VCOM View Magazine Vol. 14 | No. 1

Left: Inside the Verón Rural Clinic in the Dominican Republic; Center: Dr. Rawlins works with a patient; Right: Patients outside the Verón Rural Clinic. “

a little over three years taking care of wonderfully grateful patients who really needed good medical care,” he says. While caring for patients in Madison Heights, Dr. Rawlins also began precepting medical students from the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine and later transitioned into teaching, including a leadership role at LewisGale Medical Center in Salem, Virginia. That was followed by a faculty position at Carilion Clinic’s Internal Medicine residency. But a different kind of service kept calling to him—international medical outreach. “Mission trips had been a passion of mine for some time,” he says. “As a student at VCOM, I was fortunate to be able to go on two mission trips to El Salvador and Honduras. Those were life-changing experiences that married the enthusiasm I had for missions with my future career in medicine.” “All the physicians I knew were DOs. They weren’t just treating symptoms—they were treating people. As I got older and started thinking about my own career, I knew I wanted to do the same.” — Jonas Rawlins, DO , Assistant Vice President for International Medical Outreach, VCOM

watching his parents—both osteopathic physicians and leaders at VCOM—confirmed what he already knew: He wanted to become a DO. It’s no surprise that when it came time for him to choose a medical school, VCOM stood out. Initially, Dr. Rawlins imagined a path in family medicine with a sports medicine fellowship. But during his third-year rotation in internal medicine, something clicked. “I fell in love with the inquisitive and investigative nature of internal medicine,” he recalls. That led to a fascination with diagnostic reasoning and medical decision-making. Mentorship from respected physicians like William Cox, DO, Peter Recupero, DO, and his brother, Frederic Rawlins III, DO, helped him chart a new course. He matched into the Virginia Tech Carilion Internal Medicine Residency in Roanoke, Virginia, where he found a rigorous and rewarding training environment. “I received top-notch training there,” he says. “I spent long hours at the hospital admitting patients, taking care of critically ill patients in the ICU, learned and became proficient in procedures performed by internal medicine physicians like central lines, arterial lines, paracentesis, thoracentesis, lumbar punctures, and arthrocentesis. I honestly loved every minute of it.” He was invited to stay on for a year as chief resident but had made a commitment to the National Health Service Corps that took him to Madison Heights, Virginia, where he served patients at a federally qualified health center. “I worked there for

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