Current Practice
Department of Veterans Affairs, Fort Novosel, AL
What my practice looks like today
I work as a staff physician in Ambulatory Care for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Fort Novosel (formerly Fort Rucker), AL. We provide comprehensive primary care for all Veterans enrolled in VA Healthcare at the Wiregrass VA clinic.
Was there anything or anyone at VCOM that inspired you to become the physician you are today?
I was extremely fortunate to have been a member of the Inaugural Class at Auburn. The very first year of medical school was tough, but I believe it helped prepare the entire class for the long road of undergraduate and graduate medical education. We were all setting the standard for the students who would follow us, and I think the professors made it their personal mission to ensure we had the tools necessary to be successful physicians, regardless of specialty. I have to give a special thanks to Dr. Coffey, Dr. Stephen, Dr. Stackhouse, and Dr. White, for the integral roles they played in helping me make the decision to pursue Family Medicine.
How has the VCOM mission-inspired you during residency or in your practice?
A majority of the counties in Alabama are considered rural and/or underserved. I specifically chose VCOM-Auburn because I knew I would be prepared to provide full-scope primary care to the citizens of these counties, as even my hometown near Fort Rucker is considered underserved. While I was working as a paramedic in Coffee, Dale, and Lee counties, I realized that many patients used 9-1-1 for routine, non-emergent complaints. They were calling for EMS transport because they didn't have a primary care physician and could only get their care from an emergency department. By attending VCOM-Auburn, I feel that I can better communicate with patients and educate them about the benefits of establishing care with a primary care physician in lieu of calling 9-1-1 for non-emergent/non-urgent conditions and complaints.
What is the best advice you can give a medical student to help them in their path towards being a physician?
The best piece of advice that I can give is to have a life outside of medicine. I truly believe that regardless of specialty, medical students, residents, and attendings need to make a conscious effort to participate in activities that don't involve medicine. I am blessed to be married to a wonderfully supportive wife and to be the father of two great kids. Being able to "get away" from medicine, even for a weekend, increases overall resilience, and it helped me successfully manage the rigors of academic medicine. Medical school and residency are ultra marathons, and stress/fatigue is cumulative. In my eyes, a well-rounded medical student and physician is someone that finds time for themselves, their families, their friends, and hobbies.
What are your fondest memories about your time at VCOM?
My fondest memory of VCOM was assisting my father, Dr. Paul Brisson, with a variety of surgical/procedural workshops and club activities. I remember there was always something new and exciting every school year, whether it was a trauma workshop or a surgical procedure skills session in the anatomy lab. However, what I remember the most was using Osmosis for the daily lectures and creating questions. To this day, I have current students calling me and saying that they still use the Osmosis questions for their lectures! To cap it all off, being hooded by Dr. Brisson and Dean Palmarozzi was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as we are the first and only Inaugural Class of the Auburn campus!
What career accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my wife, Sarah, and our boys, Noah, and Luke. We, as a family, were successfully able to navigate medical school, and now residency, without any significant hiccups. I would not be who I am today, as a father, Army Officer, or physician, without my wife and children.
When not working, what activities do you enjoy?
Running, flying, relaxing by the pool, hanging out on the beach, or working on our 1972 Cutlass Supreme.
