Dr. Ann Colbert
Dr. Ann Colbert grew up in the rural town of Ionia, Michigan. She chose to go to the University of Notre Dame as part of her family’s tradition. At Notre Dame, she was a Preprofessional major. She also was a member of the band and the tennis team. While at Notre Dame, Dr. Colbert participated in various service activities. She volunteered at the Logan Center, tutored at a local school, and participated in a few Urban Plunges through the Center for Social Concerns. Dr. Colbert found her experience at the Logan Center to be very powerful because she was given a lot of responsibilities, which gave her confidence. Dr. Colbert also volunteered at Memorial Hospital, where she began to learn more about medically underserved populations. She also took a medical sociology class while at Notre Dame, where her term paper focused on MUAs. These experiences fueled her desire to become a physician in a MUA.
Dr. Colbert applied to four different medical schools. She chose to attend Michigan State University School of Human Medicine because of the financial benefits of having in state tuition. At this medical school, she was assigned to the upper-peninsula program. This is a rural area with medical underserved populations. While in medical school, she worked in clinics all the time. She found her entire medical school experience to be revolved around service because of the location. Dr. Colbert then went on to do her residency at the University of Rochester, Highland Hospital. She chose to concentrate in family practice.
Dr. Colbert is a recipient of the NHSC scholarship. She believes that Michigan State must have promoted this opportunity to her. When asked what advice she would give to students applying to this program, Dr. Colbert said, “They want people that will stay in the area assigned to them. The whole point is to get doctors into these rural areas.” She said that what probably helped her application was that she was from a rural area also. Dr. Colbert shared that the only stressful part about the NHSC scholarship program was the placement process. She had sought out a spot in New York near her residency program. However, Dr. Colbert received a letter one day saying that she was assigned to Kentucky instead. Kentucky had been one of her preferences, but not her top choice. Even though she knew it was a possibility she wouldn’t be assigned to New York, she still found the news of being assigned to Kentucky stressful.
Her experience in Morehead, Kentucky was worthwhile. Dr. Colbert continued to practice family medicine there for twenty years. She found her concentration in family medicine to be very beneficial, especially in a rural area. Dr. Colbert also had a lot of training in obstetrics, which she found important as well. Dr. Colbert also takes time off to volunteer at clinics. She volunteered at a migrant clinic in North Carolina. She also helped start up free clinics throughout Kentucky. Ten years ago, Dr. Colbert switched her concentration to palliative and hospice care. She saw that there was a need for this in her area. Therefore, Dr. Colbert helped set up palliative care in the small local hospital, which is pretty unusual to have.
Most of Dr. Colbert’s current patients have cancer. The coal mines in this Appalachian region put the population at a greater risk for cancer. There are also many patients with diabetes and heart disease in the area. Smoking is also very popular, which is why chronic lung disease is another common problem. Dr. Colbert shared that she believes a big factor of poverty in the area is under-housing. Many family members are all living in one small house. Therefore, their health is affected by the poor housing conditions.
Dr. Colbert said, “There will always be a need for doctors, especially primary care physicians, in certain areas such as her area in Kentucky.” To attract more students to serve in MUAs, she emphasized the importance of exposure to MUAs. For example, it is important for students to be taken out of the Notre Dame bubble and into places such as Appalachia. “The more exposure, the more likely people are to gravitate towards them,” shared Dr. Colbert.
Contact information:
Office:
St. Claire Palliative Care
222 Medical Circle Dr.
Morehead, KY 40351
Home: 1225 N. Wilson Ave.
Morehead, KY 40351
Phone: (606)207-4936
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Ann Colbert grew up in the rural town of Ionia, Michigan. She chose to go to the University of Notre Dame as part of her family’s tradition. At Notre Dame, she was a Preprofessional major. She also was a member of the band and the tennis team. While at Notre Dame, Dr. Colbert participated in various service activities. She volunteered at the Logan Center, tutored at a local school, and participated in a few Urban Plunges through the Center for Social Concerns. Dr. Colbert found her experience at the Logan Center to be very powerful because she was given a lot of responsibilities, which gave her confidence. Dr. Colbert also volunteered at Memorial Hospital, where she began to learn more about medically underserved populations. She also took a medical sociology class while at Notre Dame, where her term paper focused on MUAs. These experiences fueled her desire to become a physician in a MUA.
Dr. Colbert applied to four different medical schools. She chose to attend Michigan State University School of Human Medicine because of the financial benefits of having in state tuition. At this medical school, she was assigned to the upper-peninsula program. This is a rural area with medical underserved populations. While in medical school, she worked in clinics all the time. She found her entire medical school experience to be revolved around service because of the location. Dr. Colbert then went on to do her residency at the University of Rochester, Highland Hospital. She chose to concentrate in family practice.
Dr. Colbert is a recipient of the NHSC scholarship. She believes that Michigan State must have promoted this opportunity to her. When asked what advice she would give to students applying to this program, Dr. Colbert said, “They want people that will stay in the area assigned to them. The whole point is to get doctors into these rural areas.” She said that what probably helped her application was that she was from a rural area also. Dr. Colbert shared that the only stressful part about the NHSC scholarship program was the placement process. She had sought out a spot in New York near her residency program. However, Dr. Colbert received a letter one day saying that she was assigned to Kentucky instead. Kentucky had been one of her preferences, but not her top choice. Even though she knew it was a possibility she wouldn’t be assigned to New York, she still found the news of being assigned to Kentucky stressful.
Her experience in Morehead, Kentucky was worthwhile. Dr. Colbert continued to practice family medicine there for twenty years. She found her concentration in family medicine to be very beneficial, especially in a rural area. Dr. Colbert also had a lot of training in obstetrics, which she found important as well. Dr. Colbert also takes time off to volunteer at clinics. She volunteered at a migrant clinic in North Carolina. She also helped start up free clinics throughout Kentucky. Ten years ago, Dr. Colbert switched her concentration to palliative and hospice care. She saw that there was a need for this in her area. Therefore, Dr. Colbert helped set up palliative care in the small local hospital, which is pretty unusual to have.
Most of Dr. Colbert’s current patients have cancer. The coal mines in this Appalachian region put the population at a greater risk for cancer. There are also many patients with diabetes and heart disease in the area. Smoking is also very popular, which is why chronic lung disease is another common problem. Dr. Colbert shared that she believes a big factor of poverty in the area is under-housing. Many family members are all living in one small house. Therefore, their health is affected by the poor housing conditions.
Dr. Colbert said, “There will always be a need for doctors, especially primary care physicians, in certain areas such as her area in Kentucky.” To attract more students to serve in MUAs, she emphasized the importance of exposure to MUAs. For example, it is important for students to be taken out of the Notre Dame bubble and into places such as Appalachia. “The more exposure, the more likely people are to gravitate towards them,” shared Dr. Colbert.
Contact information:
Office:
St. Claire Palliative Care
222 Medical Circle Dr.
Morehead, KY 40351
Home: 1225 N. Wilson Ave.
Morehead, KY 40351
Phone: (606)207-4936
Email: [email protected]