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April is National Minority Health Month, a time to encourage awareness about the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority communities and reducing health disparities.
This month is also the perfect time to express appreciation to minority medical professionals who use their talents to serve a variety of ethnicities in our communities.
One such practitioner is Gbeminiyi Samuel, MD, gastroenterologist, a member of the Premier Physician Network who practices with Premier Gastroenterology Specialists at Upper Valley Medical Center, Troy.
Born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa, Dr. Samuel has been in the United States since 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, College of Medicine in Lagos, Nigeria. His clinical and community health experiences influenced his decision to pursue a public health degree at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Samuel completed his residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, and his gastroenterology fellowship at East Carolina University Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.
He is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Samuel grew up in a family of four children with a mother who worked as a nurse. “My mother held doctors in high esteem and dreamed that one of her children might become a doctor,” he said. He added that medicine seemed a natural fit for him because he loves to meet people and to help people. He considers himself a good listener which he believes is important in medicine.
From a young age, Dr. Samuel has loved to play video games. His chosen medical field of gastroenterology gives him the opportunity to combine his affinity for people with clinical skills that come naturally to him. He said the endoscopy skills used in gastroenterology are actually similar to those used playing video games.
“This field gives me the opportunity to combine people and clinical skills to help patients,” he smiled. “It lets me do what I love.”
He added that the field of gastroenterology, because it involves so many of the body’s organs, offers a vast array of challenges which he finds interesting and stimulating.
“Every time I come to work the challenges are different, and with such variety I never get bored,” he said.
Dr. Samuel’s wife also is a physician. Dr. Oluwaseun Samuel, MD, practices as a hospitalist at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. The busy couple has four children ages 10, 9, 6 and 3 years old. The family resides in Beavercreek.
About Premier Health
Based in Dayton, Ohio, Premier Health (www.premierhealth.com) has a mission to improve the health of the communities it serves. Home to the nation’s 31st largest hospital, the region’s only adult Level I trauma center and the largest locally-based clinical laboratory, Premier Health continues to build upon a more than 130-year legacy of providing clinical excellence and compassionate care to friends and neighbors across Southwest Ohio. The health system offers award-winning care at five hospital sites: Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton with additional inpatient sites at Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville and Miami Valley Hospital North in Englewood; Atrium Medical Center in Middletown; and Upper Valley Medical Center in Miami County. In addition, Premier Health provides a comprehensive range of care choices at its seven emergency departments, eight Urgent Care locations, and more than 130 outpatient locations and affiliated primary care and specialty physician offices, as well as home health, mental health, and substance abuse services.