Pub. 4 2020 Issue 1

Resident Spotlight Robin Brown, M.D. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. As shown in the show Portlandia, “the dream of the 90s” was absolutely alive during my childhood. It was an eclectic community with a strong sense of local culture, and I spent much of my childhood outdoors learning how to care for the environment and other people. My mother is a foot care nurse, my father is an architect, and my sister is an airline pilot. They are all still living in Oregon. My sister and I spent our formative years enthralled in horse 4-H, riding English style, and studying horse behavior and anatomy, all of which was an early introduction to communication and leadership skills. In adolescence, my mother and I moved in with my then-95-year-old grandfather. He was one of the founders of modern psychiatry and community mental health. Despite his aging body, he continued to fuel his curiosity and fervor for life through his final years. He would read The New York Times from cover to cover and ride his stationary bicycle for 5 miles each day. He often assigned me to look up the meaning of obscure words or exotic subject matters, and then we would huddle over the dinner table, reviewing my findings. Although aged and in need of assisted care, the caregiving role between us was fluid and reciprocal. Fast forward to now, I find myself reflecting on that time in my life when I am working with families of my older patients, recalling the strengths and chal- lenges of my own intergenerational relationship. There is no doubt that this experience informed my inter - est in geriatrics. My list of hobbies is endless, and like many people who have trans - planted into Utah, most of them are outdoor. I enjoy trail running, bike commuting, rock climbing, skiing and now backcountry skiing. Since starting residency, I do most of these activities at a “maintenance level,” not making huge strides in my capabilities, but getting outside just enough to keep up my skills and love for the sport. My indoor hobbies have really blossomed since the coronavirus pandemic. These range from listening to vinyl from my par - ent’s generation, napping with my black cat Ella, finding new podcasts, and in the last month, my boyfriend and I have been cooking our way through a Spanish tapas cookbook, Toro Bravo. I received my undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Oregon. I stayed an extra year to com - plete an honors thesis in evolutionary biology where my project looked at genes involved in craniofacial development in a long-snouted fish, the pipefish. After graduation, I joined a research group at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) that was studying the role of exog - enous melatonin to treat circadian rhythm disruptions in blind adults and children. Both this and my undergraduate research experience sparked my love for science, but they also fueled my desire to step out from behind the lab bench and into a role that would allow for more human interaction. This desire led me to a position at Old Town Clinic, a medical clinic that serves homeless adults in downtown Portland. It didn’t take long at this job to realize just how passion - ate I was about patient care, particularly for underserved communities, and I applied to medical school shortly after that. During college summers, I had always worked food service jobs, and after college, I picked up hours at a local Italian restaurant. I bring this up because there were so many nonmedical experiences that informed the physician I am today. Last month I was on my rotation in the emergency room, and I found myself comparing the skills of customer service and multitasking in the ER to the fast-paced milieu of the restaurant industry. My path to medicine was winding, but I am thankful for the time and experiences that happened in between undergraduate and medical school. It allowed me to truly choose medicine and to see that decision as a privilege. I always encourage those considering medical school to take time off after undergraduate; they will know them - selves better and relate to their patients more genuinely. Choosing Family Medicine Like many who go into family medicine, I liked most of my rotations in medical school. But, slowly, I narrowed my interests to nonsurgical, outpatient specialties. A mentor in medical school told me that picking a spe - cialty comes down to three things: the peo - ple, the work and the reading. He said that www.UtahAFP.org | 16