Today we’d like to introduce you to Berry Pierre.
Hi Berry, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am South Floridian born and raised in Lake Worth. I decided early that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine and after graduating from Florida State University where I received my bachelor’s degrees in sociology and exercise physiology I went on to Nova Southeastern University where I received my doctoral degree in both Osteopathic Medicine and Masters in Public Health.
After my residency, I started working in an outpatient clinic but I realized pretty quickly that if I were going to affect a larger community that I couldn’t do it from my office. Thats when I got online and initially started blogging which then led to my Lunch and Learn series where I would talk about different medical disorders but in a simplified matter so that my patients could follow along. I knew that the 15 minutes I had with them in the office wasn’t enough so I decided to refer them to my website to watch my videos and read my blogs.
With the popularity of the videos, I started podcasting because I would have a lot of my patients say that they love the content but they were unable to sit and watch the videos for extended periods of time and they would love to be able to listen to it while they were driving to work. Helping people has always been a passion of mines and with the use of the internet and social media, I have been able to reach people across the world that I never would have from my little office.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not, during undergrad, I had classes that I struggled with like organic chemistry & biology but I didn’t let those classes define my ability to succeed in medical school.
While I was a medical student I actually had a resident attempt to fail me out of a rotation that I would eventually go into residency for because they personally didn’t like me or how I presented myself during the rotation.
As an attending when I was working for my first job out of residency I felt burnt out because there was a lack of growth both financially and career-wise and I knew that I had bigger goals for myself than what they could provide.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician. I currently specialize in hospitalist medicine taking care of the most acutely ill patients in the hospital setting. On top of that, I am a health content creator and I produce podcasts and vlogs weekly helping to either educate my Lunch and Learn community or fight health misinformation that’s present on the internet.
I think what sets me apart is my ability to relate to my patients in such a casual and calming way that they trust and believe that I have their best interests in heart. I spend time breaking down the most complex medical issues in ways they can understand to help them empower themselves for better health.
I am most proud of the members of my Lunch and Learn community who constantly tell them that I am the reason why they are able to make informed decisions regarding their health care.
How do you think about luck?
The best story I like to give is that one day I was driving to the mall during undergrad and I saw this building FOMA (Florida Osteopathic Medical Association) and even though I had no clue what it meant I pulled over just to see what it was about especially since I had some time to kill before meeting my friends at the mall. I walked in, introduced myself to the receptionist and told them that I was interested in going to medical school Right then this tall man walks from the back and says “Hey if you want to be a doctor come join me for this pharmacy dinner, they are paying”.
Of course, that sounds crazy but I was a broke college student and free dinner was not something I was going to pass up. Me and the doctor (Dr. Richard Thacker) kicked off a great mentor/mentee relationship and before I knew it he was encouraging me to apply to Nova Southeastern. Little did I know at the time, he was not only the President of FOMA but also an Alumnus of the program. I got accepted to interview and accepted into the program within a month. I can honestly say that had I not pulled over to that random building that I probably would not have went to Nova Southeastern University.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.drberrypierre.com
Image Credits
Maria Davis-Pierre
