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Imani Chatman
(Photograph contributed / ETSU)

As a result of hard work and proactive involvement in her specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology, third-year medical student Imani Chatman has landed a position on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) panel.
Chatman is originally from Murfeesboro, Tennessee, where both of her parents are practicing physicians. She was an orientation leader and a Haslam scholar in her undergraduate years at the University of Tennessee.
Chatman discovered her passion for medicine at a young age and will now be serving on the USMLE panel from January of 2018 until 2020.

“I always had a love of medicine because I grew up with two doctors in the home who really loved their work and shared that with me…I really got to see what being a physician was like up close and personal. My parents were both trained here [at ETSU]. This is where they met and got married,” Chatman said.

The USMLE is an examination that all allopathic medical students in the United States have to go through before residency training. There are a total of three parts to the examination, and Chatman is going to be on the panel that focuses on the first step: the test for students that occurs between their second and third years in medical school.
Furthermore, Chatman will be involved in a panel of 15 medical students, working in residence, which will communicate with the medical board on the pros and cons of the actual exam. Overall, her job will involve discussing what works, what doesn’t work and how to achieve improvement in the testing experience for the students.

As an OB/GYN, Chatman feels a determination towards educating women in terms of sexual health.

“A lot of the issues in women’s healthcare can be addressed with education on both ends…with an academic practice at ETSU, we are working with our patients to educate on options for birth control, procedures, or health maintenance that women really need,” said Chatman.

As a representative of ETSU, Chatman has also recently been involved with the community, talking with freshman and sophomore students at Science Hill High School about “making adult decisions,” as well as sexual health and well being. To Chatman, it’s important for students to be aware, safe and educated.  

Chatman also offers advice to those that are considering a career in the medical field,

“For everyone who is thinking about applying, [for the Quillen College of Medicine] it is really important to see medicine up close,” Chatman said. “At the end of the day, if this is what makes you happy above other things, if you’re invested in working hard, making sacrifices, and putting the patients first, then the hurdles are not going to keep you down.”

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