2 minute read
Professional Notes
Dr. Christie Alexander will be taking a leave of absence, beginning the first week of July 2021, for one year to run a small, rural practice in Marfa, Texas, in the far western part of the state near the Mexican border. The practice owner is taking a one-year sabbatical with his wife to educate their children in a language and cultural immersion setting in Europe. Dr. Alexander will be joining the practice this July and will be returning to the College of Medicine at the same time next year.
This practice opportunity will allow Dr. Alexander to expand her professional and personal development. Marfa, known as the “Biggest Little Town in Texas,” is in the high plains of the Chihuahuan Desert – about 60 miles east of the border and with a population of around 2,000 people. The two nearest urban cities are El Paso and Midland, both 200 miles away. The Marfa Clinic, located in the center of town, is the community’s anchor for health care.
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As part of the FSU College of Medicine’s inaugural class, Dr. Alexander understands the mission well. This decision reflects who she is as both a person and as a family physician. She looks forward to returning with new skills and a new perspective of the FSUCOM mission that can be taught and shared with students, faculty, staff, and the community.
Dr. Shelby Blank serves as the Medical Director of the Walker Breast Program at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center. The Walker Breast Program is Florida’s longest continuously accredited comprehensive community hospital cancer program and the Big Bend region's only accredited breast program by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC).
Dr. Michelle Miller, a primary care physician currently practicing at Capital Health Plan Governor’s Square location, and a Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program graduate, will be moving to New Zealand for a one year locums primary care position starting in June 2021. A recruiter contacted Dr. Miller via email, and due to COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and recently becoming financially independent (FIRO), she and her family jumped at the opportunity. She is very excited to practice in a socialized medical nation with no ICD-10 coding and hopes to return with a slight accent or new jargon to confuse everyone. She will be based on the North Island but hopes to travel the country and will be sending postcards periodically. Dr. Miller plans to return to Tallahassee in July 2022.
