Two future UCF physician Knights will continue their medical training after graduation at top military residency programs across the country, caring for our nation’s heroes.
Arielle Patterson and Jemual Shaylor, members of UCF’s M.D. Class of 2026, matched at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Naval Medical Center San Diego respectively.
Patterson is specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Shaylor’s specialty is General Surgery. Both are recipients of the military’s Health Professions Scholarship, which covers tuition and living expenses for medical students who agree to serve their country for one year for each year of scholarship.
Patterson is focused on improving health through physical activity.
“As a doctor who is really passionate about fitness and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, I want to really inspire the next generation of younger people to live healthier lives, earlier,” she said.
She also wants to expand access to healthcare and encourage more students from medically under resourced communities to enter the field of medicine. Research shows that patients have better outcomes when their physician shares their race, language and background.
“There’s a lot of times in medical school where we feel alone, or like the only ones who have gone through this, but so many people have done this before,” she said. “Hopefully I can help bring us a little bit more together.”
Patterson has already begun working toward that goal, serving as director for Region IV of the Student National Medical Association, a student organization committed to improving access to the medical field and building culturally competent and clinically excellent physicians. She helped organize SNMA’s annual regional conference that will be in Orlando February 20-22 and bring together physicians and medical students from across the southeast United States.
Patterson completed her bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Hampton University before joining UCF’s M.D. Class of 2026. She said she chose the UCF medical school for its youth and innovative, team-oriented culture.
Shaylor was inspired to enter military service by Dr. Jose Borrero, who was a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon during Vietnam before becoming a founding faculty member at UCF. Now retired, Dr. Borrero continues to serve as a mentor to UCF medical students.
During medical school, military students have the opportunity to undergo active-duty and officer leadership training at military centers around the country. In April, Shaylor will follow in Dr. Borrero’s footsteps to attend flight surgeon training in Norfolk, VA.
Shaylor hopes to eventually become a hand surgeon.
“A hand surgeon is almost a working man’s surgeon. You need your hands to do your job, or almost anything so when you’re able to restore function to any level, it has a major impact on a person’s life,” Shaylor said. “If I can do that, especially in the military where hand injuries are quite common, that would be a calling I would love.”
Before practicing medicine on their own, M.D. graduates must undergo residency training in their chosen specialty. This graduate medical education training takes three to seven years, depending on the specialty.
During their fourth year, medical students interview with residency programs across the country before ranking their top choices. Residency programs do the same before the National Residency Matching Service analyzes the rankings and matches graduates to GME programs. Most results are revealed on National Match Day, which is March 20 this year. Military programs and some specialties match early.