Martin Box, 2018 recipient of the Dr. Burr Field Scholarship

University of Washington School of Medicine, Class of 2019

Hometown: Spokane, Washington 

Undergraduate: Middlebury College in Vermont, studied biology

Favorite clinical rotation: I was lucky enough to participate in the UW TRUST Scholar program, which sets you up which a longitudinal experience in a rural Washington community (my site was Chelan) throughout medical school. The six months I spent in Chelan during my third year was the highlight of my education thus far. I loved the variety and continuity. Seeing patients grow and change, seeing them start families, and seeing them take charge of their health made it easy to go to clinic and work hard every day.

What draws you to Family Medicine? After rotating through a variety of specialties and being drawn in by the intricacies of each, I realized that I didn’t want to limit myself to just one narrow focus. I wanted to take care of the whole person: their aches and pains in addition to their frustrations and neuroses. I can’t help but get caught up in the complexity of people and the joy of getting to know so many individuals so well. I know that Family Medicine will always keep me interested and know that I will be able to both laugh and cry with my patient’s throughout my career.

Anything else you want people to know about you? I am so excited to receive this scholarship. It has been wonderful to learn more about Dr. Burr Field’s life and to be inspired by the community and career he created. I was born and raised in Eastern Washington and I am so excited to return there after finishing my training. I have traveled throughout the US and feel satisfied knowing that Eastern Washington really is the promised land. In my free time, I love spending time with friends, singing folk songs mildly out of key, and exploring our beautiful state. My wife and I are excited to settle into a small community east of the mountains and hopefully grow some really good tomatoes.