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Class of 2011
Hi, my name is Jarrett Bender. I am originally from Patton, Pa, which is referred to as “Up the Mountain” in Altoona. I grew up in this area and never dreamed that I would be back. I graduated from Cambria Heights High School in 1999 and pursued a degree in Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University. After three semesters, I began to realize how boring it really was. To make a long story short, I met two amazing family physicians that opened my eyes to a great, rewarding life and profession…Medicine. After graduating from Penn State University in December of 2003, I headed even more east across the state to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. I attended PCOM since Osteopathic Medicine and its philosophy fit my personality and how I wanted to treat my patients. Also, osteopathic medicine offers the OMT training to aid in my patient’s musculoskeletal complaints. Moreover, PCOM has over 100 years of training primary care doctors. I knew before medical school that I wanted to do Family Medicine. Then, when I entered my third and forth year rotations, I thought I wanted a career in trauma surgery, cardiology, pediatrics, ob/gyn, critical care, and internal medicine. Well, this would be a little impossible to achieve if I am ever going to repay my student loans. After some time, I began to realize that if I loved to do all these specialties, then Family Medicine is truly for me. Family Medicine is probably the only specialty that has never ending limits in education. I get to treat the young to the elderly and be a huge patient advocate. Also rural medicine is where my heart is. So, I returned to the area that raised me, step back into my roots, and I am here to provide kind, compassionate care to the people of my area. It feels really great to be back and take care of the area that I always truly loved. Altoona Family Physicians Residency program offers the most comprehensive training by far in the state of Pennsylvania. From the busy Level II trauma center, to the late night delivering of babies on the Labor and Delivery floor, no program better suites my educational goals than AFP. The faculty is some of the best teachers I have ever been with. I am looking forward to my training at AFP and them molding me into the “ol’country doc” I am at heart. I am engaged to my fiancé, Robin, and plan a wedding in the near future. I enjoy hunting, fishing, and reading, The Deadliest Catch on Discovery channel, Corvettes, Steelers and PSU football |
