Dr. Wilson Helmhout, MD – Alumna Spotlight

Internal Medicine Resident, UM School of Medicine

 

Hometown: Oxford, MS
BA in Spanish, minor in Neuroscience (2016)

 

“Studying poetry in AP Spanish in high school made me fall in love with the language, and then my first trip to Argentina my senior year made me fall in love with the culture. I wanted to pursue my medical degree, and you can major in anything and go to medical school. So, I chose a subject about which I was passionate. Communication is a critical skill for physicians, and my Spanish will allow me to serve a larger, and more diverse patient population.”

While working on her neuroscience minor, Wilson joined the biology lab of Dr. Lainy Day where her research became an honors thesis and conference presentations. She participated in a medical mission trip to Bolivia where her Spanish helped with community health screenings and shadowing local physicians. To explore her interest in public health, Wilson was a summer researcher with a Center for Population Studies project on improving birth outcomes in the Delta. For an internship in Clarksdale she compiled and presented community profiles to local leaders and nonprofit organizers. As a member of Delta Gamma fraternity, Wilson was an academic tutor and community volunteer.

During her first year of medical school at UM Medical Center in Jackson, Wilson noticed a need for Spanish speaking health care providers. She became involved with the Spanish Club at UMMC and interacted with patients in Spanish at community health screenings. She is looking into becoming a certified medical translator soon.