In the spring of 2020, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman First Class Heather Simons treated patients aboard the USNS Comfort in New York City. With 17 years of clinical and administrative Navy medical experience in hospitals, combat zones and aboard Naval ships, the extraordinary circumstance of supporting hospitals overwhelmed during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired Simons to make a dramatic career change. Her next mission brought her home to Ohio and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
No stranger to working hard, Simons held down four jobs while attending high school in Ravenna, Ohio, and started undergraduate studies on a pre-medicine track. However, the cost of tuition was challenging, and she wasn’t entirely certain if it was the right path for her.
“I wanted to try it before I bought it in a way,” said Simons. “So, I started looking at means of getting more exposure to medicine, and somebody recommended looking into military medicine.”
Just months after joining the Navy and completing basic training, Simons was deployed to Afghanistan. She then served in various locations, including Camp LeJeune and what is now the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Her roles and responsibilities changed over the years, from entry-level medical provider to front-line trauma care and administrative roles in medical planning. She was trained to use data and technology to anticipate clinical needs for non-battle injuries, disasters and endemic diseases, and, upon her transfer into the Navy Reserve, she now applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to medicine and medical research for Amazon Web Services.
However, the pandemic had other plans for Simons, and a recall to active duty thrust her back into a clinical role aboard the USNS Comfort. During its mission to New York City, Simons treated COVID patients to help ease the burden on local hospitals.
“That experience is probably the driving force that brought me out of my administrative role and back into patient-facing medicine. It's why I’m at Case Western Reserve,” said Simons.
Simons—who eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, neuroscience and psychology in 2014 and a master's of public administration degree in public policy and non-profit management in 2019, both from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington— is now enrolled in Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s PRIME (Post-baccalaureate Readiness Instruction for bioMedical Education) certificate program designed for students wanting to increase their competitive advantage when applying to medical schools.
“I thought, I'm too far removed from school. That ship has sailed,” said Simons. “But a Navy doctor helped me see that I had the clinical knowledge; I just needed to update my credits, bring them into the present and show that I'm still equipped to be a strong candidate for medical school.”
Simons values the rigor of the School of Medicine’s PRIME program and the sense of community among like-minded classmates. She plans to apply to medical school at CWRU this cycle and appreciates that the university isn’t far from home.
“With my family only an hour away, one of the advantages of moving home is that I now get to host Thanksgiving dinner for them,” said Simons. “For all the years I was military, my dad would travel to wherever I was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we’d host a Friendsgiving for anyone who couldn’t go home. I lived for it, and so did he.”
But she’s looking forward to more than just family time; the opportunity to practice medicine in Ohio is another benefit.
“I’ve spent nearly 20 years treating other service members, veterans and patients abroad,” said Simons. “I am looking forward to treating patients here in Ohio. This is where I came from, so it will be a lot like treating family.”
Simons, who is now a veteran and Navy reservist, will focus on keeping her colleagues top-of-mind this Veterans Day and being thankful for their service as she pursues her next career.