Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Fleites, Jr.
Hi Jorge, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
During my undergraduate studies at Florida International University, I was exposed to a lot of people from different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses while completing my bachelor’s degree in Biology. I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to my tutor, Xavier Gonzalez, by a family friend, and we developed a great relationship. He would tutor students for both classes and standardized exams like the MCAT.
After I took my MCAT in May 2016, he began to recommend me to students who were not able to afford his hourly cost. Knowing the financial strain the MCAT places on an individual (thousands in tutoring/exam prep material), I would help these students out for free because I genuinely enjoyed helping students build a schedule for the exam.
Fast forward to COVID-19, my family and I were eating dinner at home, and I was just bouncing off random ideas that I had at the time. I decided to focus on something I knew firsthand – medicine and the expense of getting there. I mentioned raising money to sponsor MCAT prep courses for students and it was a good idea, however, it is too expensive that it would not allow it to impact a large amount of people.
I shifted towards the idea of raising money to fund MCAT and USMLE exams for pre-medical and medical students, respectively. Being from Miami and studying at FIU for both undergrad and medical school, funding students either from Miami-Dade County or attending school in Miami-Dade County was the perfect target population. Shortly after, the JF Medical Test Fund was created in August 2020.
After completing the necessary paperwork to become a charitable non-profit organization approved by the IRS, creating the logo, and building a website, we announced our launch in January 2021 and soon after would host our first fundraiser at Wharf Miami. This established our following, which has held strong for four years. We have now hosted four fundraiser events resulting in >$50,000 raised.
As a result, we have funded just over $40,000 in exams (57 USMLE, 10 MCAT, 67 total). We have funded at least one medical student from the major medical schools in Florida and have funded MCAT exams for students from UM/FIU. 2023 was the first year we funded exams for students from Miami-Dade attending schools outside of the state.
Our strive to help does not stop there. We ask pre-medical and medical students to reach out to us during application season if they are looking for assistance with any part of their application or just want someone to review it. We also offer mock interviews to help applicants build confidence going into their interview day.
This is free of cost for any student in the USA and not just limited to Miami-Dade County residents. We are happy to see pre-medical students who have given us the opportunity to help them achieve their dream of getting into medical school. This is not our primary purpose but it is part of our overall goal, which is to help people get to medical school and residency.
Overall, we are very happy with what we have been able to accomplish over the past four years. Our strong donors/supporters from the beginning are the sole reason we have been able to fund as many exams as we have, and they push us to continue helping students get to the finish line of becoming a physician. We look forward to funding many more exams and celebrating the success of Miami-Dade pre-medical and medical students.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Fortunately, the toughest part was getting the organization going. The initial steps of IRS charitable foundation paperwork filing and creating a website were the two more tedious tasks of the process. The paperwork initially frustrated me to the point that I was not sure if I would be able to create the organization. Fortunately, a family friend was familiar with the process, and they were very helpful in getting things moving in the right direction.
Once the organization was created, I would say the difficult task was planning a fundraiser event every year with the hopes of raising a sufficient amount of money to achieve our goal of funding at least 20 exams a year. It is very time-consuming, but luckily, our team has done a great job of planning, and we are happy with the events we have put together.
I definitely would not consider the above a struggle. I feel it is a privilege to be hosting these types of events with the purpose of raising money to support other aspiring physicians as I once was. The process has been a lot of fun.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I graduated medical school from FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in 2022 and was matched into Internal Medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Health System. I am currently a second-year Internal Medicine resident and have one more year to complete. After residency, I intend to work for a few years as a hospitalist in Miami before transitioning to primary care and working with my dad, who is also a primary care physician.
I hope I am known for being a resident who has a strong work ethic, delivers high-quality medical care, builds meaningful relationships with patients, and makes work enjoyable for those around me. Ultimately, my goal in residency has been to earn the respect of my co-residents, fellows, and attendings. If I accomplish that goal, that means I will take full advantage of the opportunity given to me by the faculty at UM / Jackson to train in Miami and deliver care to our underserved populations.
I am proud to continue the family tradition. On my dad’s side, I am now a fourth-generation physician. However, I am most proud of being able to treat patients at Jackson Memorial Hospital. My dad trained in the same residency program and has always shared stories about the different cases he saw and the relationships he built.
It has been an honor to be able to represent the hospital system and deliver healthcare to our diverse populations who otherwise would likely not receive any care if it was not for Jackson. The patients truly appreciate the care they receive and I do see the positive impact we have.
I feel what sets me apart from others is my ability to quickly establish a relationship with patients, communicate with them as if they were friends or family members, and effectively explain medical conditions in a simple way so that everyone in the room understands. The foundation of trust a physician builds with a patient is very important to the success of delivering healthcare.
A patient has to feel you genuinely care about them and their families, and their overall situation. Shadowing my dad over a long period of time, I feel like I have adopted and developed his interpersonal skills, which has allowed me to cultivate strong relationships with patients and partner with them to achieve positive outcomes.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
That is a loaded question I feel experienced physicians can answer because they feel the changes more. As a whole, I feel medicine will continue to shift into preventative medicine, where we are trying to avoid patients becoming obese, developing diabetes, atherosclerosis (plaque in their arteries), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), and so on.
This will allow for the saving of healthcare dollars. Technology is also expanding rapidly, which will make healthcare more efficient. In addition, tons of money is being spent on research to find the best treatments possible for certain conditions, which will hopefully lead to more positive outcomes and longer, healthier lives for all. I also think we will see the role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants expand as there is a shortage of physicians, but they can provide quality healthcare.
Pricing:
- MCAT: $330
- USMLE Step 1: $670
- USMLE Step 2: $670
Contact Info:
- Website: Jfmedtestfund.com
- Instagram: @jfmedtestfund
