Mission and Passion in Action

In just four months as a National Health Service Corps Scholar in Portsmouth, Dr. Firoza Faruqui already definitely knows that she is “in the right place.”  Dr. Faruqui thoroughly enjoys working at Hampton Road Community Health Center (CHC) and says there is a “surprise every day.”   Proactive and enthusiastic to the core, Dr. Faruqui is effectively using her time and skills in a dizzying array of projects:

• Developing relationships and preceptorships with the local Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters pediatric hospital - http://www.chkd.org/
• Working on outreach to more patients who can walk from the local housing developments to the CHC
• Doing rounds at the hospital with newborn babies and their parents to immediately begin their introduction to her high quality healthcare and outpatient follow up
• Even “enjoying” the time and opportunity to make follow up patient calls because it reminds her “what community medicine is all about.”
• Being featured on a local news channel -  http://www.wavy.com/dpp/community/bottom_line/bottom-line-10_2_11                                

Sometimes it’s not such a long way from a small town in Michigan with a grand total of three stop lights, to the “right place” in the bustling community of Hampton Roads.  Firoza was born and grew up the rural town of Dowagiac, Michigan located 30 minutes from South Bend, Indiana.  In this small town of approximately six thousand people, Firoza’s father was a surgeon, but because there was no family practice in the community he served that role as well.  Although Firoza had two older brothers and two older sisters not in medicine, she knew early on she wanted to be a physician, so the only question was what type of physician?  Firoza was attracted to the family medicine her father had practiced by default in this small Michigan community.  She knew she didn’t want to be a surgeon because she liked family practice and the unique relationships that develop in that type of practice.  She also liked the challenge of being a “Jack of all Trades” focused on the broad perspective of Family Medicine, and later decided that Pediatrics was the best fit.

Throughout her education, Firoza’s father may have had the “surgeon mentality” but he supported her and helped her look into other options.  It was his “brilliant” idea to explore and apply to be a National Health Service Corps Scholar due to the financial advantages and her long standing commitment to work with underserved communities. Today Dr. Faruqui describes herself as a more “holistic” physician and not exactly like her dad - although she knows he is proud.

After attending the University of Michigan and Midwestern University of Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Faruqui made the unusual mid-residency move from University of Toledo’s Pediatric Residency to Cincinnati Children’s Medical Hospital to accommodate her husband and daughter.  Dr. Faruqui enjoyed Cincinnati, Ohio but she is exploring and enjoying Portsmouth, Virginia too. Dr. Faruqui lives in Chesapeake and comes over the bridges to the “Old Town” atmosphere in Portsmouth.

Dr. Faruqui is also learning and exploring the distinctions between the urban and rural medically underserved.  Given her passion and creativity, Dr. Faruqui is easily developing new ways to meet the demands of this urban environment and community.  Firoza describes this practice as having to be more medically “creative” due to challenges like transportation.  Sometimes a pediatric patient may come in and have five complaints in one visit that all need to be addressed.  In many other medical settings, typically only one complaint is addressed at a time. Here the reality check is that patients may not have the transportation, time off work, or finances to visit more frequently. Right now, Dr. Faruqui’s patients are more adolescents than newborns, but with some of her creative measures in outreach and attending newborn deliveries, this may change.

On a “typical” day Dr. Faruqui may start the day with four patients.   With walk-ins and add-ons the schedule could swell to eighteen. Some days the schedule is triple booked and then all the patients show up.  Other days may have a robust schedule and only a handful of patients actually show. One area Dr. Faruqui is working on is how to improve both access and develop a more consistent show rate. For patients unfamiliar with healthcare, Dr. Faruqui sees this as an educational opportunity for patients to learn both about the process and about how to improve their own health.

Dr. Faruqui thinks it is optimal for patients when they can walk in and be seen.  Responsiveness and access remind her about what community medicine is or should be.  Dr. Faruqui sees some challenges in providing healthcare to the underserved such as reduced resources and the high turnover of ancillary staff.  In line with her personality, Dr. Faruqui does not let these challenges deter her from providing high quality healthcare.
 
Certainly, the main concern of pursuing a medical degree was cost and the National Health Service Corps Scholarship was a “huge incentive” so she could pursue her goal.  Dr. Faruqui thinks that often a physician’s choice of medical specialty is highly based on the financial concerns of loan repayment.  But working in a Community Health Center crystalizes why Dr. Faruqui chose to be in medicine in the first place– because she is an idealist and highly appreciates the relationships with patients.

Today, Dr. Faruqui is married with a 2 year old and expecting their next child in April.  In addition to her work creatively ensuring access to high quality healthcare and developing vital relationships with her patients, Dr. Faruqui still teaches in the community and even spends weekends with her family (a concept she did not have during residency).  Dr. Faruqui embraces the dream she is realizing - personally, professionally and financially by being a National Health Service Corps Scholar at Hampton Roads Community Health Center and being “in the right place.”