VCOM View Magazine Vol. 12 | No. 1

USNS Comfort

In the operating room on board the Comfort.

On land, USNS Comfort staff provide care.

LIFE AFTER VCOM

residency, spending the next five years training at Keesler Air Force Base. He says he discovered a passion for surgery during his third-year clinical rotation. “I have always loved viewing how things work, discovering what is contributing to a malfunction and ultimately figuring out how to fix it,” he explains. “I am also fairly reserved and introverted by nature and can easily become consumed by a single task for hours on end. These factors combined with a strong interest in anatomy are a just few things which drew me to pursuing surgery as a career.” 7

Merwan Faraj will be in an aerospace medicine residency program after graduation. He says it is a specialty that is a combination of emergency medicine and primary care and his job will be to ensure that the nation’s naval pilots are as healthy as possible. “It’s a beautiful profession,” says Merwan. “I’ ll often be working in austere environments on ships and on land. I’m comfortable being uncomfortable and being outside and making the best use of the tools I have, including my team. Medicine is all about teamwork.” Jacob Harrison will pursue a surgical