Do you recall your favorite pastime as a child? Some children enjoy sports and hope to be the next Lebron James or Peyton Manning.  Others believe they will have their break on The Voice or some other “talent search” show.  Well for Kim, she loved dancing, more than anything.  She wanted to be famous ballerina and her heart was set on that dream. One day during a school performance coming out of a “freeze stand”, Kim’s knee twisted and she felt the dreaded pop.  That knee injury eventually led not only to a trip to the Joe DiMaggio Childrens’ Center but also to a revelation of a career which not only involved dance and athleticism, but included the ability to help others.  During one of her visits, her treating physician explained how the field of orthopedic medicine intertwines with dance and the number of injured dancers they treat.  Many of whom were afraid they would no longer be able to continue performing.  He went on to explain how rewarding the ability to treat these dancers and allow them to continue their training was to the sports medicine physicians.  This knowledge lit a spark in Kim, since helping other people is something she enjoys as much as dancing.

Kim is the older of two children, born and raised in South Florida.  She has been dancing for as long as she can remember.   She has a brother, 3 years her junior, who enjoys dancing almost as much as his older sister……almost.  Kim graduated from Coral Springs Christian Academy where another talent emerged, her ability to draw.  She was placed in AP art classes due to her remarkable aptitude for drawing and painting with acrylic paints being her medium of choice.

Kim has danced for over 16 years with Ballet Elite  here in Margate, FL.  Not only an amazing performer, Kim currently is also an instructor for the younger aspiring dancers at the studio.  In addition, she makes time weekly to assist special needs children in Boca Raton with swimming.  This love of helping others, especially children, moved her to follow the arduous road to become a doctor.

Kim made the decision to shadow in order to be more well-rounded, not only have the grades but experience as well.  She is determined to make herself more appealing to medical schools.  We discussed how difficult entrance into medical school is during the first part of our series: How to gain experience in the medical setting. Therefore, having as many attributes as possible is important to improve the probability of acceptance.  Kim goes onto state since she has always been a patient, she wanted to gain understanding from the physician’s viewpoint in a medical  office setting.

Kim is currently accompanying Dr. Elliott Hinkes. She states her experience to be “more than she ever imagined and she has learned more than she expected.”   Kim revealed she has a notebook filled with everything she has learned during her weeks of mentoring with the doctor.  She likes the actual “hands on” and seeing the day-to-day activity in the practice.  She goes on to say this experience has reinforced her decision to go into orthopedics / sports medicine and she looks forward to having her own practice one day.

Shadowing with Dr. Hinkes has brought Kim full circle from the original injury, where she was a patient, to following beside an orthopedic physician with aspirations of becoming a sports medicine doctor herself.  Northwest Broward Orthopedics not only has treated Ballet Elite students and instructors, but also has three employees in the practice who have children attending the dance studio.  This makes Kim’s presence extra special for this practice.

We invite you to come by our office if you are in need of orthopedic care and maybe you will meet this amazing young lady who is filled with potential and enthusiasm.

This concludes our Mentor/Student series.  We hope you have enjoyed learning a bit about the shadowing experience for young, hopeful students and gained insight into the background of both Dr. Bruce Fletcher and Dr. Elliott Hinkes.  Make certain to contact our office when the orthopaedic need arises and return to our blog for informative future postings.