When a person makes the decision to become a doctor, they answer a calling to help people. On Friday, June 13, a University of Florida orthopaedic resident will answer a different calling: to serve our nation’s military.
Steve Potter, M.D., will be commissioned as an officer in the United States Army at 8 a.m. at Shands Jacksonville. He has chosen his mentor, Hudson Berrey, M.D., a professor of orthopaedics at the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville, to perform the honors. “With him being a physician in the Army, specifically orthopaedics, it seemed appropriate, especially since he is headed to Iraq in July,” Potter said when asked why he chose Berrey.
Potter still has two more years to complete his residency at Shands Jacksonville and will then report for duty. He says he feels compelled to serve. “It’s an opportunity to use the skills I have developed to serve my country and the soldiers fighting for us.”
He follows in the footsteps of several family members. His grandfather was a major general who served as the commander of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. His father and uncle both served in the Army Medical Services Corps, with his father achieving the rank of captain.
Media are invited to attend as Potter takes the oath to serve his country. Interested media should plan on arriving at Shands Jacksonville no later than 7:45 a.m. The commissioning ceremony will take place at 8 a.m. in the Ambulatory Care Center. If you plan on attending, please contact Chris Turner, Media Relations Coordinator, at 244-3267 or via e-mail at chris.turner@jax.ufl.edu.
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Shands Jacksonville is one of eight hospitals in the Shands HealthCare system, serving northeast Florida as well as several counties in southern Georgia. With 696 licensed beds, Shands Jacksonville is the largest acute-care hospital in the city. Shands Jacksonville is affiliated with the University of Florida College of Medicine-one of the leading research-oriented medical schools in the nation. Staffed by University of Florida faculty physicians, patients directly benefit from the scientific advancements available only at an academic medical center