IHS success stories - Adrienne Laverdure, M.D., family practitioner

Published

Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Tears stung her flushed cheeks. Her usually proud chin sunk deep into her chest. The soft-spoken teenager stood in the doorway of her childhood home on the remote Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and took one last look at the shades of green.

"I was terrified," said Adrienne Laverdure.

She had a suitcase in one hand; a bicycle in the other; $25 in her pocket and a dream of becoming a doctor. The moment had arrived thanks to the IHS Scholarship Program. It was time to start her journey.

Young Adrienne first tried to back out. Stay at home. Maybe raise a family. But her mother knew the daughter's potential and stated "Don't come back without a degree."

Dr. Laverdure, M.D., now reflects "Thank God she did that. And thank God for the scholarship."

Her grades? Excellent. However, the third year of medical school brought another challenge for the Chippewa native. She was pregnant. Thrilled. But the stress of being both student and mother took its toll. She failed the first set of board exams. IHS stepped in to help once again.

Said Laverdure "They sent me to a six-month program to prep me on how to study for tests. They knew I had the knowledge. It was the tests. It's interesting, the Native American people tend to not test as well as others. I believe a lot of it is because we are more visual than many other people. That is how we learn best."

With that helping hand, she passed the boards with flying colors. The young doctor, now all grown up, returned to the Chippewa Nation with baby Kenny in her arms. This time, as a family physician for the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/health/34887324.html

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I'm truly inspired thanks for sharing that thunderwolf.:snowman:

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