FHS graduate to begin medical school

For most people, a trip to the Cayman Islands means rest and relaxation.

Niki Tomlinson  sees a trip to the islands as one step closer to her goal of being a doctor.

Tomlinson, a 2007 graduate of Fredericktown High School,  has been accepted to St. Matthew’s University in the Cayman Islands. She completed her Master’s Degree in Pathology this May from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Southeast Missouri State University, graduating with honors in 2011 with a major in Biology-biomedical science option, minors in Spanish and Chemistry.

She leaves Aug. 30 to begin her training towards her M.D. degree. For 20 months, she will be working on the basic science portion of her studies towards her degree. In May of 2015, she will return to the United States to complete the internship portion of her degree.

“I will be doing the rotations for  the different specialties. After that,  I will  complete a residency and then I will be on my own as a doctor,” she said.

Her main goal after she receives her M.D. degree is to return to the Madison County area for practice.

“Right now, I would like to become board certified in emergency medicine and come back here to Madison Medical Center to practice,” she said.

Tomlinson said she grew up around the medical field. Her mother, Sue, is the nursing supervisor at Madison Medical Center. She has also worked part-time at the hospital as an admission secretary for about four years.

She said she first learned about the school when she was exploring her options for continuing her education.

“This is a really good opportunity. It’s not everyday you get to go study outside of the country,” she said.

When she returns in 2015 she said she’d like to return as close to home as possible to complete her training.

She acknowledges she won’t be on the beach as much as some may expect.

“I’ll be studying a lot,” she admitted.