At a young age, Stephanie Cumbey, MD, had an affinity for science and anatomy and knew she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.
“I really wanted to help people and I [thought] that medicine is probably the best avenue for me to do that,” said Cumbey, a second-year medical resident at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. “
With her father’s military service as part of her family’s story, Cumbey, now an Air Force captain, began a service journey of her own. She received a scholarship through the U.S. Armed Forces’ Health Professions Scholarship Program and was commissioned in the Air Force Reserves. The scholarship program covers a range of medical, dental, nursing and allied health specialties. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients serve one year of active duty for each year of scholarship. After graduating from medical school, she entered active duty and began her residency at the Long School of Medicine, drawn to emergency medicine.
Cumbey is part of a broader military-connected community at the Health Science Center, where 79 of the institution’s 771 residents, or 10.2%, are on active duty.
That military connection extends to students as well. At the Health Science Center, 186 students, or 4.7% of the student body, are military-affiliated, including 67 active-duty service members, or 1.7%, and 119 veterans, or 3.0%.
Compassion at the heart of service
For Cumbey, delivering high-quality, compassionate care is more than a profession, it’s a calling. She hopes to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those she serves, from community members to military service members.
“[Compassionate care] means really seeing a patient as a human being, not just as a medical problem to fix, but seeing their dignity as a human being and treating them as such and giving them the space to speak and interact with me and … [trying] to give them the best quality care that I can.”
After her residency, Cumbey will begin her military service and said she is ready to help others with the experience she is gaining through her residency.
“For most people that go on this path … it’s really from a place of service,” Cumbey said. “I think that not [only] extends to military service, but it probably extends to most aspects of their life.”