Community Connections Inspired Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Student To Become A Physician
Martha-Grace McLean, MS-3, at Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, volunteers at a number of community organizations in Fort Worth including Mercy Clinic and Beautiful Feet.
FORT WORTH – For Martha-Grace McLean, volunteering in the Fort Worth community fuels her passion to become a physician.
“As medical students, we may not have a lot of medical knowledge, but we have the ability to sit and connect with patients,” said McLean, MS-3, at Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, “Sometimes, I think that’s all it takes.”
Making these connections is personal to McLean, who at the age of 15 was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.
In fact, it was the connection McClean made with her doctor that helped her understand her disease, which changed her life. The Florida native said she wants to do the same for patients in the Fort Worth community.
“I started volunteering and I realized that I could make a big impact in the community,” McLean said.
McClean volunteers at Beautiful Feet, an organization in Fort Worth that helps the homeless population. She also cares for patients at Mercy Clinic, a nonprofit organization that serves the healthcare needs of South Fort Worth’s underserved community. As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, she took part in Project Makeover, a nonprofit with a mission to ignite imagination and possibility in young learners by transforming school spaces into vibrant and inspiring environments.
McLean said she loves being in the community and helping anyway she can. It’s a big reason why she wants to become a physician.
“I think it’s important to tackle every day with an open heart and the ability to change those around you.”