Innovators
Michael Flowers,
Psych DO
What was your path to mental healthcare?
I originally started studying neurobiology in college. I loved the molecules in motion approach to human behavior and was excited to apply it in psychiatry. I also had volunteered at a hospice house in my youth where I fell in love with Narrative Medicine. There is something healing in a story. I think part of psychiatry is also helping people make sense of their life by making sense of their story. For all these reasons, I was thinking about a career in mental health when my dad completed suicide in college, which made the career choice even more salient. I think pursuing a career in psychiatry was definitely an act of sublimation. It's how I make sense of my own story.
How will this scholarship help you?
This scholarship will allow me the chance to attend Psych Congress. Hopefully, it will expose me to new information and fresh perspectives and the opportunity to learn from other people's stories. Knowledge comes from books, but wisdom more often comes from listening to others with more experience tell their stories. Ultimately, I would like to integrate that wisdom into my own practice.
What are your academic and/or career goals?
I will be finishing residency and taking a position at Tampa Bay VA in Geriatric Psychiatry. There I will be completing a program from the American Geriatric Society for further certification. I enjoy integrating psychotherapy into my practice and would like to eventually become EMDR certified as well.
What does “exceptional patient care” mean to you?
Exceptional patient care is taking the time to listen to a story. I think story telling helps us make sense of our story and also our life. It's an important part of life review , especially in a the geriatric population with whom I will be working. The medications are a bonus to me. With these tools we help our patients write a better version of their story, and if all goals well, when we are finished what we are left with is a love story.