DOCTORS OF INTEREST
68
Treasure Coast Medical Report
The STUDENT MENTOR
A condescending gynecologist and a compassionate
minister are two people who influenced Dr. Juliette
Lomax-Homier’s decision to become an obstetrician
and gynecologist.
“I had a gynecological experience when I was a teenager
and the doctor was very condescending,” Lomax-Homier
said. “Right then and there I thought I could do better
than him. Later, when I mentioned I might be interested in
medicine, another doctor suggested I become a dietician. But
it was my minister that encouraged me to aim even higher
when I told him I was thinking about becoming a nurse. He
said ‘You can do better – you can be a physician.’All of these
comments had a profound impact on my life.”
These defining moments blazed the trail for Lomax-Homier
to pursue her dream of becoming an OB-GYN. Back then
black females weren’t expected to become professionals, so
she kept her lofty goals to herself.
“Even while I was attending Boston University for my
undergraduate degree, I kept my medical school aspirations
to myself,” she said. “Every time I mentioned my plans to
someone, they would tell me I couldn’t do it. So, I studied
hard, made good grades, applied to Boston University School
of Medicine and got in.”
After completing her residency in obstetrics and gynecology
at Boston City Hospital in 1986, she moved to Fort Pierce
to fulfil her three-year commitment to the National Health
Service Corp, a federal program that allows physicians to pay
off their medical school debt with the promise that they will
work in an underserved area. She began her career as a staff
obstetrician and gynecologist providing care to the underserved
and migrant populations at Florida Health Center in
Fort Pierce.
The transition wasn’t easy. Growing up in Cambria
Heights, New York, and attending college in Boston, Massachusetts,
didn’t prepare her for life in a small town.
“Virginia Avenue was a two-lane road with few stoplights,”
Lomax-Homier said. “When I had to make midnight runs to
the hospital I could just pause at an intersection and go. Add to
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KERRY FIRTH
Dr. Juliette Lomax-Homier loves her role as dean of the Florida State University College of Medicine at Indian River State College.
BY KERRY FIRTH