This interview is one in a series of interviews with recipients of the 2024 ACGME Awards. The awardees join an outstanding group of previous honorees whose work and contributions to graduate medical education (GME) represent the best in the field. They will be honored at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference March 7-9 in Orlando, Florida.
2024 David C. Leach Awardee Jaymin Bakul Patel is a PGY-3 chief resident in internal medicine at St. Rita's Medical Center - Mercy Health in Lima, Ohio.
ACGME: Why did you want to become a physician?
Dr. Patel: A variety of reasons. Primarily to help serve other people in need. My interest grew after attending two medical brigades to the Dominican Republic with Timmy Global Health. Throughout medical school and residency, I volunteered and set up free mobile clinics for communities where transportation is a significant barrier to care, which has only served to deepen my motivation to help those who need it.
ACGME: What, so far, has been the most rewarding part of your residency?
Patel: Seeing my dream of building a comprehensive mobile health clinic come to fruition and also, growing into my role as a physician.
ACGME: What has been the most challenging?
Patel: The hours are not easy, but they are to be expected and they have pushed me to become a better physician.
ACGME: What innovation/improvement did you implement in your program?
Patel: With my team, we built a comprehensive mobile health clinic that addresses the huge barrier of transportation in health care within our community. I incorporated this clinic into our resident ambulatory curriculum so our team could learn how to practice medicine with little resources (No x-ray, CT [computed tomography], MRI [magnetized resonance imaging], comprehensive labs, etc). The mobile health clinic encourages our residents to use the knowledge and skills of physical exam and history taking learned in medical school, which are still a very important part of medicine.
ACGME: What does it mean to you to receive this award?
Patel: This award means everything to me. Oftentimes, there are so many forces that work against your goal—naysayers, people who don't like the mobile health clinic, etc., It can get very isolating to a point where you question if you're doing the right thing. This award reinforces that my goal and ambitions are validated.
ACGME: What advice would you give to other residents/fellows who are looking to either replicate your improvement or implement an original idea of their own in their own program?
Patel: Don't take no for an answer. Where there is a will, there is ALWAYS a way. Believe in yourself. Trust your team and have good communication with them.
Learn more about the ACGME’s David C. Leach Award and nominate a resident or fellow for the 2025 Award – nominations are due by March 27, 2024. Online registration for the 2024 ACGME Annual Educational Conference closes February 16 – learn more and register today on the conference website.