The Traveling White Coat
Houston Hodges II has spent much of his life studying and working extremely hard to get to where he is today. At 29, he’s a doctor and could not be happier about where he’s heading.
Houston Hodges went to Florida Atlantic University for his undergraduate degree and majored in biology. “My decision to go to medical school was made by the culmination of some of my interests that I developed growing up, a love for working with people, community involvement, science, and the fact that it’s an ever-evolving field,” Hodges said in an interview.
Hodges has now completed his first portion of medical school, graduated with his MD, and is currently interviewing with residency programs all over the country. “I am traveling around predominantly the southeast interviewing for residency positions in family medicine,” said Hodges.
Attending medical school in the Caribbean has been a huge part of Hodges’s growth in not only medicine but in other areas of his life as well. “Living in a different country on an island away from friends, family, and some of the conveniences back home in the U.S. inherently has its own unique challenges. However, I would say that I am much better off and stronger for it as well,” said Hodges.
Not only did Hodges grow in terms of medical education and adapting to a new place, he also learned a lot about the culture in St. Maarten. “I would say that I am much more culturally aware and enriched because of the experience. St. Maarten has a broad international community and residence, so I was able to meet a lot of different people from all over the world. I think overall, I’m a much more well-balanced physician because of that experience,” said Hodges MD.
Living in St. Maarten has impacted Hodges in terms of being more accustomed to travel and living in new places while practicing medicine. “Living in a different country and especially doing so while attending medical school helps you to become a lot more comfortable with change,” said Hodges MD.
Hodges has loved all of the elective rotations that he completed this past year. These elective rotations are unique because the students are able to choose what specialties they are interested in and want to learn more about in the field. “I had a wonderful experience completing three electives in family medicine, I really enjoyed working with the attending physicians that I was learning from,” said Hodges MD with a smile spread across his face.
In the field of family medicine, it seems the opportunities for growth are endless for Hodges. “There is a very broad scope of patients in family medicine, for example you may see a pediatric patient in the morning and then a patient that is well into their 90’s in the afternoon,” said Hodges MD.
Hodges has already had countless amazing experiences in the field of medicine. “I have experienced everything from the awe that you are struck with the first time that you assist in open heart surgery, to delivering babies and watching the beginning of a new family start and knowing that you participated in that,” said Hodges MD.
There have been a lot of people in Hodges’ life who have encouraged him to take on the challenge and go to medical school. “Quite a few of the professors at FAU as well as some of the physicians I had the opportunity to rotate with in the community furthered my interests in medicine,” Hodges explains. “Seeing how passionate these physicians were helped me to see how rewarding their careers had been, in addition to how their patients appreciated them. This is one factor that heavily furthered my interest in the position.”
Hodges’s journey through medicine has been long and challenging but he is forever grateful for it. “I think growth is the word that comes to mind when I think about my journey into medicine. From going through a rigorous undergraduate education and then following that going into medical school was a lot to take on,” said Hodges.
Hodges expressed how even though he has been pushed by the curriculum to great lengths he would not be as strong as he is today without this whole experience. “People say that the curriculum is like drinking through a fire hose with the volume of information that you’re required to learn and be able to use,” he quipped. “Every step along the ways has really been an opportunity for growth.”
Hodges knew that he wanted to be a doctor from an early age. “I think becoming a physician was something I was always interested in or had in the back of my mind. As I proceeded into undergrad at FAU, they had a wonderful pre-med program that gave me broad exposure to lots of different specialties and practice opportunities within medicine which hooked me in and the rest is history,” he said.
“Even as little as two years old he always wanted to help people,” said Marla Tucker, who is Houston’s mom, in an interview conducted over the phone. Tucker explained how he would always want to volunteer especially at hospitals from a young age. “It just seems like Houston was born to be a doctor,” said Tucker.
“From the first day I met Houston in Biology class I knew there was something special about him,” said Nazi Mohi in a phone interview. She is about to graduate from Nursing School and is Houston’s best friend. Mohi described Hodges as the most dedicated and driven person she’s ever met.
“Throughout undergrad at FAU, Houston taught me many things about how to set a goal for yourself and always achieve it,” said Mohi.
When he started medical school, Hodges explained how hard it was especially in the beginning to get through all of the information. The students learn a tremendous amount of information in very short amounts of time which makes it extremely difficult. “I think a large part of having a successful career in medicine is learning to manage your time effectively,” said Hodges MD.
Whether it’s a 48-hour shift in the ER or being on call rushing from one hospital room to the next, Hodges has definitely come across his share of obstacles, but these obstacles have pushed him to be the dedicated and driven physician he is today.
Hodges has lots of different interests that he wants to pursue after his residency. “There are some family medicine physicians that are still delivering babies in underserved communities, therefore, the scope of care that you can provide for your patients is really quite broad. As of now I envision myself working in outpatient primary care medicine, however, I am still interested in a lot of things and am excited to learn more and grow while evolving as a physician and see where the journey takes me,” said Hodges MD.
Hodges liked to live by one quote in particular while going through medical school. “One quote that I live by is a saying but I’m not exactly sure who said this originally, “Luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” So, the more well prepared you are whether this is clinically, being well dressed, on time for work, or setting yourself up with the best preparation allows you to succeed more often in situation than not, I try to live by that by being prepared,” said Hodges.
It is very clear that Hodges is ecstatic about what’s to come in his future as an doctor. “He has always been so kind to every single person that he meets and does whatever he can to help those in need, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his mom,” said Tucker.
