Alma Littles, M.D., dean of the Florida State University College of Medicine, was elected vice president of the Florida Medical Association (FMA) at its Aug. 2-4 annual meeting in Orlando. The FMA is a professional organization representing more than 25,000 members on issues of legislation and regulatory affairs, medical economics and education, public health and ethical and legal issues.

Prior to being elected vice president, Littles served two years as FMA secretary.

“I am thrilled to continue my service with FMA — a great organization that advocates statewide for physicians and their patients,” Littles said. “Our ultimate goal is to help physicians practice medicine, enhancing the quality and availability of health care throughout the state — and this speaks directly to our mission at the college.”

Littles has been involved in medical education since 1989, when she began precepting, or training,  medical students and residents in her rural practice. She joined the faculty of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare in 1996 and became director of that program in 1999. A former president of the Capital Medical Society and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, as well as former chair of the Academic Physicians Section of the American Medical Association, Littles has been actively involved in organized medicine since she was a medical student and is a longtime patient advocate.

Still in awe of living the dream

Through his distinct southern drawl, there is an unmistakable sincerity as Andrew Bass describes the many emotions flooding his mind prior to Friday’s White Coat Ceremony.

Raised in rural Callahan, Fla. (population 1,500), he is a rarity among graduates of West Nassau High School.

“I’m really honored to go to university for undergrad and to have the opportunity, by the grace of God, to go to graduate school,” said Bass, who arrived at the College of Medicine after earning a health science degree from the University of Florida. “It’s not that common.”

Slipping into his white coat with the help of Orlando Regional Campus Dean Mark Chaet, M.D., was a big step, having successfully navigated the first semester of medical school. But Bass knows the symbolic event is “just another step” in fulfilling his dream of being a physician.

“There’s a lot of humility in it,” he said. “My parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles have kind of helped to open doors to allow me to even get here. Whether that’s helping me emotionally or financially, they’re in my corner for that…

“You can’t really get too excited, too early, but it is surreal. A year ago, two years ago, you were praying to be here, but (now) you’re living it.”

As a rural student, Bass certainly seems like a strong candidate to fulfill the college’s mission: returning to his hometown – or one like it – to fill the much-needed void in those underserved areas.

“It would be interesting to be more intentional with the community and to build that trust with them; kind of meet them where they’re at,” Bass said, acknowledging that it’s easier to be accepted into a small community if you’re from there, or someplace like it. “There is a bigger opportunity to do that with rural or smaller areas.”

Still, with 10 semesters to go before graduation, he’s keeping an open mind about his future.

“I don’t want to be narrow-minded and close myself off to different opportunities, because at the end of the day, I should be where I can have the most impact.”

One miracle after another

Sheema Imam calls her twin boys her “miracle babies.”

Born prematurely at 28 weeks, they spent months in the neonatal ICU in their native Jacksonville. In addition, Shaffan survived what could have been another case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) had it not been caught mid-episode. The lack of oxygen left him with cerebral palsy, which his mother said affected his motor skills to some degree but doesn’t limit him from living a full life.

His intellect, curiosity and compassionate big heart remained strong.

Shaffan Imam donned his white coat Friday night while a contingent of family members including his mother and his father, Hussain Imam, an internal medicine physician; his uncle and aunt, also a physician; and his brother Arhum, cheered.

Arhum Imam begins medical school at Drexel University in Philadelphia next week.

Family affairs

It is traditional in higher education for a family member who has achieved a terminal degree to participate in milestone of family members who are on the path to a comparable accomplishment.

In medicine, those opportunities arise on two occasions, when first-year medical students complete their first semester and earn their white coats, and at graduation, when they are hooded after being awarded their medical doctor degrees.

Friday night, three parents - all College of Medicine faculty - had the honor and pleasure of helping their children into their white coats.

Bianca D. Harbison, M.D., clerkship faculty at the Tallahassee Regional Campus and the Marianna Rural Health program, “coated” her daughter, Elena Harbison; Hugh VanLandingham, M.D., preceptor faculty in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, “coated” his son, Hal VanLandingham; and Humam Humeda, M.D., clerkship faculty at the Pensacola Regional Campus, hooded his son, Sami Humeda.

It wasn’t the elder Humeda’s first experience at an FSU White Coat Ceremony. He previously “coated” his daughter, Yasmine Humeda, M.D. (Class of 2021).