Congratulations to our 2024 Winner!
Noah F. Gomez
Noah F. Gomez, M.D., is a chief resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Gomez graduated with Honors in Research from the University of Florida College of Medicine and was accepted into medical school early through the prestigious Medical Honors Program. Dr. Gomez is published in multiple academic journals and is a member of the American Association of Pro-life Obstetrician and Gynecologists, American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists, and the Catholic Medical Association. Outside of medicine, he enjoys cooking, running, and spending time with family.
I am honored and very thankful to be the recipient of the 2024 OSF Healthcare OBGYN Scholarship. Thank you to my family and mentors who have helped me get to this point in my career. With this generous scholarship, I intend to purchase recordings from the Catholic Medical Association 2024 Annual Education Conference and invest the remainder.
I was born in Jacksonville, FL, to a large and extended family with which I am fortunate to have strong ties, especially to my grandparents.
I recall their humble origins from a poignant childhood visit to their homeland, the Philippines, where my interest in medicine began. There, I met my grandfather's brother, bedridden, crippled by polio because his province lay beyond the reach of modern medicine. Seeing a loved one hamstrung by such a preventable illness stirred in me a responsibility to make the most of all the opportunities I had in the United States. My resolve was crystalized, and I returned home emboldened to prevent such needless suffering.
Unfortunately, I had to endure some suffering of my own: "you have scoliosis" were the words that ushered forth years of chronic pain. For years, I was shuffled from doctor to doctor and found little relief. What began as intermittent aches progressed into daily spasms. I had all but renounced the possibility of a career in a surgical specialty. That is, until my obstetrics and gynecology rotation in medical school. There, I had the privilege of caring for patients who challenged my stoic demeanor. Never before had I experienced such visceral emotions: consoling a woman weeping at the possibility of ovarian cancer, empathizing over small talk in group pregnancy visits, assuring a patient that I would be there for her before, during, and after her surgery, and holding back tears at a newborn's first breath.
Fortunately, after much physical therapy, I was able to find ways to cope with my medical condition, which taught me resilience in the face of adversity. Through this experience, I also discovered that I was now better equipped to empathize with patients and primed to be keenly sensitive to pain and struggles that I may never bear. As I was once there for my mother, pregnant with my little brother, so too do I intend to care patiently and tenderly for all women who trust me with their lives, and the lives of their unborn children.
Now, as a chief resident in my final year of residency, I see that it is a true privilege to care for women in their time of need. My ultimate goal is to graduate and become a board certified community obstetrician gynecologist. My dream is to practice in a clinic specializing in the provision of ethical medical care to support my patients' human flourishing from a Hippocratic perspective, caring for not just the body, but the spirit. I dream of creating a medical home that integrates fertility awareness methods of family planning into comprehensive well-woman care, and provides life-affirming options for abortion vulnerable patients, including abortion pill rescue and referrals to local crisis pregnancy resource centers.
For me, being a doctor is more than just a profession; it is a vocation. It's a call to be an extension of Christ's healing ministry on earth. To care for the sick and as Jesus would. To see others not as invalids, but as companions, destined for eternal sainthood. My vocation is not to heal the sick; it is to practice evidence-based medicine with compassion, empathy, and humility, and through surrender to the will of the Holy Spirit, bring the sick and ailing to encounter the Divine Physician. Practicing medicine is an honor, a privilege, and a blessing, a sentiment I intend to reverence for years to come.