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VCOM Campus

Michael Piotrowski

Michael Piotrowski
Campus: Carolinas
Prior School: North Greenville University
Degree: B.S. Biology
Hometown: Greer, SC

Coming from small-town roots and a small undergraduate institution, I love one of VCOM's missions of creating globally-minded physicians to meet the needs of rural communities. VCOM has inspired me through vaccination clinics and other community events to give back to my community.

Who or what has inspired you while at VCOM?
Dr. Lisa Carroll, Dr. Matthew Cannon, Dr. Dorylan Jones, and Dr. Jeff Cashman are all wonderful individuals who have inspired me to not only become great physicians "on and off the floor" but to become great FAMILY physicians. Before coming to VCOM, I felt called to pursue family medicine. After seeing how fulfilled, they are in their roles has solidified my desire to continue to pursue this medical career! While at VCOM, we learn OMM through the wonderful instruction of Dr. Bethany Powers and others, which is something that I aspire to incorporate into clinical practice at the family medicine level one day.

How has the VCOM mission-inspired you as a medical student?
Coming from small-town roots and a small undergraduate institution, I love one of VCOM's missions of creating globally-minded physicians to meet the needs of rural communities. VCOM has inspired me through vaccination clinics and other community events to give back to my community. As future physicians, particularly as DOs, we are to treat the whole body as a unit. This includes the mind, body, and spirit. I have learned that the mind, body, and spirit of individuals will not be in your office all the time but in the community surrounding your office. Therefore, VCOM has inspired me as a medical student to give back and serve the community around me and as a future physician to continue doing so.

Who or what inspired you to study medicine?
I have always grown up around medicine; my mom is a nurse, my grandmother is a nurse, and my aunt is a nurse. I have always found the medical field to be intriguing and engaging. During my undergraduate career, I was blessed to work on an oncology floor and bone marrow transplant unit. It was here that I interacted with patients, their families, nurses, physicians, therapists, etc. I fell in love with getting to care for those in their time of need, even more than I previously felt growing up. After my four years on the floor, I knew medicine was what I wanted to study and that one day I wanted to be the one leading the healthcare team to care for patients and their families.

Why did you choose VCOM?
I tell everyone who I talk to about VCOM one word that describes VCOM: Family. From early on in the application process, I noticed how the fantastic faculty, staff, and students took me in as one of their own, well before even getting accepted! Now, as a second-year student about to take board exams and enter my third-year, I have only seen that single word be exemplified throughout the process. I chose VCOM because I knew, like family, that they would be there for me in the good and not as good times, to constantly encourage me to become the best physician I can become. I love being a part of the VCOM family and am excited for the years to come!

What do you enjoy most about living in the area around your campus?
I live behind the YMCA, so my favorite part is getting to run on the Rail Trail. The Rail Trail is a beautiful walking/biking trail in the heart of the city where locals love to get outside and enjoy the weather and exercise. Running on the trail is always a relaxing and recharging time for me, and I'm thankful Spartanburg has this area for us to utilize.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Free time is something many of us in medical school learn to appreciate and cherish more. I enjoy working out on the Rail Trail or at the YMCA behind my apartment during my free time. When not doing that, I enjoy getting to take Jeep adventures with my fiancé to the lake or the mountains or just grabbing some pizza at a local pizzeria and watching a movie. I am also blessed to be close to family, so some weekends we will all go out on the lake for a day. The great part about the upstate of South Carolina is that there is so much to do in such a short distance so that free time can be filled with lots of great activities!

Are you interested in a particular practice or specialty once you graduate? What has inspired your interest in this specialty?
I am interested in becoming a family physician, either through family medicine or internal medicine. I would love to one day own a private practice near my hometown or my fiancé's. Since I was a child, I have been inspired to do this as my pediatrician showed me what a great doctor in the community looked like. He inspired me to pursue family medicine, and as I have been at VCOM, many amazing faculty have further shown me why this is my true calling and passion.