Ramsey Tate, MD'09
Age: 31
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
College: Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service
Major(s): Science, Technology, and International Health; African Studies
Match 2009 Residency Program: Pediatrics, University of Washington
Highlights of Pre-Med Career: As a nontraditional student, I was fortunate to have enjoyed a number of amazing and unique experiences in my years prior to medical school such as singing karaoke to a Thai village, volunteering as a paramedic in South Africa, or a brief career as a dog walker. In my professional life, the opportunity to participate in research that contributed to the national dialogue on racial health disparities was certainly a highlight.
Why medicine?
I was 25 before it dawned on me that I wanted to be a doctor. During my undergrad days, I thought pre-meds were a totally alien species of student. They weren’t lounging around idly debating foreign policy or trying to snag a White House internship in order to steal the stationary. Those pre-meds, they were busy, they had a plan. I wound my way to medicine very gradually, without even realizing where my path would lead. The one continuous thread that connected my experiences was the desire to serve as a witness, a voice, an advocate and it was medicine that offered me the opportunity to express my values on both a personal and societal level.
Why Pritzker?
I knew Pritzker was a good fit for me on my interview day. Every student that I met was someone that I wanted to go get coffee with. Pritzker students represent more than just diversity by the numbers, they represent a depth of diversity in backgrounds and experiences that I didn’t find anywhere else on the interview trail. Pritzker was also the only school that understood that my commitment to international work wasn’t a piece of me that I could put on the shelf for four years.
From Chicago to Africa
I traveled to Ethiopia twice in the year prior to beginning medical school and returned in the summer after my first year of medical school as an intern with Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief - Ethiopia (CPAR-E) through the University of Chicago’s Human Rights Internship Program. The Human Rights Internship is a phenomenal opportunity unique to the University of Chicago and open to students from all disciplines on campus. During my internship, I lived and worked in Debati, a village located in one of the least developed regions of Ethiopia, itself one of the least developed countries in the world. I have been amazed by Pritzker’s continuing support of my international ambitions.
Impacting global health
I have three areas of interest that I hope to juggle successfully in my career: community-based primary care, social justice work in my home community, and international human rights promotion. Medical school is not only career training, but a process of self-discovery.
Although my predictive powers have a poor track record, my current plans include completing both a Pediatrics residency and a Preventive Medicine residency. Pediatrics is a natural choice for physicians interested in advocacy work and a specialty that offers a great deal of flexibility. And what patient population is more energetic, joyous, or full of potential than children? I hope that the combination of the two specialties will provide me with the skills required to be not only an outstanding clinician, but also a powerful voice calling for justice and compassion.
