopes to provide the same type of example for her own daughter.

    Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, M.D., links her family medicine journey to her mission to ensure that Spanish-speaking people like her are heard, understood and valued. “The stories are there. We just have to hear them.”

    For Amy Solomon, M.D., connecting with patients is all about discovering something you like about them. “Find something you love about patients,” she tells the family medicine residents she teaches.

    Maria Roberts, M.D.: That Run Wasn’t Easy

    When she wrote “That run wasn’t easy” on her stomach, Maria Roberts, M.D. of Mandeville, La., was remembering her first short run in 2020 after having twins earlier that year. She also thought of it as a metaphor for the entire pandemic experience.

    “Having twins wasn’t easy,” she said. “Being a doctor during the pandemic wasn’t easy. The actual run itself wasn’t easy, and COVID wasn’t easy. I cried a little bit. It brought up things I had thought about but hadn’t expressed.”

    Jennifer Goldman, D.O., M.B.A.: The Day I Found My Voice

    Flexing for the photographer, Jennifer Goldman, D.O., M.B.A., of Plantation, Fla., showed off words and hard-earned wisdom. With “The day I found my voice” inked on her arms, Goldman remembered standing up to bullies years before during a middle school field trip. She says the memory still serves her well as chief of primary care at her health system.

    “I use my voice to advocate for patients,” she said. “And now I’m in a position to help others find their voice.”