Justin Morgan, MD: SFMS December 2012 Member of the Month December 4, 2012 SF Dept of Public Health, SFMS Member African American Medical Association, Justin Morgan 0 Justin Morgan, MD is a family physician with the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s outpatient clinics. Dr. Morgan is a resident of the Fillmore neighborhood, President of San Francisco’s African American Medical Association, a clinical instructor at UCSF and UC Davis, a member of the African American Democratic club. He is a community activist with over 10 years of experience providing primary care for low income families as well as working in the community on issues of health advocacy and youth mentorship. To view Dr. Morgan’s practice information, please click here. I am a SFMS member because I believe the SFMS is one of the best ways that we, as physicians, can stay informed and engaged with each other and active as a community resource on issues of health, wellness and better living. Which SFMS member resource is most helpful to you? The most helpful resource in the medical society is the membership. Whether it is learning from other members about how to meet the professional and personal challenges that physicians often face, or hearing from others about career directions that I never thought possible, I get more out of being a physician by being part of the organized physician community. My greatest achievement outside of practicing medicine was helping a young person, who delayed becoming a physician in order to work and support his family, return to school and successfully apply to and graduate from medical school. After years of hard work, presenting him with his own doctoral hood was more satisfying than the day I was presented with my own. What is the most important thing you learned in medical school or residency? I was once advised that, in order to achieve personal balance, I should always pursue my life, outside of medicine, with the same intensity that I’ve pursued my medical career. Since finishing residency, I’ve gone back to school to study art and foreign language, ran for public office, maintained pre-med school friendships and started new ones with people who know me from the local community or the interest group, not the clinic. This has helped me avoid professional burn out and make medicine that fun thing I do, when I’m not working hard at enjoying the rest of my life. What are some of the biggest opportunities or challenges you see in health care within the next five years? Moving this country from a “health cost system” to a “health care system” will either be the biggest challenge to us, or the biggest opportunity for us. It will be difficult, but we must decide if health care in this country is going to be an economic privilege or a human right and how best to make the path we choose a viable and sustainable reality for everyone. I love practicing Family Medicine because I love that my clinics are in the neighborhoods and communities where I live and am also active in. Most of my patients come from the local area around the clinics, so I get to know them and their families, not just as patients, but as neighbors, too. It’s like being a small town doctor…in a big city! What is your favorite restaurant in San Francisco? I admit, on special occasions, I treat myself to a Bacon Double Del Cheese Burger at the Del Taco fast food restaurant on Market Street. I think it’s the special sauce that makes it taste so good! If I wasn't a physician, I would likely ended up a comic book or animation artist. It’s the other thing I’m good at. Comments are closed.
